Special Needs

Chapter 71: The Trial, Part 4

After only one day in court, my nerves were absolutely frazzled. I couldn't imagine how long this would take in total, but I hoped that the jury would see through Theodore's lies and the lies of those who might cover for him. We laid low that evening, not having much energy to do much else and of course, Nathan advised us to do so anyway. There were too many people waiting to question us about the trial. And of course, now that the trial had begun, Theodore was feeling more threatened than ever so who knew what lengths he might go to in order to silence us?

The next day was a classic sunny winter day, one that was so bright that the sun glinting off the snow almost blinded you. I enjoyed those extra bright rays for the few moments I could before we entered the courthouse, once again swarmed by reporters calling our names and asking questions we were told not to answer.

Once we had gotten situated, the judge entered and Day 2 of the trial began. He addressed Nathan Greenwood first and instructed him to call his next witness. Me.

"At this time, I'd like to call Juliette McGill to the stand."

I walked to the front of the courtroom and stepped up into the box.

"Please state your full name for the court."

"Juliette Maria McGill."

"And Juliette, how old are you?"

"I'm 23," I answered.

"What are your credentials for teaching Special Education?"

"I have a degree in Special Education from Ohio State University. I am also certified to teach Special Education to all ages."

"Why were you looking for a job as a nanny if you just graduated from college?" Nathan asked.

"I wanted to work with a special needs child in the context of home and family life, to get a more well-rounded understanding of what their life looks like outside of a school setting."

"How long were you working with Harry before you noticed that he didn't seem to fit the description of a special needs child?" Nathan questioned.

"Well, obviously, I noticed immediately that he wasn't a child. Within the first week, I noticed that he seemed very bright and eager to learn. He raced through all of our lessons and always wanted more work to do. He wanted to be challenged."

"At which grade level did you run out of material to teach Harry?"

"I had found curricula up through sixth grade on the computer in Harry's school room. He had mastered all of that material by the end of July."

"What did you do next?"

"I asked Theodore for higher level school work for Harry."

"And what was his answer?"

"He said no and that I should just review what we had already done."

Nathan glanced over at Harry and then at Theodore before continuing. "Juliette, did Theodore ever say anything derogatory about Harry?"

"Yes," I said. My throat suddenly felt very dry. "He said that Harry was a...a retard and that he would never amount to anything. He said that even a trained monkey could do the things Harry could do." I hated repeating those awful things.

"That sounds pretty harsh," Nathan responded. "Did he ever say those things directly to Harry?"

"I'm not sure...Wait, Harry told me early on that Theodore always called him stupid, said he was too stupid to do anything."