Chapter 25 #2
Alex, Maggie’s lawyer, was worth her weight in gold.
She’d taken Sean to the cleaners, forcing the sale of the house and all the assets, even going so far as to line up a realtor and someone to clean it out of stuff.
Sean’s things were going to a storage unit, while Maggie had asked them to donate anything of hers to the local women’s shelter.
She didn’t want anything from that life.
Luke didn’t blame her.
Mom had been doing physical therapy for her ankle, which Luke normally took her to, but today he’d had to ask Maggie to take her.
Because Luke was at the county courthouse.
A bead of sweat dripped down the back of his white dress shirt as he climbed the stairs, standing in line for the security desk. They copied his ID, asked his business, and then he walked through the metal detector and on to his destination.
Gwen met him in the hallway outside the courtroom. “How is he?”
“Nervous,” she responded, pushing her glasses up her nose. “But that’s to be expected.”
“Do we know what the prosecutor is going for?”
“Let me worry about that, Luke. You just tell the truth about your brother.”
Luke shook his hands out and blew out a breath. “Got it.”
He and Mom visited Aaron in jail, once. It killed him, and he knew their mother felt the same way, to see his baby brother in a prison jumpsuit. Aaron looked like a little boy sitting across from them, subdued in the hard plastic chair.
Luke was the reason Aaron was behind bars. He only hoped to influence the judge not to make the time he spent there too long.
Gwen marched past him into the defendant’s counsel chair, while Luke slipped onto the bench behind her. He didn’t recognize anyone else from the raid, but the judge would sentence a lot of defendants today. Aaron was just first on the docket.
The bailiff led his brother into the courtroom from a different door. Aaron didn’t look up until he sat next to Gwen. She leaned over and said something Luke couldn’t hear.
“All rise.” Everyone in the courtroom stood, and the judge entered from the door behind the stand.
“Be seated.” The judge, an older man with a thick gray mustache, opened a file in front of him. “This court is now called to order to determine the sentencing for Aaron Graham.” He turned his attention to Aaron.
“Young man, you pled no contest to the charges of Possession with Intent to Distribute.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you understand this is a federal crime?”
“Yes, your Honor.”
“And you still wish to proceed?”
Aaron nodded, looking at Gwen, who rose to her feet. “We do, Your Honor.” She looked over her shoulder at Luke.
“And counselor, I understand you have a character witness for this young man?”
“Yes, we’d like to call Luke Graham to the stand.”
Luke wiped his palms on the front of his slacks as he stood and entered the witness stand. The bailiff swore him in, and he sat down. Gwen stood, and he focused on his old classmate, not his brother. He could do this.
“Please state your name and relationship to my client.”
“Luke Graham. I’m his brother.”
“Are you aware of the charges?”
He gulped. “Yes. I found the drugs on his bike and turned him in to the sheriff.”
“You work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And how long have you worked there?”
“About ten years.”
“Do you live with your brother?”
“No. I was there for a visit with him and our mother.”
“So, you were unaware until you found the drugs?”
“That’s …. Mostly correct.” He licked his lips. “My mother suspected something was up. Aaron had been uncooperative, and he’d been buying things but didn’t have a visible job. So, I came home for a visit.”
“But you did not have confirmation until you found the contraband in his vehicle?”
“Correct.”
“Tell me a little more about why you’re here today.”
Deep breaths. He could do this. “Aaron’s father died in a work accident at the old tool factory when he was eight years old.
The factory closed shortly thereafter, taking a lot of jobs with it.
Hawthorn Hills hasn’t been the same since.
There aren’t many job opportunities for young people, and from what he told me, that’s what drove him to distribute. ”
“Do you believe he’ll return to it once he’s released?”
Luke eyed Aaron’s down-turned face. The kid was trying, but he couldn’t keep the shamed expression at bay completely. “No, I don’t think he will. And I’m working on a plan to ensure he doesn’t.”
“Do you believe the defendant is violent?”
Shaking his head, Luke responded. “No. He’s not violent. Angry, sure. But he’s never been violent to anyone.”
“Thank you, Luke. No further questions, Your Honor.”
“Does the prosecution have any questions for this witness?”
The prosecutor stood from his chair. “No, Your Honor.”
“Thank you, you may step down.”
Luke nodded to the judge and returned to his seat.
The judge leaned back in his chair and looked at Aaron.
“Possession with intent to distribute is a felony, and distributing a drug such as heroin is incredibly harmful to your community. Given that, I hereby order you to serve two years in federal prison. And I hope you learn a skill that will give you a better opportunity when you return.”
Luke felt the bang of the gavel echo through his chest. When he raised his head to look at his brother one more time, Aaron was looking back at him with red-rimmed eyes. He tapped over his heart with one cuffed hand. Tap-tap.
Luke tapped his own back at him. And he knew that he would be tendering his resignation to the Bureau soon.