It had been a long weekend with court closed on Monday. Thankfully for Tom, his testimony had ended the session on Friday, leaving him three days to prepare for hearing Eckert's testimony. He had spent most of that time with Dr. Hirsch, talking and crying for hours while the doctor listened. He had finally agreed to some medication to help him sleep, and although he was quickly tiring of the ups and downs of the trial, he felt ready to face things again come Tuesday morning.
Margaret started at his smiling, expectant face for a moment and then could not stop her own smile from appearing. Despite her lingering concern, it felt good to see a genuine smile on his face. She grabbed her keys and purse. "Let's go."
Tom took a seat between his mother and Doug in the courtroom gallery and watched as Lee Eckert took the stand. The man looked even more put together than he had so far during the trial. He was wearing dark dress pants, a white button down shirt, and a tie. He was clean shaven, his hair neatly combed. Tom could almost smell the cheap cologne he imagined Eckert must have doused himself in, and he gagged a little at the thought.
After Eckert was sworn in, his attorney, Rosa Sheffield, began her questioning. "Mr. Eckert, please tell the court how you know the alleged victim, Tom Hanson."
"I met him about a year and a half ago at a bar near my old place on Tager Street…McGill's. We shot a few games of pool…had a few drinks. He sold me some stuff…I was into drugs then…I'm not going to lie to you…I was messed up. I kinda thought…you know…maybe he was a cop. But then he didn't try to buy…he just sold, so…you know…I thought he was okay."
"So you started hanging out with him?" asked Sheffield.
"Yeah…he hung around at my place a lot. Sometimes he was there for a few days at a time," Eckert answered.
"So he had gained your trust?"
"Oh yeah…he was cool. We got really close."
"How long was it before he revealed that he was a cop working undercover?" Sheffield approached the stand and looked at the witness.
"A couple of months," said Eckert.
"After he had obtained the information he wanted from you?"
"Yes."
"So before that, Mr. Eckert, while he was still, for all you knew, just another drug dealer…how would you describe your relationship?"
Eckert lowered his head for a moment, then looked up, but not at his attorney. From his seat in the witness box he had a line of view that put Tom directly in sight, and it was the officer on which his gaze now fell.
Tom stared back at him, locking eyes with the ex-con. Eckert tried to keep a plaintive look on his face for the jury, but as Tom's eyes narrowed, refusing to turn away, Eckert's expression hardened and he quickly turned away.
Eckert shook his head and cleared his throat. "We…uh…we sort of had a thing going."
"What kind of thing?" asked Sheffield.
"You know…I don't know…thinking about it now…maybe it was part of his plan…to trick me, you know? I mean, he was lying to me about a lot of stuff…who he was and everything. But…I don't know…this sure seemed real."
"What did?"
Eckert looked up at the woman. "He was always…you know…coming on to me."
Hearing that, Tom clenched his teeth, but remained quiet, resolved to hearing the rest of the man's story.
"He'd wait until we were at my place…alone," Eckert continued, "and then he'd always wanna sit by me…like on the couch or whatever. And then he'd put his hand on my leg or something. I wasn't into that, but…what the hell? One night, I didn't stop him…just to see what would happen."
"And what happened, Mr. Eckert?" asked Sheffield.
Eckert hesitated, then replied, "I guess if I hadn't let him…it started this whole thing…maybe we wouldn't be here now."
"It's not your fault, Lee," said his attorney.
An audible groan and "Oh brother!" rose from the gallery, and Captain Fuller elbowed Doug hard from one side while on the other Tom lowered his head, trying unsuccessfully to suppress a smile. A wave of murmurs ran through the crowd, and Judge Andrews pounded his gavel requesting order.
"Anyway," said Eckert, "one night, I didn't stop him. And he got on his knees in front of me and…undid my pant…and he gave me a blow job."
Any levity that had been present a moment ago in Tom's row in the gallery was shattered with those words.
Sheffield paced back and forth in front of the witness. "And then what?"
Eckert laughed a little. "Well, I'm not gonna lie…it felt pretty good. And he seemed to enjoy doing it. So I let him. Like I said, maybe it was all part of his lie, but…after a few times…I mean, he said we were good together and he wanted to be with me, and…I believed him. And so…after awhile, we…we went ahead and had sex."
"And this was his idea or yours?"
"His. Well…I mean…I went along with it, you know. I mean, it felt good and he seemed like he meant it…you know…about having feelings for me. So I let him, one night, get into bed with me." Eckert laughed again. "I'd never done that with a guy before, but even I knew he wasn't doing it right. He was trying to…you know…be the aggressor…the 'man' I guess, but the next time we switched places, and that worked out better. He liked that…when I did it to him instead." Eckert shifted his gaze again to Tom who was looking right back at him, his face a myriad of expressions but his eyes steady and focused on the man.
"Okay, Mr. Eckert," said Sheffield, "so the two of you had a relationship, then you found out he was an undercover cop. You were arrested and went to prison. Did you have any contact with Officer Hanson while you were incarcerated?"
