Page 53 of Buddy System

“What kind of items?”

“My son’s coin collection and a few things from my daughter’s room that she left behind when she moved out. That kind of thing.”

“Did you confront Mrs. Henshaw about these items?”

“I tried to, but she would never answer my phone calls, and frankly, I was still too weak to bother with much. I finally just gave up.”

Schroeder has no questions for her.

The judge grumbles something unintelligible and calls for a recess before the lawyers give their closing arguments. He must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.

Fifteen minutes later, it’s Schroeder’s turn to give his final words to the jury to try to convince them to find for Mrs. Henshaw’s claims. He again puts up a greatly enlarged photo showing her injured face and asks the jury members to take a good, long look at it. After carrying on for fifteen minutes, he ends with, “This strapping young man, a trained combat fighterwho has undoubtedly killed his share of people, unleashed his temper on a defenseless woman, and this was the violent result. I implore you all to find in her favor.”

I want to barf. I’m seething inside with so much rage, I could scream. How can he say such things about Skyler? I have to grab Brooke’s hand so I don’t jump out of my skin, and I can tell she’s trembling. She must feel as awful as I do. But I have to say that even the judge gave Schroeder the stink eye when he mentioned Skyler killing people.

When it’s Mr. Hamilton’s turn, he says, “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I’ll keep this short and sweet. Mr. Colfax simply could not have delivered the kind of damage to the plaintiff that she claims. He’s just not physically able. Mr. Colfax has nerve damage and destroyed muscles in his shoulder that you’ve seen—thanks to the expert testimony from his physical therapist. Furthermore, he is an upstanding member of society, a war hero, and suffers from frequent debilitating migraines that make him averse to conflict. We have heard testimony that Mrs. Henshaw, on the other hand, has stolen from her clientsand their children,and we have seen video proof that she is currently completely able to fend for herself without using that walker she flaunts. It’s a prop. It’s a ruse. We don’t know what really happened that night because she’s clearly lying about it in an attempt to get rich from Mr. Colfax. Do not let that happen. Skyler Colfax is the innocent victim here, not Mrs. Henshaw. Thank you for your time and attention. I trust you will do the right thing.”

And that’s it for the day in court. It’s up to the jury at this point, so we head for home.

We have justenough time to get out of our “court clothes” and listlessly pick at the sandwiches Brooke makes for lunch when Skyler gets a phone call from Hamilton.

Amazingly, the jury has already made their decision. “Isn’t this awfully fast? Do you think this is good or bad?” he asks and listens to the reply from his lawyer. “I see. Okay. We’ll be back as soon as we can get there. Thanks.”

We all scramble back into our dress clothes and head to the car. “I’ll be happy to drive,” Brooke tells us.

“Uh, sure,” Skyler answers absently. I sit in the back with him and clasp his hand all the way to town. His hand is clammy, but I don’t care. Then he looks at me and says, “Usually, a quick verdict is bad for the defendant.”

I open my mouth to speak, but I have nothing to say, so I squeeze his hand instead.

Brooke, however, declares, “No fucking way,” and that’s the end of that conversation.

Skyler calls his mom and dad to tell them we’re heading in, and they say they’ll meet us.

The airin the courtroom is somber. I have to loosen my tie because I suddenly can’t breathe. I can just imagine how Skyler is doing sitting in the defendant’s chair in front of us. Brooke scoots closer to me, and I drape my arm around her shoulders. I wish I could do the same for Sky.

Finally, the jury files in, and I can’t gauge their expressions at all. I glance at Mrs. Henshaw and see that she’s looking smug. I’dlove to give her a piece of my mind. Or kick her. Okay…not really. She’s pathetic.

All too soon, we’re standing up for the judge again, and he takes no time asking if the jury has their verdict. The foreman rises—a youngish guy whose face is vaguely familiar. I’ve probably seen him around town, or maybe he’s been in to hear us play at The Hive. I space out a second as it dawns on me that he’s been in the audience several times when suddenly I realize he’s saying loudly and clearly, “In the first suit brought by Mrs. Henshaw, we find in favor of the defendant, Mr. Colfax. He owes her no damages. And in the countersuit, we find for Mr. Colfax also. He sued for legal fees, but because of the slander to his good name, we award $10,000 damages above and beyond whatever his legal fees are.”

There are gasps and cheers all through the courtroom, so the judge smacks his gavel and asks for decorum. He looks at Mrs. Henshaw with a stern face and says, “I recommend to the plaintiff that you not spread any more falsehoods about the defendant who has proven himself to be an upstanding soldier during wartime and a fine citizen of Honeybee Hollow. He had every right to sue you for slander, and yet he did not, so I commend the jury’s decision. Clean up your act, Mrs. Henshaw. It’s clear that someone—perhaps your ex-husband—got into an altercation with you, and I am sorry for your pain. But that does not give you the right to sue an innocent man for a ridiculous amount of damages and drag his good name through the mud just because he was a convenient target. This is not a get-rich-quick solution to your problems. I hope to never see you in my courtroom again.” He looks toward the jury box and says, “Members of the jury, thank you for your time, you are all free to go.”

The people in the audience all clap, and the judge tells them again to knock it off and be quiet. Mrs. Henshaw jumps up andyells at her lawyer, “You lousy, worthless piece of scum. You’re about as dim as a burnt-out lightbulb! Now what am I supposed to do? That bastard Monty threatened tokillme if I didn’t win this!” Then she storms out, forgetting her walker.

Levi and I are all over Skyler with hugs, and his mom and dad are there with huge, relieved smiles.

Mike Colfax invites everyone out to dinner, including Mr. Hamilton and his wife and our physical therapist. He wanted to invite Doug Freeman, but the private investigator has already vanished. Hamilton declines because he and his wife have plans already, and the PT guy says he’s been moving his appointments to the evening so he could testify and hear the outcome. So it’s just us with the parents.

We have a fantastic dinner at the Honeybee Hollow Inn. Word must have traveled through town quickly because several people come up to congratulate Skyler at the Inn and along Main Street, and they assure him they never doubted him. I hope that’s true, but I’m not completely convinced after the sneers at the Piggly Wiggly. Skyler is gracious to each of them, nevertheless, and shakes a lot of hands. I hope his hand doesn’t hurt after tonight.

The celebration is nice, but the three of us are itching to get home, get comfortable, and get busy…in bed. The heated looks we all give each other are burning me up.

Chapter

Thirty-Nine

Skyler

Oh.My. God. It’s over!

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