Justin Time (Chapter 11) An original Novel
Link to beginning of story:
https://steemit.com/fiction/@justephen/justin-time-chapter-1-an-original-novel
Link to Chapter 10: The Evidence
https://steemit.com/fiction/@justephen/justin-time-chapter-10-an-original-novel
Review Chapter 10:
Thanks to Madam Clearvisions' advise, Mark Hannity made $200,000.00 in a stock trade. Madam Clearvision next tells Hannity who the winning horse should be at the Preakness. Katherine is hand-cuffed and escorted out of her house by the police as Justin witnesses this traumatic event.
Chapter 11: Here Comes the Judge
"And there off.", yelled the announcer at the races to the awaiting crowd who were watching the main event at the Preakness.
Mark Hannity with his binoculars was watching in anticipation from his perfectly situated seat. Racing horse Misty Mountain was a long shot of 13 to 1 who the experts predicted would end up in last place. Mark Hannity was not only hoping the experts were dead wrong, he had a lot riding on this bet. Of his original $200,000.00 he received with the stock options, he already lost $50,000.00 of it in a high stakes poker game. He decided to bet $50,000.00 on this race. He by far made the biggest wage on Misty Mountain which actually lowered the odds from 32 to 1 to only 13 to 1. The 'house' always gets its share of the stakes so the odds are always adjusted to accommodate the fluctuation of peoples bets.
The announcer continued, "And out of the gate stretch is Mr. Magoo followed by Cats Cradle and then Hairy Carry with Misty Mountain and Yo Mama trailing."
Mark Hannity was getting very concerned and started recalling that Clearvision said there were no guarantees.
"Moving into the half mile it is now Cats Cradle followed by Hairy Carry. Mr. Magoo now trailing towards the back of the pack with Misty Mountain making a move."
"Go Misty Mountain go", yelled Hannity.
"Misty Mountain now coming on strong passing Miss Muffet, Eat Your Heart Out and Two to Tango.”
Mark Hannity started jumping up and down with wild excitement screaming, "Misty Mountain go go go go go."
"Along the final stretch, Hairy Carry pulls ahead of Cats Cradle with Misty Mountain close behind. And it is Misty Mountain passing Cats Cradle, Hairy Carry still in the lead. And it is Hairy Carry and Misty Mountain. Hairy Carry and Misty Mountain ahead of the pack. Misty Mountain a half length behind Hairy Carry and closing. Hairy Carry and Misty Mountain and wow!..a photo finish..stand by for results."
Mark Hannity had his fingers crossed while waiting for the final results.
"While we are waiting for the final results third place", continued the announcer, "was Two to Tango."
"And the results are in. First place is Misty Mountain followed by Hairy Carry. A surprise victory at the Preakness."
Hannity jumped so high with excitement, he lost his balance and fell over. People around him were wondering if he was okay, but he just sat on the ground laughing. I just won $650,000.00 he thought to himself.
"Daddy, when will mommy be back?", asked Justin who started crying again.
It had been a week since they had arrested Katherine. The evening they arrested her, William drove home as soon as possible to see Justin. Justin was very shaken and William knew he really shouldn't leave Justin alone, but he did need to visit Katherine as soon as possible. He had called Francis and explained what he knew and then asked if she and Blair could come over to watch Justin and keep his mind occupied. That evening they slept over as it was very late when he returned. Justin had very little explained to him and persistently asked questions. After dodging Justin's questions for a week, William decided that it would be best for Justin to know the truth.
"I don't know son.", he said, "It is complicated.”
"You keep telling me that. I am not stupid.", said Justin.
"I know. In fact, you are very smart. Okay here goes."
William hesitated for a moment and then said, "I have an idea. Let's discuss this over ice cream. We will go to Ice Cream Galore. I know you like that place."
"Yeah. That sounds good.", said Justin, "But don't ignore me again."
"I promise I will tell you as much as possible Justin."
At the Ice Cream Parlor, while Justin was enjoying his double dipped Oreo Cookie and Bubble Gum ice cream cone, William discuss virtually everything that happened since Justin's coma. He told Justin about the experiment on chimpanzees. How all the doctors wanted to give up, but his mother refused. He told Justin that his mom saved his life even though it was against the law.
