Chapter 153 Third Trial
JASON'S POV
The third trial started on a Monday morning. Caitlyn and I drove to the courthouse together. Emma was with Sarah. This was becoming routine. Too routine. Going to these trials was just another part of our lives now.
"You nervous?" I asked Caitlyn as we drove.
"Not as much as before," she said. "I know what to expect now. Know what the defense attorney will ask. Know how to handle it."
"That is good," I said. "Experience helps."
"It does," Caitlyn said. "But I am also exhausted. So tired of doing this. Of testifying. Of reliving everything. I just want it to be over."
"Two more after this one," I said. "Then it is done."
"Two more," Caitlyn repeated. "That feels like forever."
We parked and walked into the courthouse. The media presence was smaller now. Just a few reporters. A couple of cameras. Nothing like the circus it had been during the first trial.
"Look at that," I said. "Hardly anyone here."
"Because it is not exciting anymore," Caitlyn said. "The story is old news. People have moved on."
"Good," I said. "That is what you wanted right? To be left alone?"
"It is," Caitlyn said. "But it is also weird. A month ago I was the most talked-about person in the city. Now no one cares."
"That is how the media works," I said. "Today's headline is tomorrow's old news."
We went inside and found DA Walsh. She looked tired but determined.
"Ready for today?" she asked Caitlyn.
"As ready as I will ever be," Caitlyn said.
"Good," Walsh said. "The defense is going to try to bring up Vanessa again. But I will object. The judge already ruled that her testimony is inadmissible since she has been charged with perjury."
"So they cannot use her lies against me?" Caitlyn asked.
"They cannot," Walsh said. "But they might try anyway. If they do just stay calm. I will handle it."
The trial proceeded much like the others. Opening statements. Witnesses. Evidence. Then it was Caitlyn's turn to testify.
I sat in the front row watching as she walked to the stand. She looked confident. Stronger than she had been in the previous trials. Like she had found her voice. Found her power.
DA Walsh asked her questions. Caitlyn answered calmly. Clearly. Telling the story of what she witnessed. What she knew. What she experienced.
Then the defense attorney stood up. He was middle-aged. Looked bored. Like he knew he was going to lose but had to go through the motions anyway.
"Mrs. Cross," he said. "You have testified in two previous trials correct?"
"Yes," Caitlyn said.
"And both times the defendants were found guilty," he said.
"Yes," Caitlyn said.
"So you are quite good at this," he said. "At convincing juries."
"Objection," Walsh said. "Argumentative."
"Sustained," the judge said.
"Let me rephrase," the defense attorney said. "You have a lot of practice testifying now. You know what to say. How to say it. To get the result you want."
"I am telling the truth," Caitlyn said. "That is all I am doing. The same truth I told in the other trials. The same truth I am telling now."
"But you understand that my clients are facing serious prison time based on your testimony," the defense attorney said.
"They are facing prison time based on their actions," Caitlyn said. "Based on the crimes they committed. I am just telling what I witnessed."
"What you claim you witnessed," the defense attorney said.
"What I did witness," Caitlyn corrected. "I was there. I saw it. I am telling the truth."
The defense attorney tried a few more approaches. Tried to shake her. Make her doubt herself. But Caitlyn held firm. Stayed calm. Did not let him rattle her.
When he finally sat down Walsh did a brief redirect. Then Caitlyn was done. She stepped down and walked out of the courtroom. I met her in the hallway.
"You were amazing," I said. "So strong. So confident."
"Thank you," Caitlyn said. "It is getting easier. I know that sounds weird but it is true."
"It does not sound weird," I said. "You are learning. Getting better at it. That is normal."
My turn to testify came that afternoon. I had testified in the previous trials too so I knew what to expect. The same questions. The same attacks on my credibility. The same attempts to discredit me.
But I also knew how to handle it now. How to stay calm. How to stick to the facts. How to not let them get under my skin.
The defense attorney asked about my immunity deal. About my criminal past. About my relationship with Caitlyn. All the same things they had asked before.
And I gave the same answers. Yes, I have immunity. Yes, I made mistakes in the past. Yes, I love Caitlyn. And yes I am telling the truth.
When I finished testifying I felt relieved. One more trial down. Two more to go. We were getting through this. Slowly but surely we were getting through this.
The trial lasted a week. Witness after witness. Evidence after evidence. Building the case against the defendants. Showing their involvement in Hayes's organization. Proving their crimes.
Then it was time for the closing arguments. Walsh gave a strong closing. Laying out all the evidence. Showing how everything is connected. Making it clear that the defendants were guilty.
The defense gave its closing. Trying to create doubt. Trying to make it seem like the evidence was not enough. But it sounded weak. Desperate.
The jury deliberated for two days. Then they came back with a verdict.
Guilty. On all counts. All three defendants. Just like the previous trials.
Caitlyn and I sat in the courtroom listening to the verdicts being read. Watching the defendants' faces fall. Watching justice being served.
"Three down," Caitlyn whispered to me. "Two more to go."
"Two more," I said. "We are over halfway done."
After the verdict was read we left the courthouse. A few reporters asked for comments. We declined. We were done talking to the media. Done explaining ourselves. Just wanted to go home.
"How do you feel?" I asked Caitlyn as we drove.
"Tired," she said. "So tired. But also relieved. Another conviction. Another step closer to being done with all of this."
"It is exhausting," I said. "I can barely imagine how you feel. Having to testify every time. Having to relive everything over and over."
"It is the hardest thing I have ever done," Caitlyn said. "But it is also the most important. These men need to go to prison. And my testimony is making that happen."
"You are a hero," I said. "You know that right? You are putting dangerous people away. Protecting future victims. Making the world safer."
"I do not feel like a hero," Caitlyn said. "I just feel like a survivor doing what needs to be done."
"Sometimes that is what heroes are," I said. "Survivors doing what needs to be done."
When we got home Emma was waiting with Sarah. Caitlyn picked her up and held her close.
"We did it baby," Caitlyn said to Emma. "Another trial done. Another conviction. We are winning."
Emma just looked at her and smiled. Said "da da" and reached for me. I took her and held her. My family. The reason I was doing all of this. The reason it was all worth it.
"Two more trials," Caitlyn said. "Then we can finally move on with our lives. Finally, be free of all this."
"Two more," I said. "We can do two more. We have come this far. We can finish."
"We can finish," Caitlyn agreed.