Accused

by AAB

Harm has a few days off but soon finds himself drawn into yet another case

2. Chapter 2

Part 2 –The Trial

Court
Friday morning
"All rise," the loud voice of the bailiff cut through the buzz of talking people. The courtroom was filled to capacity; everyone wanted to witness the trial.
"Court is in action, Judge Hoover presiding."
There was a lot of shuffling and some hushed comments when the crowd sat again.
The judge flipped through his papers and looked alternatingly at the prosecutor Mr. Brown and at Harm.
'Is the prosecution ready?"
"Yes, Sir," the fifty-plus years old slightly corpulent man answered.
"And the defence?"
"Yes, Your Honour," Harm nodded.
"Right, Mr. Brown, your opening statement, if you please."
Mr. Brown rose to his feet and positioned himself in front of the juror's bench.
"Six weeks ago a vicious attack took place which almost cost an elderly lady her life."
At her spot at the prosecutors table Miss Bennett's face twitched. She clearly didn't like to be called 'elderly'.
"Early that the morning, on her normal trip to the village, she was hit by a thin steel wire, tightened from one side of the road to the other. It was not an accident; that wire had been strung there deliberately, to hurt. Or worse: to kill. This was attempted murder, ladies and gentlemen, performed by a devious mind. We believe that devious mind belonged to that boy," he thumbed over his shoulder towards Brandon "and over the next day or so we will prove it. And then it's your duty, as sworn members of this jury to decide whether he is guilty of not. I trust you will find him guilty, as we know he is."
With a scornful glare at Bandon he took his place again.
Now it was Harm's turn.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we don't dispute the facts. They are clear enough. In the morning of the eight of March, sometime between 8.25 and 8.40 a wire was tightened over the path leading from Miss Bennett's house to the village at about four feet from the ground. At 8.40 Miss Bennett drove on her mobility scooter to the village, as was her habit, to pick up a newspaper and drink her morning coffee. She drove at a moderate speed and that was her luck. She hit the wire at throat high and was hurt. I said she was lucky, for had she driven faster, she might have been killed. She had to undergo surgery and was in hospital for two days, though. An investigation after the perpetrator was launched.
From that moment on things are not that clear. Except for Miss Bennett there are no witnesses. There are no camera's so no pictures. There are little to no physical traces pointing to the villain. Still a boy has been accused, Brandon Hicks." He looked each member of jury, one by one, in the eye.
"Accused and by a large part of this village already found guilty. But that is exactly what you will have to do, ladies and gentlemen. It is your task, your duty to determine whether his boy is guilty. We will proof, beyond doubt, he is not. And when both Mr Brown and I rest our case, you will come to the same conclusion. Yes, there was a vicious attack on Miss Bennett, but Brandon Hicks is innocent!"
With a final nod he walked back to his chair.
Judge Hoover jotted something down and looked once more to Mr. Brown.
"Your first witness, Mr. Brown."
"I call Miss Bennet tot the stand."
The lady scrambled to her feet and, with help of her cane, took the stand.
"For the record, state your name and profession, please."
"I'm Millicent Alicia Bennett, retired teacher."
Mr. Brown smiled at her.
"Ma'am, we are very glad you are here, that you lived to tell your story."
"Miss," was the somewhat catty retort. A bit taken aback the prosecutor looked at the jury, then back to Miss Bennett.
"Miss Bennett, can you lead us through the events of that morning?"
She nodded.
"That morning I left home at 8.30, as is my habit."
"That morning, that will be the 8th of March?" Mr Brown interrupted.
"Yes," the lady confirmed with annoyed look. She didn't like to be interrupted.
"I got my mobility scooter out of the shed, and drove towards the village. About 200 yards before I have to turn onto the main road I say something flash in the sun. I slowed down, but the next thing I know is that I felt a sharp pain in my throat."
She indicated with her forefinger where the pain had been.
"I didn't know what had hit me and when I touched my throat I realised I was bleeding. Then I realised I had driven against a thin metal wire. It was at about this height and it had hit my throat." She indicated about three feet from the ground.