"I don't understand why saving my life is against the law daddy.", pondered Justin."
She was right and they were wrong." he said firmly.
"That is true son, but she can't just do anything she wants if it is against the law."
"But she was RIGHT!", he yelled.
"When you get older son, you may understand."
"I don't want to understand something stupid like that." he argued folding his arms with his mind made up.
"So, how long will she be in jail?", he asked again.
" I can't tell you yet, but she will have her preliminary hearing in a week. Then we can see how much bail is."
"What is bail?", asked Justin.
"Bail is how much money you have to pay to temporarily let someone out of jail until the trial.", answered William.
"Well, I have saved up almost $30.00 dad. I will bail her out."
"That is nice of you son, but I think bail will be quite a bit more."
"How much more?
"Sometimes $10,000.00. Sometimes $100,000.00. Sometimes more."
"Holy hamburgers!", he said in awe.
"Where did you get that expression from?", questioned William.
"A kid in school.", answered Justin.
It had been a week since their discussion at the ice cream parlor and he had just come home from school. William was able to rearrange his work hours to accommodate Justin's schedule. William was very fortunate as he had just hired a manager who was quite competent. Also, William was just ten minutes away from work and was available in case anything went wrong.
"Daddy daddy guess what?", yelled Justin as he ran through the front door.
"What Justin?"
"I won the Presidential Physical Fitness Award at school today", he said with a big smile. "I even broke the school record for my age group in two categories; Running and jumping."
"That is great son!"
"Mr. Bennington, our Principal said I should do track and field when I get older."
"I think that is a great idea Justin. By the way, do you have any homework you need me to help you with?"
"I have it handled dad. This stuff is too easy.", Justin said boasting with confidence.
"Science is easy. It is my favorite subject. We need to name the planets in order. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. It is way too easy. They don't even discuss other solar systems and galaxies. I am going to be a scientist like Mommy when I grow up."
"I am sure you will be a great scientist son."
As Justin went upstairs to his room, William was pondering how fast Justin recovered from his injury. Other than the loss of memory around that time, he seems to be dong great in every other way. He literally is showing no signs of injury. William wanted to get to bed early as Katherine's preliminary hearing was tomorrow morning.
Detective Armstrong slapped Joe on the back and said, "Good Job. I think we caught the 'Big Fish'". He was referring to renown scientist, Katherine Time. The detective was also looking at Kyle and Nurse Latresky as possible co-conspirators. It would be very difficult to prove Nurse Latresky as she was never around. The most they could prove is that she was negligent. Kyle was a different story as he was in the same room.
"So when do we go after Latresky and Lamberg?", questioned Joe.
"Unfortunately, we have no case against Latresky. Kyle Lamberg however, is a different story. Although the District Attorney isn't sure if Lamberg is worth it. He wants Katherine Time. I don't blame him. Have you seen the media coverage recently? Lamberg is a no-name and will just cloud the waters."
"I wonder if they will cover the trial on TV?", said Joe.
"We will know tomorrow. Doesn't matter to me. I get great seats regardless", Armstrong said smiling.
James Paulson, Katherine's lawyer was preparing Katherine for the preliminary trial. He explained to Katherine that Judge Jacoby was a harsh no nonsense judge. He had little patience and always takes control of his courtroom.
"I believe the bail amount will be somewhere between $20,000.00 and $50,000.00 he told her. Your reputation should help this case. Are you ready?"
It was 9:00 am in the morning, as Katherine stepped inside the courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit. The first thing she noticed were many cameras. It was a full courtroom filled mostly with the media. Her hands were cuffed behind her as she looked throughout the courtroom. She saw William who smiled and blew her a kiss. She also noticed Detective Armstrong who gave her a smirk. She approached the stand with Mr. Paulson. She saw Judge Jacoby commanding a big presence sitting in his huge black leather chair.
Judge Jacoby explained as he stared into the camera, "The purpose of today's hearing is first to determine if there is reasonable evidence to continue. After extensive reading and research on my part, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence. How does the defendant plead?"
