The Delinquent - Chapter 20

Dru proved to be comfortable and casual in respect of his surroundings. A courtroom was obviously nothing new to him. He even greeted the judge and asked how his golf game was, earning him a chuckle in response and a roll of the judge's eyes. Old friends apparently, thought Savannah. Max proceeded to introduce Andrew to the court and asked him how many times he and his brother covered for each other in times of need.

“Plenty.” He replied. “He got my back. I got his.”

“You jump, he jumps.” Max said. “It's what brothers do. And you've always been there for each other. Until quite recently, right?” Andrew nodded and looked suddenly uncomfortable. “Can you tell me what happened between you and your brother?”

Andrew shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “First clue something was up with him, was when I made a joke about the girl being a piece of ass. Damn near jumped down the phone at me.”

“The girl being Savannah?” Max clarified, gesturing to Savannah who suddenly blushed. Piece of ass indeed.

“Yeah. Sorry Striker.” Andrew called out to Kat, who rolled her eyes. “Anyway he got all defensive and says she's not that type of girl, and how she ain't some 'roll in the hay.' She's a keeper. Long term kinda stuff.” Andrew folded his arms across his chest. “I knew the kid was hung up on her straight away.” Max urged him to carry on with his story and asked him about the evening of the same day.

“Chad calls me up later on that day, and he's been drinking. Which he don't do often. Tells me he needs to talk to me. So I head on over to where he's at, and he's already off the trolley drunk. Starts ripping into me that he's sick of his life and how we are rolling from one hole to another, and he's through with it and through with me. I'm trying to talk sense into the guy but he just starts swinging.” Andrew rubbed his jaw. “Asshole broke my tooth.”

Savannah smiled at that, glad that Chad had got in a decent shot in payment for the 'piece of ass' comment she was still steaming over. Max grinned too, and most of the room chuckled. “So Andrew, this behaviour of Chad's wasn't normal by any standard. He's not one to drink, attack, or things like that?”

“I'm usually the trouble maker!” Andrew laughed. “Little bro usually the one getting us both outta crap. But he was way out of control. I ain't never seen him like that. He was going on an on about how he's gonna make something of himself now and he was done living in the bad side of town. Kept going on about how he's gotta 'get into the file' and the more I'm asking him what damn file he's talking about, the more he's telling me that I gotta try get into it too.” Andrew threw his hands up in the air dramatically. “Still don't know what the hell he was going on about. Anyway, we got to throwing some punches around.”

Kat lowered her head, smiling and put her hand on top of Savannah's to give it a gentle squeeze. She'd definitely reached him, Savannah thought to herself, prouder than ever of her mom. Maybe he'd get a page in the file after all, she thought confidently, regardless of whether he served time or not.

Max leant towards Andrew. “What happened to your brother, that all of a sudden, he changed and was prepared to attack you, his only family?”

“Easy. She happened.” Andrew pointed at Savannah, causing most of the room to turn and gawk at her. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. “Girls got a habit of messing us boys up real bad in the head.” Andrew shrugged. “But I ain't mad. Been hoping he'd find a nice girl and get out of the slums. Clean start and a good life and all that crap. He said he was going clean, and that's all I ever wanted for him.”

“So you're saying, that he was so smitten with Savannah, he was prepared to walk away from his only family. Prepared to sever all ties with you? Just for her?” Max asked. Andrew nodded, but there was no malice in him. He looked proud of his brother. “And has Chad ever in your knowledge, admitted to a crime openly and willingly, ready risk serving hard time?”

“Hell no.” Andrew said quickly. “Never.”

Max excused Andrew from the stand and waited for him to take his seat again before speaking directly to the judge. “Your Honour, I understand that the victims of this crime feel the need to have someone punished for the crime committed against themselves. But what you've got here in this room, is a classic tale of teenage love gone horribly wrong. To review the facts, the accused is a convicted juvenile criminal with a rocky past and was a suspect before he even entered the premises. The accused however left no prints at the scene, and as you've now heard, was fully committed to turning his life around insomuch that he cut his own flesh and blood out of his life.” Max turned and gestured to Savannah. “His girlfriend however, was careless and innocently ignorant enough to enter a room where a crime took place and leave her prints there, making her a prime suspect.” He gestured back to Chad. “And my client, decided to take the rap for it, thinking that with his past, no one would think to look twice.” Max shook his head and sighed. “Your Honour, my client is damn fool. A noble, stupid, idiotic fool with romantic fantasies of being a hero and a martyr. But he's not the criminal you're looking for in this case.” Max smiled at Chad. “However, if you'd like to smack him around the ear for wasting your time, I'm sure that would be justice well served.”

