Chapter 5:
Oakdale Municipal Court, day after opening arguments—10:30 am.
It was the first full day of testimony in the Doc Reese rape trial. Opening arguments by both sides took up the morning. Testimony by the victim, Cami Gaborik, took up the afternoon and for the first two hours of court this morning. Tom was in charge of the prosecution and the trial has gone smoothly so far. The only technicality was that Margo turned the investigation over to Jack because of having been a rape victim herself. The technicality had Jack on the stand for the remainder of the morning.
Tom had been informed before court began this morning that Dr. Samuels was going to have to postpone her testimony until the next day because of a patient going into labor that morning. As a result of that development, Tom calls Jill to the stand.
"Will you please state your name for the record?" Tom asks Jill right after she's sworn in.
"Jill Ann Elise Anders" Jill replies.
"What is your connection to Doc Reese and the Oakdale Country Club?" Tom asks.
"I used to work as a waitress and hostess at the Oakdale Country Club. Occasionally, I would be asked to show high profile guests around the grounds and be assigned to take care of their accounts. That is how I met Doc Reese." Jill states.
"So, you used to work at the Oakdale Country Club, correct?" Tom asks, as he walks toward the witness stand.
"Yes, I used to work for OCC. I was fired shortly after Mrs. Gaborik was raped in the women's locker room." Jill replies.
"Why were you fired?" Tom asks.
"I was fired because stolen property belonging to OCC members was found in my locker and they had suspected I had stolen money from the safe and the cash register." Jill replies, quietly.
"Were you charged with possession of stolen property or theft?" Tom asks.
"Objection. This is not relevant to my client's case." Kent Wylers, Doc's attorney, states standing up.
"Your honor, I am trying to establish a connection between the witness and the defendant." Tom interjects.
"Overruled. The prosecution has a right to establish the connection. Miss Anders, please answer the question." Judge O'Reilly instructs.
"I was charged with possession of stolen property and burglary." Jill replies.
"Where did you get the stolen property?" Tom asks.
"The defendant gave it to me after having come out of the women's locker room and asked me to hang on to it." Jill states, wiping her hands on her pants as they become sweaty.
"What did the defendant give you?" Tom asks.
"Mr. Reese gave me Mrs. Gaborik's wedding ring, bracelet, and wallet. He said that he needed me to hang on to them for safe keeping, and then headed towards the men's locker room. I went to the employee's locker room and put the items in my bag—which was in my locker." Jill states.
"Did you see anybody come out of the women's locker room after the defendant?" Tom asks.
"Yes, I saw Cami Gaborik kind of stumbling out. She looked like she had been beaten up and she had asked for someone to call police." Jill states.
"Was that before or after you went to the employee's locker room?" Tom asks.
"That was right before." Jill answers.
"Do you know who called for help?" Tom asks.
"No, I don't. I did see Mandi and Cara rush over to Mrs. Gaborik." Jill states.
"Back to the theft and stolen property, did Doc ever say anything to you about stealing money or property?" Tom asks.
"We had talked about it one afternoon, about a couple of weeks before Mrs. Gaborik was raped. He had just been fired from his job as the sports anchor at WOAK. Doc had said something to me how he needed money and that he wanted to stick around in Oakdale, but the job prospects were pretty much nothing at that point. I had mentioned to him that I could try to get him a job at the OCC. In addition to that, we had talked about different ways for him to get some quick money and that is when we talked about me trying to take money out of the safe and the cash registers, when I had the opportunity—like at closing time. Stealing property, I didn't know anything about that." Jill informs the court.
"What kind of job?" Tom asks.
"I was able to convince Erica Langdon, the manager, to hire Mr. Reece as a tennis instructor." Jill replies.
"What about the charges that you are currently facing, Miss Anders? What is the status of your case?" Tom asks, walking back towards the prosecutor's table.
"I agreed to a plea bargain in exchange to testify against Mr. Reece. I pled guilty to one count of burglary and to one count of possession of stolen property. In exchange for my testimony, the accessory to rape charge was dropped." Jill states.
"Did Doc ever say anything to you about why he wanted to stay in Oakdale?" Tom asks.
"Yes, he did. Mr. Reese told me that there was a woman that he had seen around town that caught his eye. Mr. Reese really took a quick liking to her and I had actually seen them sitting down and talking a couple of times." Jill replies.
"Do you know of any other instances in which Mr. Reese might have tried to force himself on another woman?" Tom asks.
"Yes, I do, as a matter of fact. It's an incident that took place about a week before Mrs. Gaborik was raped, and it also took place in the women's locker room." Jill replies, quietly.
"Objection. Nothing's been reported of this incident. It should be considered pure speculation at this point." Mr. Wylers states.
"Your Honor, if the witness knows of another incident, then testimony should be allowed to prove that the defendant has tried once before to rape another woman." Tom says, standing up.
