Chapter 37
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
Brooke
I’m so relieved this trial is finally going on. Skyler has been a nervous wreck. Jack tried to come over about a week ago to speak to him again about doing a show in his gallery, and Skyler couldn’t even think about it. He said he needed to paint to relieve stress right now but couldn’t concentrate on business just yet. Being a good friend, Jack told him he understood, and he’d try again later when things settled down.
Also, when my birthday happened last month, they had a cake for me, but both Skyler and Levi told me they had something really special planned for me, but they decided we all needed to wait until after the trial for it. They figured we weren’t yet in a good enough head space for it. I have no idea what they meant, but they were so sincere, I told them it was fine. Levi promised, “When we do it, you’ll love it, babe. We promise.” They took care of me like I was their queen in bed that night, so I certainly had no complaints.
Now we’re into the second day of the trial, and it’s Skyler’s lawyer’s turn to provide his defense. The first thing he does is put a detective on the stand who was sent by the sheriff’s office to look for evidence in Mrs. Henshaw’s house. The findings were fascinating. There were traces of her blood, but not only on the fireplace as she’d claimed. They were also at the foot of the stairs on her carpet. I’d feel a lot sorrier for her for being injured like that if she weren’t trying to use Skyler as her meal ticket for the rest of her life.
Mr. Schroeder’s only question to the detective is, “Is it possible Mrs. Henshaw bled on her carpet near her stairs after being thrown against the fireplace bricks?”
He answers, “It’s possible, but the stains appeared to be ground into the carpet as if she’d fallen there or been pushed rather than just dripping blood while she was walking around.”
Schroeder looks disgusted with that answer and dismisses the detective from the stand.
The next witness is Deputy Blake Ogden, looking even grumpier than usual. That man would be a heartbreaker if he’d ever manage to crack a smile.
Mr. Hamilton doesn’t have much to ask, but he does pose the question, “Were you the officer who arrested Mr. Colfax?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And did you place handcuffs on him?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I suppose it’s safe to say you got a good look at Mr. Colfax’s hands. Do you remember seeing any signs of cuts, bruises, or blood on them that would be consistent with hitting someone really hard barehanded?”
“No, sir. His hands were in fine shape except for a few splotches of paint.”
“Are you sure the splotches were paint and not blood?”
“They were blue, sir.”
“Thank you. That’s all, Deputy.”
Schroeder has no questions for him, so Blake gets up and hightails it out of the courtroom.
The third witness is Doug Freeman, the private investigator that Deputy Blake recommended. He provides video that was time-stamped a month ago. It shows Mrs. Henshaw in her backyard mowing her lawn and hanging clothes to dry on a clothesline. She did not appear to be favoring any part of her body and certainly wasn’t using a walker. Some of the clothes are obviously a large man’s shirts and pants. He also shows photos of a large man going in and out of her house at various intervals. Furthermore, Freeman has copies of receipts Mrs. Henshaw paid to the local handyman for repairing a broken banister in her house.
When asked if he can identify the man in the photos, Mr. Freeman says, “Yes, sir. His name is Monty Henshaw, the ex-husband of Marjorie Henshaw. They were divorced nine years ago.” He produces documents to support all of that.
The plaintiff’s attorney has no questions. I doubt he could think of anything to refute Doug Freeman’s testimony.
The next witness Hamilton calls is Mrs. Henshaw’s next-door neighbor. She testifies that on the night she took Marjorie to the ER, she heard lots of screaming and yelling coming from the Henshaw house. When Marjorie ran to her door, she never mentioned Skyler by name, only said that she had been hurt and needed to get out of the house. When asked if she merely assumed the attacker was Skyler Colfax, her answer is, “Well, Marjorie did say he’d threatened her, but there was another possibility. I didn’t ask because it wasn’t my business.”
“And who was that possibility, ma’am?” Hamilton asks politely.
“Her ex-husband. I saw him there earlier that day. He’s a mean brute of a man.”
Mrs. Henshaw’s face goes red, and she scowls at her neighbor.
As the testimony continues, we discover it was the neighbor’s idea to take her to the hospital because Marjorie was beaten up and bloody. She also says that when the hospital released her after a few hours, they went back to the neighbor’s house for the rest of the night, not to Marjorie’s.
