Part 3 – Miss Julia testifies

The last to sit in the chair, except from Brandon, that is, was Miss Julia. Well in her seventies she was still a force to count with.
"You are ..?"
"I'm Julia Maria Crozet. I was born and raised here and except for four years of college, lived here all my life. I've been a schoolteacher for over fifty years. After my retirement I decided to dedicate myself to my largest passion: animals. I house abandoned animals and try to rehome them. If some call me a crazy cat lady, well so be it."
Harm nodded. "Wat is your relation with Brandon Hicks?" he continued.
"He wasn't a student of mine; I had already retired when he started school, but he comes by at a regular base to help me with the furries. I would call him a friend."
"On a regular base, that will be …"
"At least once a week. He helps cleaning cages, walks dogs and assists me with various chores."
"Would you say helping you is his part-time job?"
"I do pay him a little something; I can't afford to pay much, but mostly he helps me because he loves animals, too."
"What can you tell me about the day Miss Bennett was attacked?"
"I more or less expected him that day; I knew the kids had the day off. But he didn't show up and that was fine, too; it's not that he is obliged or that we agreed on him coming. Until the call from the vet, that is. At 10.40 Mr. Bailey dropped him and the mother-dog with her four puppies off. Brandon helped me to bath them and settle them in and after that we had lunch. In the afternoon he helped me with the regular chores. He left around half past five."
"As a teacher you must know one or two things about people. What can you tell me about Brandon? What kind of a person is he?"
"He is an average boy. Loves boy-things, like sports and play wrestling and getting dirty. Can be stubborn once in a while. But if you take him serious, talk to him and explain things, he is open to reasoning. He is very helpful and wants to learn. And he loves animals. That's why I will never believe he shot at Andy the cat. He has no vicious bone inside him."
"Can you recall what he was wearing that day?"
This made the woman think.
"Jeans and sneakers, that I know. He swapped them for wellies when he started cleaning
cages. And a grey jack, I think" She narrowed her eyes in concentration. "Yes, a dark grey jacket."
"To your knowledge, does he have a grudge against Miss Bennett?"
"No, not really. He scoffed at her once or twice, like when she hit his friend after they attempted to toilet paper her mobility scooter. But then again, he scoffs at his teacher when she gave him a bad grade or at his mum for making him do chores he dislikes. After all, he is a boy."
Harm smiled. Till now things were going exactly as he planned. He had just one question left. He still hadn't decided whether he would put Brandon on the stand. The boy wanted to tell his story and prove his innocence but on the other hand it would give the prosecution the opportunity to question him as well. He looked aside to the jury; they looked rather benevolent to his client.. Maybe best not, he thought. No need in having him undergo the prosecutor's questioning.
"Is there anything you know about the attack on Miss Bennet?" he redirected his attention to Miss Julia.
Even before he had ended, the woman shook her head. "No, nothing," she said.
"Your witness." Harm gestured to Mr. Brown.
The man rose and scraped his throat.
"I have only one or two questions for you, Miss. How can you be so sure Brandon loved animals?"
"Because they love him. You can trick a human into believing you love animals, you never can fool the animal itself."
"Right. Last question for you: do you know anyone to have a grudge against Miss Bennett?"
"Well, a lot of people dislike her sharp tongue. Next to that she has a way to find out things, which she threatens to make public if you do something that pisses her off. And if she is up to her old tricks, there might even be a little blackmail involved," Miss Julia calmly told him, like she wasn't aware she just had dropped a bombshell. Only Harm was close enough to see the glimmer in her eyes.
The prosecutor swallowed. This was more than he bargained for.
"No further questions." This was a can of worms he didn't want to open any further.
"Redirect, Your Honour?" Harm was quick to request.
The judge nodded.
"What do you mean by old tricks and blackmail? Can you give us an example?" he asked.
Before she could answer, the judge stepped in. "Ma'am, I have to remind you hear-say is neither allowed nor admissible," he addressed her but he didn't stop her from answering. He too was curious what she had to say.
"Yes, Your Honour," Miss Julia bent her head respectfully.
The judge gestured her to go on.
