Chapter 11



"Amie, get in the car. Your mom's gonna worry if we're late for dinner."

Amie stopped practicing the moves Ian had taught her on Amber and ran toward the car. Gabriel put his hand on Amber's shoulder, and they walked toward the car. He stopped and looked up sharply when he heard his grandfather's voice. "Be careful."

Gabriel glanced around and saw the large man striding toward them. "Get in the car. Quick," he told her.

They both ran for the car. Amber slid into the back seat and shut the door as fast as she could. Gabriel reached it a second later and felt a hand push him into the door. He cried out in pain as powerful hands turned him around and shoved him against the car again. Blood ran into his mouth from his crushed nose. "What are you doing?" He asked.

Laurence Dennis sent a fist into his stomach. "I told you once to stay out of my business, but you wouldn't listen." He slammed another fist into the smaller man's stomach. "Instead, you step in where you have no business." This time he lifted his knee into the same spot his fists had just assaulted, sending Gabriel into a coughing fit.

They heard the sound of the window rolling down, and Gabriel turned his head. A fist came out of nowhere to strike his jaw. He fell to the ground and didn't move for a moment. Then, he heard Amber's voice. "Daddy, don't hurt him. He didn't do anything! Stop hurting him."

"I'm just giving him what he deserves. People need to learn to stay out of our lives."

"No, Daddy! You are wrong. He's been taking care of me."

"I'll show you what taking care of you means when I'm through with him," he threatened her. "And that's a lesson you won't forget."

With a grunt, Gabriel lunged up from the ground and sent two fists into the man's stomach. He took a step back then stepped forward again and grabbed Gabriel's upper arm, twisting it. Gabriel used his other arm as a club and swung it at Laurence Dennis's head. He released his hold on the arm and took a step back again. "All you are is a brute," Gabriel told him.

The larger man shook his head. "I'm her father."

"You have no right to that title."

He let out a roar of rage and pushed Gabriel against the car, sending fist after fist into his stomach. Gabriel tried fighting back, but it was useless. This man's fists were like battering rams. His body started to go limp. The larger man was about to deliver a final blow when they both heard a voice.

"Turn around right now before I shoot you."

"Sara," Gabriel breathed.

Laurence hesitated for a moment then let his arm continue it's swing. His body went rigid as the shot rang out, and his arm fell limp at his side. Sara stepped forward and pulled both of his arms behind his back, ignoring his howls of pain. "You have the right to remain silent," she informed him as she put the handcuffs on. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, even if you don't deserve one. If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you." She hauled him to the waiting police car as she finished reading him his rights.

Gabriel pulled himself up from the ground and used the car as a guide to help him stumble to the drivers side. He climbed inside and moving slowly, buckled the seatbelt around him. He pulled out of the parking lot of the martial arts training school Ian was using to teach Amie. "Why did he have to leave earlier than us?" He muttered.

Gabriel glanced in the rearview mirror and saw tears sliding down Amber's cheeks. "You don't have to cry. What's wrong?"

"He hurt y-you. Why'd he do that?"

"He's always had control. He didn't like the fact that he was losing it."

Amber nodded her head. "Is he going to hurt anyone else?"

"No, Amber. He can't hurt anyone anymore. He's going to go away for a long time now. You don't have to worry about it anymore."

He drove the rest of the way to the house in silence.

*******

The man jumps at Gabriel, knocking him to the ground. "You couldn't just mind your own business, could you?" He screams the question. "You had to butt in where you didn't belong." He pounds his fists against Gabriel's face. When the smaller man seems to be an inch away from unconsciousness, a knife appears in his attacker's hands. "I warned you, but you wouldn't listen. Now you'll understand that you never take Laurence Dennis for granted." He holds the knife against Gabriel's throat, ignoring the men closing in on him. The knife cuts through the skin and severs the young man's artery.

The little boy sat up straight in bed, sweat poring down his body and tears coming to his eyes. He climbed out of bed and padded quietly down the hall to his parents' bedroom. Opening the door a crack, he slipped into the room. He saw his father sitting up in the bed and lowered his gaze to the floor.

