Justin Time (Chapter 12) An original Novel

                                  

 

Link to beginning of story:

 https://steemit.com/fiction/@justephen/justin-time-chapter-1-an-original-novel 

Link to Chapter 11: Here Comes the Judge

https://steemit.com/fiction/@justephen/justin-time-chapter-11-an-original-novel

Review Chapter 11:

With Madam Clearvision's advise again, Mark Hannity makes $200,000.00 by  picking the winning horse at the Preakness. William explains to Justin why his mom, Katherine, is in jail. She had to break the law to save his life. Judge Jacoby set the bail amount to an outrageous 1.5 million. Judge Jacoby and Larry Van Morrison owner of Bel De Flur Country Club Restaurant seem to be old friends and Katherine's trial may be fixed against her. Mark Hannity visits Madam Clearvision again, but seems to have some sort of unpleasant news.

Chapter 12: The Jury

 It had been three weeks since the hearing. William was visiting Katherine twice a day in jail. Justin was visiting his mom about every other day. Also, Blair's family would visit weekly. The Millionaire Mogels were very pleased with their food and service, however word started getting out through the media about Katherine. Although a few people from the exclusive club knew about the connection with William, it certainly had not yet reached the media.

"Oh. I see you are wearing that sweater I gave you on our incredible 10th year anniversary", said Katherine.

"Yes. Even though it is not cold out, I love this sweater and decided I am going to wear it daily until you are out of jail. It is my constant reminder of you."

"Thank you sweetheart.", she said lovingly.

During those three weeks, Justin and Blair were both doing very well in school. Blair was almost a straight A student as he was very studious and focused hard on homework. Justin on the other hand, was more of a B student. Although he knew his material and did great on his exams, he did very little homework. Justin also started taking physical education seriously as he decided he was going to get into track and field in High School. Ever since the principal of his school suggested it, Justin envisioned himself breaking High School records. Blair, on the other hand,  was very average regarding physical athleticism.

 
Mark Hannity had been anxiously checking his mail for the last three weeks. Finally, he received what he was anticipating. What he received was not a business tip. It was not a financial windfall. It was a summons. A summons to appear in court for jury duty. He could not excuse himself for financial distress or sickness. This is one summons he had to attend. He had to show up in court in a week on Monday. Although he was expecting this, it did not minimize how he felt. Mark knew what he was solely responsible for. A burden he had never imagined.

Attorney Randall Richmond was strategising with his team of legal experts.

"For the jury selection, we need to select men. Business men are preferred. Business women are good too. Winning this case depends on people who will follow the law to the book. Emotional people will be amiable to Katherine's situation and may site with her. Especially mothers. Although this case should be easy, we can't take it for granted. The professions we are looking for are engineers, accountants, scientists, doctors. The professions we are trying to avoid are actors, teachers, students, artists. Also, this is becoming a high profile case as it is stirring media attention. Just recently, the media started bringing her husband, a chef, into the spotlight as they are saying he was potentially a co-conspirator. I don't want any of you making comments. Please leave that to me."

 
Monday, a week later in Judge Jacoby's courtroom, Attorney Randall Richmond and Attorney James Paulson questioned each of the potential jurors. Towards the later part of the afternoon, Mark Hannity's name was called and he stepped forward. Mark was dressed in a business suit.

"Your name is Mark Hannity?', asked the plaintiff's attorney, Randal Richmond.

"Yes it is."

"And what do you do for a living?", asked Richmond. This question is usually the very first questioned asked.

"I am an entrepreneur.", Mark replied.

"I see. And what type of 'business ventures', have you done."

"I have done well in the stock market. Also, I have bought and sold real estate."

"Are you married?"

"No. I am not".

"Have you ever been married?"

"No. I have never had the time.", Mark said.

"Do you have any children?", asked Richmond.

"I do not."

"I am through with my questions Judge Jacoby.", said Richmond.

"Okay Mr. Paulson, it is your turn."

"Thank you Judge. Hello Mr. Hannity.", said James Paulson."

"Hello.", said Hannity.

"What do you do for fun?", asked Plaintiff Attorney Paulson.