"I have known Millicent my whole life. She and I were both born and raised here and went to college together, both studying to become a teacher. In our third year something happened. I don't know what but there was a lot of gossiping and rumours about blackmail. I know there was, because I heard the rumours and gossip myself." She looked very innocent and Harm had to bend his head to hide his smile. If ever he had heard a witness work her way around 'hear-say'…
"When I returned after summer break I learned Millicent was engaged to a James Meyers. The next year, early July she was supposed to get married but only weeks before the wedding was cancelled. Nobody knew why but I witnessed a fight between her and James. He accused her of snooping and making people do things they didn't want to for her own profit and he said he didn't want anything to do with it and that the wedding was off. When he left, Millicent was furious and threw her engagement ring after him but he didn't look back. I didn't understand back then but the next day I went back to search for it."
"Lies, all lies," Miss Bennett hissed from her place next to the prosecutor. Her back was rigid and her eyes spat fire.
"I still have that ring. It sits in a small box in the linen cabinet," Miss Julia said quietly. "After I found it I approached James and wanted to give it to him but he refused, telling me he didn't want to touch it ever again. The next morning I went to Mr and Mrs Bennet's house but Millicent had already left. I didn't want to sell it or give it away, after all, it was not mine but there never seemed to be a right moment to return it to Millicent."
"Ma'am, this is all very interesting but a circumstantial and a long time ago," the judge interrupted.
"I will come to that. That autumn I started to work as a teacher at Brock Hurst Elementary School," Miss Julia continued. "My father had already passed away and a few years later my mum died as well. A few months later I got a new colleague and she needed a place to stay. I was living by myself in the large house my parents left me and offered her a few rooms. We got along very well and she continued living with me till she died because of cancer, only eight years later."
She swallowed, fighting her emotions.
"Patricia died in April and in May I had to decide on the graduation of my students. There were two or three kids not ready for the next grade and they would have to repeat the class. It was then that I received a note, telling me I needed to pass a certain boy to the next class. His grades were the worst and I wasn't going to rethink. I called the parents of those three kids in and told them the verdict. The next day there was a note telling me to reconsider or else ..."
She lifted her chin. "I prefer women over men. Pat and I were not only friends but also lovers. She was the love of my life and the years with her were the happiest of my life."
It was like a wave of whispering went through the packed court and the judge had to hammer his gavel once more.
"The note threatened to expose the true nature of our relation. Back in the days that would have meant I would be fired but what was more, it would have smudged Pat's memory. I knew it was Millicent. Not only did I recognize her handwriting, she was also the only one I knew had found us out. We were on a vacation once and less careful than at home and Millicent was at that same place at the same time. I was so heartbroken and furious I didn't care so I went straight to her, accused her of blackmailing and told her I would not hesitate to expose her if she didn't back off. After all, I had the letter. I never heard from her again. I now understood the meaning of the words I overheard so many years before. By the way, that boy was her nephew."
She reached for the glass of water and drank greedily.
"About ten years later a good friend of mine appeared on my doorstep. She had received an ugly letter and showed it to me. It was a blackmail letter and she was 'asked' to provide the writer with a large sum of money, otherwise her husband would hear some things he wouldn't like. I asked what that would be and she told me she had had a meeting with a cousin in the third degree of hers, who was also a childhood friend. It had all been very innocent but I knew her husband was very jealous and it would cause major problems in her marriage, even might lead to a divorce. Once again I recognized Millicent's handwriting. I wanted to confront her but my friend begged me to let it go and I let myself be persuaded. Since she couldn't cough up the required sum I lent her the money. Shortly after they moved and over the years she paid me back. They are both deceased now as well. The day after they had moved out of our village, I went to Millicent and told her that it was only for the sake of my friend I wasn't going to expose her but if I ever came across another attempt to blackmail, my next visit would be the sheriff's office. And she knew I meant it! The two letters are in the same box as the ring. If necessary I'll be very happy to hand them over for handwriting comparison."

After she had finished you could hear a pin drop in the room. The judge needed a moment to decide how to proceed. He looked at Harm. Harm rose.
"To your knowledge, have there been more cases of blackmailing?"
