Author's note: Sorry, sorry, sorry. It's been over 2 months since I lasted posted on this story. I'm on a bit of a roll now, writing wise anyway. It helps to have upcoming chapters plotted out in great detail. Plus I'm suffering from a severe case of Scorpion withdrawal and writing is helping to ease the symptoms. Thank you all for your patience and your encouraging reviews.
PS: I've only ever attended one trial and I was there as a juror. Most of my knowledge (or lack thereof) comes from watching TV shows and movies. Any and all errors are mine.
CHAPTER SIX
"Paige Dineen."
The sound of the bailiff's voice jolted her from her drowsy thoughts. Under the table, Walter's hand squeezed hers, and she glanced up to see the worry in his dark eyes. Getting to her feet, she didn't know if the fluttering in her stomach was from nervous butterflies or the baby kicking or perhaps a little of both.
Walter stood up as well, unexpectedly enveloping her in his arms. She melted into him, drawing on his strength, sending him hers. He didn't say anything, probably couldn't say anything. Standing there, in his embrace, she'd never felt safer.
"Sir, please step away," the bailiff said as he placed his hand on the holster hanging from his belt.
"I have to go," she told Walter as she pulled away. "I'll be all right." He looked as unconvinced as she felt as he sat back down in his chair.
With one last glance over her shoulder, Paige reluctantly followed the bailiff from the room. She could have sworn her feet had been encased in concrete blocks, each footstep heavier than the last as she was led to a bench just outside the courtroom.
"If you'll wait here until they're ready for you, ma'am."
It seemed like she'd barely been seated when the door next to her opened and she hear her name being called again. She grew queasy as she walked down the aisle to the witness stand, sensing everyone's eyes were trained on her. She protectively covered her stomach as a cramp rippled through her.
It's just nerves. Just relax. Just breathe. It's just nerves. Repeating that lie got her to the front of the courtroom where another bailiff ushered her to the enclosed box next to the judge. In less than two minutes, she was sworn in and seated.
Ms Lee rose from her chair and in an agonizingly slow walk, made her way to stand in front of Paige. "Ms Dineen, in your own words, can you tell the court of the events of January 28th, 2016?" she said in a tone Paige deemed as being a little too melodramatic.
Paige started to nod her head, then remembered the attorney's admonishment to speak her answers out loud. "Yes," she began, disliking the quiver in her voice. "I-I received a phone call from Walter. . .uh, Walter O'Brien"
She went on to describe arriving at Wildecliff Manor, meeting the President, the militia members taking them hostage, how they were going to kill her and Walter if the government didn't meet their demands. Closing her eyes, Paige exhaled slowly. The easy part of her testimony was over.
"And are any of these alleged kidnappers in the courtroom today?" asked Ms Lee.
"Yes." Paige pointed at the group of five people sitting at the defense table. "The man in the center, the man to his left, and the woman." Mary Jo, the woman who had been kind to them. . . The woman she was supposed to help put behind bars.
"Let the record show the witness has identified Larry Talbot, Donald Brady, and Mary Jo Stein." Ms Lee turned to Paige again. "Please continue."
"Uh, they left us alone for several hours, and then brought us some food." Paige took a deep breath. "That's. . .That's when we learned there was a camera in the light bulb. After they left. . .Wal. . .Mr O'Brien tore it out of the ceiling and then. . .and then. . .they came back and. . ."
"And what, Ms Dineen?" the prosecuting attorney prompted.
"They. . .They beat him. Two men. Then. . .Then. . ." She glanced over to the row of defendants, staring into the eyes of the man who'd broken Walter's ribs and left him to die. "Then another man came and. . .and punched Mr O'Brien twice. Then he threatened to r-rape me then kill me while. . .while Walter watched."
"And can you identify the men who assaulted Mr O'Brien?" Ms Lee's question drew her away from the distressful images which had been haunting her nightmares for months.
"Yes." Once again she pointed out two of the men.
"Let the record show the witness has identified defendants Derek Kilkenny and Brian Gray." Once again, the attorney urged Paige to go on.
As much detachment as she could muster (although underneath her calm, nausea swirled in her gut), she recounted how two of the militia men had held a knife to her throat and attempted to rape her. She saw Ms Lee frown at her, knew she was reciting the facts as if she was reading them from a list. One of the many 'don'ts' on the attorney's list. But she didn't care. She understood now why Walter often found comfort in reeling off facts and figures. She would have been a blubbering mess otherwise.