"Well, I like to play poker, watch TV and deep sea diving.", answer Hannity.

"So, do you consider yourself a gambler?", asked Paulson.

"No. Not at all. My bets are pretty safe.", he said as he was thinking about his last horse racing venture.

"Thank you for your time.", said Paulson.

 
Both attorneys went to their respective corners to discuss with their team there opinions of Hannity. The defendants liked the fact that he was an entrepreneur. They did like that he plays poker.

"He seems to be more of a free spirit person who may look at things with more emotion.", said one of the defendants advisers to Paulson.

"True, but he has no wife and kids. He may not be able to appreciate Katherine's dilemma. I don't like him.", said Paulson.

"I don't blame you.", chimed in another adviser, "but we have only one more person we can throw out. I am looking at the remaining three people and I see two of which I don't like at all. I think we don't have much of a choice."

Looking over at the remaining three people, James Paulson said, "Agreed. Those two others look worse."

 
At the plaintiffs corner they remarked how they love the fact that he is unmarried and without kids. They also liked that he dressed like a business man.

"I don't like that he is an entrepreneur and that he gambles.", said plaintiff's attorney Richmond.

"I agree.", said his subordinate, "but he did indicate that his particular style of poker is more conservative and less of a gamble."

"My guess is that man does his homework before he invests and is more structured. I say keep him.", commented another.

"Well, he does not have kids, is not married and considers himself a business man. I think we will keep him.", conceded Richmond.
 

That evening, Mark Hannity was sitting at home by himself just staring at the TV. His thoughts were millions of miles away. He took his glass of Jack Daniels on the rocks and raised it to his lips. Although he knew what he had to do, he despised being put in this position. He had never carried the weight of so much responsibility. No one had ever depended on him before. He was only used to depending on himself. He continued to ponder as he poured himself another glass.
 
Henry Longfellow III, put his arm around William, as he pulled him to the side.

"As president of the Millionaire Moguls Club, I have to tell you that we are all very worried. It seems the media is focusing more on you now as well as your wife. Don't get me wrong, I do believe in our court system and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Also, please understand we love your food, your service and we personally like you too. I know you have no control of this situation, nevertheless I am putting you on notice. We have not made our decision to leave, however we are watching events very closely. With that said, I wish you and Katherine the best of luck."

William didn't respond nor did Longfellow expect a response.

  
The media filled courtroom was packed as Judge Jacoby sat tall above the crowd.

"Will the Plaintiff begin their opening argument."

"Thank you your honor." began Attorney Richmond as he walked up to the jury. "This is a case of a very intelligent calculating women who believes she is above the law. Within the next few weeks, we will prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that the popular world renown scientist, Dr. Katherine Time performed an unauthorized medical procedure using her son as a guinea pig jeopardizing his life. Mrs. Time knew that her covert activity was against the law, but she carefully planned and calculated each move believing that she was an exception since she is a WORLD FAMOUS scientist. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, our country has laws for a reason. Without these laws we would have chaos. These laws apply to every person in the country. They apply to every  person whether they are rich or poor, intelligent or stupid, black or white, Christian or Jewish and unknown or FAMOUS.", he emphasized. We will prove through video tape, expert witnesses and evidence that she performed this procedure on her son. Now the defendant is going to argue that she doesn't think she is above the law, but she was just trying to save her son. The defendant cannot argue that she did not try this risky procedure as the evidence is insurmountable. The defendant wants you to get emotionally involved because of the mother and son relationship. Our laws are for all people; even mothers and sons! Thank you."

Attorney Richmond slowly turned his back and walked to his team of lawyers on the plaintiff's side as he gave them a wink.

"The defendant can now proceed.", ordered the Judge.