When Mr. Schroeder has his turn with the neighbor, he asks, “Who do you really think beat Mrs. Henshaw? It must have been Mr. Colfax, right?” Immediately, Mr. Hamilton objects, and the judge agrees that it is not the witness’s place to make assumptions. Schroeder has no further questions, and Mrs. Henshaw glares at him.
But the absolute best part of the defense testimony comes from Skyler’s physical therapist. He testifies that even now, over a year since his injury happened in Afghanistan, Skyler cannot make a firm enough fist to do the kind of damage that Marjorie Henshaw received to her body. Skyler’s shoulder was smashed, and he therefore doesn’t have the strength to wield such a blow either. He says Skyler does daily exercises to get his strength and flexibility back, but the damage to his shoulder and arm were so extensive, it’s going to take a long time for him to fully recover—if he ever actually does.
Throughout this testimony, we’re treated to X-rays and photographs of Skyler’s horrible injuries. The PT guy explains each one in detail. He says the only way Skyler could have bruised Mrs. Henshaw as badly as she claimed would have been by using a weapon like a bat.
Mrs. Henshaw had testified that Skyler had grabbed her and used his fist to hit her. There was never any mention of a weapon.
At this point, the judge says we’re going to take a lunch recess. Schroeder looks miffed, but Hamilton looks pleased. I notice that Mrs. Henshaw sneers at Skyler, and he ignores her.
Levi, Skyler, and I head out to find some lunch. Levi and I are expecting to give our sworn testimonies as to what happened on the day when Skyler fired Mrs. Henshaw, so no one has much of an appetite. We end up in Juni’s bakery for a bagel and coffee.
The sight of Juni cheers us up. She knows what we’re going through and tries to distract us with enthusiastic stories about what it’s like building and moving into their dream house.
As soon as we return to our seats in the courtroom, the judge reenters and we all rise. I wonder idly if it makes judges feel all-powerful when people have to stand up for their arrival. He has a disgruntled look on his face when he addresses Skyler’s lawyer. “Please call your next witness, Mr. Hamilton.”
At this point, I’m asked to give my account of what happened the day Mrs. Henshaw came to the house. I corroborate what Skyler said earlier, and the judge looks as bored as can be with me. Schroeder tries to get me to say that Skyler threatened Mrs. Henshaw, but I tell him Skyler did nothing to threaten her physically, and he was feeling so sick that he wasn’t much of a threat to anyone at the time. But the big jerk tells me to stop making assumptions about Skyler’s health. I try to add that he took medication for a migraine in front of me, but he shuts me down there too.
The worst part comes later when Levi is called to the stand, even though Mr. Hamilton does his best to characterize Levi as a brave soldier who served his country with the best of intentions. Levi tells Mr. Hamilton he was with Skyler the night of Mrs. Henshaw’s alleged attack. He swears that Skyler was home when he left to go to The Hive, and home when he got back.
Sadly, Schroeder looks at Levi like he’s a tasty snack when he asks, “So you were gone to a bar that serves alcoholic beverages for a few hours , leaving Mr. Colfax plenty of time to leave and attack Mrs. Henshaw before you returned to his house. Is that correct?”
Hamilton objects, and his objection is sustained, but we know this is possibly damning for Skyler, no matter what. It sounds bad all the way around. Levi tries to interject that he was there on music business and not for drinks, but he doesn’t get the chance to explain.
“How would you characterize Mr. Colfax’s well-being the next day?” Schroeder asks.
“He was in good spirits but tired,” Levi answers. “His arm and hand were really sore from paint?—”
Schroeder interrupts Levi loudly and asks, “Could he have been tired because he’d beaten up an innocent woman the night before, and that was why his arm and hand were sore?”
Hamilton jumps to his feet and hollers, “Objection!” at that question. Again, his objection is sustained.
Schroeder thanks Levi and says, “No further questions.”
After that little fiasco, the judge tells us all we’re done for the day, but he looks sternly at the members of the jury and admonishes them, “Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve heard this before, but I caution you all again—do not discuss this case with anyone while the trial remains active. Thank you. Now everyone please go get some rest.”
We do our best to keep Skyler’s spirits up that night, but the stress has us all down. The whole mess is such a colossal waste of time, money, and effort, and it’s agonizing for Skyler to have his good name dragged through the mud by that horrible woman and her creepy lawyer.