Page 77 of Choose Us
I lasted three days; that’s all I could manage.
If anything, it made me think about her more, so my plan failed miserably; it always did where Brooke was concerned. I told myself I had to be available. What if she needed to contact me in an emergency? If only I was the person she’d contact, no that’d probably be Takara—I wasn’t bitter.
Seeing her number grace my screen threw me. The Wilde case had been a welcome distraction the moment I touched base back in London. If I said I’d barely had time to think about her I’d be lying, but I was as busy as I could be. Throwing myself into work was no long-term solution, but it allowed me to function with some normality, which I desperately needed.
A tap on my shoulder pulled me from my trance.
“Are you okay? I shouted your name twice,”Paula said.
“Sorry, I was distracted.” I fumbled with my phone, placing it back in my briefcase. I could text her later. I was sure it’d be nothing important. I could act mellow and easy-going; it didn’t have to be a big deal. As soon as the words entered my brain’s atmosphere, I knew I’d be anything but easy-going. I was embarrassingly the opposite of easy-going when it came to Brooke.
“You look flustered,” she observed.
I gave her my biggest fakest smile.“I’m fine.”
“You sure?” Paulaquestioned.
I nodded, unconvincingly.
“You’re doing amazing in there by the way. The defence doesn’t stand a chance.” Paula beamed.
“Good. I’m glad you think so. I’m just concerned they might have added something into evidence that I’m unaware of. It seems a little too easy right now. Don’tyou think?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You can’t be sure though. I have contradicting evidence for everything they’re putting forward. Everything I say is throwing their case into jeopardy.”
I should’ve been smug, but I was sceptical, and Mr. Wilde’s case fast became the second thingon my mind.
“I know you; you’ve combed through that evidence within an inch of its life, as you always do, and you’ve got Baron eating out of the palm of your hand.” Paula winked. “She likes her a bit of Holly Garland.” I thought she was about to age backwards fifty years and start singing,Baron and Garland sitting in a tree, thankfullyshe didn’t.
“I don’t knowabout that.”
“She’s sustained your every objection. At one point I think I saw her lips move. I’m not saying she smirked, but her lips became less of a straight line.” Paula chuckled.
“Must’ve been trapped wind,” I jested. Judge Baron doesn’t smile; it’s one of those things just beyond the bounds ofpossibility.
The adjournment was over. I was summoned back into the courtroom for closing statements. They were my favourite part of court proceedings. I brought the case home, left the jury with no doubt about their decision, and presented an argument so indisputable it made their job easy and minesuccessful.
I composed myself and flicked through my notes. Most of it was memorised, and I liked my closing statements to be a little off the cuff, so I felt comfortable, but my mind was on something else.
Regardless, I hada job to do—
“Members of the jury, thank you for your attention on this important case.” I pointed atthe defence.
“Mr. Carlton wasn’t beaten within an inch of his life. The twelve of you weren’t beaten that night, and neither was I, but my client Mr. Wilde was. You’ve seen the evidence. You’ve seen the X-rays and the CCTV of the brutal attack. The attacker Mr. Carlton might not look scary to you now, sat with a suit on, his beard trimmed, his doting family watching from the stands, but this man...” I turned to face Mr. Carlton and continued, “followed the defendant outside into a dark parking lot with only one intention, to cause grievous bodily harm. The evidence has shown beyond a reasonable doubt that my client was attacked unprovoked. The defence are pushing self-defence through false accusations with no evidence or merit other than a coerced testimony from a witness with zero credibility.”
I paused to let that sink in, catching my breath and steadying myself for the next part.
“What you witnessed on that footage was pure rage. It shows a man out of control, a man so overcome with emotion he couldn’t control himself. What you might ask is, why? Why was he so angry? The defence stated it’s because he was sexually assaulted in the urinal minutes before, but the evidence is stacked against them. The CCTV footage shows a man overcome with emotion because he was afraid of being exposed. Did Mr. Carlton mean to hurt Mr. Wilde so severely? Potentially not, but he did. That cannot be denied. Allow me to take a few minutes to summarise all the evidence for youonce again.”
I took the jury on a quick whistle stop tour of the trial and the evidence, picking apart the defence’s theory and driving home the desired verdict.
“Finally, I appreciate your patience, and I thank you for your time. My client is a victim, and he deserves better. Anything but a guilty verdict against Mr. Carlton would bea tragedy.”
I unbuttoned my suit jacket and took a seat next to Mr. Wilde.
My job was done.
