Jones
VS. Meyer Trial Day 1
Jack uneasily sat in the defendants chair of the large, spacious courtroom in downtown Brisbane, her hand in Dan’s as he and his lawyer, Donald Ferguson, sat beside her and listened to the other lawyer finish his lengthy opening statement. Darren, Leonie, and Nadia sat behind them quietly waiting for him to also shut up. Nadia had left Vince with Angi and Elisa so she could appear as a witness in the trial.
Jack could feel her uneasiness become too much for her as her stomach did flips and the baby kicked all at once. If her heart didn’t stop beating so fast, she’d have a heart attack. Her palms became very hot and sweaty whenever the prosecutor pointed a finger at her. Dan patted her shoulder ever so often to try and calm her down, but not even he could lessen her fears.
“Nothing further, your honor,” the lawyer said as he walked back to his seat and say down beside Brett Meyer.
“The defense may make an opening statement,” the judge, a man in his early fifties with silvery gray hair and wrinkles all over his face, stated.
Donald stood up and began. “Jack Jones is not a bad person. Her response to the plaintiff was a gut reaction. She felt as if she were being attacked by him, and lashed out as a form a self-defense. Brett Meyer provoked her. Is it so wrong to defend yourself in these kinds of situations? I don’t believe so. Nothing further, your honor,” he concluded.
“Now what?” Jack whispered to Donald as he sat down in his seat.
“The prosecution makes its case about why you should pay up. Once they’re done, it’s our job to make them look bad,” he explained.
“Jack, don’t worry,” Dan whispered. “This will all be over quickly. We’ll settle it soon.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Six hours later, the prosecution was still making its case against Jack. She sat in her chair, nervously twiddling her thumbs, the pain all over her body slowly notching its way up to a throbbing headache. Her heart raced as more accusations piled up against her. Donald was taking detailed notes while Dan gently massaged Jack’s shoulder with his free hand.
“When will this be over?” she whispered.
“Soon, hopefully,” Dan replied.
“They’ve got some very strong evidence against us,” Donald told them. “In between the video evidence and the testimonies, we have little room for argument.”
“I didn’t mean to do it,” Jack almost began to cry. “He was trying to expose me. I didn’t want that to happen. I didn’t want to be known as a bad person.”
“Shh…” Dan tried to calm her as he rubbed her back with his hand.
“Jack, do you have any kind of mental illness in your family?” Donald asked.
“No.”
“Have you had any mental problems in your life?”
“No.”
“Have you taken LSD?”
“Hell no.”
“Are you pregnant?”
Jack turned her head sharply and looked over at Dan with pleading eyes. Everyone had a long-standing agreement that the press would never find out about her pregnancy. If she told Donald, she knew her life would fall apart.
“Tell him,” Dan mouthed.
Jack turned around and whispered, “Yes.”
“You’re pregnant?” Donald asked in surprise. Jack just nodded. “Well, this opens up a whole new door for us. We can use the imbalance of hormones argument, or temporary insanity due to chemical changes in your body. Wait, I’m getting too far ahead of myself. How far along are you?”
“Well, I was three months when this happened, but I didn’t even know I was pregnant,” she answered.
“Then I’m good with my ideas. I have a little bit of research to do before today is over, though.”
‘Great,’ Jack thought to herself as she sat back in her chair. ‘There goes my life.’
“The prosecution rests its case, your honor,” the lawyer finally said as he walked back to his seat.
“The defense may make its case,” the judge replied as Donald stood up.
“As my first witness, I would like to call Jack Jones to the stand,” he told the court. Jack went into the box, was sworn in, and sat down on the hard wooden seat. “Ms. Jones, at the time of the press conference, were you on any prescription drugs?”
“No,” she answered.
“Were you taking any illegal drugs?”
“No.”
“Can you explain why you acted out the way did if you weren’t under the influence of any drugs?”
“Yeah,” Jack paused. “I was pregnant.”
The courtroom exploded into a loud murmur. Darren, Nadia, and Leonie exchanged confused glances then looked to Dan for an explanation. He just shook his head and mouthed, “Later.”
“Quiet!” the judge slammed down his gavel. “Silence or all of you will be removed!” The room settled down to a low whisper as he added, “You may continue.”
“How far along were you when this happened?” Donald asked.
“Three months, and I didn’t even know it,” Jack said, trying to calm her nerves after what happened.
“Are you sill pregnant now?”
“Yes.”
“Would you say that hormones caused you to lash out at the reporter the way you did?”
“Yeah, I wasn’t even expecting it. How was I supposed to know I was pregnant when I didn’t even look it?”
“No further questions, your honor.”
Donald sat down and Meyer’s lawyer stood to begin his counterattack. “So, Ms. Jones, you were three months pregnant when this attack happened. That would make you about six months right now, correct?”
“Yes,” Jack answered.
“So, who’s the father?”
“Objection! No relevancy to the trial!” Donald yelled.
“Sustained,” the judge said. “Please stay on topic.”
“Yes, your honor,” the short little lawyer replied. “Ms. Jones, have you ever been involved in any contact sports?”
“What do you mean by contact?” she asked.
“I mean, were you a contender for the X-Games last year?” the man cleared up.
“Yes.”
“And before the X-Games, weren’t you arrested for a fight at a bar?”
Dan, Darren, Nadia, Leonie, and Donald all stared at her in surprise as she answered, “Yes, but it was later found that my ex-boyfriend was the one that started the fight and I was only trying to defend myself against his punches.”
“But you did get a few good hits in, didn’t you? You caused six stitches, a black eye, and a few missing teeth,” the attorney rambled as Jack sat paralyzed in the witness box. “Isn’t that almost the exact same thing you did to my client?” The lawyer could see the terrified look on Jack’s face. “No further questions, your honor,” he said, walking away.
Jack was allowed to leave the stand, but she walked back to her seat beside Dan on wobbly legs. Her past was finally catching up to her, and she knew that anymore of those details would lead to a fight between her and the others as soon as the trial was over. She was especially afraid of what Darren would think. She didn’t want him knowing about all the things she had done in San Francisco before they ever got to know each other. It would kill their relationship.
“Court is in recess until tomorrow morning,” the judge said as he got up to leave.
All eyes fell on Jack as she sank down in her chair. “You were arrested?” Dan asked in a surprised yet angry tone.
“I wasn’t convicted, was I?” Jack yelled back. “Seth hit me, I hit him back, end of story. Can we go now?”
Reluctantly, the six of them left the courtroom silently as the reporters outside hit them with every question possible. They got into the limo without answering any of them and headed straight home.