After Paulson whispered into Katherine's ear, she said, "Not guilty."
"To help determine the bail amount, I would now like to hear from the Plaintiff.", said the Judge.
Plaintiff Attorney Randall Richmond began, "These are extreme circumstances", he said. We have a world famous scientist who believes she is above the law. Not only was she unauthorized to act in a medical surgeons role, she put her child in critical danger by injecting him with experimental medicine. She used her own son as a guinea pig. Also, because of the wealth of this family, it would be very easy for her to get on a plane to never be seen again. We believe she is a huge flight risk."
Attorney Richmond continued for a while longer and asked for the bail to be $300,000.00. A small gasp came from the courtroom.
"I understand." said the Judge. Mr. Paulson your turn for the defendant."
While Paulson was making his argument, Katherine was thinking how disinterested the Judge was looking.
Paulson argued that she was a zero flight risk and she has a perfect reputation as a citizen as well as scientist. He argued that she would never tarnish her reputation by skipping out. The judge asked for a brief recess and said he would have his answer in ten minutes. Ten minutes later, he began.
"Katherine Time has been accused of practicing medicine without a license, the unauthorized use of experimental drugs, child endangerment, conspiracy to..." Judge Jacoby continued with a few more charges.
The Judge continued, "We also believe because of her wealth and her obvious disregard for rules, she is indeed a flight risk. I hereby set the bail amount for $1.5 million dollars. I have set a trial date for October 11th 2016". Pounding his gavel on the table he said, "Court is adjourned."
Many gasps and murmurs came from within the courtroom.
"How is that possible?" Katherine asked Attorney Paulson.
"I am incredibly shocked too, however the judge is allowed to set any bail he sees fit.", Paulson answered.
Katherine looked over to William who was crying with his head in his hands.
Mark Hannity didn't notice the man leaving, who rudely bumped into him when he entered Madam Clearvisions shop.
"Damn", Mark said. "No apology or anything." 'Maybe the Madam gave him some bad news.', he thought.
"Madam Clearvision?", he said in a loud voice.
"I will be right with you. Please give me a moment." she said from behind the curtain.
After about 15 minutes, Mark uttered, "Are you read..."
"Sorry Mr. Hannity", interrupted the Madam as she walked through her curtains.
"With the advise you give, you have no reason to apologize. I am ready for the big score now!", he said rubbing his hands together.
"I have something very important to tell you Mr. Hannity. It is complicated you will need to take notes. I had an incredibly clear vision last night that we need to discuss.", she said.
"I am ready!", Mark said enthusiastically.
"Please sit here and I will start.", she said pointing down at the very familiar chair where he has sit before.
Mark made pages of notes and finally after an hour without interruptions, she was through. Mark Hannity left the Madam's shop with a dazed look in his eyes. What he was told, was nothing he had expected.
Judge Jacoby said, "Here's to a new beginning.", as he clanked his beer tankard with his best friend and owner of the Bel De Flur, Larry Van Morrison.
Larry chimed in, "And to the best friend possible."
They were in a quiet booth far away from other patrons at the Mc Cormicks bar and grille. They would visit Mc Cormicks about once a week, but today was a special day indeed.
Judge Jacoby continued and started to laugh, "You should of seen the look on her face! And the best part, her husband was crying like a little baby. Oh I wish you were there."
Then with slight anger in his voice he said, "Nobody! I mean nobody messes with my best friend Larry Van Morrison."
They clanked there tankards together again and this time with more enthusiasm.
Then Larry said, "At first I was wishing it was William who was on the stand since it was all his fault, but then when I got thinking about it, I realized that Katherine being in jail will hurt him even more. I might have to close down my restaurant because of that bastard. Of all the accounts to steal, the Millionaire Moguls was the worse. He knew that would put me under and stole them intentionally. I am sure he was paid off."
"Don't worry about that now." said the Judge, "We have plenty of media coverage including some friends of mine on the inside and this will tarnish Katherine's reputation. Thus, tarnishing William Time's restaurant. The Millionaire Moguls will not want to be associated with the husband of a law breaking child abuser. They will come back begging for you."