For the People Chapter 73

As she's arriving home, Kate notes a young man and a young woman leaving the loft. The smell of freshly brewed coffee hangs in the air, and the table is strewn with books and papers, with a few chocolate chip cookies remaining on a platter. Lily is kicking and babbling happily in her swing while her father loads two coffee mugs into the dishwasher. "What have you been up to?" Kate asks as Rick turns around grinning.

"Holding masterclass for the new generation. I was going over the work of the fledgling writers I told you about with them. Very promising, but I believe a few tips from a bestselling author will help their stories catch readers' imagination."

"And that bestselling author would be?"

"Me."

"The ever modest Richard Castle."

"You'd better watch it. You're sounding like my mother."

"If your mother hadn't punctured your balloon every so often, you might have flown off to Never Never Land. When we met, you had all the makings of Peter Pan."

"I wish! Being able to fly would have been so cool. But Peter was looking to escape responsibility by enlisting Wendy to do the mothering. If anyone was Peter Pan, it was Meredith. She made me her Wendy. Not that I regret one moment of taking care of Alexis any more than I do being here with Lily. But children do have a grounding effect. As do, to tell the truth, young writers. Those two came up with pop culture references I'd never heard of. When Alexis was around, I couldn't help picking up on whatever was topping the charts at that moment. But now I realize I may be stuck in previous decades. I don't know if that's humbling or frightening – maybe a little of both. At least when Lily's a little older she can goose my awareness of whatever obsessions are claiming the nation's youth. One of the precocious penners had a storyline involving the death of hip-hop. I barely knew it was alive. How about you?"

"Knew it. I heard it at the precinct, and some of the paralegals at work listen to it. But I'll still take my jazz. I haven't heard anything new that comes close to Coltrane."

"Nice to know you're as stuck in the past as I am, maybe more. We can grow old and crotchety together."

Kate wraps her arms around his waist. "That sounds strangely comforting."

"So you know about my day. What's your newest step on the road to justice?"

"Once I introduced Amelia's sworn testimony along with the statements from Jason Jordan's other victims, it took the grand jury about two seconds to indict him. So I'll be going to trial ASAP. I have to make sure his lawyer gets everything we have. The last thing I need is having the case thrown out on a discovery violation."

"Who's representing him?"

"Alan Wittenbros."

"That's the lawyer that represented Lazeroff, the slime that raped Espo's grandmother. You've beaten him before."

"And I'll do my best to beat him again, but that jury never liked Lazeroff. Jason Jordan knows how to come off as some clean-cut all-American kid. I'll have to show this jury just how filthy he is in graphic detail. And I'll have to do my best to keep Wittenbros from ripping into my witnesses. He'll do his damnedest to make it look like it was their fault, that they led Jason on. And my physical evidence shows that Jason had sex with one of them and that it was rough. It doesn't prove it wasn't consensual. He made sure to pick victims over 18, so there's no statutory angle. But I have one piece of evidence that should aim the jury in the right direction. And I think Wittenbros will have a hard time convincing the jury to ignore it. But you can never tell what they'll do until they come back with a verdict."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Not that I can think of, except knowing that I can concentrate because Lily's with you and in good hands."

"All parental bitching aside, taking care of our daughter is my greatest joy and honor. But don't ask me to repeat that, the next time she starts sounding off when I'm in the middle of writing the perfect paragraph."

Kate cups Rick's cheek. "I won't."


"Ms. Beckett would like you to believe that Jason Jordan is some kind of monster who pursued inexperienced, sheltered women and took advantage of them," Alan Wittenbros announces to the jury. "Jason will readily admit that his dates were sheltered and inexperienced. In fact, they were more than sheltered. They grew up in religiously restrictive environments that allowed no opportunity for the exploration that normally accompanies the teen years. Rather than wishing to exploit them, Jason gave them a chance to break out and have some fun. He took them to the movies. He bought them candy and popcorn. And then he offered them the kind of discovery that teenagers have. Jason didn't lure his dates to some den of iniquity. He invited them to the little park across from the theater, which many teens have used to enjoy each other for years. And Jason and his dates also enjoyed themselves. But years of indoctrination can't be thrown off in a few hours. Jason's dates felt guilty enough to convince themselves that their participation in forbidden activities had been unwilling. Anything they did outside the rules with which they'd been oppressively raised became Jason's fault. So here we are. You're looking at a defendant who wanted nothing more than to open the world to young women who'd been barred from it. Yet now he's standing accused of assault and rape. Jason is a decent, generous young man. But no good deed goes unpunished."

While maintaining a confident mask, Kate groans inwardly. Wittenbros essentially admitted that Jason did everything the evidence proves he did. He just put a completely fictional spin on it. Amelia, Naomi, and Tzippi are going to have to convince the jury just what BS Wittenbros is slinging. Kate looks up at Judge Bingham. Her eyes are hard, but her expression is passive. If Bingham is on the People's side, she'll do her best not to show it. Still, there's one piece of evidence that won't be as easy for Wittenbros to spin. It will give the jury only a fleeting look into the reality of what Amelia was feeling. But hopefully, it will give a lie to Wittenbros' version of events.

Turning away from the jury, Wittenbros shoots Kate a look of triumph. "Ms. Beckett, are the People ready to proceed?" Bingham asks as the defense attorney takes his seat.

"We are, Your Honor. Call Naomi Jacobs."


"So you called Naomi first instead of Amelia?" Rick inquires. "Why?"

"Because the best chance I have of convincing the jury lies with evidence connected to Amelia. I set things up with Naomi. Next, I'll call Tzippi and introduce the clothes with the semen and Jason's blood. The blood will show the jury that she fought back. Then I'll finish with Amelia and the evidence connected to her."

"What is it?" Rick asks.

"Just some video footage. But you'd have to see it to understand. I'll need it to hit the jury right in the gut."

"The whole story hit me in the gut, with no video required."

"Yeah, but you didn't have Wittenbros turning everything upside down and backward. And trust me, Babe. He's very good at it. If I don't present my case exactly right, Jason Jordan could walk."

"You'll present it just fine," Rick declares. "You always do."