"I did not mean to wake you, Daddy."

Ian shook his head, his hair swinging across his bare shoulders. "It's okay, son. What is the matter?"

The younger Ian Nottingham climbed over his father's body and sat between him and his mother. "Uncle Gabriel died."

"What do you mean?"

"I dreamt that he died. He's not gonna die, is he?" He was on the verge of breaking down into tears.

"Of course not, son," he assured him, running his fingers through the shorter version of his own long, dark, curly hair. "Tell me how it happened."

"A man jumped on him and started hitting him. He seemed really mad at Uncle Gabriel. Men tried to stop him, but he wouldn't let them. Then, he cut Uncle Gabriel's neck. Blood was going everywhere, like it was coming out of a sprinkler. And his...his eyes were dead." This time he did start sobbing.

"It will be okay, Ian. Go back to sleep."

"Can I sleep with you, Daddy? I don't want to go back."

Ian glanced over at Darvi, who was now awake. She nodded her head. "Yes, Ian. You can sleep with us tonight."

The young boy curled up against his father and fell back to sleep. "I'd better call Gabriel," Ian said once they were sure their son was sleeping.

"Do you think his dream meant something?"

"It could be a premonition of the future or just a dream. I'm going with the former just to be safe."

"Shouldn't you wait until morning? Won't they be sleeping?"

"It's too early for Gabriel. I do not want to wake Renee, but he should know now." He picked up the phone and dialed his friend's number.

*******

Two guards escorted a handcuffed Laurence Dennis down the aisle of the courtroom. He glared as he passed where Renee sat with the twins and Meghan. The other kids were to be called as witnesses so they couldn't watch the trial. The two guards stood on either side of Laurence Dennis at the defendant's table.

The tipstaff banged her gavel, bringing the courtroom to order. "All stand for the honorable Judge Miller." The judge, a dignant, but apparently fair older man, entered the courtroom and seated himself behind the bench. "You may be seated. Court is in session."

The two lawyers had made their opening statements to the jury the day before, so the prosecutor called his first witness. "I call Gabriel Bowman to the stand."

The doors opened, and Gabriel entered the courtroom. He wore a nice pair of black slacks and an ironed gray shirt. He sat in the witness's seat and was sworn in.

"Mr. Bowman, what were you doing the afternoon of November eleventh of 2011?" The prosecutor asked.

"I had taken my son to the Whistling Pines Stable for an Equine Therapy session. He has a minor form of spastic paralysis and has balance and speaking problems because of it. The Equine Therapy was the only thing that seemed to help."

"Can you tell the court the events of that afternoon?"

"My son was taking care of his lesson horse. I told him I would wait for him outside while he took care of that. My friend, Danny Taylor was with me."

"And what happened when you walked outside?"

"I heard a man yelling. When I looked around, I saw the defendant dragging his daughter away from one of the stables. Me and my friend started for him. Danny was a bit slower because he was on crutches."

"Please go on."

"He kept yelling at her, and I saw him slap her three times."

The defense attorney stood up. "Objection, your Honor. This has no relevance to the case at hand. Whether or not he reprimanded his daughter has no pertinence to whether or not he killed his wife."

"It points to character. And eventually, motive."

"I'll let this line of questioning continue," the judge decided. "Go on, Mr. Bowman."

Gabriel nodded. "I ran over to him and stopped him. He told me I should stay out of his business. I told him violence was no way to teach children what's right and wrong. He twisted my arm around. When I wouldn't back down, he hot me several times. He finally knocked me to the ground and continued to kick me. His daughter begged him to stop, but he wouldn't. He didn't until my friend managed to stun him by hitting him with a crutch."

A couple of the jurors snickered behind their hands at the image that comment produced. The prosecutor hid his grin and continued with the questioning. "What did you do then?"

"Danny called the police. I just tried sitting up without the world spinning every which way. Danny had the defendant's daughter call her aunt to come pick her up. Then, we waited for the police to get there. I filed charges with them and watched as they took him away."

