what I can,”
Darren admitted. “I’ve backed up Castille money in so much red tape, I’ve tried
to block Hank’s every move.” He stood up from his crouch. “I know how I want
this to go.”
Darren glanced at his
brother, who was staring at him and Jack with that same hate back in his eyes.
Darren turned to leave, but Jack tugged at his sleeve.
“Did you never know?” he
asked quietly.
Darren bit his lip and
shook his head. “Not until Liam, not until he told me. I was never there, I
didn’t want to be there, and the way Hank was with me about me being gay, I
never imagined he wanted… that he did… I warned him, thought it was done, I
didn’t know he’d done it again. I have to live with that.” Vaughn appeared at
Darren’s side, a hand on Darren’s arm, and he focused blue eyes on Jack.
“Everything okay here?” he
asked.
Jack released his hold on
Darren’s sleeve. “Everything is fine.” Jack recognized a concerned partner when
he saw one, from the possessive hold to the subtle leaning back into Vaughn
from Darren. Jack shook Vaughn’s hand, but they couldn’t talk because
everything started to happen and the two men sat back down. The court was kind
of empty, apart from the jury and the officials there were not a lot of people
in the seating area. He and Robbie were there for Liam, but who was there for
the other three boys?
Was there anyone there at
all? Maybe they were in the corridor with their charges? Although Jack hadn’t
seen anyone, just three young men sitting on separate benches in various levels
of dress: one in jeans that looked smart but had seen better days, another in a
suit that looked two sizes too small for him, the other with his back to
everyone in a subdued designer suit. And Jack knew designer now; after all, he
lived with Riley.
Opening statements passed
quickly, and the first person on the witness stand was a face Jack recalled: Yuri
Fensin, the man who had attacked Liam in the barn on D land, friend of Hank,
and all-around bastard. He’d plea-bargained his way down from Attempted
Aggravated Sexual Assault to Assault in exchange for turning state’s witness
against Hank. The prosecution worked hard to push every single button for the
jury. The defense accused him of lying to cover his own ass, but he didn’t back
down. Jack called it a win, if you could call what sat on the witness stand a
win. Yuri wouldn’t look at Hank, and that was telling in itself.
Then it was Clinton’s
turn. The PI was wearing the suit that Jack had seen hanging in the room, and
he looked a different man. Still slimy and obsequious, he was focused on what
he was saying. The defense was pushing him to reveal evidence, but with every
question was becoming more and more impatient. Clinton gave nothing, just simple
background stories on each boy that had been allegedly abused, but not once did
he mention one of them being a call boy.
Finally it appeared the
defense was done and outright asked Clinton if he’d found evidence that one of
the young men was indeed a prostitute, which may well suggest all the boys
were?
Clinton glanced at Jack
and subtly nod his head, then turned back to face the question. “No,” he said.
Just like that. A single word. And the defense didn’t seem to know what to say
or where to go.
If Jack hadn’t been in court,
he would have pumped the air. This was a small victory, but there was a lot of
evidence to hear yet.
The first victim on the
stand was the young man in the jeans, the one who looked like he’d tried his
hardest to scrub up in the right way. He was stoic but looked tired, and he
didn’t cry even though the defense attorney tried every single thing to get him
to retract the story of systematic abuse over the past two years. This was Hank’s
most recent victim, and Jack’s stomach turned when he heard the young man was
only sixteen and another throwaway just like Liam had been. Jack resolved to
make sure he was okay, made a mental note to
Darren admitted. “I’ve backed up Castille money in so much red tape, I’ve tried
to block Hank’s every move.” He stood up from his crouch. “I know how I want
this to go.”
Darren glanced at his
brother, who was staring at him and Jack with that same hate back in his eyes.
Darren turned to leave, but Jack tugged at his sleeve.
“Did you never know?” he
asked quietly.
Darren bit his lip and
shook his head. “Not until Liam, not until he told me. I was never there, I
didn’t want to be there, and the way Hank was with me about me being gay, I
never imagined he wanted… that he did… I warned him, thought it was done, I
didn’t know he’d done it again. I have to live with that.” Vaughn appeared at
Darren’s side, a hand on Darren’s arm, and he focused blue eyes on Jack.
“Everything okay here?” he
asked.
Jack released his hold on
Darren’s sleeve. “Everything is fine.” Jack recognized a concerned partner when
he saw one, from the possessive hold to the subtle leaning back into Vaughn
from Darren. Jack shook Vaughn’s hand, but they couldn’t talk because
everything started to happen and the two men sat back down. The court was kind
of empty, apart from the jury and the officials there were not a lot of people
in the seating area. He and Robbie were there for Liam, but who was there for
the other three boys?
Was there anyone there at
all? Maybe they were in the corridor with their charges? Although Jack hadn’t
seen anyone, just three young men sitting on separate benches in various levels
of dress: one in jeans that looked smart but had seen better days, another in a
suit that looked two sizes too small for him, the other with his back to
everyone in a subdued designer suit. And Jack knew designer now; after all, he
lived with Riley.
Opening statements passed
quickly, and the first person on the witness stand was a face Jack recalled: Yuri
Fensin, the man who had attacked Liam in the barn on D land, friend of Hank,
and all-around bastard. He’d plea-bargained his way down from Attempted
Aggravated Sexual Assault to Assault in exchange for turning state’s witness
against Hank. The prosecution worked hard to push every single button for the
jury. The defense accused him of lying to cover his own ass, but he didn’t back
down. Jack called it a win, if you could call what sat on the witness stand a
win. Yuri wouldn’t look at Hank, and that was telling in itself.
Then it was Clinton’s
turn. The PI was wearing the suit that Jack had seen hanging in the room, and
he looked a different man. Still slimy and obsequious, he was focused on what
he was saying. The defense was pushing him to reveal evidence, but with every
question was becoming more and more impatient. Clinton gave nothing, just simple
background stories on each boy that had been allegedly abused, but not once did
he mention one of them being a call boy.
Finally it appeared the
defense was done and outright asked Clinton if he’d found evidence that one of
the young men was indeed a prostitute, which may well suggest all the boys
were?
Clinton glanced at Jack
and subtly nod his head, then turned back to face the question. “No,” he said.
Just like that. A single word. And the defense didn’t seem to know what to say
or where to go.
If Jack hadn’t been in court,
he would have pumped the air. This was a small victory, but there was a lot of
evidence to hear yet.
The first victim on the
stand was the young man in the jeans, the one who looked like he’d tried his
hardest to scrub up in the right way. He was stoic but looked tired, and he
didn’t cry even though the defense attorney tried every single thing to get him
to retract the story of systematic abuse over the past two years. This was Hank’s
most recent victim, and Jack’s stomach turned when he heard the young man was
only sixteen and another throwaway just like Liam had been. Jack resolved to
make sure he was okay, made a mental note to
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