Chapter Three
Three
Tenor Bryant knew that the case that he and his team had built for the defense wasn’t a strong one, and it became even more flimsy after the testimony of both prosecutions’ key witnesses, Samantha Stewart and Dr. Louise Steinmann, but in the State of Massachusetts, domestic violence was a felony offense, punishable by up to five years in a state prison.
Since it was a felony, for a conviction, the prosecution needed all twelve jurors to agree on a guilty verdict.
If a single juror saw any reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case, the prosecution wouldn’t get a conviction, and Bryant was sure that despite Samantha Stewart and Dr. Steinmann’s testimonies, he had done enough to swing at least one juror into the ‘reasonable doubt’ camp.
But he wasn’t counting on a late, surprise witness, especially one that prompted Judge Reeves to comment: ‘I’ll allow your witness to testify because the jury needs to hear about this. ’
And he was right to be worried.
Even with cross-examination and re-direction, Candice Logan’s testimony lasted less than thirty minutes, and in those thirty minutes, she shredded any possibilities of ‘reasonable doubt’ for the defense.
Miss Logan, who was a striking woman in every sense of the word, with blonde hair and a figure that made even Judge Reeves slide her glasses to the tip of her nose so that she could have a better look, testified that she had started an affair with Nelson Stewart after meeting him at a cocktail lounge in Boston just over a year ago. The affair had lasted eleven months.
During their direct examination of their witness, the prosecution was easily able to establish that when it came to his marriage, Nelson Stewart was a gifted con artist, having weaved a perfect web of lies for almost a year to deceive his wife, with tales of late-night meetings, business trips and what have you.
The ‘mistress’ angle had been terribly damaging to the defense’s case, but not as much as when George Oakfield surprised the entire courtroom with a simple line of questions.
‘Miss Logan,’ Oakfield said, pausing directly in front of the witness stand, his weaponized eyes aiming straight at the jury box.
‘Can I ask you – why did your affair with the defendant, Mr. Nelson Stewart, end? Can you tell us? Was it because of remorse? Did he feel guilty because he was cheating on his wife?’
Candice Logan took a deep breath and allowed her stare to crawl over to the defendant’s table. Nelson Stewart was looking back at her with murderous eyes.
‘No,’ she replied. ‘That wasn’t the reason.’
‘Who ended the affair, Miss Logan?’ Oakfield asked, already knowing the answer.
‘I did.’
‘And can you tell us why?’
Nelson Stewart was still looking at Candice Logan as if he was ready to strangle her, his whole demeanor screaming – ‘don’t do it… don’t you fucking do it.’
That was when her eyes narrowed at him almost imperceptibly, just enough to send a clear message back Nelson’s way – ‘fuck you’.
‘Because I simply couldn’t take the beatings anymore.’