Witness
Part 10
Judge Ross called court to order at nine o'clock the next morning. Justin was able to be in the courtroom since he had already testified. Brian, on the other hand, had to stay out until after his testimony.
Justin didn't get much sleep the night before. He and Logan had stayed up quite late, playing Scrabble and talking. Justin found the detective quite enjoyable to talk to. Despite the detective's earlier discomfort concerning the gay couple, he had relaxed considerably and found himself respecting the young artist.
Logan stayed by Justin's side as they made their way to court. He thought the severance order was bullshit, so he wanted to stay close to the young witness.
Once court was called to order Ben was recalled to the stand for cross-examination.
Jaime looked over at Ben, "Agent Bruckner, I remind you that you are still under oath."
"Yes, Your Honor."
"Mr. Stockwell, your witness."
"Agent Bruckner, how long have you been an agent with the FBI?"
"Just over ten years."
"So you were a rookie when this case began?"
"Yes, I was."
"Isn't that a little unusual? To assign a rookie agent to such a high profile case?"
"I was the only agent available when Jennifer Taylor came in."
"So, is that standard FBI procedure? To give a case to 'whoever happened to be in the office?'"
Ben rolled his eyes at the remark, "As soon as I realized who Jennifer Taylor was, I immediately called in my superior."
Stockwell looked at his notes, "That was agent Victor Grassi?"
"That is correct."
"However, Agent Grassi is no longer available to give testimony, is that correct?"
"Yes, he passed away several years ago."
"He died of AIDS, isn't that correct?"
Jack leapt out of his chair, "Objection, relevance."
"Sustained, stick to relevant questions Counselor."
Stockwell heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Agent Bruckner, why did you wait ten years to bring charges against my client?"
"Jennifer Taylor's murder made it impossible to bring charges at the time."
"But you had a 'supposed' eye witness, her son Justin."
"At the time, Justin Taylor was comatose and unable to testify."
"Help me understand this Agent Bruckner. We have heard testimony that Justin Taylor regained consciousness after six months, why didn't you bring charges then?"
"Mr. Taylor still had a significant amount of recovery ahead of him. Agent Grassi and myself didn't feel that it was appropriate to compel him to testify."
"Isn't it true that you were worried about the accuracy of his testimony, having sustained such a serious brain injury?"
"No, at the time, all we wanted was to give Mr. Taylor the opportunity to recover from his injuries."
"So, in your estimation, ten years is an adequate amount of time for a coma patient to recover?"
"I am not a doctor. I cannot say what is an adequate amount of time for a coma patient to recover from injuries."
Stockwell seemed satisfied with that answer. "What compelled you to bring about charges now?"
"There is no statute of limitations on murder; charges can be brought at anytime."
"Isn't it true that a friend of yours was murdered in Pittsburgh and that is what compelled you to files these charges?"
"There are no charges pending against Mr. Taylor in Pittsburgh. However, we had an open case from the murders in New York, and I was at liberty to file charges at any time."
Stockwell tried again, "However, there was a murder in Pittsburgh "
Jack had enough, "Objection Your Honor, asked and answered."
"Sustained. Move along."
Stockwell sighed in frustration, "Nothing further."
"Mr. McCoy, please call your next witness."
Jack spent the next couple of hours calling minor members of Craig's organization. Jack had offered all of them Witness Protection for their testimony. He was determined to put Craig Taylor away.
By the time the people rested their case, it was almost four o'clock. Jaime adjourned the court until the next morning, she reminded the lawyers that all witnesses were still under oath and all severance orders were still in effect.
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Lennie accompanied Brian back to the Wellington. The veteran detective could see that his charge was nearing the breaking point.
"Brian, this will be over soon."
Brian looked at Lennie with weary eyes. "Come on Detective, you and I both know the drill. Stockwell is playing games. He's probably going to call all his witnesses and then determine that he doesn't need anything from me. In the meantime, Justin is scared and alone and I can't be with him."
"I know where you're coming from, but I know Stockwell. He's a showman. I think he's going to continue with you what he started with Agent Bruckner, about the Pittsburgh murder, and try to come up with some appearance of impropriety."