"I will allow the testimony to continue. Miss Anders, please continue." Judge O'Reilly says, looking over at Jill.
"I was working at the bar when a member's husband had walked up, looking for his wife. I had told the man that his wife had just gone into the locker room. He asked me if she had a tab open at all. I informed him that his wife had ordered something before her tennis match and that it hadn't been closed out. He paid the tab, then asked me to go let his wife know that he was here looking for her. I walked into the women's locker room. I heard some commotion, so I didn't go all the way in. I heard the woman tell Doc that this has to stop; she can't go on with this. She went on to tell him that she's married, she has a family and she can't go any further. That's when I saw Doc try to undo the woman's shirt. The woman kept telling him to stop. Doc said to her "Come on baby, you know you want this. Don't deny me this chance to be with you. You know I will rock your world." The woman pushed him away, telling him that she is absolutely not interested and to leave her alone. That is when I saw Doc forcibly grab her and push her up against the wall. After I saw that, I walked in to let the woman know her husband was here looking for her. As I was proceeding to walk out of the locker room, Doc caught up with me and told me I didn't see what just happened." Jill states.
"Why didn't you report this incident to your manager or anybody?" Tom asks.
"Like I just said, Doc caught up with me after I was walking out of the locker room and told me that I didn't see what just happened. He told me that she wanted him and she was denying it. Doc also told me that if I told anybody what happened in the locker room that he was going to report me for the thefts." Jill says.
"So, you ignored the incident—like it never happened?" Tom asks.
"I didn't report it to anybody, if that is what you mean. In addition, after closing for the night, I went into the office and went through the surveillance tape from the women's locker room. After I saw that the incident between Doc and the woman was on that tape, I took it. I actually have it right here." Jill states to the court as she pulls the video tape from her purse and hands it to Tom.
"Do you know who the woman is that Doc tried forcing himself onto?" Tom asks as he takes the tape from Jill.
"Yes, I do. You know her pretty well yourself." Jill states.
"Who is it?" Tom asks as he gives her a puzzled look.
"The woman that Doc was trying to force himself on in the locker room as I walked in was your wife, Margo Hughes." Jill states.
Tom stands there for a second, not believing what he had just heard.
"What you're trying to tell me is that Doc Reese tried forcing himself on my wife?" Tom asks, with an anger tone in his voice.
"Yes." Jill states quietly. "Doc told me that if I make up some lie—like I saw her making out with him, that he'll have even a better shot of hooking up with her. Doc said that you hated him because he was flirting too much and constantly trying to hit on Margo—that if I told you that I saw her all over Doc that you would probably get mad enough and walk out on her. He said that is what he wanted to stay around in Oakdale for. There's more to this, too."
"Go on, Miss Anders." Judge O'Reilly instructs her.
"Shortly after I was fired from the Oakdale Country Club, Erica went and filed a police report against me after the items taken from Mrs. Gaborik had been found in my locker and that I was caught on surveillance tape stealing money from the cash register—which led to the charges being filed. I was brought in to be questioned and your wife turned out to be the investigating officer."
"Objection. This has nothing to do with my client or his case." Mr. Wylers states.
"Your Honor, I would like to hear what she has to say because of my wife. If it has to be off the record, so be it." Tom interjects.
"The witness will proceed. Miss Hankinson, this will be off the record." Judge O'Reilly states.
"Margo—Detective Hughes, I should say, questioned me about Mrs. Gaborik's belongings that were in my bag and about the money I stole out of the cash registers. After she was finished and waiting for a uniform officer to bring me down to a holding cell, she told me that she had a few words for me." Jill says, looking down at her hands. "Detective Hughes told me that I better be telling the truth about the stolen property and the money because she knows of another incident in which I lied about. She told me that what I had told you about me seeing her kissing Doc and being all over him was an absolute lie. She then told me that because of my lies, her family is basically destroyed—that you and your son moved out. She told me that her son told her that he doesn't want anything to do with her and that because of me and my lies, your marriage is basically over. Detective Hughes then told me that because of my lies and how my lies destroyed her marriage and her family, that you don't know that she's pregnant and she doesn't know if she would ever be able to tell you."
"What did you just say?" Tom asks, not sure about what he had just heard.
"What are you referring to?" Jill asks.
"Did I just hear you say that Detective Hughes is pregnant?" Tom asks as he walks over to the witness stand.
"Yes, I just said that she told me that she's pregnant with your child." Jill states loud enough for Tom to hear her correctly.
Tom walks back over to the prosecutor's table, in shock over what he had just heard.
"Your Honor, I would like to ask the court to be adjourned until tomorrow morning, so that my office and the Oakdale Police Department has enough time to view this tape that the witness just gave me." Tom implies, trying to control his emotions.