"Just once. He brought me those baby pictures. And he's right. I didn't want to see them. I wanted to see him. But he…he wouldn't even look at me." Eckert paused and lowered his head.
Tom watched him intently. Oh for Christ's sake…is he crying?
"Mr. Eckert? Lee? Are you okay?" asked Sheffield.
He looked up. "Yeah…yeah. I'm fine. Anyway, he...uh…I realized he really was there for her, not to see me, and…yeah, I got upset. I yelled at him and I cursed at him…because he lied to me. I didn't give a…I mean, I didn't care about the arrest. I know…that was his job. But…I thought there was more to it than that. I guess I was wrong. But I didn't think…he shouldn't have done that. He shouldn't have used me like that just for his own needs and then act like it meant nothing to him." Eckert lowered his head again.
"So what you're saying is," said Sheffield as she looked around the courtroom, "that he was using his official position as a police officer…using the assignment…to use you for his sexual needs. Is that correct?"
"That's what I think…how I felt, at least, after it was over."
"And that upset you?"
"Well, yeah," answered Eckert. "I mean, at first it was just for kicks, but then…I thought maybe it meant something more."
"All right, Mr. Eckert, so then you were released early from prison after serving just thirteen months of your sentence. Why is that?" asked Sheffield.
"My conviction was overturned because the police coerced me into confessing."
"Objection!" shouted D.A. Scott Hayden. "No evidence has been presented to support that claim."
"Overruled," said the judge. "The fact that the judge signed the order to overturn is considered sufficient evidence. Proceed, Ms. Sheffield."
"Thank you, Your Honor," she said, then turned back to the witness. "Mr. Eckert, tell us what happened on the night in question. How did you come to see Officer Hanson that night?"
"I just wanted to talk, you know? Tell him there were no hard feelings about everything. I was planning to start over…stay clean…thought maybe he could help me out with that…we could still be friends. So I went over to his place…saw him get out of the car, and waited. I knew that guy he was with…he didn't like me. So I just waited until he left before I came out to talk."
"And then what happened?"
Eckert took a deep breath before responding. "Well, he didn't want to go upstairs or stay out front. I guess he was afraid someone would see him with me. So we went to my place. We got there and we talked about a lot of stuff. He seemed cool. He said he was sorry about busting me…how once he got to know me he didn't want to do it, but he had to. So he was glad I got out."
Tom listened to Eckert's story with a mix of emotions. He was sickened at what the man was saying, and even worse he was afraid that it sounded believable. And he was furious that the system let a man like Eckert sit up there on the witness stand and flat out lie about everything. It wasn't right, but Eckert had nothing to lose. A perjury charge would mean nothing to him.
"What happened at your apartment, Mr. Eckert?" asked Sheffield.
"After we talked, he came on to me. I told him I wasn't ready for that…that we should take it slow….but he kept on touching me and stuff, and …well, I gave in."
"You had sex with him?"
"Yeah. I shouldn't have, I know. I feel bad about it. I wasn't trying to lead him on or anything, but…you know…it felt good…it had been awhile…so…I figured why not?"
His attorney looked at him. "And this was entirely consensual? On both parts?"
"Yes, it was."
"Earlier, the prosecution presented Dr. Phillip Marcus who testified that Officer Hanson's injuries were consistent with those that might have been caused by rough consensual sex…" Sheffield began before she was interrupted by the D.A.
"Objection! The doctor also testified that the injuries were consistent with those of sexual assault victims."
"Sustained," said Judge Andrews. "The jury is instructed to consider that testimony as well. Go on, Ms. Sheffield."
"Mr. Eckert," the defense attorney continued, "was your sexual encounter with Officer Hanson that night what you would call 'rough'?"
Tom was starting to feel ill, and his resolve was weakening at this line of questioning. He only hoped that no one was believing the story that Eckert was weaving. He looked at his watch and saw that it was nearly lunchtime. Just hang on…a little longer…just hang on.
Eckert hesitated before answering. "Um…yeah. Yeah, I would say so. I mean…he likes it that way. I do too, I guess…sometimes. So yeah…there was a lot of blood and stuff."
"Which the CSIs found on the sheet in your apartment. Was Officer Hanson upset or did he resist it?"
"No. He only got upset afterward when I said I wanted to take it slow…I wasn't ready to get into something yet."
"And how did he react?" asked Sheffield.
"He got really mad…we argued and then he left. I offered to drive him home, but he just left," said Eckert.
"And what time was that?"
"Around 2:30 in the morning," answered Eckert.
"Did you see him any more after that?"
"No, not until the trial started."
"And do you have any idea how he got hurt? Or who took him out to Lotus Park and attacked him?" asked Sheffield.
"No, I don't," said Eckert.
Sheffield nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Eckert. I have no further questions."
Judge Andrews thanked her and announced, "Court will adjourn for lunch and reconvene at 1:00."
Oh, I can see the light (or dark!) at the end of the tunnel! It won't be long before this ends, but I have an idea for another story, so never fear! LOL! As for this one, thank you, as always for reading and reviewing. I like knowing you're out there. :-)