Okay so...I rewrote this chapter like five thousand times...I hope it makes sense...
Also thanks for all the encouraging reviews! ;D
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Chapter 14
Mr. Johnson walked up to the stand, his frightening eyes burning into his daughter's, causing a shiver of fret to run through her body.
"Mr. Johnson, could you please explain to me what kind of a father you were to Maureen." Joanne asked him.
Mr. Johnson nodded his hands folding in his lap. "I'd like to think of myself as a caring father. One who was always there for my daughter when ever she needed me."
"What would you guys do on a typical day alone together?"
"We would watch TV together…since I didn't have a boy I would teach her how to play catch, watch her play with her toys." Mr. Johnson explained like it was an everyday task. "But I was never really alone with her…her mother was always around us…so even if I did try to abuse her, which I didn't! Nancy would have caught me. I was at work most of the time to really have any alone time with Maureen. I had a hard job…I worked all day, and then came home and went right to bed."
Joanne smirked; she didn't want to think it, but she could see where Maureen got her ability to manipulate.
"Where did you work, and how long did you work there for?"
"It was a factory it wasn't the best job but it paid the bills. I started right after high school, until they let me go."
"How old was Maureen when you became unemployed?"
"It was sometime after they took her away from me…so twelve I would imagine."
Joanne walked back over to her desk and grabbed some papers; she then walked back over to the judge handing the papers to him. "These paper's say you were unemployed earlier than that, telling me that Maureen was nine when you lost your job, and there is no other record telling me that you had another job…therefore you were jobless from the time Maureen say's she was abused correct?"
"How did you get those records?" Mr. Johnson asked with anger.
"Answer the question Mr. Johnson…were you or were you not employed during the years Maureen claims to be abused?" Joanne asked more firmly.
"So what if I didn't have a job during that time!" Mr. Johnson snapped. "It still doesn't prove anything."
"So with Mrs. Johnson at work during the day…and sometimes at night since she was an on call nurse, that left you with plenty of time to be alone with Maureen correct?" Joanne asked.
"Yes…well sometimes alone." Mr. Johnson said, his forehead beginning to form sweat. "She would have friends over…I would have friends over…we weren't entirely alone."
"What would you and your friends do when you had them over?" Joanne asked.
"Drink a few beers…watch some football games." Mr. Johnson replied. "And Maureen would play quietly in her room…"
"I also found some police records, stating that you had to be locked up in the drunk tank a couple times for misconduct in some bars. Is it true you would get into fights while you were intoxicated?"
"A few here and there…" Mr. Johnson said. "Nothing bad…"
"So maybe while you were drinking beers with your buddies the alcohol got to you, causing you to want to maybe start a fight, so you would go into Maureen's room and take it out on her?"
"Never!" Mr. Johnson said. "Listen I would never lay a hand on my daughter. Sure I've been in a couple of bar fights…but what man hasn't? There is no way I would hurt my daughter…"
"Alcohol also tends to sometimes make a person let's say…a little more friskier than normal. Would you maybe make a late night stop into Maureen's room while your wife was working late? Maybe you were a little lonely…needed to take it out on the first girl your eyes landed on?"
"Listen I told you…I wouldn't lay a hand on my daughter…" Mr. Johnson said nervously, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead.
"Did your wife work late a lot?"
"We needed the money…"
"So you were maybe a little lonely at night?" Joanne asked, her eyes burrowing into him, "Looking for a little love…" she said in a dark voice, her eyebrows knitting together. Mr. Johnson stayed quiet, his legs shaking, he wasn't prepared for this interrogation, there were too many questions, so he finally snapped and let go, bringing a whole knew person out in front of everyone.
"She was my daughter!" Mr. Johnson yelled cracking under the pressure. "I was allowed to do anything I wanted with her!" His eyes then burned into Joanne's. "Did you know she was an accident? I didn't want her, we weren't ready!" He yelled. "Even when I did feel ready I wanted a boy."
The entire room gasped, including Mr. James, but Joanne stayed focused and continued her questioning.
"So because you weren't ready for Maureen…and because she wasn't a boy…you felt it necessary to abuse her?" Joanne asked harshly.
"She ruined everything!" Mr. Johnson shouted. "If we didn't have her, we would be living the dream life! I wanted to give her up for adoption, but no Nancy loved her and wanted to keep her. Then when I lost my job I finally snapped. Every night when I would walk by Maureen's room anger would run through my body…she was the reason why I couldn't go to school…she was the reason I had to work in that miserable factory! So I gave her what she deserved! I beat her!"
"What about the sexual abuse?" Joanne asked.
Mr. Johnson's lips curved into an evil smile, his dark eyes landing on Maureen. "She was a beautiful girl."
"A ten year old girl!" Joanne yelled the palm of her hands slamming on the stand.
"Order!" The judge called out while banging his gavel on the desk.
Joanne didn't realize how upset she became, until she felt a guard pulling her back by her arms, stopping her from jumping over the stand to attack Mr. Johnson.
"And the attempt to rape her in the alley?" The judge asked, seeing as how Joanne was to livid to ask anymore questions.
Mr. Johnson nodded with a sinful smirk. "She was taken away from me before she could learn her lesson of exactly how she made my life miserable, plus look at what puberty has done to her…I wanted to feel that again…"
The judge nodded and slammed the gavel down once again. "There will be no jury verdict as I find Mr. Johnson guilty, facing time in jail for abusing, and sexual abusing a child. There will also be time added for attempted rape. The guards can take this man away, case dismissed!"
Once Joanne was calmed, she ran over to Maureen, pulling the tear stained brunette into a hug. "Are you okay?"
Maureen nodded her face hiding on Joanne's shoulder. "Thank you."
Joanne just held her close, while the other boho's gathered around them.
"You kicked ass out there Jo!" Collins said proudly. "That sick asshole deserves life in prison!"
"Major!" Roger added while slapping a hand on Joanne's back.
"Thanks guys." Joanne smirked.
"Maureen?" Mrs. Johnson called out.
Maureen slowly pulled away from Joanne and turned around. She then walked away from her happy friends so she could talk privately with her mom.
"So he's behind bars now…" Mrs. Johnson softly said.
"Yup." Maureen nodded. "So I was an accident?"
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you…Maureen…"
"But you still loved me?" Maureen asked tears still trickling down her face.
"More than anything." Nancy softly responded.
Maureen stood there for a few moments, she was still upset, but she was too tired to waste it on her mom, so she wrapped her arms around her. "Thanks."
"For?"
"Coming here, and helping me." Maureen said once she pulled away. "I'm deciding to get over it. I mean I already lost one parent…I don't want to lose another."
"Even after I shut you out when you were trying to cope with what he had done? Even after I left you alone with him-"
"Mom." Maureen said with hint of a giggle. "I just forgave you…do you want me to be mad at you all over again? So either accept it or remind me why I resented you for fifteen years?"
Nancy smiled and pulled her daughter back into a hug. "I'll accept."
The two walked back over to the group, Nancy swiftly pulling Joanne into a friendly hug. "Thank you…thank you for protecting my daughter."
"Anytime." Joanne said. "Thank you for coming."
Nancy just nodded with a warm smile. "Okay…I'm going to head off now."
"Okay bye mom." Maureen said with a wave.
Nancy waved one last time before turning the corner, leaving Maureen and her friends behind.
"So…" Mimi said with a grin. "Who wants to celebrate?!"
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That wasn't the end of the story...still more to come...