"And did you anything about him again?"

"Not for another four months."

"What happened then?"

"I had just gotten home from the hospital because my friend and his wife had just had a baby." He decided to leave out the kidnapping part since it had nothing to do with the case. "Officer Guerson was there. He told me the defendant had been released on bail, which was paid by his wife. And that Amber's mother had been killed. That she had witnessed her father shooting her mother."

"And Amber is the defendant's daughter?"

"Yes."

"Then what?"

"He wanted me and my wife to take care of her until social services could find a permanent home for her, but me and my wife decided we would adopt her."

"Did she tell you what she saw?"

"Objection," the defense attorney declared. "Hearsay."

"Sustained."

"When did you see the defendant again?"

"About a week later. I was taking my daughter and Amber home, and he attacked me at my car. If he hadn't had me against my car, I would have been on the ground when a friend, a cop, arrived. She told him to turn around, and when he wouldn't, she shot him in the arm."

"Did he say anything then?"

"That I should've learned to mind my own business. When Amber begged him to stop and told him I'd been taking care of her, he said, 'I'll show you taking care of you.'"

"Objection. Hearsay."

The judge looked tired already. "Strike that from the record."

"Your witness," the prosecutor told the defense counselor.

The attorney stood up and straightened his suit jacket. "Mr. Bowman, did you have any former animosity toward my client?"

"No. The first time I met him was when he assaulted me at the riding stable."

"What about when he told you he punished his family as he saw fit?"

"It angered me. But it didn't give me a reason to lie about anything."

"No reason to get antagonistic about anything, Mr. Bowman."

"I didn't-"

"Judge, will you demand the witness only answer when a question is directed at him?"

The judge rolled his eyes, but gave Gabriel a warning glance. The younger man nodded.

"I have no further questions."

"This court will take a twenty minute recess."

The tipstaff banged the gavel again, this time dismissing all in attendance at the trial.

*******

The prosecutor knelt in front of the witness stand so he was at eye level with Amber and spoke gently, "Miss Dennis, did your father ever hit you?"

"Objection!"

"Counselor, sit down," the judge ordered, his irritation growing. "The D.A. has already made clear that his questioning does have its purpose, so I'll let him continue." He turned to Amber. "You may answer the question."

"Yes, sir. He did."

"Tell me about it."

"Which time, sir?" There was no bitterness in her voice. It was a sincere question.

"How about the last time. When you met Mr. Bowman and Mr. Taylor for the first time."

She nodded her head. "My daddy had told me I wasn't allowed to go to the stable anymore. He thought I spent too much time there. But I still helped mama out at home. One day he was gone, and mama told me I could go. I'd only been there for a little bit when he showed up. He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the barn. He yelled at me for coming when he told me I couldn't. I tried explaining, but he hit me. When I told him mama said I could, he hit me again. Twice. He said to only obey what he said. That unless what she said went along with him, it didn't matter." Tears streamed down her face.

"What happened then?"

"Gabriel came running over and started talking to him. Then, my daddy grabbed his arm and twisted it around. Then, he hit him. He hit him a lot. I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't. Gabriel's son came running over, yelling at him to stop and that's when Danny hit him with his crutch. Danny called the police then handed his phone to me and told me to call my aunt to pick up me and my mama."

"So, you and your mom went to live with your aunt?"

"Yes, sir. Mama's face had patches on it and blood under her nose when we picked her up."

"Patches?"

Amber nodded her head. "He had hit her. Her face was bruised."

"What happened four months later?"

"Mama started missing him, and my baby brother was gonna come in another month. So she paid for him to get out of jail. He came to Aunt Sylvia's house. She told me to go over to the neighbor's and have them call the police. I went out to the yard, but hid behind a tree."

"What did you see?"

"Daddy came into the house. He started screaming at Aunt Sylvia. He waved his hands around in the air, and his voice kept getting louder. Aunt Sylvia shouted back. Then, mama came into the room. He turned on her. Yelled at her for betraying him. She looked like she was begging him forgiveness." She stopped.