"I will honor that request. Do you know if Dr. Samuels will be able to give her testimony tomorrow?" Judge O'Reilly asks.
"I received a message from her just after lunch stating that she will be available to testify tomorrow morning." Tyler Ramsey, Oakdale Assistant D.A., says to the judge standing up.
"Court is adjourned until 9:30 tomorrow morning." Judge O'Reilly says, raising the gavel.
"All rise, court is adjourned." The bailiff states as everyone in the court room stands up.
After Judge O'Reilly leaves the bench, Tom sits down and puts his head in his hands.
"Are you okay there, Tom?" Tyler asks.
"No, I am not. I now just find out that Margo was telling the truth all along. I can't believe this is happening. I left my wife because I believed someone else's lies over what my own wife was saying. Now, not only do I find out my wife was telling the truth about what happened, she's pregnant and she couldn't tell me. I have to go." Tom says as he stands up.
"What are going to do—go find Margo?" Tyler asks.
"I don't know. Casey said that when he tried calling her cell phone the other day when he broke his hand and finger that he got a recording that her cell phone was temporarily shut off. I tried calling her desk at the station yesterday and the greeting said that she was going to be away for some time and she's not going to be checking messages. I called her last week after seeing her for the first time in two months and all I got was the answering machine. I do need to talk with Casey about this. I can't take off right now if Margo's not in town because of the trial and Casey has an appointment with a hand specialist tomorrow afternoon to see if he needs surgery. On top of that, my brother's wedding is next weekend. I don't know what I am going to do, Tyler, I just don't know." Tom says.
"First of all, go talk to Casey. If you want me too, I can question Dr. Samuels when she testifies tomorrow—if that will make things easier on you. You might also need some time to get over the shock about what you just heard in court today." Tyler says.
"Thanks. I'll let you know in the morning. I need to go talk to Casey." Tom says as he grabs his briefcase and walks out of the court room.
As Tom is walking back to his office, alone, he grabs his cell phone out of his pocket and dials Casey's phone—getting the voice mail.
"Hey Case, it's Dad. Listen, I need to talk to you about something and it's about your mom. I would really like to talk to you about this in person. Please call me back and let me know when you're going to be back at the suite." Tom says, and then hangs up the phone.
Tom walks into the Oakdale District's Attorney's office. As he walks back towards where his office is, he sees his long-time secretary, Annette, getting ready to head home for the day.
"Tom, this came for you while you were in court this afternoon. I'll see you in the morning. Lt. Munson also came by looking for you. He said that it was regarding the Kramers investigation. Good night." Annette says as she puts on her suit jacket.
"Thanks, Annette. I'll try giving Lt. Munson a call during recess tomorrow." Tom says as he takes the envelope from Annette. "Good night."
Tom walks into his office and tosses his brief case into one of the chairs, then sits down behind his desk. He opens the envelope and finds the separation papers that he had Margo served with—signed. He finds another piece of paper with her wedding ring taped to it. He opens it up and finds this note from Margo:
"Tom,
I remember the day I got this ring back after the rape. You told me you bought this ring to serve as a constant reminder of how much I mean to you. I also remember the night that we renewed our wedding vows when you put this ring back on my finger, telling me that you couldn't stand to see this ring not on where it belonged.
However, this ring also serves as a painful reminder of what we had and of you walking out. I now realize that you and Casey have no intentions on ever coming back, that you don't want anything to do with me ever again. It is going to take some time for me to accept that our marriage is over—that you believe there is no chance in trying to save it and possibly move on from this.
I thought it would be best to return this ring to you since it doesn't symbolize anything to me or us anymore.
I signed the separation papers because it's what you wanted.
Margo."
Tom unfolds the separation papers and finds that Margo did sign them.
"She's out there—alone and pregnant—and she believes our marriage is over. I can't believe I was so naïve to believe Jill over my own wife." Tom thinks to himself as he puts his head in his hands, the tears starting to form in his eyes.
The phone rings at his desk.
"Tom Hughes" Tom says as he answers the phone.
"Hey son, where are you? Kim and I have Daniel and Casey over here at our house. Casey was at Daniel's soccer practice and told him about having dinner with us tonight, so Emily saved you a trip and gave them a ride over here." Bob says.
"Hi, Dad. Sorry about that. I just got out of court. I do have something I need to talk to you about and it's about Margo. I don't want to get into it on the phone." Tom says.
"Why don't you come over here, have some dinner, see your boys. We can talk. It doesn't sound too good." Bob implies.
"No, Dad. It's not. I am leaving here right now, and I will be over in a few minutes." Tom says and then hangs up.
Tom puts the ring and the note in his inside jacket pocket and the separation papers in his briefcase. "I am not going to file these." He says to himself as he grabs his briefcase, then walks out the door.