"I looked around I saw a boy, that boy, clamber up a nearby slope and disappear into the bushes." She pointed at Brandon. "I'm sure it was him."
"We will come to that," Mr Brown promised. "What happened next?"
"A car stopped and out came Mr Nelson. He asked what had happened and I told him. He took his first aid kit to bandage me and then radioed for the police and an ambulance. They came and the ambulance took me to have me checked out. The police made sure my scooter was secured. Later that day they came and questioned me and I told them everything." Her statement went accompanied by another angry glare at Brandon.
"And you are sure it was Brandon?"
"Yes, I am. I only saw him from a distance but I'm sure it was him!"
The prosecutor waited a moment to let her words sink in.
"No further questions," he declared.
Harm stood.
"You said it's customary for you to ride your scooter to town at 8.30. Each morning?"
"Yes, for the last 8 years or so. Except for Sunday, that is. On Sundays I leave at 9 o'clock, to attend church."
"I take it that is common knowledge; the whole village knows where to find you at that time?"
"Guess so; and that's why I know it was an attack on my life."
"You mean not many villagers us that path at that time?"
"Correct. The people going to work and the kids going to school pass by between 8 and 8.30. After 8.30 there is no one, except for me. Only during tourist season, then there are a lot more people. The perp targeted me!"
"Right. You saw a flash. Can you tell me a bit more about that?"
"It was just a flash. I guess it was the sun on the wire. I couldn't see it before, there is a slight curve in the road and there are bushes."
Harm walked over to an easel, standing aside. On it was a large square board. He turned it around and there was a map of the situation. He pointed.
"You were driving from here to here, when you were hit right here?"
"That's correct."
Miss Bennett looked approvingly, apparently pleased with Harm's thorough approach of the situation. Harm indicated the points with a dotted green line and little green crosses.
"Can you show me where you saw the boy?" He kept the description neutral. With a look at the judge Miss Bennett descended from the stand and pointed out where she had seen the figure of what she believed to be her attacker. "When I saw him he was here."
Harm draw a red cross. "And where was he going to?"
She pointed again and Harm marked the path with a red dotted line.
"Thank you."
Once more Miss Bennett took her seat, waiting for the next question.
"He, or she, was about two hundred yards away, right? And he was climbing a sandy slope? That was here?" He produced a few pictures, taken from the point the wire had been tightened and then a few more closely to the slope.
A sharp nod was his answer.
"You wear glasses."
"I can see perfectly well with them," Miss Bennett bristled.
"I don't doubt it," Harm said politely. "According to your estimate, how large was your assailant?"
Now the woman hesitated.
"He was quite a while away," she said. "He looked small, maybe four or five feet but …" She went silent.
"It was two hundred yard away. So he could have been larger?"
She nodded reluctantly and Harm decided not to push her. After all, he had made his point. Instead he asked "What was he wearing?"
That she could tell him and she did. "Jeans and a black hooded jacket."
"His hood was over his head?"
"Yes."
"So you couldn't see his face or his hair."
"No." Again she sounded defensive and even a bit hostile but Harm didn't care. He had only three questions left.
"Then, how did you know it had to be Brandon? "
"I recognized him, the way he walked. And he had dark coloured hands."
"You recognized his walk, while he was climbing a sandy slope?" Mimicking the movements of a person climbing such a slope Harm made sure doubt was audible in his voice.
"Yes!" Her eyes flashed.
"You say he had dark coloured hands. Is it possible he wore black gloves?"
She kept silent.
"Miss Bennett?"
She shrugged. "Guess so." Her glare dared Harm to press the point but he didn't take the bait. Instead he asked "What reason could a twelve year old have to perform such a deed?"
"He is just a wicked boy; he and his gang! And he was angry for me to interfere with their crimes and informing his mother!"
Harm nodded. "Last question: can you think of anyone else who might bear a grudge against you?"
"No, I cannot."
"No further questions, Your Honour."