"Go on, Miss Dennis. What happened next?"

She just shook her head. The district attorney looked at the judge. The older man's eyes looked sad. He didn't think this little girl should have to relive what she saw happen. But, he knew it was necessary to put this guy away for good. He leaned over toward Amber and said, so only the two of them could hear, "I know it's hard, but you have to tell the twelve people over there what happened. Then they can make the decision to put him away. So he can't hurt anyone anymore."

She nodded her head and swallowed past the lump in her throat. "He hit her. Slapped her. He always did that. He forgot I was around, but I always saw him doing it."

The defense attorney started to stand up, but the judge silenced him before he had a chance to speak. Then, he nodded at Amber to continue. "Please keep to what happened that day."

"Sorry, sir. My aunt grabbed his shoulder. Sh-she tried to stop him from hurting mama. He turned around, and she stumbled back. He shot her. I-I saw her f-fall to the fl-floor." She burst into tears again.

Renee watched with the rest of the crowd. She just wanted to grab Amber from the witness stand and take her out of the courtroom. She shouldn't have to go through this. She already had once.

The attorney waited a few minutes for her to calm down. Once the sobbing had subsided and only silent tears rolled down her cheeks, he asked, "What did he do then?"

"He turned around again and shot mama."

Everyone in the room could tell how hard she was trying to keep the tears from falling again. In a shuttering voice, she continued, "Then, he ye-yelled, 'Now, you can't go screwing around anymore, can you?'" This time she did break down in tears.

"Counselor, do you have any more questions?" The judge asked.

"A few, sir," he replied.

"We will take a five minute recess. When we return, you may finish your questioning."

Five minutes later everyone filed back into the courtroom. The D.A. stood in front of Amber. "You saw your father attack Gabriel Bowman a week ago, correct?"

"Objection, Your Honor. He is leading the witness."

"I'm sorry, Your Honor. I will rephrase. Miss Dennis, did you see your father attack Gabriel Bowman a week ago?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did he say anything to you during this time?"

"Yes, sir."

"What did he say?"

"I told him to stop hurting him. That he'd been taking care of me. He said 'I'll show you what taking care of you means when I'm through with him.'"

"Objection. Hearsay."

"It points to character," the D.A. countered. "If she felt threatened, there would have been a reason."

"I'll let it stand," the judge decided. "But don't keep pushing it."

"I have no further questions."

The defense attorney approached the witness stand. "Did you disobey your father when you went to the stable?"

She nodded her head. "Yes, sir. But my mama said I could go."

"Well, then, if you did what he told you not to, don't you think he had a right to punish you?"

"At the time I did. He had done it for less before. But then I stayed with Gabriel and saw that it wasn't the way every father acted. I learned that Daddy was wrong."

"Where were you the day your mother and aunt were killed?"

"I was hiding behind a tree."

"Well, then, how did you see what happened?"

"I looked around the tree."

"And how did you see into the house? Through a window higher than you are tall?"

"No, sir. There are sliding glass doors on that side of the house."

"And you are sure it was your father, my client, who shot them?"

She looked at her father, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Yes, sir. I saw my daddy shot them."

"I have no more questions for this witness, your honor."

"The prosecution may call their next witness."

"The prosecution calls Officer Tony Guerson to the stand."

Officer Guerson took the stand. "What did you find when you arrived at the crime scene a week ago?"

"The two bodies were in the living room. One was slumped against the wall. She had been shot through the chest. The other laid sprawled out on the floor. She had been shot twice. Once through the stomach and through the chest, like her sister."

"Did you find any prints or other evidence there to determine that the defendant was indeed the perpetrator of the crime?"

"Yes. His prints were on the door knob. The bullets matched a gun registered to him. We found a boot print matching his in the kitchen. And his prints were all over in there as well."

"So, you have no doubts that it could have been someone else?"

"None at all."

"I have no other questions."

