Chapter 67
CHAPTER
Benjamin Meyers was out of his chair, moving toward the witness stand.
I kept a sharp eye on him. There are criminal defense attorneys who view vulnerable young witnesses like Nova Jones as fair game.
They’ll use cross-examination as an opportunity to scare a girl, confuse her, drag her through the dirt.
Nobody got away with that in my courtroom, though. I didn’t tolerate it. And lawyers in my circuit in Alabama are aware of that. But Meyers was from out of state. Maybe he didn’t know how I roll.
Meyers stopped a few feet away from the stand. When he spoke to Nova, his voice was soft, respectful.
“Nova, I’m Ben Meyers. Dr. Bria’s lawyer. We’ve met before, some months back. Right?”
Nova sniffled. She wiped her nose with a wad of tissue she held. “I remember you.”
“When I talked to you and your mama at y’all’s house, I was told you went to a party and had sexual relations, that’s where you got pregnant. But that’s not what happened, is it?”
“Objection!” It was Robert Reeves. The DA looked nervous. “Irrelevant, immaterial.”
“Your Honor,” Meyers said, “I may be from Georgia, but I’m licensed to practice law in Alabama. And I know that under Alabama rules of evidence, cross-examination is wide open if it pertains to a material issue. The circumstances regarding Miss Jones’s pregnancy are material in this case.”
I didn’t want the child to be publicly humiliated. But Bria Gaines’s lawyer was entitled to raise issues that supported her defense. “I’ll allow it.”
There was some commotion, movement in the back of the courtroom. I tapped my gavel for silence.
Ben Meyers kept a reasonable distance from the stand. Didn’t hound the witness, just asked a direct question. “Do you know who got you pregnant?”
Nova looked out over the courtroom. She squeezed her eyes shut. “No, I don’t. Not for sure.”
The air in the courtroom shifted, changed. Became charged with tension so thick, it felt like it could deliver an electric shock. I was afraid to make a sudden move. That I might disrupt something dangerous in the atmosphere.
We were waiting for the next question. I wasn’t sure what Benjamin Meyers would ask. But Nova Jones stole the thunder from her own examination.
“It could be him!” she shouted. “He was there! He raped me!”
Nova lifted her arm and pointed out into the courtroom. Just like the prosecution had made her point the finger of guilt at Dr. Gaines.
There was a scuffle in one of the back rows. I stood, gripping my gavel. A boy wearing a high school fleece shirt was trying to flee the gallery. A couple of citizens grabbed his arms and were doing their damnedest to hold him back.
“Ross!” I shouted. My bailiff ran to the door, locking it tight.
I banged my gavel down. “This court is now in recess!”
I dropped the gavel onto the bench, pulled the cell phone from the pocket of my robe. Just had to hit one name in my contacts.
When I say I have Sheriff Owens on speed dial, I’m not kidding around. I have that man’s personal cell number.