Mr Brown rose to his feet again. Courteously he helped Miss Bennett down from the stand and walked her to her seat. Then he turned towards the judge.
"I call Mr Nelson to the stand."
This was the man who had been first on the scene and his testimony was short and to the point. Driving to the village he had seen Miss Bennet standing next to her mobility scooter. Since she appeared to be wounded he had stopped and grabbed his first aid kit to help her. It was only after she had showed it to him he had seen the metal wire and had taken a cutter out of his tool box to remove is before more accidents could happen. Then he had radioed for both the sheriff and an ambulance. When they arrived, he had told the sheriff what had happened. After that he had driven on to his appointment. Later that day he had given a full statement."
When asked he added that his hadn't seen a living soul, except for Miss Bennett and himself. He knew Miss Bennett, she was a familiar face in the village and he was sure he had seen Brandon before but not that day, of that he was sure. Neither the prosecutor nor Harm had any further questions.

The next witness was sheriff Ramsey After the sheriff had stated his name and profession and was sworn in, the prosecutor started "Will you tell us about the events on the morning of the eight of March?"
Sheriff Ramsey made himself comfortable in the chair. It was clear it wasn't his first appearance as a witness.
"At 8.55am I received a radio call from Mr Nelson that there had been an attack on Miss Bennett. I rushed to the place and found her and Mr Nelson. They showed me a metal wire, tightened over the path. Well, it wasn't tightened anymore since Mr Nelson had cut it loose, but it had been tightened. Miss Bennett, riding in her mobility scooter, had hit it and was wounded at her throat. At that moment the ambulance arrived as well and the paramedics checked her out and took her to hospital to have the wound stitched. I took a brief statement from Mr Nelson. By then my deputy had arrived and I left it to him to secure the crime scene and gather the evidence. I followed the ambulance to the hospital and took a statement from Miss Bennett."
"What did you learn?"
"She was hit by a wire, which injured her throat."
"Was it serious?"
"I asked the medical staff and they told had she driven full speed she might have been seriously wounded or even decapitated. It was her luck she already had slowed down."
"What did you do next?"
"I went back to the place and together with my deputy I gathered evidence."
"What did you find?"
"It was a thin steel wire, very common. My guess is every other household has a little roll. It had been tightened between a tree and a pole, which was hammered into the ground with a rock. We know that because the rock was still there and the pole's head showed stone dust, consistent with the rock. We tried to find fingerprints and swabbed for DNA but no luck. We found a few black cotton fibres, probably from gloves."
"What about other evidence? Like shoeprints?"
"We followed the trail towards where Miss Bennett had seen the hooded figure. There were footprints but the ground was either too hard or too sandy to get a clear print. We were not able to get more than an estimate of the size, which was either 7 or an 8."
"What seize does the defendant have?"
"He has a 7."
"Did you recover the gloves? Any gloves?"
"No. At the Hicks' house we found several pairs of mittens, female as well as male, and a pair of female brown leather gloves but no black cotton ones."
"But the suspect could easily have tossed them, didn't he?"
"Guess so."
"Did you search for them?"
"Yes, but as I said, we didn't find them."
Mr Brown checked his papers.
"Is there anything you have to add?"
"No Sir," the sheriff said calmly.
Mr Brown sat down and Harm stood up.
"Is there any physical evidence connecting Brandon to the attack?"
"No." Ramsey shook his head.
"When you questioned Brandon about his whereabouts that morning, what did he say?"
"That he was busy rescuing a dog. He claimed he flagged down Mr Bailey to help him."
"Where did he say that was?"
"On the road between his house and Miss Julia's place."
Once more Harm walked over to the easel, now producing another, larger map.
"Brandon lives here, doesn't he?
The sheriff nodded and Harm marked the spot with a little red cross..
"Can you point out the spot where the attack on Miss Bennett took place?"
With a look at the judge, who nodded agreeing, the sheriff stepped down, walked over to the easel and pointed. Harm draw another little red cross.
"And the spot where Brandon claimed he was helping the dog?"
Again Ramsey pointed and a third cross was added.
"How far is it from the place where Brandon told you he flagged down Mr Bailey to the place where the wire was tightened?"
"As the crow flies about two miles, I reckon. Over the road: three."
"That's about 15 minutes by bike, right?"
"Yes."
"Would it have been possible for him to bike to the spot, attach the wire, run to the slope while still being visible to Miss Bennett and be back in time to rescue the dog and flag down Mr Bailey at around nine?"
The sheriff tilted his head, calculating.
"No, I don't think so," he concluded.
Harm nodded satisfied.
"To your knowledge, does Brandon have a motive, any motive, to attack or kill Miss Bennett."
Again the sheriff shook his head. "No, I couldn't come up with anything."
"So all you have is the Miss Bennett's statement."
"Yes."
"Is there, to your knowledge, anyone else who has a motive? Anyone with a grudge?"
The man hesitated for a moment, as to consider how to put his thoughts into words.
"This is purely my personal opinion but Miss Bennet has lived here for a long time and she knows a lot of things. Also things people rather not talk about or would have liked to keep secret. And she is a firm believer in the freedom of speech."
"Meaning?" The prosecutor didn't get it and interrupted.
"Meaning she thinks everyone is entitled to her opinion and she makes sure everyone gets it, whether they want it or not."
Suppressed chuckles and giggles underlined his words. Judge Hoover ordered silence and now had a question of his own.
"Do you know of any specific case?"
"No. I have heard people grumble about her but nothing solid."
Harm nodded.
"No further questions, Your Honour."

