Page 53 of Ashes of Us
“Thank you, Doctor.” David smiled at her, and Danica could see it was just a little smug. “Just a couple more questions. Did Jasper ever tell you about his relationship with Ms. Gamache?”
“He said they had a friends-with-benefits arrangement that ended when he graduated from college.” She shrugged. “He was not interested in anything more. To use his words, ‘She was too needy and desperate.’”
“This is my last question, I promise.” David couldn't hide how pleased he was with that response and practically beamed as he made a quick note in his ever-present notebook. “In your professional opinion, do you believe Jasper Preston had sexual intercourse with Lucille Gamache on April 20th?”
“No.” The doctor shook her head firmly. “He was very upfront when he spoke about his marriage to Danica, and he knew his response to her announcement was unfair and unfounded. He never once downplayed or hid anything about the argument. When he spoke about waking up to find Ms. Gamache lying on him in just her undergarments, he became physically ill because he knew if Danica had walked in and seen him like that, she would have left him. If anything, he was distraught with himself for not calling a cab and leaving when Jimmy went into the bedroom with his girlfriend, but said he was so high, all he wanted was for her to stop talking so he could sleep.”
“Thank you very much.” David nodded and smiled at her again before heading back to his seat. “No further questions.”
“Call your next witness, Mr. Mathers.”
His next witness was Danica's and Jasper's marriage counsellor, Doctor Caleb Rowan, but with the restrictions Danica had given him, he couldn't do much more than ask howthe doctor felt about their progress in therapy, to which the doctor said he thought they were both committed to rebuilding what had been broken by Jasper's accusation and were putting in the work to do so, but admitted he felt Danica was more hesitant then Jasper to let things go.
“Was it established why she wasn't as sure about things?” Mathers asked, but Danica could tell he was only asking because it seemed important, not because he felt it would help his case.
“I believe it had to do with the fact that they physically assaulted one another in the heat of the moment.” Dr. Rowan explained. “While I do believe they had forgiven each other for their actions, I think it was harder for them, Danica in particular, to forgive themselves.”
David declined to cross-examine the couple's therapist, telling Danica Mathers had asked all the questions that were allowed with her restrictions, and Dr. Rowan had answered them to the best of his ability, so there was nothing he wanted clarification on. After their marriage counsellor was dismissed, Judge Perella declared they would take a sixty-minute recess for lunch and reconvene at two-thirty. After a quick lunch and check in with Alex, Maverick, Emilia and Xavier, Danica met back up with David to discuss the next steps.
“I think we've heard enough,” David told her as they walked slowly back to the courtroom. “I'm going to call Sergeant Galvin, and after we hear his testimony, I'm going to make a motion to dismiss. They haven't produced a single iota of evidence that Jasper was the father or even wanted the baby.At most, he saidifthe child were his, he would have stepped up and raised it.It's time we stop wasting everyone's time.”
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After lunch, Mathers called Elena to the stand. He asked a few questions to establish her relationship with Lucy, how long they had known each other, how close they were, and then he started asking her about the night in question. To Elena's credit, despite knowing Lucy since they were in middle school and saying they were practically sisters, most of what she said matched the story she gave Maverick. She explained that Jimmy told her he had to cancel his date with her that night because Jasper was there and was going through a rough time. She decided to hang out with Lucy instead and told her why she wasn't going on the date. Lucy then started trying to convince her to get Jimmy to let them come over, and she eventually gave in and began texting Jimmy about what they were doing. When Jimmy said they were running to a nearby convenience store for snacks, they decided to 'coincidentally' meet them at the store. She convinced Jimmy to let them come over by telling him that she had been planning to have sex with him after their date that night.
Danica did notice that Mathers seemed to be deliberately avoiding discussing how immature, manipulative, and crazy both Elena and Lucy behaved that night. If Danica didn't know that the women were in their mid to late thirties and was hearing this story without knowing any of them, she would have guessed they were fourteen or fifteen. Her disgust must have been showing on her face because David nudged her and murmured, “Poker face,” reminding her to remain neutral and look unaffected. It took massive effort, but she was able to rearrange her features and hide her emotions as she listened to the rest of Elena's testimony.
After she explained that she convinced Jimmy to follow her to the bedroom to give Lucy a chance to ask the questions she had for Jasper without an audience, Mathers asked her whatLucy had told her about what happened while she and Jimmy were out of the room.
