Missing
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A/N:
Chapter 41 (Plea Bargains)
"No." Holly sat across from her defense lawyer and tapped her long nails on the table. "I'm not taking a plea bargain." The sharp-dressed dark haired lawyer was trying to convince her to take a plea to save time and possibly get a shorter sentence, but she didn't need it. "Honestly I have no doubt the jury's going to sympathize."
"What part of you thinks that a jury is going to find you not guilty?" Wasn't it the attorney's job to help get her out of trouble? She folded her arms and turned her head away from him, slowly and emphatically. The lawyer sighed and gestured with his hands in the air. "Listen Holly, there is only so much a defense attorney can do when the client is guilty. All the evidence and testimonies the prosecutor has stacked up against you-you are a mother who has kept her daughter locked in a basement for nearly a decade-the least I can do is work with you to get a lighter sentence."
She lifted her right hand and pat off her arm, huffing at him. "Tell the judge, I want another lawyer."
"That attorney is only going to tell you the same thing. Cut a deal, if this goes to trial, you will most likely be given the death penalty. That is what the prosecutor will be shooting for. I can at least get you down to life in prison." The attorney brought his hands to his sweat covered face and slid them down his cheeks with a heavy sigh. "Maybe an insanity defense."
"Insanity? I am most certainly not insane." Holly leaned forward and poked a finger at him. "I tell you this, that insufferable bitch had it coming to her." The man jerked back and gripped the chair firmly. "I only regret having the sense and decency not to kill that bitch and keep her locked up for the duration of my life that she ruined." The man's eyes grew as Holly smirked. "Besides, everyone knows the American judicial system doesn't kill their death row inmates right away, I'll have at least twenty years before they decide to execute me…"
Holly curled her fingernails inwards and stared down at the red acrylic nails. Her voice lowered and a subtle cackle escaped her lips. "I'll likely be dead before that time even comes, so life in prison versus death sentence hardly matters to me."
The man tugged on his tie and looked over his shoulder, muttering to himself about how he wished he had gone ahead to be a prosecutor rather than a defense lawyer. "Do you not even know who the prosecutor is that you're going up against?"
"Does it matter? I heard he was the brother of that kid with the webshow some years ago. Didn't he drop out?"
"Ma'am, Spencer Shay finished his law degree in 2012 and is now one of the foremost prosecuting attorneys in the nation. Your own daughter and ex-husband managed to get him hired for the job. If you don't at least try to plea bargain, you stand no chance of getting a lighter sentence."
"I'll get a lighter sentence, now don't you worry. There's no way a jury is going to convict me." She put her fingernails to her chest and started to laugh. "I was the wronged woman here."
The lawyer was trying to remain calm, but now his hair had become a mess and his tie was undone. The sweat dampened his shirt collar and he was bent over with a hand to his forehead. "Take a plea bargain and you do not have to go to trial. I'm begging you, if you go to trial, that prosecutor will tear you apart before a grand jury. This is also a high profile case, do you know what that means? It means you will be on national television-you stand no chance of having an innocent verdict."
"I want a new lawyer."
"Fine. You need one…" The attorney rose and grabbed his briefcase from the desk. "I don't think you understand what is at stake. Don't think that just because you're a little old lady in a wheelchair that the prosecutor isn't going to eat you alive."
She smiled at him and set her right cheek against her curled fingers. "Are we done here?" The attorney huffed and stormed away, leaving her to sit and wonder why anyone would think she would be in the wrong. After all, she was the one who lost several years of her life. Now Gary was dead, Andre was gone, and Trina freed.
She straightened her back and narrowed her eyes. "I'm the victim, and I'll convince any jury of that myself if I need to."
In another part of town, Cat consulted with her lawyer while Sam waited for her outside. Her lawyer was a young woman around her age with shoulder length blonde hair. "So essentially, Megan, I can avoid a trial if I take a plea of guilty?" Cat stretched her hands out on the table and puckered her lips. "To an accessory charge?"
"Yes." Megan shifted her teardrop glasses up her nose while holding onto her calm smile. "You see sweetie, here's how it works." The woman cupped her hands together and leaned forward on the table, looking Cat directly in the eyes. "While duress is something we can use, it explains the situation but doesn't excuse it."
"Okay." She wasn't too thrilled with any jail time, but whatever she could do to get the least amount of time possible would be great.
"We can prove that you were captive and forced as well, and Trina is willing to testify on your behalf. Her daughter has given a court ordered testimony to a lawyer in a private session, so these things can help you. You've cooperated, and that will help. Now, if you were to testify against Holly, it is possible-but you understand that you have a different trial, unless you were to take a plea agreement."
She furrowed her brow and dropped her hands to her lap. The thought of sitting on the witness stand and recounting years of horror was scary, but if it would help her in any way, she'd do it. "I'm pregnant too."