She was instructed to indicate the two men, which she did as swiftly as possible, avoiding any eye contact. Larry Talbot and Brian Gray were announced as her attackers.
"Thank you, Ms Dineen. That's all the questions. . ."
Paige cut in to Ms Lee's dismissal. "Wait, I want to say something. . ." she began defiantly. She'd butted heads with Attila the Attorney during their pre-trial meeting about speaking on Mary Jo's behalf. The other woman had risked herself, was risking herself for her and Walter. Paige believed she deserved some leniency. Ms Lee did not.
"That's all the questions I have for now, Your Honor," said the attorney to the judge through gritted teeth. "I reserve the right to redirect."
The defense attorney then approached Paige. "I see congratulations are in order, Ms Dineen," he said with a smirk. "When are you due?"
"Objection. Irrelevant."
"I beg to differ, Your Honor. Ms Dineen's pregnancy is relevant to this case."
The judge overruled Ms Lee and the other attorney repeated the question. "October 20th," Paige replied.
"So you became pregnant about. . . Correct me if my math is wrong. . . A little over seven months ago?"
"Yes."
"Isn't that how long it's been since you were allegedly taken hostage?"
"Yes." Paige squirmed in her seat as the baby tap danced on her bladder.
"And do you know who the father of your child is, Ms Dineen?
"Objection." Ms Lee raised her hand again. "May I remind the court that Ms Dineen's sexual history is not on trial here today."
"Your Honor, if I'm allowed to pursue this line of questioning," said defense attorney "you'll find it is an extremely relevant part of my clients' defense."
"I'll allow it, Mr McKenzie," said the judge with a nod. "For now. You may continue."
The attorney turned and leered at Paige again, turning her already roiling stomach. "Do you know who the father. . ."
"Yes," she interrupted. "It's Walter. . .Mr O'Brien."
"Are you sure?" The slimy lawyer strutted over in front of the jury. "A man was seen leaving your apartment the morning you were allegedly taken hostage. Several hours later, another man appeared and you left with him."
"That was Walter," she said. "I mean, Mr O'Brien."
"Which one?"
"The one who came to pick me up."
"And the man who stayed over night?"
"He's my ex. . .boyfriend, Drew Baker. He's the. . .the father of my son. . .Ralph. He was in town. . . He's a baseball scout, and he came to town to check out some prospects and spend time with. . .Ralph. . ." She let her words drift off as she caught a glimpse of Ms Lee's frown and slight head shake. A signal she was imparting too much information.
The defense attorney smiled smugly. "I see. So he was strictly there to see his son, not you. You didn't sleep with him?"
"No!" Shaking with outrage, she added, "Of course not. He was just there for Ralph."
"And Mr O'Brien, did he know about your ex-boyfriend's visit?"
"Objection!" This time, the prosecuting attorney got to her feet. "What Mr O'Brien knew or didn't know in this situation is the very definition of irrelevant."
"Sustained." The judge glanced pointedly at the defense attorney. "You need to keep to the pertinent facts."
"Sorry, Your Honor." McKenzie walked back over to stand in front of Paige. "Why did Mr O'Brien pick you up that day, Ms Dineen."
"We're government contractors for the Department of Homeland Security,"she said. "We had a case."
"A case? What kind of case?"
"We were only told it was a Wi-Fi issue at Wildecliff Manor," Paige replied, biting her lip as that day's events swirled around inside her head.
"And what was your part in this case? Are you an IT expert?"
"No. I'm the company liaison. I was there to, ah, assist Walt. . .Mr O'Brien."
"And Mr O'Brien is your boss? You work for his company?"
"For Scorpion, yes."
"But it's his company? He's your boss?"
"Yes."
"Did you have sex with him on the day in question?"
"Objection, Your Honor!" Ms Lee looked angry enough to breath fire. "This is. . ."
"A totally relevant question." With a pound of his gavel, the judge addressed Paige. "Answer the question, Ms Dineen."
"Yes." She dug her teeth into her lip to keep from gasping out loud as a contraction rippled through her and whispers rippled through the courtroom. It's just false labor. It's just stress. She had a pretty good idea where this line of questioning was going and she didn't like it.
"Where you and Mr O'Brien in a relationship?"
"We are now," she said defiantly.
"But you weren't then?"
"No, not really. We were friends slash professional colleagues."
"Did Mr O'Brien, as your employer, coerce you or force you into having sexual relations with him?"