"Famous people have emotions too.", began Plaintiff's attorney James Paulson. "That is, if you can even call Mrs. Time famous. I would guess that before this trial, not one of you had even heard of her. She is very well known among the scientist community and that is it. Well, at least it was until the media got a hold of this story. Mrs. Time was a grieving mother who wanted to save her son's life. That is it. That is nature. Mothers protect their sons. If you don't believe that is nature, try walking next to a mother's cub in the animal kingdom. Justin, Mrs. Time's son, was very fortunate he had a gifted mother. The defense would like you to believe that Justin was being used as a guinea pig and that Mrs. Time was engaging in a risky procedure. Justin was in a coma for nine months before this procedure. After the procedure, Justin is now perfectly healthy, going to school and is among the best in his class in all sports. If this was a risky procedure, then count me in the next time I need a medical miracle. The point is, Mrs. Time knew her procedure would work and it did. She also knew that to go through all the government red tape would take over five years and her son, her ONLY son who was in a coma, couldn't wait that long. This mother was doing what all mothers do. This mother was protecting her cub."

With that, Attorney Richmond sat down.

"Okay.", started Judge Jacoby”, I would like the jury to choose a foreman before we start tomorrow at 9:00 am. Court is adjourned.", he said as he stamped the gavel.

Mark Hannity raised his hand along with two other people when the question arose who would like to be foreman of the jury. The other was a man in his early 40s named Duke. Duke was the coach of the high school football team. Duke said he was qualified because he has experience in organizing a group of people with different personalities to reach a common goal. The other person whose name was Janet, was a retired black women from the marines who was in uniform and was decorated with several badges including a purple heart. Janet had been shot several times in the chest after single handedly saving several soldiers. They all agreed that they would have an open forum where they could all say why they think they are qualified and then answer any questions that may arise from the other jurors.

Outside of the courtroom, cameras flashed and the tapes were rolling as Attorney Richmond spoke, "This is a simple case. All parties agree that the world famous Katherine Time performed illegal surgery. I am not sure why there is even a debate."

"What about the natural instinct of a mother caring for her son?", the reporter from the Harold Examiner chimed in.

"Mothers are not exempt from the law.", replied Richmond. 

On the other end of the courthouse, channel nine was filming William who was still religiously wearing his black and white sweater as he was attempting to get into his car. On camera and putting the microphone in William's face, the reported said, "Rumor is that you helped Katherine with this deception to make it all possible. Is this true?"

Without a word, William slipped into his car and slammed the door.

"Clearly, William Time, Executive Chef of the Gourmet Grille is saying nothing as he too is heavily tied up in this scandal. I am Lisa Lang and this was a special report from channel 9 news."

"Did you see the way he slammed the door?", continued Lisa once the cameras were off, "My source is correct. He too is way deep in this."

"Who is your source?" asked the cameraman.

"I can always trust you not to give away my sources, but in this particular case I cannot tell anyone. What I can tell you though, even though I do not why, is that I get extra credit for mentioning Gourmet Grille.

 
During the next few hours Mark Hannity, Duke Blakes and Janet White were fielding questions from the other jurors. Mark was used to acting alone and felt it difficult to persuade the others that he could lead. Duke had no problems convincing the others that he could lead and he was well respected. Lisa Lang was the most respected as she not only commanded a presence in her decorated uniform. She also proved by her past that she can lead while keeping her resolve during impossible situations. The jurors had a final vote. Mark Hannity had no votes, while Janet White won eight votes to four from the remaining jurors. At 4:00 pm the 12 jurors of the trial voted Janet White as the jury foreman. Mark cursed to himself as he knew he was not cut out for the task ahead. 'How can I persuade a jury on guilt or innocence when I can't even persuade them to have me as foreman.', he thought.

 
"We apologize for the conduct of our employee.", said Larry Van Morrison, owner of the Bel De Flur restaurant. We had immediately terminated her after that incident."

Henry Longfellow III, took another bite of the lamb medallions which had been marinated in a rosemary mint sauce.

Taking his time and choosing his words carefully, Longfellow said, "I first want to thank you for inviting me to this private meal at your restaurant. The view is breathtaking and the food is to die for."

"Thank you Mr. Longfellow.", said Van Morrison.

"I want you to understand something.", Longfellow continued.

"When your employee mentioned to the other employees that I am pompous, that was just the straw that broke the camel's back. We all felt that you and your employees had been getting too comfortable with the Millionaire Mogul account and started taking us for granted. The overall service started lacking and the food was occasionally sub par. I can't tell you how many times, I had to ask for something repeatedly. Since we had left, I have to tell you that in my opinion the food and service at the Gourmet Grille has been flawless. William Time is a true master."