Megan nodded and smiled pleasantly. "That actually is a tremendous help. Would you like to hear the plea agreement I have drafted for you?" She curled her fingers into her palm and bit her lower lip as the woman opened her briefcase. "It is very simple-and if we don't go this route and try to use the duress defense, it is very difficult to do."
"Okay. Let's hear what the plea bargain is." She leaned forward and swallowed a heavy lump of air in her throat. She was ready to hear and hoped that she would be granted the best chance available.
Megan and Cat would meet with the judge to discuss the bargain which she agreed to. "In exchange to a plea of guilty, Catherine Valentine will serve out the remainder of her term on house arrest, plus eighteen months. In total, Catherine Valentine agrees to six years of probation."
This was one of the lighter sentences she was going to be able to get, and the most likely to have the judge accept. With this, she would be able to keep and raise her baby, and Sam even agreed to help her out.
Judge Robert read through the arrangement and with each passing second, Cat began to grow more and more nervous. "May I make a suggested change?" He asked. Cat's heart leapt to her throat and Megan nodded. "I would like to lower the amount of probation time from six years to four years." Her hand flew to her chest and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Yes, your honor."
"Effective immediately." Judge Robert laid down the paperwork and turned his eyes to Cat. "You are hereby charged with twenty four months of house arrest, and a total of four years of probation. I will assign you a probation officer, and we will go over the terms."
Cat stumbled over her words and fought to speak up, but she was just too relieved to know that she wouldn't be going to prison and she wouldn't be losing her baby. "Y-Yes your Honor, thank you." She wiped her eyes and stood with the lawyer and judge.
Meanwhile, Holly still wasn't accepting any plea agreements and was still determined to prove her innocence in trial. She'd already fired three lawyers before she found one willing to defend her. This lawyer was going to try and garner sympathy from the jurors, to attempt to suggest they have no reason to send a defenseless old woman to prison.
Then on the day of trial, she was guided through the corridors of courthouse, ready and eager to reach that much coveted verdict. News cameras were all over the place and the lights flashing before her eyes was disorienting.
Still she did her best to put on the face of a meek old woman. The lawyer that wheeled her forward was a slack-jawed defense attorney fresh out of law school. He knew his way around the books and could spin one hell of a story from his lips.
"How many years have you had actually trying cases?" Holly looked up at the sandy haired man and wondered the age old question of what was more powerful: Knowledge versus experience.
"Three ma'am," The attorney replied. "I will get you that freedom you want." If she got a guilty verdict, she would appeal the case. Sure, appeals were only won if there were an error in due process, so it was unlikely she'd be able to appeal a case where everyone did everything right.
Surely, if she ended with a guilty verdict, it meant her lawyer didn't fight hard enough for her. "You're young, you're fresh and new, and you know all the laws in the book. This case should be open and shut."
They entered the courtroom and as she was wheeled through the pews, she could see the prosecutor already at his desk. The man was tall and wearing a sharp black suit and black slacks. His hair was slicked back behind his ears and his piercing brown eyes seemed to burn her on the spot.
"That's the prosecutor you're going up against," The lawyer said quietly, "Spencer Shay. He's got at least twelve years under his belt, studies the law every year, and as tried over a thousand cases. He's put many behind bars and many on death row." Spencer's eyes narrowed upon her and his nostrils flared out. The lawyer gripped her handlebars tightly and his voice began to tremble. "Some prosecutors handle between eight hundred and one thousand cases a year."
"Okay?"
"He's kept a steady flow of one thousand per year, give or take a few depending on various legal factors. So he's had about twelve to thirteen thousand cases in his career. He's only ever lost five percent…"
"How many is that?"
"Not many. Six hundred to six-fifty. Total." So the prosecutor lost that many. She wasn't so nervous now. "Going through law school, I had several lawyers, defense and prosecutor that I looked up to-idolized even. Mr. Shay was one of them. It's truly an honor…Win or lose, it is an honor."
"Don't get star-struck on me now, kid. I'm sure he's not that great."
"You don't understand, I'm going to have to utilize everything in my books to make sure we win this thing. Going up against Mr. Shay? He's got a nasty track record for ending cases quickly…Now it's far too late to take the plea agreements."
Spencer's poisonous gaze sharpened and he glanced away for a second to peer down at the gold watch on his wrist. It was time for this young, know-it-all lawyer to best his idol and grant her a victory.
So...show of hands who all thinks that Holly should have taken a plea bargain? As for Cat, unfortunately it is how the law works-she would not be able to be let off scot free, but fortunately for her that's where plea bargaining helps. Now, who all thinks that Holly and her fresh out of law school lawyer is about to get slaughtered in court? I'd say we should all place bets and wagers, but any financial wagers are illegal. So, digital kudos who votes Holly's going to win on her 'crippled defenseless old woman' defense? Now who thinks the prosecutor is going to make it rain Hellfire in the courtroom and take her to the full extent of the law? Also, who remembers the little surprise that may be awaiting Holly at the end of this trial, win or lose?