Chapter Five
Five
‘Congratulations,’ Oakfield said, as he and Samantha met in the corridor, just outside the courtroom. The smile on his face was almost as large as he was. ‘Thanks to you, we just put another creep in prison.’
Samantha stayed quiet, her gaze moving from Oakfield’s round face down to her Gucci shoes.
‘You look tense and worried, Sam,’ Oakfield said, noticing how red her eyes were. She had definitely been crying. ‘Aren’t you happy with the outcome of the trial?’
‘Wouldn’t you be worried?’ she finally replied, her voice lacking strength. ‘Did you hear what Nelson said to me just before he was taken away?’
Oakfield scoffed. ‘I did, and that was a huge mistake on his part. As you know, sentencing hasn’t been passed yet.
Judge Reeves will announce it in two weeks’ time, and the reason for that is because during the next two weeks there will be a pre-sentencing investigation, which is carried out by probation officers.
They’ll scrutinize Nelson’s whole life before reporting back to the judge.
That investigation will help Judge Reeves determine the appropriate sentence for Nelson.
’ He smiled again. ‘Now here’s what we have so far: Nelson received a “guilty” verdict on count one – “criminal domestic violence against you”.
The maximum penalty for that is five years in prison, and I’ll be very surprised if Judge Reeves doesn’t go for the full five years here. ’
Samantha shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
‘He also received a “guilty” verdict on count two,’ Oakfield continued.
‘ “False imprisonment and captivity of a spouse”, and that, when coupled together with criminal domestic violence, carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.’ He used his handkerchief to dab his neck and forehead again.
‘Judge Reeves might not go for the full ten years here, but he isn’t getting less than six or seven, I’m pretty sure of that.
Which already brings us to eleven, maybe twelve years of incarceration.
’ He lifted a finger at Sam. ‘Then we have that little stunt that Nelson pulled after the verdict was read. That verbal threat to you will constitute aggravating circumstances.’
‘And what does that mean?’
‘It means that it’s a direct verbal threat against you,’ Oakfield explained. ‘After two guilty verdicts, that will weigh heavily against Nelson, and Judge Reeves will certainly take that into consideration when determining the appropriate sentence for his crimes.’
He paused, and from the look on Sam’s face he knew that she still wasn’t getting it.
‘In short,’ Oakfield tried again, ‘Judge Reeves might add an extra year or two to the sentence, just for what Nelson said to you.’ He placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder.
‘Sam, relax. Nelson Stewart will not be seeing the outside of a prison cell for at least twelve years. I can guarantee you that. He’s done.
He’s no threat to you. What happened in there,’ his head dipped right, in the direction of the courtroom, ‘was angry bravado from a scumbag who had just realized that his game was up, nothing more. He can’t touch you, Sam. ’
Sam dug at the red and raggedy cuticle on her left thumb. ‘You don’t really know Nelson, do you?’
‘I don’t have to know Nelson, Sam,’ Oakfield came back. ‘I know the law, and I know that he’ll be behind bars for over a decade.’
Sam’s cuticle started to bleed, as she chuckled nervously. ‘If you think his reach won’t go beyond prison walls just because he’s behind bars, then you really don’t know Nelson Stewart.’
Oakfield consulted his watch before looking round at the busy corridor that they were in. ‘Do you have time to go get a coffee… or a drink somewhere, away from the courthouse. There’s something I want to talk to you about – something that I’m sure will change the way you’re thinking.’