As soon as Larry, heard that last statement, a sharp twinge went through his spine. It took all of his power to not show any reaction.

Biting his tongue, Larry said, "The Gourmet Grill does a fine job, but you guys have an impeccable reputation and I over heard some of the members of the Merchant Tycoons wondering how you could be patrons of this establishment considering the recent news. Excuse  me for being direct, but I believe you would want nothing less. They said it was awfully hypocritical of you priding yourselves on achieving your wealth through honest and legal means and then turning around and supporting law breakers."

Longfellow getting red in the face said, "This is a country of laws boy, and we have a presumption of innocence until proven guilty and as far as I know, nobody has broken any laws. You understand me?"

Speaking as angelically as possible, Van Morrison said, "I agree with you 100%, nothing has been proven, however I would hate for The Millionaire Moguls to lose their incredible reputation. Unfortunately, many people outside of the courtroom and in the media have already convicted them and have branded them as felons. Whether this is true or false, it may still affect your reputation."

Longfellow took another bite and just sat thinking. Both of them ate their meal in silence. After a while, Longfellow took a sip of their best Cabernet Sauvignon.

He then said, "I am making no promises or commitments, but I would like an apology letter from you. Included in that letter, I want to see how you can ensure to me that your service and food will always be of the highest quality. Again, I am making no promises and I am not ready to jump ship. I do however, need a back up plan."

"Absolutely", said Van Morrison with a smile. "Wait til you see what we have for dessert!"

In the courtroom the next day, the plaintiff began.

"I would first like to call Detective Armstrong to the stand please.", said Attorney Richmond.

After Armstrong was sworn in he explained all events chronologically. He showed how she first experimented on Katie the chimpanzee and then Buzz.

Defendant Attorney Paulson objected as there was no evidence and it was purely speculation.

Judge Jacoby quickly said, "Objection overruled you may continue with your expert."

Paulson had Armstrong go through the whole video tape as was shown through the surveillance cameras at the hospital. He pointed out how Katherine ran out of the room frantically.

"In your expert opinion.", asked Richmond, "Does she look like the kind of person who has everything under control and is not engaging in risky behavior?"

Armstrong said, "This is a person who is desperate and if it was not for the doctor who came in, her son would be dead right now."

Paulson objected again, " Katherine's kind friend who was visiting was having a heart attack in that room."

"Overruled", yelled Jacoby, "This is an expert witness. Please continue Detective."

By fast forwarding and rewinding the video tape, Armstrong pointed out how she went in with two paper bags that were obviously weighted down. He then pointed out how Nurse Latresky left the patience room with two paper bags and a defibrillator.

When Armstrong said that defibrillator wasn't in the room to start with, but miraculously showed up afterwards, Paulson objected again, "Speculation! The Detective was not in that room to know if that defibrillator was in it originally."

"Overruled.", said the Judge again,"Please stop wasting the courts time Mr. Paulson. This is an Expert witness and his opinion counts!

"What?" said Paulson in disbelief.

"Do not mock me Paulson.", Judge Jacoby said sternly, "continue detective."

Once Detective Armstrong was through, Attorney Paulson had little to say during cross  examination.
The rest of the day was mostly attorney jargon that seemed to be more procedural and have little relevance.

After court was adjourned for that day, Katherine asked her attorney what happened? She was referring to the obvious friction between he and the Judge.

Katherine asked, "Do you guys have some sort of history together?"

"No", answered Paulson, "I don't know what his problem is. I have never seen anything like that before. Allowing this detectives 'speculations and guesses' to be admissible took me by surprise."

"What took me by surprised", said Katherine, "was his obvious distaste for you."

"I swear", commented Paulson, "I had not been in court with this Judge before nor have we ever formally met."

"Well, nevertheless, I do not like the way this is going. As I am sure you are aware, a Judge has way too much power and can easily help persuade a jury in one direction or another. I don't have to tell you which direction this jury is being persuaded.", Katherine argued.