The judge leant back in his chair, took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I'm extremely tempted.” He said in exasperation. He looked to the blonde attorney who had sat quietly in the room and asked her and Max to approach the bench. They both did so quickly. The Judge turned off the microphone again, keeping their discussion private.

“I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place here.” He said solemnly. “I'm sworn to judge the right course of action and see that Justice is properly served. I've got a possible Bona Fida 'Romeo and Juliet' situation here and I”m not comfortable.” He turned to Max and fixed his glasses as he spoke. “You made a compelling case for the Defense. I'm satisfied that if this went to trial, you'd have a jury swayed in your favour.” He sighed loudly. “But we're not on trial for his innocence or guilt. This was supposed to be a decision to ascertain whether his admission of guilt will result in him being tried as a juvenile or an adult.”

“Your Honour,” said the blonde. “I second that the Defense's case is a good one, if it is indeed what happened. However with a signed admission of guilt, I believe the point is moot. In addition, if it is the truth of the situation, he's proven without a shadow of doubt that he is indeed capable of making mature adult decisions and acting upon them. I again propose my original statement that he should be tried as adult.”

The judge sat silent for a moment, contemplating all of the information, before speaking again. “If he's innocent, it means he lied. Wasted the court's time and the State's time. He will still be punished in accordance with the laws. Likely Jail time. It also means his girlfriend becomes the primary suspect and we redo this rigmarole again because they've both admitted they lied in their statements already.” He shrugged his shoulders and sat back. “Then he won't change he plea as he'll lie again just to protect her. If a case was raised against either of the girls it would be a complete waste of time. I sincerely doubt those two girls are guilty of anything other than lying to their parents and making out with bad boys behind closed doors. On the other hand, this is a guy with a bad track record, and theft is not outside of his scope or ability. But I find myself asking, what for? What reason would he have to steal it? He's not a narcotics addict. The blood and urine test performed cleared him of that. Kleptomaniac? Highly doubtful as no complaints have even been raised from his guardian that he's stolen from her. She attests to him being converted. So then for what?” The judge asked with his palms open, inviting a response.

“If I may, your Honour.” Max said quietly. “This kid is a screw up. But you've heard evidence that he's converted and is trying to pull his life together. Why would a petty criminal whose dedicated himself to walking the right path, do such a complete turnabout and commit his most serious crime to date?” He raised his hands in the air, frustrated. “I think this idiot's crime is that he's wasted everyone's time, and I will happily have you punish him for that. Hell, your Honour, I'll drive him to jail myself.”

“And my clients must just accept that he goes unpunished?” Blondie piped up.

“If your clients were not so completely negligent as parents and human beings, perhaps they would lock away their valuables and teach their son not to throw parties and invite numerous underage drinkers. They want their pound of flesh and to see someone punished? Then they need look no further than their mirror.” Max answered angrily. “Rich suburban couple leaves a hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelery just lying around while they go off skiing in the Hamptons. The stuff was fully insured and to my understanding they've already been compensated by their insurance company! So how have they suffered?” Max was speaking loudly enough that the courtroom could hear the conversation now, and were eagerly paying attention to his raised voice. “Whereas my client will be scarred for life, emotionally and mentally for taking the rap, and coming out of jail, to find out he's homeless and will for the rest of his life, struggle to find a job. So where's the justice?”

“Calm yourself!” hissed the Judge. “This is a place of order and you will respect that.” He straightened his robes and leant forward on his desk, speaking to the blonde attorney who was standing smugly after Max had been chastised. “You need to go back and advise your clients that they are barking up the wrong tree. Regardless of whether he's tried as a minor or an adult, if this goes to trial, they will most likely lose.”

The blonde sighed and raised her hands in defeat. “All I can do is consult with my client, your Honour.” She said primly. "May I ask for an adjournment to discuss this with them?”

The judge rolled his eyes. “You have until 09h00 tomorrow.” He sat back and turned on his microphone, announcing loudly that court was adjourned and the matter would be added to the following day's roster. Chad hung his head and was escorted back to the holding cells with a wistful look at Savannah before he was lead away.

Max came bounding up to Kat and Savannah with a grin. “We've got the judge convinced!” He said, snapping his briefcase closed and shaking Andrew's hand in gratitude for his testimony. “He's warned them that if they persist in the matter, there's a good chance they'll throw out the case. If they're smart they'll withdraw the charges. That's the good news.”

“So what's the bad news?” Andrew asked.

“If they throw it out, he'll be punished for wasting the court's time and state resources.” Max replied.

Kat swore rarely, but she let out a curse then that shocked even Savannah, before sighing in resignation. “So either way, Chad is going to jail."