Silence settled over the room like a heavy morning fog.
Oakfield and Bryant both sat up taller in their seats, their breaths held in their chests as if they were professional free divers.
Right then, for the first time since the trial had started six days ago, Nelson was overcome by fear – the kind of fear that rattled a person’s core and paralyzed them in place. Despite everything that had happened until then, there was a tiny part of Nelson’s brain that still refused to accept the past nine weeks as reality, telling him that things would turn out fine, just like they always did. But that tiny part of his brain had finally been overruled.
From the defendant’s chair, Nelson heard Martha lightly clear her throat before straightening up her shoulders. Every pair of eyes in that courtroom was on her, and she knew it.
‘Yes, we have,’ she replied. The nod that she gave the courtroom was anxious, but firm.
‘On count one,’ the clerk asked. ‘Criminal domestic violence, and physical abuse against Samantha Stewart – how do you find the defendant?’
For Nelson, time seemed to slow down to an absolute crawl. He knew that Martha’s next word would be life changing for him… and he knew what that word would be even before it left her lips.
‘Guilty,’ Martha replied, her voice loud and clear.
And there it was – six letters… two syllables… one word – a word that would tarnish Nelson’s past, change his present and destroy his future.
The entire courtroom seemed to shift in place, with shouts and comments coming from every corner. Nelson, on the other hand,stood silent and completely still… his eyes straight ahead… his heart beating at the bottom of his throat, as he watched his whole life starting to collapse right in front of him.
The clerk waited until the room had quietened down again before he asked the foreperson his second and final question.
‘On count two – false imprisonment and captivity of Samantha Stewart – how do you find the defendant?’
Nelson wasn’t listening anymore, but it wasn’t out of choice. This was a defense mechanism move by his brain to try to shut out any new aggressors that could hurt him further. Sounds became muffled, as if Nelson was underwater… but it didn’t matter. Nelson saw Martha’s lips move, and even without hearing a sound… even without being a lip reader… he knew what she had said – one word… not two.
Life collapse successfully completed.
The room erupted in shouts and hushed voices.
Nelson closed his eyes for a moment, while Judge Reeves restored order in her courtroom. That done, she informed the attorneys and the defendant that sentencing would take place in two weeks’ time – directly after the pre-sentencing investigation. She then instructed the court marshals to take Nelson into custody, but before they got to him, Nelson had a chance to turn around and face the court audience one last time, and this time, it was his eyes that lasered in on Samantha… and they were full of rage.
‘You fucking bitch,’ he shouted, his voice booming across the courtroom. ‘If you think that this is the last that you’ll see of me, then you’ve got another think coming. I know everything about you… everything… and no matter where you go, someday, Iwillfind you. I can promise you that. I will haunt your fucking dreams, you bitch. Good luck looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.’
The two court marshals finally managed to restrain Nelsonand drag him away, but as the audience trickled out of the courtroom, Samantha stayed behind, her breathing erratic and out of sync… her legs just a little unsteady because if there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that Nelson Stewart didn’t make empty promises.
Five
‘Congratulations,’ Oakfield said, as he and Samantha met in the corridor, just outside the courtroom. The smile on his face was almost as large as he was. ‘Thanks to you, we just put another creep in prison.’
Samantha stayed quiet, her gaze moving from Oakfield’s round face down to her Gucci shoes.
‘You look tense and worried, Sam,’ Oakfield said, noticing how red her eyes were. She had definitely been crying. ‘Aren’t you happy with the outcome of the trial?’
‘Wouldn’t you be worried?’ she finally replied, her voice lacking strength. ‘Did you hear what Nelson said to me just before he was taken away?’
Oakfield scoffed. ‘I did, and that was a huge mistake on his part. As you know, sentencing hasn’t been passed yet. Judge Reeves will announce it in two weeks’ time, and the reason for that is because during the next two weeks there will be a pre-sentencing investigation, which is carried out by probation officers. They’ll scrutinize Nelson’s whole life before reporting back to the judge. That investigation will help Judge Reeves determine the appropriate sentence for Nelson.’ He smiled again. ‘Now here’s what we have so far: Nelson received a “guilty” verdict on count one – “criminal domestic violence against you”. The maximum penalty for that is five years inprison, and I’ll be very surprised if Judge Reeves doesn’t go for the full five years here.’
Samantha shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
‘He also received a “guilty” verdict on count two,’ Oakfield continued. ‘?“False imprisonment and captivity of a spouse”, and that, when coupled together with criminal domestic violence, carries a maximum penalty oftenyears in prison.’ He used his handkerchief to dab his neck and forehead again. ‘Judge Reeves might not go for the full ten years here, but he isn’t getting less than six or seven, I’m pretty sure of that. Which already brings us to eleven, maybe twelve years of incarceration.’ He lifted a finger at Sam. ‘Then we have that little stunt that Nelson pulled after the verdict was read. That verbal threat to you will constitute aggravating circumstances.’
‘And what does that mean?’
‘It means that it’s a direct verbal threat against you,’ Oakfield explained. ‘After two guilty verdicts, that will weigh heavily against Nelson, and Judge Reeves will certainly take that into consideration when determining the appropriate sentence for his crimes.’
He paused, and from the look on Sam’s face he knew that she still wasn’t getting it.
‘In short,’ Oakfield tried again, ‘Judge Reeves might add an extra year or two to the sentence, just for what Nelson said to you.’ He placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder. ‘Sam, relax. Nelson Stewart will not be seeing the outside of a prison cell for at least twelve years. I can guarantee you that. He’s done. He’s no threat to you. What happened in there,’ his head dipped right, in the direction of the courtroom, ‘was angry bravado from a scumbag who had just realized that his game was up, nothing more. He can’t touch you, Sam.’