All But One

Chapter 57

I keep my expression neutral as Mr. Johnson walks back to his seat at the defense's table. I can almost feel the anger rolling off of his body, but he does an exceptional job at keeping his face neutral.  

"Is the prosecution prepared to call their first witness to the stand?" The judge asks, turning her attention to the prosecution. 

"Yes, your honor." The prosecutor says, immediately standing up. "The prosecution would like to call Irene Brown to the stand." 

The middle aged woman stands up and walks to the witness stand. I watch as she takes the oath and settles into the seat. 

Due to the meetings I had with Hakeem, I already knew who this woman was before the direct examination began. She is the mother of a young man who who nearly overdosed from something Rodney Rashford sold to him. According to what she shared with the prosecution, the drug her son used was laced with something else. She found him unconscious in his room and had him rushed to the hospital. Luckily, she found him just in time to save him, but he was still in recovery today. 

This happened a year ago.

When I learned about her story from Hakeem, I was heartbroken for her. But, hearing the story directly from her hits even deeper. 

The prosecutor guides her seamlessly through the story, asking her open ended questions that allow her to express her story in detail. 

Towards the end of the line of questioning, the prosecutor asks, "Do you know who was responsible for selling those life threatening drugs to your son?" 

"Yes." Irene says, physically embodying strength even after sharing her heartbreaking connection to the case. 

"Could you identify that person for the court?" The prosecutor asks. 

"OBJECTION." Mr. Johnson declares, shooting up from his seat. 

"Overruled." The judge says simply, not even allowing for a response from the prosecutor. She nods to Irene, signalling that she is free to respond. 

"He's sitting at the defense table." Irene says, pointing directly at Rodney Rashford. 

A loud silence follows. Everyone in the courtroom turns to look directly at the defendant. Including me. 

To my surprise, he does not show even a hint of remorse. His expression remains cold and nonchalant as all of our eyes bore into him. 

A chill passes through me as I am reminded of just how cruel and unfeeling this man is. 

"Thank you, your honor." The prosecutor says, returning to his seat. 

Irene remains seated on the witness stand in anticipation for her cross examination. 

The judge opens the floor for Mr. Johnson to begin his cross examination. 

I watch in absolute horror as he methodically picks at every detail of her story. All I knew prior to listening to this examination was that Mr. Johnson's goal was to destroy the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses as much as he could. I could see that he did a good job at introducing doubt into my mind about Irene, but she also did a good job at holding her own against a professional like him. 

In my pursuit to help Hakeem through this case, I tried to covertly access the cross examination questions that Mr. Johnson was going to use, but he only trusted Zaria to do the low level tasks surround his trial documents. It took a lot of planning and discretion to even create the opening statement fumble from earlier. Hopefully, that was enough to start the next phase of this plan. 

Roughly twenty minutes later, Mr. Johnson wraps up his cross examination of Irene and returns to his seat. The judge dismisses the witness and calls for a recess for lunch. 

We all stand up and watch the judge exit through the door she entered in. 

Once the door shuts, I pull out my phone and glance at the time. About three hours have elapsed since we began, and I am definitely ready to go. 

"Checking for texts from Hakeem?" Zaria sneers, practically sticking her face into my phone. 

"Shouldn't you be worried about being disowned by your father?" I snap back, not missing a beat. 

She's clearly taken aback and simply scoffs. 

A smirk forms on my face as she glances over to where her father is packing his files into his briefcase. I can see the nervous expression that forms on her face for a second before she forces herself to look calm. 

I take the opportunity to get up and make my way past her and her mother to the end of the bench. I say my goodbyes to Mrs. Johnson and give a quick wave to Mr. Johnson because he still appears very tense. 

As I walk to the back of the courtroom towards the exit, I glance around at the people loitering. My eyes rest on a tall, darkskin young man. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help but allow my eyes to linger. In that moment, he decides to look up and scan the room before meeting my gaze. 

Hakeem refrains from smiling at me, but I can see the hope in his eyes from where I stand. 

I take that as an affirmation that I successfully played my part today. I break eye contact with him and walk directly out of the courtroom without any further hesitation. 

I head to my car and immediately begin the drive home.