“She said they talked while he played, he hugged her when he won his match on the game and then ended up kissing her. She claims they cuddled together on the couch and fooled around before sleeping together.” Danica narrowed her eyes as Elena recounted what Lucy told her. There it was again, not “we had sex,” just “we slept together.”
Once again, Mathers appeared to be avoiding talking about anything that shed doubt on the idea that Jasper wanted this, because he didn't ask her about what Lucy claimed after Jasper threw her off him, despite Dr. Lin recounting that and the fact that Jasper threw up when he woke up and saw her on top of him in her testimony. Instead, he asked her about when Lucy found out she was pregnant and what she told Elena about it.
“She came to my apartment and told me immediately after she took the pregnancy test. She insisted the baby was Jasper's because he was the only person she slept with in over a year. She was happy and excited, went on and on about how much Jasper wanted to be a dad. When I reminded her he was married and had blocked her everywhere, she just brushed me off and said he would leave his wife when she told him about the baby.” Elena looked extremely remorseful about everything she was saying, and Danica felt a pang of sympathy for her, despite her compliance in all of this.
“Did you confirm she was pregnant?” Mathers asked, some of his earlier bravado coming back as Elena helped spin the story back in their favour. “Have her take a pregnancy test in front of you?”
“I went to the doctor's appointment with her when she had it confirmed by bloodwork a week or so after,” Elena confirmed. “She was definitely pregnant.”
“And she never named anyone else as a potential father?” Mathers pressed, looking very satisfied.
“No, she even agreed that he was entitled to a paternity test when I told her he would want proof it was his. She said there was no doubt it was Jasper’s, and she would get a paternity test if he asked.”
“No further questions.” Mathers took his seat and leaned in to say something Danica couldn't hear to Amy, who gave him a huge smile. Deciding she was going to enjoy watching David dismantle everything Mathers thought he had built, Danica sat back in her chair as the judge told him it was his witness. David stood up, approaching Elena with that same friendly smile he'd given Dr. Lin.
“Miss Sheridan, can you describe how Jasper was interacting with Ms. Gamache after you met up with him and Jiimmy in the convenience store?”
“He was... mostly polite, I guess?” She frowned and tilted her head slightly to the side. “Like he wasn't outright rude or anything, but he didn't really talk to her unless she asked him something directly, then he would give a one-word answer or act like he didn't know she was talking to him. He also refused to be anywhere near her. She kept trying to walk beside him on the way back to Jimmy's, and he would move so both Jimmy and I were between them, and in the apartment, she would sit beside him, and he would immediately get up and move away from her.”
“Thank you.” David paused and consulted his notes for a moment, something Danica realized was an excuse to let silence sit for a short period before he asked his next question. “According to Dr. Lin's testimony, Jasper claimed he woke up with Lucy on him in just her undergarments and threw her offhim. Were you present for that, and if so, could you describe what you saw?”
“Yes, sir, I was.” Elena nodded, looking uncomfortable, and Danica had a feeling she knew why. She had already told Maverick she was there for it, and she knew he was testifying on Danica's behalf, having seen him being sworn in as one of their witnesses, plus, Jimmy was also testifying, and he would say she was there as well, so she couldn't deny it without someone else contradicting her. “Jimmy left me in his room to get a drink, and when he saw Lucy asleep on top of Jasper in her bra and underwear, he freaked out and started yelling at Jasper to get up and asking him what the hell did he do. I came out when I heard him yelling and when Jasper woke up and saw Lucy on top of him, he screamed at her to get off him. When she didn't do it fast enough, he picked her up and threw her. She landed on the coffee table, and he got up, threw up in the kitchen sink and left.”
“And what happened after he left?” David asked gently. “Did Lucy say anything about his reaction?”
Elena shook her head. “When she landed on the coffee table, it broke, and she landed hard on her wrist. She started to cry; Jimmy was still freaking out and yelling at me for bringing Lucy around and using him.” She looked very embarrassed now and seemed to be trying not to cry. “He was screaming at me to get out and take Lucy with me. I was crying, trying to get her dressed and tell him how sorry I was at the same time. He wouldn't listen and told me if Jasper lost his wife because of this, he would never forgive me for making him an accomplice in our fucked-up antics.” Her voice cracked, and David brought her a couple of tissues from the box on their table and gave her a moment to calm down.
“Can you tell me what the state of Jasper's clothes was when he left?” He pressed gently when she got her tears undercontrol. Elena looked confused and shook her head, clearly struggling to understand what he was asking. “What I mean is, was he naked, in his jeans, were his clothes in disarray or anything like that. Basically, did it look like they had sex or were messing around?”