"No, not that I know of." She stressed the word know. "I do have my suspicions, though, but I don't know for sure, nor do I have any evidence. A month after my friend had handed her blackmailer the money, small advertisements started to appear, in which Millicent recommended herself as moneylender. Several people commented on or complained about the height of the interest but since she didn't do anything illegal there was not much I could do. There were some unusual acts, like selling a piece of land, but that could be a coincidence or another way of gaining money. But then again, out of curiosity I visited the land registry office once and found out that, although they were sold to different people, all those pieces of land now belonged to one and the same person, Millicent Bennett."
Behind him Harm felt Jayla tense.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" she whispered. Her words went all but lost in the outburst of voices in the courtroom and judge Hoover once again banged his gavel. It took some time but finally silence returned, more or less, that is. Only Mr Brown was still fervently whispering at Miss Bennett, who ignored him haughtily.
It was clear judge Hoover needed a bit of time to decide what his next step had to be. He looked
alternately to Harm and Mr Brown. Harm jumped to the occasion.
"Can I have a moment with my client, Your Honour," he asked.
Relieved the judged nodded.
"I suspend the court for fifteen minutes, to allow both attorneys to have a moment with their clients," he announced. He hammered, rose and disappeared into the judge's room.
Harm beckoned Brandon and Jayla to follow him to the small room that was assigned to him for the day. As soon they were in and the door was closed Jayla busted out "That happened to me, too, Sir."
"What happened?" In the heat of the moment Harm was sharper than he used to be.
Jayla was hardly able to contain her excitement. "I too got a letter, Sir, only a few weeks ago. I own a small piece of land and I got an offer to sell. But it was a ridiculously low offer, only a third or less of what it is worth. But still they told me it would benefit me to accept. It was from a law firm I didn't know and when I tried to find more information about them I came up empty-handed. Today, before we came here there was another letter. I didn't read it yet." She rummaged through her bag, finally turning it over and dropping the contents on the table. There it was, a small white envelope. She wanted to take and open it but Harm grabbed her hand to prevent her.
"If there is something not right about it, we might be wise to have it checked for fingerprints," he said. Wide eyed and in shock Jayla and Brandon looked at him. Harm went to the door and called for the bailiff. In a few words he explained the situation and the man nodded understanding. He went and came back with the sheriff. Brandon looked a bit suspicious but sheriff Ramsey ignored him and turned to Harm.
"Guess you're right and we better have look at that letter." He pulled some rubber gloves out of his pocket. Harm's brows rose; he never met a sheriff actually carrying gloves with him.
Seeing his look the man laughed. "Hey, I love forensics."
Carefully he slit the envelope open and pulled the contents out. He unfolded the letter and the four of them bent over it to read.
Again it was an offer to buy the land but there was also a reference to the trial and the comment that keeping her son out of jail surely would mean more to her than the possession of a piece of land she didn't use anyway. Maybe, if she was willing to sell, someone could put in a good word and Brandon wouldn't be punished too severely. That is, on the condition that she didn't speak to the police or someone else about the letter. The signature was illegible.
With a grim expression the sheriff folded the letter again and pushed it back into the envelope. He looked around to find something to put it in and Harm was quick to present him with a large envelope from his briefcase.
"I think we should talk to the judge," he suggested. Ramsey nodded and the four of them walked towards the judge's room. There they found Miss Julia as well.
"I think you better wait outside," Harm told Brandon. The boy clearly didn't like it but, albeit with a sour expression on his face, obeyed and sat down on the bench next to the judge's room's door.
Indoors Mr. Brown was already talking to the judge, trying to persuade him not to pay attention to the most recent revelations. But he fell silent when Ramsey told him about the letter Jayla had received.
The judge's face became grim.
'This certainly warrants a full investigation, Ramsey," he stated. "But unfortunately, Mr. Brown is also right. It should not interfere with the present trial."
"But this should. Three of the jurors are closely related to Miss Bennett," Miss Julia said, dropping another bombshell.
"What?"
There was a knock on the door and the bailiff entered to warn recess was over.