The defense attorney stepped forward. "Officer Guerson, couldn't the defendant have been at the house at some previous time?"

"He could have. But the prints there were fresh and could have only been made within the last few hours. If it had been longer than that, someone else's would have covered them."

"Couldn't someone else have the same caliber of gun as him. Or even have stolen his?"

"It is possible," Guerson replied reluctantly.

"And someone could wear the same boot size and style as him, correct?"

"Yes. It is possible, but we also have his daughter's testimony to prove it was him."

"I have nothing else."

"Does the prosecution have any other witnesses?" The judge asked.

"No, your honor."

"We will hear the closing arguments in the morning then. This court is adjourned until ten o'clock tomorrow morning."

*******

"Men and women of the jury, you have seen the evidence put forth by the prosecutor, heard the testimony of the witnesses, and have heard the counselors' closing arguments. It is now up to you to weigh the evidence and decide on this man's guilt or innocence. If you have even a shadow of a doubt of his guilt, you must declare him not guilty. Since this is a murder trial, the decision must be unanimous. If the twelve of you cannot come to a complete agreement, it will be declared a hung jury. Is this understood?"

They all nodded their agreement and were ushered to another room where they would deliberate. Gabriel put his arm around Renee's shoulders, and they walked out of the room, the six kids around them.

"Do you think they'll convict him?" Renee asked.

"I'd be surprised if they didn't. Amber's testimony should be enough to."

Dakota and Jason were waiting outside the courthouse. "You sure you can take the kids?" Renee asked.

"Yes, Renee," Dakota replied with a smile. "It's not a problem. When do you think they'll be done deliberating?"

"We have no idea. Hope it's not long though."

Dakota nodded. "We'll be at the house. Just drop by when you find out."

"We will."

They didn't have to wait long to find out. Twenty minutes after they were sent out of the courtroom, the jurors returned with their verdict. The judge addressed the head juror, "Please read the verdict you have decided on."

"We, the jury, find the defendant, Laurence Dennis, on the charge of third-degree murder, guilty. On the charge of second-degree murder, we find the defendant guilty."

Renee and Gabriel turned to each other, and he threw his arms around her. The judge banged his gavel to quiet the courtroom. "Sentencing will be in one week."

The guards led Laurence Dennis up the aisle to take him out of the courtroom. As they came to the row where Gabriel and Renee sat, he jerked away from the guards' hold and lunged at Gabriel. He put his arms on either side of Gabriel's neck, using the handcuffs to choke him. Renee watched, frozen with fear, as her husband's breath came in shorter gasps, and his eyes widened as his air supply was cut off. Laurence brought his knee up into Gabriel's kidney, sending him to one knee. He took in long gasps of air when the handcuffs were removed from his throat. He felt fists connecting with his face and tried to get his hands up to protect himself. "I warned you to butt out," Laurence said. "But you wouldn't listen."

Gabriel saw the knife appear in the other man's hand. They had warned the guards about him. Hadn't they taken the threat seriously? He closed his eyes, waiting for the death blow to land. It never did. He opened his eyes again and saw the two guards dragging Laurence Dennis out of the courtroom. He sat up and slowly got to his feet.

"Are you all right?" Renee asked, hurrying to him.

He nodded his head, still not having all of his breath back.

"We should get out of here."

He nodded his head again. They left the courtroom.

*******

Renee walked into the house and saw Gabriel sitting in the living room. "Any word?" She asked, sinking onto the couch beside him.

"Sara just called," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her. "He got life without chance of parole. He's out of our lives now, Renee. Amber doesn't have to worry about him coming after her."

"That's wonderful. Have you told her yet?"

"No, haven't had a chance." He rested his head on her shoulder. "What did the doctor have to say?"

"He said there's a reason I haven't been feeling too great the past couple days. And an explanation for why my friend's quite a bit late."

"You're spending too much time around Ian, Renee," he said, nuzzling her neck. "Stop with the riddles."

She grinned at his gentle touch. "Gabe, I'm pregnant again."