Here is the next chapter. More trial here and it will be descriptive. Just a warning. Amber
Chapter 26
Carson asked her more questions. Then he got to the hard part. "Brooke, when was the third time you saw Mr. Garcia?"
"I was in the room they put me in. I had a shackle on my ankle that was chained to the bed which had been attached to the metal floor."
Carson Drew had Ned Nickerson put up a large picture. "Is this that room?"
Brooke sobbed. "Yes sir."
Ned handed Carson an evidence bag. "Is this the shackle that was used on you?"
Brooke took the bag. She had seen it before. Carson had prepped her. She nodded. "Yes sir this is the shackle."
"When did he come in?"
"I was sitting on the bed, I had just hit my panic button. He came in and pointed the gold plated gun at me."
Ned handed another evidence bag over to Carson. "Is this that gun?"
Brooke took the bag with shaking hands. She sobbed twice. "Yes...this is it."
She wiped her tears from her eyes. That is when Brooke smelled it. The handkerchief smelled like her dad. It soothed her. It was as if he was right beside her. She breathed it in. Her body stopped shaking. She didn't realize that Carson had stopped. She bit her lip embarrassed. "Sorry."
Carson Drew said soothingly. "You have nothing to apologize for. What did Juan do next."
"He reached under my skirt and touched my bare bottom. He said it was firm yet soft. Then he told me to face the wall. He used the gun to move a piece of hair from my face. I could feel the metal against my cheek."
Joe had managed to move behind Callie and Frank. He sucked in his breath. 'God she must have been terrified.' He listened in horror to the rest of her testimony.
Carson Drew asked. "What did he say?"
Brooke sniffed. "So pretty. I'm about to give you a demonstration of your expectations while you're here. A client will be here in forty minutes. You will pretend to have a good time, let him live out the fantasy he wants. If you don't. You'll be punished. I...I told him that I didn't want to. He said you don't have a choice. You're mine now bitch. Then I said to him that I would never be his. He yanked me by the hair and pushed me halfway on the bed. He slapped my bottom. I could see him unbutton his pants in the mirror in the bathroom. He said, ``This is why I do this. I can't have you blubbering all over the client." Tears coursed down her face. She let them fall. No handkerchief in the world was big enough to dry them. "That's when he pointed the gun at the back of my head and told me to put my feet apart. I had to...the gun. He got up against me and pushed his penis inside me. He started moving. I was crying and it hurt so bad."
Brooke looked up through her tears at her parents, grandfather, and uncle. Her parents were both in tears. Her grandfather was gripping the banister of the railing. Her uncle was soothing her parents by squeezing their shoulders. You could hear a pin drop in the courtroom.
Carson Drew asked quietly. "Did you see him again?"
"Yes after the first client. The client complained that I was whiny. He beat me with his belt then he pointed the gun at me and cocked it. He told me that I had to learn to enjoy it unless the client wants me to pretend I'm in pain. He made me have sex with him a second time."
"Who is Angel?" Carson asked.
"Angel was the one who prepped me. She was the one who took my leggings and underwear off and shackled me to the bed. When Juan was done that second time Angel came in. She told me to take a shower. She told me I was booked solid for the month. I asked about condoms. She said they only provide them if the client wants them but they don't usually bother. I said but what if I get pregnant. She told me that that was the goal. That they sell the babies through the adoption agency. She said the other three girls were with clients now. She threw a red negligee at me and told me to put it on for the next client. She said that he likes it rough that he would tear it from my body."
Frank was squeezing Callie's hand trying to anchor himself. He was about ready to go over the railing and kill Juan Garcia with his bare hands. Oh he wanted to! But his brother put both his hands on his shoulders and kept him in his seat. "No Frank." He murmured. "You'll get ejected and that will devastate your daughter. I know it's brutal to listen to."
Brutal how about torture! He focused on his breathing. Joe was right. He had to be here for Brooke. Juan would go to prison. They had found his semen inside her for gods sake.
Tears were streaming down Callie's face in rivers. She too had felt the tension and the personal battle for his emotions. She squeezed his hand.
Carson Drew pulled out another evidence bag. "Is this the nightie you wore?"
Brooke took the bag and peered through it. "Yes. This is it. The second client did tear it off me. He slapped me and told me to scream. He climbed on top of me and forced my legs apart and raped me. While he was raping me he put his hands around my throat. That's when my daddy came in. He said. "Get off my daughter. He started to reach for his gun but the other agent said to not even think about it that he would be dead before he reached it. I burst into tears and slid under the sheet. I was naked...I was naked."
"Your honor I have nothing further for this witness."
The judge nodded. "Very well, is the defense ready to cross?"
"Yes your honor. Miss Hardy isn't it true that you wanted to run away from home and begged Isaac to take you?"
"No." Brooke said.
"Your testimony was quite fascinating but my client swears he wasn't there."
Brooke narrowed her eyes. "Is there a question in there somewhere?"
Callie had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing aloud. 'That's my girl.'
"Yes do you have a boyfriend?"
Brooke said. "Yes."
"What's his name?"
Ned Nickerson stood up. "Objection your honor relevancy?"
"Sustained."
"Do you have sex with your boyfriend?"
"No."
"I find that hard to believe, you have kissed him yes?"
Carson Drew stood up. "You're honor objection, these questions aren't relevant to the case at hand."
The defense attorney argued. "Her sexual history is quite relevant."
"Overruled. I'll allow it."
Callie growled but knew that she would have allowed it too. She listened as Brooke answered. "Of course I have kissed him. I've hugged him. He's my boyfriend."
"Right what about other boys? Have you kissed other boys? Had sex with other boys?"
"NO. I haven't and if anyone has told you anything to the contrary they're lying. The only boy I have ever kissed is my boyfriend."
"So you say. But you're a teenager and young. I was young once."
Brooke had to say it. "Yes but you're a guy." A couple of the jurors chuckled.
"I was with my first girl at fourteen. It's pretty common. Your parents had you when they were eighteen yes."
Carson Drew stood up. "Objection."
"Sustained. The jury will disregard that last phrase."
Callie was pleased that Brooke was holding up. She was a little angry which was good. When a couple of the jurors had chuckled at her guy comment Callie knew that the jury belonged to her! That her testimony had impacted them. She looked over at them and saw a couple of them giving dirty looks to the defense attorney. She smirked. 'Yes keep pissing off your jury counselor!'
"Nothing further your honor."
Carson Drew stood up. "I'd like a redirect. Brooke was your experience with Juan Garcia the first time you had intercourse."
"Yes. I wouldn't have had it at all if he hadn't made me."
Carson nodded. "Thank you. Nothing further your honor."
Judge Douglas said. "You may step down."
Brooke's legs felt a little wobbly. But she managed to stay on her feet. She gave Juan one final glance. He made a gun gesture with his hand pulling his hand back as if he was shooting her.
Brooke paled and crashed to the floor in a dead faint.
