In Sickness and in Death Read online

  “We are, Your Honor.” He nodded to the bailiff who moved to the front of the room and opened a pair of cabinet doors, revealing what appeared to be a big-screen television set. “What we want to show at this time, Your Honor, are records subpoenaed from the Three Oaks National Bank.”

  He moved to what appeared to be a scanning machine and placed a sheet of paper on the screen. The image of a bank statement appeared on the TV. “You will note that, even though the account number has been blacked out for security reasons, the name that appears at top of the page, is that of the defendant.” He drew an arrow to the name of Adrienne Porter. “I also want you to notice this entry dated September sixteenth in the amount of two-hundred and forty five thousand dollars. Just two days after Vivian Forrester signed over two certificates of deposit to the defendant, nearly the same amount of money was deposited in the defendant’s own account.” His gaze traveled over each of the jurors, who were listening avidly.

  He removed that sheet from the machine and replaced it with another. “You will also note that on the following month’s statement the moneys remained in that account instead of being transferred to an investment broker as Mrs. Forrester had expected.” He slowly replaced each sheet with one after another for each month thereafter. “Please note that, as of a few days ago the majority of that same money was still in Ms. Porter’s account.”

  The jurors’ eyes flitted back and forth between the screen and the defendant. After a long moment, the DA removed the sheets from the projector and handed them to the bailiff. “The State would like to enter these records into evidence.” When that had been done, he said, “The State rests its case.”

  The Judge looked toward the Defense table where Adrienne and her attorney were engaged in an intense whispered discussion. “Mr. Bates? Is the Defense ready to present its case?”

  The lawyer rose. “Yes, Your Honor. Defense would like to call Dr. Rudolph Harris.”

  Dr. Harris entered the courtroom in the company of the bailiff and proceeded to the witness stand, after being sworn in.

  “Dr. Harris, would you please advise the jury of your full name and occupation?”

  “My name is Dr. Rudolph Harris and I am Chief of Internal Medicine at Central Hospital.”

  “Dr. Harris, I believe you know Ms Porter?”

  “Why, yes, I’ve known Adrienne for several years now, since she came to work at the hospital.”

  “Can you tell us a bit about her?”

  “Well, she’s bright, diligent about her duties.” He smiled at Adrienne. “In fact, she’s one of the best nurses I’ve ever worked with.”

  “Would you say that she is honest and trustworthy?”

  “Objection! Calls for speculation.”

  “Sustained.”

  “In your own experience, can Ms Porter be trusted to perform her assigned duties in a timely manner?”

  “Why, yes, in my experience – and I’ve never heard any complaints from the other staff.”

  “And you’ve worked with her how long?”

  “Oh,” he paused, thoughtfully. “I’d say a good seven years now.”

  “Dr. Harris, do you know a Mrs. Vivian Forrester?”

  Slowly, he shook his head. “No, I don’t believe I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting the lady.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Harris. No further questions.”

  “Does the State wish to cross-examine?”

  The DA bobbed up. “No cross.”

  Dr. Harris was escorted from the room and Defense Council rose. “Defense calls Ms. Adrienne Porter to the stand.”

  I’ll be damned, Brian thought. I never thought she’d dare!

  When she was seated, he continued. “Now, Ms. Porter, would you tell the court your full name and your occupation, please.”

  Adrienne’s gaze moved from one jury member to another, perhaps lingering a little longer on the male members, as she said, “My name is Adrienne Porter and I’m a Registered Nurse at Central Hospital.”

  “How long have you worked at Central Hospital, Ms Porter?”

  “It’ll be eight years next June.”

  “All right, that’s quite a while.” She smiled at her lawyer. “Ms. Porter, do you know Mrs. Vivian Forrester?”

  “Yes, sir, I do.”

  “Did you have lunch with Mrs. Forrester on September fourteenth?”

  “I believe that was the date.”

  “Would you tell the court, in your own words, how that luncheon came about?”

  “Of course,” she said, looking directly at various members of the jury. “I was just getting ready to leave for work that morning, when she called and suggested that we have lunch together since it had been a long time since we’d done that.”

  In the back of the courtroom, Vivian shook her head incredulously. Brian marveled at how easily Adrienne seemed able to lie. The oath thing doesn’t seem to bother her at all!

  “She said she needed to talk to me and suggested that we meet at this little salad bar in her area. I agreed to meet her at eleven o’clock that morning.” Her eyes never wavering from the jurors, she continued. “I went to the restaurant and she was already there. As soon as we had ordered, she apologized for not calling me sooner and offering her assistance with all of Brian’s, her son’s, final hospital bills and the funeral expenses. I told her that I was managing to get by, but she insisted that she give me money to cover everything. When we finished lunch, we went to the bank.”

  “Ms Porter,” her attorney interjected. “Did you, at any time, say anything about investing that money for Mrs. Forrester?”

  Adrienne looked at him, wide-eyed. “Oh no, sir! We only spoke about covering Brian’s bills – and she insisted.”

  “Thank you, Ms Porter. No further questions, Your Honor.”

  “Does the State wish to cross?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.” The DA stood and addressed Adrienne. “Ms Porter, tell me, is the home phone number you show on the hospital’s personnel files current and correct?”

  “Why, yes, I’ve never had it changed – since Brian and I moved in together.”

  He shuffled through the papers in his file for a long minute while she gazed at him with a puzzled expression. “I have here,” he said, holding up one sheet of paper, “a copy of your personnel record at the hospital.”

  “Okay,” she said slowly.