"Tell the people we need another 15 minutes," the judge ordered. He wanted to know all ins and outs of the matter before he returned to the court. The last thing he wanted was to get another unpleasant surprise. The bailiff left and Hoover turned to Miss Julia again. "Elaborate," he demanded
"I don't blame you, or you, or you, or you," she began, looking at the four men one by one. "Neither of you originates from Old Orchard Beach. I told I was born and raised here and so is Millicent. Both our families have been living here for generations. Previously it was a close knit community but in the sixties and seventies a lot of people moved in. Family became less important, but back then it did matter and we could name our ancestors four of five generations back. In fact, Millicent and I are related, too. Her great-grandmother and my great-grandfather were brother and sister. It's inevitable, I guess, in a small community it make sense that families get intertwined. Well, Millicent's grandmother, that's my great-grandmother's niece, married three times. Her first husband was a Burns, and Millicent's mother Alicia was his daughter. He was a fisherman and perished at sea, shortly after she was born. Shortly after that she remarried, after all, in those days a woman needed a husband. She got pregnant again and delivered twins, Petra and Paula Lewiston. After her second husband died, TB, I think, she remarried again and had a son, Jason. At that time, it was before the collapse of stock market in 1929, the family was rich and owned a large house. The whole family lived together and afterwards they kept living together, for there was no money to live apart. So Alicia, Petra, Paula and Jason grew up together and when they married their spouses moved in as well. The next generation was born there and the family only split up as late as the early sixties."
As she spoke Harm had scribbled down a family tree and showed it to her. Miss Julie nodded.
"That's accurate, she nodded. "Millicent is the oldest child of Alicia Burns and John Bennett. She had a younger brother but he died as a child. Both Petra and Paula married, one to a Mr Carter and the other to Mr Owens. They both had four children. Jason married as well and had two daughters. For there were three different fathers to begin with and the daughters married and the children got their father's name most people forgot the family relation. Carl Carter is the middle son of Petra, Bertie Owens is the youngest son of Paula and Ingrid is Jason's daughter. They all grew up with Millicent."
Harm had completed his family tree.
"Mr Rabb, Mr Brown, did any of you ask the jurors whether they were related to one of the parties?" the judge asked.
"I guess so," Harm fished his notes out of his briefcase and showed them, and low and behold, at all three he had ticked 'not related'.
The judge fingered his chin.
"Can I have that for a moment?" he asked pointing at the sketch. Harm nodded and shoved the paper towards him.
"Miss Julia, you're sure this is accurate?"
"Yes Your Honour," was the firm answer.
"Right. I don't think I have any choice than declare it a mistrial. Sheriff, seeing the new evidence and leads you have your work cut out for you."
Ramsey straightened his shoulders. "Yes Sir."
Judge Hoover rose and beckoned the others to follow him. Recess was over.

Inside the courtroom silence fell when the four man, two women and one boy entered. The judge took his place behind the desk again.
"Before we restart I have a few questions. Miss Bennett. Are you the daughter of and John Bennett Alicia Burns."
Miss Bennett nodded affirmatively. "Yes, Your Honour."
Then Mr Hoover looked at the jury. "Mr. Carl Carter, are you a son of Petra Lewiston, the half-sister of Miss Bennett's mother Alicia Burns, which makes you a cousin to Millicent Bennett?"
The man paled. "Yes, Your Honour," he confirmed in an audibly shaken voice.
"Mr. Bertie Owens, are you a son of Paula Lewiston, the half-sister of Miss Bennett's mother Alicia Burns, which makes you a cousin to Millicent Bennett?"
"Yes Sir." The man's face was like carved out of stone.
"Ingrid Ragman, are you a daughter of Jason Ragman, the half-brother of Miss Bennett's mother Alicia Burns, which makes you a cousin to Millicent Bennett?" Silently the women nodded yes.
"Neither of you did mention that; in fact, each of you denied, when asked whether you were related to one of the parties, didn't you?" Three nods were the response.
"Seeing the facts, I don't have another choice than declare it a mistrial. Next to that, not that it matters because of the mistrial, seeing the evidence I will use my authority as a judge and declare the defendant not guilty. Brandon, you're a free man."
Behind him Harm heard Jayla choke back a sob. Brandon turned and, pushing Harm aside, flung himself into his mother's arms. Applause and cheering sounded in the courtroom.
Once more the gavel was used.
"The sheriff will conduct a new investigation into the attack on Miss Bennett," the judge announced, "as well as into the accusation of blackmail performed by Miss Bennett." He ignored the daggers shooting from the lady's eyes. "In addition to that I will see what's possible in suing you," he furthermore addressed Carl Carter, Bertie Owens and Ingrid Ragman. "Court is adjourned," he concluded with a last firm bang.