Brian heaved a sigh, "Can I call him? I need to hear his voice and I think he needs to hear mine."
"Brian, you can't. If Jaime finds out, you will be in contempt of court faster than you can blink and probably end up in jail. I've worked this beat a long time, and have seen Jim Stockwell in action. I bet you will be his first witness tomorrow. Jaime will see what bullshit it is and you will be back with Justin tomorrow night. Trust me."
Brian looked into the eyes of his companion and saw the sincerity reflected there. He nodded his head in defeat. "I hope you're right."
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Justin was tossing and turning in his bed. He was in the throws of a nightmare. However, it was different this time. He didn't see his father gunning down his mother and his sister, but he saw his father shoot Brian. Justin sat up in his bed. He struggled to get his breathing under control. He took a hit off the inhaler he always kept at his bedside. He needed to talk to Brian.
Justin tiptoed out of his room and entered the common area of the suite. Mike was sleeping on the couch. He tried to be as quiet as possible as he picked up the phone. Justin had a hard time navigating in the dark and his knee struck the end table.
Mike immediately woke up and grabbed his gun, "What the fuck ?"
"It's ok detective, it's just me."
"Shit, you scared me, what's going on?" Mike saw the table that Justin was standing near, "Justin, you can't call him."
Mike hated to see the tears welling up in Justin's eyes. He wondered when his sensitivity training had kicked in; he had never felt any sympathy for queers in the past. However, if he was honest, he had never been personally involved with any gay people before, at least not that he knew about.
Justin sighed and sat on the couch, "I'm sorry, it's just that "
"I know that this is hard, but you have to continue to be strong."
"I know " Justin stifled a dry laugh. "It's funny, I've spent the last ten years alone and after just a few short months I find myself totally dependant on another person."
"I've heard that's called falling in love."
Justin chuckled, "I guess it is."
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Court convened the next morning and Stockwell opened his case. Just as predicted, Stockwell called Brian as his first witness. McCoy rolled his eyes. He wondered how much money Taylor was paying him to commit professional suicide. There is no way that Brian had any connection to the murders of Jennifer and Molly Taylor. Stockwell was going to make a complete fool out of himself and Jack had to force down the smile that threatened to surface. He would be privy to Stockwell's professional death in front of Jaime. He had always despised Stockwell.
Brian was sworn in quickly. As he sat on the stand, he made a point to not look at Justin sitting in the court room. He was so angry about being separated, that he felt if he looked into Justin's blue eyes, he would lose it completely.
"For the record, please state your name."
"Brian Kinney."
"And your occupation?"
"I'm a homicide detective with the Pittsburgh Police Department."
McCoy stood up to object, "Objection your honor. There is nothing on record that would even suggest Detective Kinney has information relevant to this case."
Stockwell gave a smug smirk, "Your honor, I ask for a little latitude. I assure you, this witness has relevant testimony."
"Overruled, but Mr. Stockwell, you are on a short leash."
"Thank you your honor. Now Detective Kinney, isn't it true, that you are investigating the death of " Stockwell looked at his notepad, " Lindsey Peterson."
"Yes, that is an open case in Pittsburgh, but not one of mine."
Stockwell shuffled through his notes, he was not expecting this. "And why is that?"
Brian inwardly rolled his eyes, he knew what this buffoon was trying to do and frankly he was losing his patience, "Conflict of interest."
Stockwell gulped as he asked his next question, "What is that conflict of interest?"
"Lindsey Peterson is the mother of my child, there is no way my lieutenant would allow me to investigate."
Jim was going to kill Craig Taylor. He cursed himself for not doing the research on Kinney himself, he'd relied on information from Taylor's stooge, Ethan Gold. "Isn't it true, that Craig Taylor is a suspect in the murder of Ms. Peterson."
"To my knowledge, no suspect has been identified."
"But you have your theories?"
"As I said, I'm not investigating the case."
Stockwell huffed at Brian's stubbornness, "Your honor, please instruct the witness to answer."
McCoy jumped in at this point, "Your honor, Detective Kinney has already answered the question. Unofficial thoughts he may have about the murder of his child's mother are not relevant to this case!"
Jaime nodded, "Sustained. Move on Counselor."
