By the Book Chapter 23

After watching Bobby at the trial yesterday, and seeing what the trial and the entire situation had done to the man, Mark Connelly's conscience finally got the better of him, and he came to a very difficult conclusion. He was going to turn his son Jake in. He would gather all evidence, recorded calls to those dead detectives, explicit information that Jake had given him, and everything else that was even remotely connected to the case. He would call a press conference, have Jake arrested, and then shoot himself in the head. It was the hardest decision he'd ever had to make, not just for himself, but for his wife Sarah, his daughter, and his dear little grandchildren. That was the saddest thing for him, that he'd never see his little grandchildren grow up. But he could never live with the shame of what he'd done, and the humiliation that would follow.

It was made all the harder by the fact that Jake had moved back in at home. Jake was, of course, broke. He'd lost his two-bit job and his apartment and headed home. It didn't hurt that he wanted to keep an eye on his father, too. He was positive his father was conspiring against him with that detective. He could picture the two of them, laughing at him as they made their plans. Well, we'll just see who has the last laugh, Jake thought, a crazy grin flickering across his face.

The more Jake thought about it, the more interesting it got. He'd just wait, bide his time, keep watching. And when it seemed like it was happening, that his father really was going to turn him in, then he'd do what he had to do. It was a matter of survival, survival of the fittest. That detective…under normal circumstances he'd be a lot tougher to handle, but since he'd been injured, it would now be so much easier to kill him. And fun, too. Maybe I could get them together and let Dad watch while I blow Goren's head off. Wait, maybe I'll shoot him first in the knees. Then in the arms. Ha! Then I'll shoot him in the fucking balls! He smiled at that little scenario. See how Dad likes that!

It was as if Bobby was no longer a real person, merely someone or something that really didn't matter.

Jake's thoughts continued. Then when he's screaming and begging for mercy, then I'll blow his fucking brains out. That'll teach Dad a lesson. Maybe Dad will finally get it, once and for all, that I am his son! Then life would be just like it always was. And everything will be okay again.

Bobby's Trial

ADA Peter Williams, as promised, brought in witnesses who swore they saw Bobby at the crime scene. One of the first witnesses was Officer John Skagen.

ADA Williams: "Can you tell us in your own words what happened on the night in question?"

Officer Skagen: "Yes, Sir. We got an anonymous call about 10:15 that evening concerning a disturbance at the Victorian Hotel. When we got there, he was on top of the victim."

Williams: "Can you be a little more specific, Officer Skagen, and point out to us who that person is?"

Skagen: "Yes, Sir, sorry. The man who was on top of the victim was the defendant, Robert Goren, who is sitting right over there."

He pointed to Bobby, who sighed in frustration, closed his eyes and placed his head in his hand on the table. That wasn't the way it was! he thought to himself, very angry. He so wanted to tell that to the entire courtroom.

"Object!" Bobby hissed at Joe, who didn't. "We'll get them on cross," he said. Bobby stared at him angrily.

Williams: "Go on, Officer. What exactly was the defendant doing over the body?"

Skagen: "Well, it looked like he was…kissing her." A gasp went through the gallery, and before Joe could even object, Bobby went ballistic.

"THAT IS A LIE! THIS WHOLE THING IS BULLSHIT! THEY—"

Chaos erupted. The gallery was going wild, the judge was banging his gavel, Joe was trying to calm Bobby, Bobby was still yelling, and for the next couple of minutes everything was totally out of control. Finally the judge's banging gavel and booming voice came through, and things quieted down.

The judge was furious. "Mr. Simon, I am holding both you and your client in contempt, and I fining you $200.00."

"Yes, Your Honor," Joe said, having no choice.

"And Mr. Goren," the judge glared at Bobby. "This is the second time you have disrupted my courtroom. If this happens again I will have you restrained and gagged. Is that clear?"

Bobby glared back, and didn't answer.

The judge continued. "You are being held in contempt, and fined $500.00. Is that clear?"

When Bobby still refused to answer, the judge decided that he'd had it with Bobby. "Bailiff, remove the defendant from my courtroom."