Outside Jayla couldn't stop thanking him, hugging him repeatedly. Harm gave her a weary smile. Now it was over he realize how tired he was. And there were only two days of his leave left.
He straightened his shoulders; he shouldn't whine. After all, it had been for a good cause.

Saturday
End of the afternoon
Harm's loft
He had expected to come home to an empty house but he wasn't. There was soft music and the smell of good food. Mac was standing in the kitchen, humming and dancing with the music. He had only a moment to enjoy the sight of her swinging hips before she noticed him and rushed over to greet him.
"You're back."
To his surprise she gave him a warm hug, which he returned eagerly. When she released him, he let go of her reluctantly.
"To what do I owe this?" he asked.
Mac hesitated. She didn't want to give away too much of her feelings.
"You gave up your days off to help a boy. That deserves a bit of TLC and pampering, don't you think?"
Harm smiled a tired smile. Now he was home, he felt how straining the past days had been. And to think he had had the few days off to rest and recharge. Not that he regretted what he had done. Not for a second; without him an innocent kid probably would have gone to jail and have a record for the rest of his life.
"Sorry, what did you say?" he said, when he realised Mac had been talking to him and was waiting for an answer now.
"I said, why don't you sit and relax while I heat the food. I made ghotab for dessert."
This brought a full blown smile to Harm's face. Although he didn't have a very sweet tooth, the walnut filled deep-fried nuggets were his favourite. Mac didn't prepare them often for making them was very time-consuming so he always felt privileged when she made them for him.
He shook his head. "I'm going to take hot shower and change," he declared.

Dinner was quiet; only a few sentences were shared. Afterwards Mac put the dishes in the washer and they retired to the sofa, each with a cup of tea.
"What were you smiling for, earlier?" Mac dared to ask.
"When?" Harm didn't remember.
"When I said you deserved a bit of pampering."
"I was thinking that whatever reason you had to give me a bit of TLC, I was happy to accept," he said.
Tired herself Mac wasn't really on guard anymore when she sighed "You deserve it. You're a good man."
"The good man?" Harm couldn't stop himself asking.
Mac swallowed. "I like to think so," she whispered.
His look was intense. Slowly he placed his mug on the coffee table. Then reached out, took hers and set it on the table as well. His hands went to her hips. She swallowed when he started to pull her towards him. Finding it hard to breath she saw him lean in. When his lips almost touched hers, her eyelids fluttered down. She felt his breath on her face. His lips were soft and tender; he clearly didn't want to push her. When he pulled away she let out a little whimper. She didn't want him to stop and made a feeble attempt to hold him back.
Luckily he didn't want to stop either. In a second his lips were back on hers, this time with a bit more force.
Finally he pulled back and they were staring at each other for a long time.
"I probably should say I'm sorry but I don't, for I am not," Harm declared, a quivering muscle next to his eye betraying his nervousness. "I dreamed about kissing you for a long time."
Tears of sheer relief welled up in Mac's eyes. He wiped them away, like he had done before, and she leant into his hand.
"Will you go out with me, on a date?"
"Yes," she nodded.
"Next Friday?"
She nodded again.
He trailed his fingertips over her cheek. When they were next to her mouth she slightly turned her head and kissed them.
"You are so beautiful," he sighed, pulling her close again, her head tucked away under his chin, his hands drawing circles on her back. Mac closed her eyes; somehow she knew he wasn't going to say the words, not tonight, but for now she didn't care; she was more than happy with the progress.

The clock chimed eleven and reluctantly she released herself.
"You better go to bed," she said. "I know you're tired."
Harm wanted to protest but a massive yawn betrayed him.
"Run tomorrow?" he asked hopefully, not prepared to let her go without something to look forward to.
"No," Mac told him, but before he could react she added, "You need your rest. Sleep in and I will be back around half past eleven, with lunch. We can spend the rest of the day together."
Biting back another yawn Harm nodded. She was right; he could do with some sleep. He rose and walked her to the door. There he wrapped his arms around her once more.
"See you tomorrow."
She answered his kiss.
"See you tomorrow."

The end