  “And I have here—” raising another small stack of sheets, “—Mrs. Forrester’s phone records for the last several months. Mrs. Forrester has not called the number you have listed as your home phone at all this entire year.”

  “Well, when she called me for lunch, she may have called me at work. I’m not sure.”

  The DA shook his head. “No, Mrs. Forrester didn’t call the hospital on September fourteenth either.”

  “Well, maybe she didn’t call from home! She could have called from a neighbor’s – or even a payphone!”

  The DA turned on his heel. “No more questions, Your Honor.”

  “Re-direct?”

  Adrienne’s attorney shook his head. “No, Your Honor.”

  “You may step down.”

  As Adrienne returned to her seat, her attorney stood. When she was seated he spoke to the Judge, “We have no further witnesses, Your Honor. The Defense rests.”

  “Mr. Prosecutor, are you ready to make your summation?”

  “Yes, Your Honor,” he said, rising and moving in front of the jury box. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we believe that we have presented quite sufficient evidence to prove to you that Ms Adrienne Porter did indeed, willfully and fraudulently, put Mrs. Vivian Forrester under emotional duress so that she subsequently signed over her life savings to the defendant.

  “Mrs. Forrester was led to believe that her deceased son wanted her to allow Ms Porter to invest her funds to better her future income. Ms Porter, however, took advantage of her emotional vulnerability to obtain the funds and subsequently deposited them into her own account – for her own benefit. We ask
ed that you find the defendant, Ms Adrienne Porter, guilty of the charge of fraudulently obtaining the funds of Mrs. Vivian Forrester. Thank you.”

  The DA returned to his seat and the Judge looked at the Defense. “Is Defense Council ready with his summation?”

  “Yes, Your Honor,” he answered, moving toward the jury box. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have heard Ms Porter explain to you how she was invited to lunch by her late companion’s mother, who then insisted that she help cover her son’s final expenses. Ms Porter had been placed, by circumstance, into the position of having to take the full financial responsibility for the final arrangements of the woman’s own son. Doesn’t it make perfectly logical sense to you that a mother, any mother, would want to take care of her own son – right up until the very end?

  “We ask that you find the defendant, Adrienne Porter, not guilty of any wrong-doing. Thank you for your attention.”

  When he had returned to his seat, the Judge turned toward the jury and smiled.

  “Members of the jury, the delivery of justice is now in your hands. It is up to you to decide what actually occurred in this matter. Remember it is the duty of the Prosecuting Attorney to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty.

  “Reasonable doubt doesn’t mean ‘beyond a shadow of doubt’. It means just what it says, beyond a reasonable doubt. Has the prosecution brought forward enough evidence to convince you that it is most likely that events happened as he has stated. If that is the case, you must find the defendant guilty. If sufficient evidence has not been provided, then you must find the defendant not guilty.

  “You are now charged to retire to the jury room and do your duty.”

  “All rise!” roared the bailiff, and everyone stood while the jury filed out of the courtroom.

  When the jury had disappeared, the Judge left the bench and the courtroom slowly emptied.

  Brian followed his mother and Price to the building’s cafeteria where they both purchased a cup of coffee and took them to a table. For several minutes, they sat silently sipping their coffee, each lost in their own thoughts.

  Vivian broke the silence. “Wonder how long they’ll be?”

  “Hard to say. One never knows about a jury. It could be minutes or it could be days!”

  Vivian shivered. “Let’s hope not.”

  The silence resumed.

  I could go into that room and see what they’re doing, Brian thought. But me knowing wouldn’t help Mom any.

  When they had finished their coffees, Bob pushed back his chair. “I guess we should get back up there. If they come back, they’ll only search out the attorneys, they won’t come find us.”

  When they come back, Mom’s response will let me know, Brian thought. Leaving the courthouse behind he went to wander through the fields and forests that he loved.

  Sometime later as Brian sat at the edge of a peaceful lake, he felt his mother’s anxiety heighten and returned to the courthouse. The jury members were filing into their seats as he arrived.

  The Judge turned to them with a smile. “Has the jury reached a verdict?”

  One man rose and said, “We have, your honor.”

  “Would you hand it to the bailiff, please?”

  The man handed over a folded piece of paper. The bailiff took it to the Judge, who read it silently and returned it to the bailiff who passed it to the jury foreman.

  “Would you please read the verdict?” The Judge asked.

  “We, the jury,” the foreman announced, “find the defendant, Adrienne Porter, guilty of the charge of fraudulently obtaining funds.”

  The bailiff took the paper and handed it to the Judge.

  “Very well,” the Judge pronounced. “The jury has reached a verdict of guilty as charged. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for . . . two weeks from today. In the meantime, I am issuing a court order that all assets of the defendant be hereby frozen. I am also ordering that complete restitution be made to the offended party.”

  Brian gazed at Adrienne who had a totally incredulous expression on her face. You actually expected to get away with it! He thought in amazement. Why wouldn’t you listen to what I tried to tell you? I guess, now, you’ll just have to take the consequences and learn your lessons the hard way.

  About The Author

  Jaye P. Marshall began writing fiction as a teenager and has been writing since then. She has had a life-long interest in everyday people - their relationships and their problems

  – she enjoys “giving birth” to creative works by taking her own and others experiences and sharing the most intriguing aspects of those stories with her readers.

  Her work, both fiction and non-fiction, has been presented in several national and international publications.

  Her goal is to allow readers to “walk a mile” in the shoes of her characters – to feel their pain or join in their laughter.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20