When the deputy was called to give his statement, he just confirmed his boss' story. He didn't have anything to add; after handing over the evidence his job had been done.
The judge checked his watch.
"How many witnesses do you have left, Mr Brown?"
"Only one, Your Honour. Miss Alcott."
"Right. Call her in and after her we will pause for lunch."

It turned out Miss Alcott had a lot to say but little solid information to add.
"He is a member of ... of that ... that gang, isn't he? Always up to no-good! Everyone knows he shot Edith's cat. The poor creature! Braking Dorothy's windows and building a very rude snowman in front of her house. Having Judith fall over that slide. And then old Mr Jenkins. Easy target, right!" She glared at Brandon angrily.
"How do you know it was Brandon?" the prosecutor tried to bring her back to the subject.
"He was there, wasn't he? And so was I. In the store, I mean. I needed cat food, my poor Timmy was starving and that good for nothing help had forgotten to buy it. She always brings the wrong brand anyway." She drew a breath. "Anyway, Mr Jenkins' house is just behind the store, and by the alleyway you're there in a jiffy."
"Right. Anything more you can tell us, Miss Alcott?"
"He was on the lookout when that other boy, I forgot his name, tried to toilet paper Millicent's scooter. Not a great job he did, he missed her when she approached from the other direction." She smirked. "She hit that rascal quite nicely."
The prosecutor nodded.
"Your witness."
Harm rose to his feet.
"Miss Alcott, let take the incidents one by one. You said you saw Brandon and Elvis attempting to toilet paper Miss Bennett's scooter, Brandon being on the lookout and Elvis performing the act. Which boy did Miss Bennett hit?"
"Elvis, that was the boy. And she hit Elvis. Twice as I remember well. Serves him well, if I may say so."
Harm looked at the judge. "Objection. Personal opinion."
"Sustained. Miss Alcott, I'm sorry but you are not allowed to voice your personal opinion. You can only tell what you saw or heard yourself."
The woman looked angry but refrained from commenting.
Harm kept a straight face.
"Right. The greenhouse and the snowman. What did you see?"
"Well, it was there Sunday morning when we came back from church."
"We, that will be?"
"Dorothy Windymere and I. She is my neighbour."
"You say you went to church and when you came back, it was there. So you didn't see who made it."
"No, but the day before that gang threw snowballs at her greenhouse. I heard a window break and came out to investigate and saw about five boys throwing snowballs. Dorothy, Miss Windymere, came also outside and yelled at them. They ran and at a distance they stopped and started to call us names. The next day the snowman was there" Her prim facial expression made clear she was not ready to elaborate.
"Was Brandon with those boys?"
For the first time the lady seemed to hesitate.
"I'm not sure. But he was always there so why wouldn't he this time?"
"But you didn't see him?"
"No."
Harm went on the next subject.
"You mentioned Mrs Griffin. What can you tell about her?"
"That boy made a snow slide and Mrs Griffin almost broke her neck over it. She was home-bound for weeks."
"In fact, she sprained her ankle and had to rest it for two weeks, didn't she?"
Reluctantly the woman nodded.
"And when Brandon's mother found out Brandon was grounded for a week, lost computer time and was made go by Mrs Griffin every day to see whether she had errands to run. They became good friends, didn't they?"
Miss Alcott kept silent; it was clear she didn't want to confirm something that went against her own conviction. Harm looked at the judge.
"Please answer the question, Miss Alcott," Mr Hoover said.
"Yes." The answer couldn't be shorter.
"The cat. Did you see it been shot?"
"No, it came home, limping and bleeding. But that boy … " she seemed to find it hard to say Brandon's name "that boy was always luring cats and dogs. And I have seen him shooting."
"Luring cats and dogs, okay. And when they came to him, what did he do? Did he hurt them, hit them, kicked them?"
Miss Alcott shrugged. "Never seen him do that."
"What did he do?"
"Didn't pay attention. I have better things to do."
"I find it hard to believe that you never, not one time, stopped and watched. Especially when it concerned a boy you suspected of being up to no good."
"Objection," the prosecutor yelled. "Goading the witness."
"I just used the words the witness used herself when she described the 'gang of boys', Sir," Harm defended his line of question.
"That's true. Overruled. Go on."
"What did he do?"
"Pet them." Again the answer was very short.
Harm didn't push. There was no sense in making the witness even more hostile.
"You said you saw him shooting. The cat was brought to the vet who concluded someone had emptied an airgun on it, didn't he?"
Miss Alcott nodded. "It took over an hour to remove all the pellets and Edith had to pay over a hundred dollar," she volunteered.
"Right. You saw Brandon shoot an airgun? Or saw him he shoot at animals?"
"No, a catapult. At empty cans."
"So he was target practicing?"
"Guess so."
"Did you ever see him with an air gun?"
"Yes," the women said triumphantly. "That whole gang was together and taking turns in using two or three guns."
This was new information to Harm but he wasn't taken aback.
"Shooting at … what?"
"Targets. They were talking about hunting, though. I walked by and heard them brag about how well they would shoot."
"But you never say Brandon, or any other kid, shoot at an animal?"
"Do you think I would have kept quiet, had I seen that?" the woman bristled.
"No, I don't think so. I think you love animals and would have done something to stop them," Harm quietly answered. Satisfied she sank back into the chair.
"The attack on Mr Jenkins, you said you saw Brandon. Where did you seen him?"
"I told you already, in the store."
"Where exactly? I mean, did he come out when you entered, or vice versa or did you meet at, let's say, the dairy section?"
"He was standing behind me in line when I was ready to pay. I was just receiving the change when we heard Mr Jenkins scream and we all ran out."
"So he was standing next to you when Mr Jenkins screamed."
"That's what I said, right?" Miss Alcott looked like only the fact she was on the witness-stand kept her from giving him a piece of her mind.
"How can Brandon be involved in bullying Mr Jenkins when he was in the store the very moment the deed took place?"
Her jaw dropped. "But … he …," she stuttered.
Now Harm decided to push a bit harder.
"In fact, you're his alibi for that very moment, aren't you, standing next to him."
She nodded mutely, flabbergasted.
"No further questions."
The judge hammered his gavel.
"I suspend for lunch. Court is in recess till two o'clock."