"What?" Paige sat in stunned disbelief. He thought Walter raped her? That was so far from the truth, it would have been laughable if the situation wasn't so serious. If anything, she was the one who had gotten the ball rolling. Walter had been the one who'd hesitated. "No," she managed to choke out. "It was mutual."
"So you consented to have sex with him?"
"Yes." Warmth spread over her face as she remember how wonderful it had been between them. She glanced down at her bulging stomach, unconsciously stroking it as their son wiggled about inside.
"Did you also consent to have sex with the defendants?"
Whipping her head up, she stared at the lawyer. "No," she snapped indignantly.
"That's not true, is it?" the defense attorney drawled. "You agreed to have intercourse with both of them."
"They were. . .they were holding a knife to my throat and threatening to. . .to kill Walter if I. . .I wouldn't let them. . ." A spasm tightened her abdomen and her vision became blurry. Oh, God. . .
"Allegedly."
"Allegedly what?" Paige glanced up at her tormentor, who look like a cat who just ate a canary.
"They were allegedly holding a knife to your throat and allegedly threatening to kill Mr O'Brien."
"This is what their alleged knife did to me," she shouted furiously, pointing at the scar on her jaw as her stomach convulsed. "They were going to kill Walter if I didn't. . ." A sob tore through her.
The judge banged his gavel. "Ms Dineen, you need to calm down or you'll be removed from the courtroom."
Shaking from both fear and anger, Paige took the tissue offered to her by a nearby bailiff. Oh God, she needed Walter. Just to hold him in her arms, to feel safe and sane again. But he was still sequestered with the other witnesses, she wouldn't see him again until after his own testimony.
Mr McKenzie approached the witness stand, his hands on the lapel of his jacket. "Let me ask you again, Ms Dineen. Did you consent to have sex with Mr Talbot and Mr Gray?"
She tried to dry her tears, attempting to buy time to compose herself. "Ms Dineen, you need to answer the defense's question," urged the judge. "And just a reminder, the penalty for perjury in federal court can be a fine plus up to five years in prison."
Closing her eyes, she didn't even want to think of having her baby in prison. . . or even going to prison in the first place.
"I'll ask again, Ms Dineen. Did you agree to have sex with the defendants?"
She nodded, unable to get the words past the huge lump lodged in her throat. "Speak up, Ms Dineen," admonished the judge.
"Yes," she whispered. Another contraction flickered through her as she hung her head.
"No further questions, Your Honor." McKenzie walked back to his chair, a smug smile on his face.
"Your Honor, I would like to redirect." Ms Lee got to her feet, angrier than Paige had ever seen her before. Which was understandable, considering the bombshell that had just been dropped on the other woman. The judge nodded, and the attorney approached Paige.
"Ms Dineen," she said through gritted teeth. "When you gave your alleged consent, a knife was allegedly being held to your throat?"
"Yes."
"And the defendants allegedly threatened to kill Mr O'Brien?"
"Yes. One of them punched him when I. . .when I didn't agree right away."
"So you would say you were under duress at the time you allegedly gave your consent?"
Paige sniffed as another tear rolled down her cheek. "Yes, I was protecting Wal. . .Mr O'Brien."
"No further questions, Your Honor." Ms Lee glared at the defense as she went back to her table.
The judge cleared his throat. "You may step down now, Ms Dineen."
She awkwardly stood up, a bailiff giving her a hand. "I need to go to the bathroom," she whispered to the woman.
"This way." The bailiff led her out of the courtroom the same way she'd entered.
"Paige." She lifted her head to see Walter rising to his feet. His eyes swept over her before darkening with a mixture of concern and fury.
"Walter." They lunged toward each other, heedless of all the warnings of no contact until they'd both testified. A sharp tug on her arm nearly spun her around and she could see he was being similarly detained.
"Paige! Are you okay?" he asked, his voice rough with emotion. She tried to nod but he was struggling with the bailiff dragging him into the courtroom. He shouted her name one last time before disappearing behind the closing door.
Oh, God. A contraction ripped through her, strong enough to make her cry out.
"Are you all right, ma'am?" asked the bailiff who'd escorted her to the hallway.
"I just need to go to the bathroom," she lied, repeating her earlier request.
The woman pointed down the corridor. "First door on your left." She eyed Paige warily. "Let me know if you need anything."
Paige gave a short laugh despite the tears running down her face. She doubted they'd let her have what she needed at the moment. Because what she really needed was Walter.