Another murmur went through the courtroom, and Joe started, "Your Honor! I ob—"

"Objection overruled!" And two bailiffs took Bobby from the courtroom. The judge then ordered that Bobby's words be stricken from the record. The judge addressed Williams. "Counselor, you may proceed."

Williams: "Officer Skagen, please continue."

Skagen: "Well, it looked like he was kissing a dead body."

"Objection!" Joe stood up, "Speculation."

Williams defended his witness's statement. "Your Honor, the witness is only stating what he saw."

"Objection overruled."

Williams turned and looked pointedly at the jury, then turned back to the witness.

Williams: "Okay, Officer Skagen, what happened after you discovered the defendant over the body?"

Skagen: "Well, naturally, we all drew our guns, and forced him to the ground. One of the guys, it might have been one of the dead detectives, frisked him and came up with a gun. Then we handcuffed him. He resisted, and someone knocked him around a little."

Damnit! A little more information than Williams wanted. "But, you said, he did resist?"

Skagen: "Yes, Sir."

Williams: "Thank you, Officer Skagen. That's all." Williams returned to his seat at the prosecution table.

The judge asked Joe if he'd like to cross.

"Yes, Your Honor." Joe got up and walked over to Skagen.

Joe: "Officer Skagen, you said you frisked him, handcuffed him, he resisted, and then you knocked him around a little?"

Skagen: "Well, I didn't, but yes, that's what happened."

Joe: "In that order?"

Skagen: "Well, um, yeah."

Joe: "So you handcuffed him, and then he resisted?"

Skagen: "Um, I'm not sure…"

Joe: "Isn't it a little pointless to resist after being handcuffed?"

Skagen: "Uh, I guess."

Joe: "Does it strike you as a little strange that a seasoned detective with years in the NYPD would resist at all, let alone after being handcuffed? Don't you think he would know he would be 'knocked around a little'?"

Skagen: "Yeah, he'd know."

Joe: "Why would he do that, Officer Skagen?"

Skagen: "I don't know…"

"Objection!" Williams called out. "He's asking the witness to speculate on another person's state of mind!"

Joe: "I'll rephrase. Isn't it a fact, Officer Skagen, that the defendant did not resist at all? That he purposely made a point of not resisting? And someone hit him, knocked him around anyway?"

Skagen: "I…don't remember."

Joe: "One last question, Officer Skagen. When you said the defendant was 'kissing' the victim, is it possible he was actually giving her CPR?"

Skagen: "Uh, yes, Sir, it's possible, I… uh…don't remember…"

"I'd say there was a lot about this incident you don't remember," Joe observed. "That's all."

Later that evening

Captain Deakins' house

There was a small gathering at Deakins house that evening, in honor of Joe's success in court. The entire day had gone well. Included in the small group were Alex, Logan and Barek, Joe, Lewis, Bobby and of course Deakins and his wife, Angie. There were drinks, beer, and snacks. And Angie had ordered in two of those huge six foot long sub sandwiches. Everybody was in an up mood, even Bobby. And everyone was glad to see Bobby enjoying himself, probably for the first time in over six months.

Bobby, taking a big drink of his beer, teased Joe. "It's about time you did something to earn all that money I'm paying you."

"All that money?" Joe asked incredulously. "I'm losing money on you, Buddy," he laughed. "Especially after today."

Joe meant it as a joke, but Bobby looked sheepish. "I'm…uh… really sorry about that, Joe. It just made me—I'll take care of your fine."

Joe looked at Bobby like he was crazy. "The hell you will! I can take care of my own fines."

"But I—"

"It's okay, Bobby. I'll take care of it. Just do me a favor, okay, and don't fuck up like that again, cause that crazy son of a bitch judge will throw us both in the slammer in a heartbeat. And I don't think we'd look good in matching orange jumpsuits." Even Bobby had to laugh at that. "C'mon Bud, just enjoy yourself tonight, okay?"

Bobby nodded, in a sort of melancholy mood. He took in the small group of friends gathered here, all supporting him, all caring about him, and he felt content.

Much later, when Bobby went to bed, for the first time in years he fell asleep easily. He didn't have a single nightmare.

tbc

A/N I've never written a trial scene before (in fact this is only the eighth story I've ever written.) Hope it wasn't too hokey.