Court
Afternoon
Harm had plotted his strategy carefully. He had decided he would reconstruct Brandon's day by one by one calling the people the boy had met that day to the stand. First would be Jayla.
"For the record, state your name and relation to the suspect."
"I am Jayla Hicks-Montgomery. Brandon is my son."
With a nod the bailiff indicated she could sit down.
"Let's go back to that 8th of March. What can you tell us about Brandon's whereabouts?"
"He was free that that day. The teachers had a meeting. At breakfast he told me he wanted to go to Miss Julia, to see whether he could help her. I said it was okay and he left at half past eight."
"Is it common for him to go and help Miss Julia?"
"Yes, Brandon loves animals; he would love to have a dog but we can't have one. Our landlord doesn't allow pets and besides, I have to work."
"Right. So Brandon was gone by 8.30. When did you see him again?"
"At dinner. That is, I told him to be home at 6 and he was, by one minute or so. I told him to shower and change and we had dinner at half past six. After that we watched TV and he was in bed by nine."
"You are sure about the times?"
"Yes."
"Does Brandon own a black, hooded jacket like Miss Bennett described?
"Yes, he does. As do several of his friends and classmates, and I have no doubt, many others as well. They were on sale in February."
"Did he wear it that day?"
Jayla thought for a minute.
"No," she said. "He was but I called him back and made him wear his old one. He tends to get dirty at Miss Julia's and I didn't want him to ruin his new cloths."
Harm nodded at the prosecutor.
"Your witness.
The man rose to his feet.
"Let's talk about Brandon's behaviour the past six-seven months. He is in a gang, isn't he?"
Harm was glad he had prepared Jayla. Her eyes spit fire but she stayed calm.
"It's not a gang. Yes, Brandon was part of a group of friends. They formed a secret club, just like boys like to do at that age, and got into mischief. Inspired by certain TV series they dared each other to so called stunts and tried to outdo each other. I admit Brandon was into things like ding-dong ditch, smudging windows and kicking trashcans. When I found out I disciplined him."
"Not too successfully," the prosecutor muttered under his breath and Jayla threw him a disgusted look.
"To your knowledge, was your son involved in the trashing of Miss Windermere's greenhouse, the snow slide that caused Mrs Griffin's injury, the shooting of the Williams' cat or the attack on Mr Jenkins?"
"The only thing he was part of was the snow slide. But that was an accident. The kids, and it were not only he and his friends, there were eight or nine other kids as well, had an afternoon of fun in the snow and when they realised curfew was fast approaching they ran for home and forgot to cover the slide. The other occasions, no way. He wasn't at Miss Windermere's for he had a cold and was at home, Saturday as well as Sunday, he loves animals and would never shoot one just for fun and with Mr Jenkins, he was in the store, buying me milk and cereals."
"To your knowledge, does your son have a grudge to Mrs. Bennett?"
"No. He doesn't like her, but then again, not many people like her"
"Why is that?"
"Objection, calls for personal opinion".
"Overruled. The witness may answer."
"I never had much contact with her but I know she is nosy and she has a sharp tongue, is often harsh in her judgement and likes to voice her opinion."
"Right. By the way, where were you yourself, that day?"
"Home, doing chores and at work; my shift started at 11 o'clock, I left home at 10.30 ."
"Can you prove that?"
Harm interrupted.
"Objection. The witness isn't on trial."
"Sustained. Tread carefully, Mr. Brown," the judge warned.
"Withdrawn. Last question, is there anything you can add to your statement?"
Jayla shook her head. "No Sir."
No further questions, Your Honour."

