Proslo (Brides of the Mylos #5)
1. Betty
1
BETTY
“ A nd when you responded to the call, what happened next?” Amos asked.
Pitkiss, the patrolman who’d responded to the 911 call sweet old Mrs. Titchmarsh had made upon hearing the ruckus, frowned. “My partner and I rolled up in front of the house. We could hear screaming and there was a cat trying to hide under the bush in front of the garage where the apartment was located. The door to the apartment was wide open and I ran up the stairs, calling out to alert everyone present that we were the police and they were to come out.”
“And for the record, your partner is Officer Lisa Romansky, correct?” Amos prodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“And did the defendant come out?”
“He did not. I therefore entered the premises via the open door with Lisa, I mean, Officer Romansky right behind.”
“And what did you see?”
“The defendant had Ms. Lewis pinned against her refrigerator, his arm across her throat. He was shouting quite loudly, calling her ungrateful and referring to her using an epithet. The apartment is a studio, so it’s all one big room and we could see that at some point during their altercation, her TV and lamp had ended up on the floor. She had a red mark on her face and a busted lip. I told him to let her go and to get onto the ground, hands on the back of his head.”
“And then what did he do?”
“He spun Ms. Lewis around and sort of pushed her at us. Lisa ran forward to catch her and that was when Mr. Dane charged at me.”
“And did he strike you?”
“Yes, sir. We both went down and my back hit the arm of the sofa. He jumped up and ran out the door, and Lisa and I ran after him. Lisa managed to tase him before he could open his car door.”
“I’d like to present Exhibit C, the body cam footage from Officer Pitkiss taken during the incident.” Amos pressed a remote and a TV screen began to play, showing everything Pitkiss had just described.
I glanced over at the members of the jury. Their expressions ranged from stony faced to outright angry.
“As the good members of the jury can see, both Officer Pitkiss’s testimony and Officer Romansky’s testimonies match, their body cams both showing that everything they have said is accurate. Moreover, we have had testimony from Mrs. Titchmarsh as to the problems she and her tenant have had with the defendant, with Ring camera footage showing several parts of the incident. We can see him pulling up, screaming, kicking the door in, and entering the property to assault Betty Lewis. We can see him kicking her cat out the door and down the stairs, and have the records from the veterinarian detailing the bruising that the cat was lucky enough to only escape with.
All this paints a terrible picture. Darryll Dane is a violent man who has no respect for property, no compassion towards animals or other human beings, and who shows a general contempt towards the law.”
“Objection, leading the jury,” Darryll’s defense attorney said.
“Sustained. Please confine those sort of remarks to your closing arguments,” Judge Reinholdt said.
“My apologies,” Amos replied to the judge. “This is such an emotionally impactful testimony and video, that I became carried away.”
“Try to contain yourself,” the judge advised wryly.
“Yes, ma’am,” Amos answered, ducking his head in apology. Then turning back to Officer Pitkiss, he said, “Thank you for your testimony. Is there anything else you feel we should know?”
Pitkiss threw Darryll a look of disgust. “Only that he kept kicking and screaming in the back of the squad car and it took six officers to take him inside the station. There’s footage available of that as well since cameras were rolling.”
Amos returned to his seat.
“I’m finished with this witness, Your Honor.”
“Do you wish to cross examine?” Judge Reinhold asked Darryll's defense.
He shook his head no.
“What!” Darryll shouted. “Aren’t you even gonna ask him why I was there! I told them! And if they hadn’t attacked me first with that Taser when all I was trying to do was leave -”
That's enough!” Judge Reinhold barked. “One more outburst from you and I will find you in contempt of court! Do you understand me? Or did the last time I gave you fourteen days for disrupting my courtroom not teach you a damned thing?”
Darryll glared and if looks could kill, he would have murdered the judge right on the spot. I shivered, knowing that look. It was the reason I’d stopped seeing him after only six dates. It was the first and last date he’d picked me up from my apartment and after watching him lose his cool with a random guy in the parking lot who he decided had stolen the spot he wanted in the large, less than half full parking lot, I’d sneaked into the ladies’ bathroom at the restaurant right after we’d been seated, called a Lyft, and got the hell out of there.