Stockwell's face was red with his frustration. "Detective Kinney, isn't it true that you accompanied Agent Bruckner when he first approached Justin Taylor about testifying in this case?"
"Yes, as a private citizen."
"And is it normal procedure for a federal agent to take 'private citizens' with them when they interview potential witnesses?"
"As long as the 'private citizen' is not present during the questioning, there is no problem."
"So Agent Bruckner just randomly picked you to go interview a witness that would possibly bring charges against the man you suspected killed Ms. Peterson?"
Brian took a deep breath. He was really close to losing it. "Agent Bruckner is married to my best friend and due to both of us being in law enforcement, we naturally are friends, family actually. So no, he didn't 'randomly' select me to accompany him."
"And it is not against federal protocol for an agent to take a homicide detective to question a witness?"
"I believe I've already answered that question."
"Your honor, please instruct the witness to answer."
McCoy injected again, "Objection, asked and answered."
"Sustained. Move on Counselor my patience with this line of questioning is wearing thin."
Stockwell let out a frustrated breath. "Detective Kinney, what is your relationship with Justin Taylor?"
McCoy wanted to object, but he knew Jaime would overrule him, she would see this as potentially relevant.
"He is my lover."
There was a soft gasp in the court room, Stockwell rolled his eyes, "And are we expected to believe that it is just a coincidence that your 'lover' is the son of the man you believe responsible for your friend's death?"
"I have no control of what other people's perception of my relationship with Mr. Taylor may entail."
Stockwell looked at his notes again, he had nowhere else to go and he knew it. "No further questions."
"Mr. McCoy, your witness."
Jack stood and approached the witness stand. He was going to keep this short, it was obvious Brian was starting to get exasperated and he didn't want to risk the detective losing his temper on the stand. "Detective Kinney, are you here in New York, in this court room, in any professional capacity, at all?"
"No, I am here as a private citizen only."
"I have nothing further."
"The witness is excused." Jaime looked at her watch, "We will adjourn until one o'clock."
McCoy spoke up, "Your honor, I move that Detective Kinney's testimony be stricken from the record as it has no bearing on these proceedings. I also move that the severance order be lifted."
"I agree. The jury is instructed to disregard Detective Kinney's testimony. Mr. Stockwell, you have wasted an entire morning of this court's time with your fishing expedition. I will not forget that. We are adjourned."
Stockwell slumped in his seat, he was screwed and he knew it. Jaime Ross was a fair judge, but had no patience for her court's time being wasted or lawyers who went on fishing expeditions. He only hoped the rest of his witnesses went better.
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Justin and Brian restrained themselves until they were out of the court room. Once they were outside, they fell into a tight embrace. Brian deeply inhaled Justin's scent as he held him.
"How are you holding up Sunshine?"
"Better now that you're here. I almost blew it last night. Logan busted me trying to call you."
"Lennie had to hide the phone in my room." The two men smiled at each other.
Jack and Serena approached the couple. Jack was glad he was able to get Jaime to lift the severance now and not have to wait. The two men needed each other. Justin drew on the strength from his older lover. "I don't suppose the two of you want to join us for lunch."
Brian smirked at the ADA, "We probably should, and if we're left alone we might not make it back to court." To emphasize his point, he lifted his eyebrows suggestively. All four laughed at Brian's blatant implication.
"Let's go, there's a deli across the street."
As the four settled down for lunch, talk resumed back to the trial proceedings.
"Did that go as bad as it looked?" Justin asked.
"Oh yeah, Jim just committed professional suicide. He wasted the court's time with an irrelevant fishing expedition. Jaime has no patience for games like that, and it will get around. Frankly, I'm surprised he did it. There couldn't have been any way he thought it would go anywhere."
"Well, I would imagine that my father is pretty intimidating as a client. He probably railroaded him on this one."
"Well, it didn't go anywhere and he lost credibility with the jury. He's going to have to do some fancy tap dancing to dig his way out of this hole."
"Think he can tap dance as well as Richard Gere?" Brian snarked. The group laughed at Brian's reference to Richard Gere's portrayal of Billy Flynn in "Chicago."
Before long it was time to head back and the group was anxious to see what Stockwell did next.
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