Next Mr. Bailey took the stand. He threw a disgusted look at the prosecutor and straightened his shoulders. Harm frowned. The man had made it clear how repulsed he was with the accusations against the boy whom he considered a friend, and it had taken Harm quite a while to convince him a feisty attitude wouldn't do Brandon any good. With a suppressed sigh he asked his first question, hoping the man could control himself.
But he didn't have to worry. In a clear and loud voice, the voice of a man being used to be in the open field, Mr. Bailey gave his testimony. Yes, Brandon had flagged him down, at about nine o'clock. He hadn't checked his watch. He had been on his way to the vet to pick up his own dog but had stopped to help. He knew Brandon as a good kid; if the boy called for help, there was a situation. Brandon had led him to the dog and together they had freed it, caught the four puppies and brought them to the vet. After the vet had examined and treated the dog, he had driven Brandon, the dog and the puppies to Miss Julia and left them there. Then he and his own dog had gone home.
Harm produced another copy of the map and the man was most happy to point out where the event had taken place.
"So you can vouch for his whereabouts from about nine till …?" Harm asked his final question.
"Yes, from about nine to half past ten or so. But I saw his footprints, fresh footprints, all around the dog so I'm sure he was there shortly before." He raised his chin daringly.
Harm nodded. "Your witness," he told the prosecutor.
"How did you know they were fresh footprints?"
"I'm a hunter. Have been, all my life, since I was five years old and now I'm almost seventy. Not much you can teach me about the outdoor life and the traces they leave," Mr. Bailey proudly proclaimed. Confirming murmurs sounded and the judged used his gavel. "Order in the room," he ordered. The prosecutor threw a timorous look over his shoulder. "No further questions," he decided.

In a few words the vet and his assistant confirmed Mr. Bailey's story. He and Brandon had brought the dog in around 9.30. The vet had examined her and concluded that next to a bruised and bleeding paw she had no injuries. She was very thin, though, covered in flees and in desperate need of a bath. The puppies needed flee and worm treatment as well but other than that they were fine. A phone call to Miss Julia had confirmed she was willing to take the dogs in and Mr. Bailey had been kind enough to bring them.
Neither Harm nor Mr. Brown had any further questions.