He’d blown my phone up and showed up at my apartment for the first time that night. Two weeks later, he’d showed up again and kicked in my door. That’s when all of this then happened. I’d had terrible boyfriends before, but never like this. Patrick had been a cheapskate and Bill a serial cheater who’d try to gaslight me over it. Timothy had been a passive aggressive jerk who liked to make me feel bad about my weight, my clothes, and even my job, telling me that as a CNA, I wasn’t even a real nurse. He knew I wanted to go on to become an RN but didn’t want to burden myself with outrageous college loans any more than I already had. I was determined to never make myself vulnerable ever again. I was finished with men.
I listened numbly as the judge excused the witness and Amos let him know the prosecution rested. I stood up and left the room, unable to handle listening to anything else. I just wanted this to be over. I hurried outside, walking up and down the corridor, trying to catch my breath and slow down the thundering of my heart. When he’d kicked Pumpkin, my senior rescue kitty, I’d been certain that he’d killed him. When I discovered Pumpkin had landed on his feet halfway down the stairs, hidden under a nearby bush after running away, and only had minor injuries, I’d felt so relieved. It was only afterward that I let what he’d done to me sink in, not to mention the officers who’d responded.
I wanted him to go to jail for every last thing he’d done. Amos had tracked down the guy from the parking lot incident and he’d been charged over the abuse he’d shouted at him and for pounding on the hood of the guy’s car. He was charged with breaking and entering and criminal damage, and for assaulting me and Officer Pitkiss, as well as for animal abuse.
I went out the door, sitting on a bench just outside. Amos found me there a while after. “Jury’s deliberating now,” he told me. “I’m sure we have a slam dunk on all counts, and I don’t think it will take them that long to decide it, either. We’ll probably know before the end of today and sentencing will be scheduled shortly after.” He gave me a conspiratorial grin. “He got another contempt charge though. All through closing, he was telling off his lawyer and then mouthing off at me, until he got a full ninety days just for that.”
I shook my head. “He was so charming and sweet right until he knew where I lived and came to pick me up.”
“Yes, well, he probably thought he had you hooked good and proper. He never expected you to kick him to the proverbial curb.”
I nodded.
“What are you going to do after this?” he asked me. “Your landlady told me you’ve given her notice.”
I picked at an imaginary piece of lint on my skirt. “I’ve decided to stop looking for a boyfriend for now and concentrate on me. I want to become an RN and I want to be a mom, to a human kid and not just my cat.” I cracked a tense smile at him. “I don’t need a man to do either of those things. I spoke to a counselor at Humbledale, and they suggested I apply for the Mylos scholarship. Social Services said I can foster with a view to adopt as long as I have a stable income, even if I’m in school full time. The scholarship will see that I do and will increase to cover any child related expenses until I graduate and find a position using my degree. I’m almost forty, and if I don’t make my own dreams come true now, they won’t ever be.”
He hummed thoughtfully. “And if you end up being that one in a billion?”
I snorted. We both knew that wasn’t likely to happen. “Yeah, right.”
“Someone has to be that one,” he reminded me and I sighed. “Well, if that happens, I’m still golden. I get to have my studies paid for and the Mylos are big on kids so I'll still get to be a mom. And since they are always perfect matches, I’ll never have to worry about dating an asshole ever again because I’ll have met my alien Prince Charming and gotten alien married just like that.” I snapped my fingers to demonstrate.
“All right. As long as you’ll be happy, it’s all good. You know that, right?”
I smiled at him fondly. Amos Findley had taken my case pro bono and quickly had become like a father to me.
“Yeah, I do. I’ll let you know when you become a grandpa.”
“A grandpa again,” he reminded me, eyes twinkling. “My grandkitty counts, you know. And I expect an invite to a proper wedding if you end up mated, you hear?”
I nodded, a lump in my throat. “Yeah, okay.”
A bailiff came out. “Mr. Findley, the jury’s returned with a verdict.”
Amos stood up, his eyes twinkling. “See? I told you they wouldn’t take long.”
As always, Amos proved to be right on all counts. Darryll was found guilty of all charges and his sentencing was scheduled for next week. I stopped and picked up a pizza on my way home. Pumpkin and I had something to celebrate. My last ever boyfriend was going away to prison and Pumpkin and I were moving to Jericho where I’d attend Humbledale and we’d get Pumpkin a human sibling or two, without us ever having to worry about our finances. Things were looking up at long last.