Fragile (Always Be My Never)

Chapter 15 | The First Trial

Michael looks across right to where Rossie Miller sits. He notices her long blond hair is curled today. Her face goes blank, and if Michael follows her gaze, he would know that she's looking at where Josh Bishop sits now.

The prosecutor calls Joshua Bishop as the first witness and the clerk makes him swear for telling only the truth and states his name.

"Joshua, could you describe what did you see in your father's room on August 23rd, 2014?" Kate inquires.

"I was trying to sleep, but I heard a loud noise, a woman's voice. I thought it was my Mom's, so I came to Daddy's room and I saw him and a woman under the blanket."

"Could you specify what the woman looked like?"

"She has blond hair and blue eyes."

"Could you point the woman here?"

Joshua looks hesitant for a moment but then he holds up his finger, pointing to Rossie who sits beside Julia Fisher.

"However," Kate turns to face the jury, "we all know that your mother is not in the country for eighteen years. And there is a possibility that the woman your father was making love with at the moment was just a prostitute he called to fulfill his sexual needs. How can we be sure that he was having an affair with her?"

Joshua thinks hard for a while. "Dad didn't invite her in. She knew our apartment's password, even if I changed it twice a day."

"But that can be explained," Kate says, "maybe your father gave the password to her so she could stop by whenever she felt like it."

"No!" Joshua raises his tone. "My father does not want to meet her. He even asked me to move away once, but we both knew that, well, we didn't have enough money to move anywhere, so we had no choice but to stay there."

Kate turns around and faces Judge Smith. "That's all, Your Honor."

Judge Smith adjusts his glasses again. "Defence, do you want to cross-examine the witness?"

Julia stands from her seat and walks carefully toward the witness' stand. "Joshua," she slouches and leans over on it. "Can you describe your mother?"

"She is tall, blonde, and white."

"What is the color of her eyes?"

Joshua frowns. "Blue."

Julia smiles. "So in your eyes, Rossie Miller and your biological mother, Sophie Bishop has the same characteristic features." She straightens her body. "How did you know that Rossie Miller isn't your biological mother?"

"What?" he asks, staring at Julia in disbelief. "Of course I know. My mother isn't like her. That womanㅡRossie Millerㅡonly used my dad to destroy our family. They might have the same hair or eye color, but they areㅡ"

"That's enough," Julia cuts him off. "How can you state that what Rossie Miller wanted is to destroy your family?"

"You can tell," Joshua says. "What else did she want from us? We're poor, and my father is too old for her. I mean, she's a prostitute, so what would my father see in her? It was just one-time sex because my father was bored as my mom was away, but it turns out that the prostitute wants more than just one-time sex."

"Well, we can safely say that everything you just said is just your speculation, Joshua." Julia smiles and turns around. "That's all, Your Honor."

"The witness is excused." Judge Smith waits until Joshua leaves the stand before he continues, "The prosecution may call the next witness."

"We call Sophie Bishop to the stand."

Michael watches closely as Kate moves from her seat to the witness' stand, admiring her confidence and how proud she seems of herself. After Sophie finishes stating her name for the formality, Kate begins.

"Mrs. Bishop," Kate's voice sounds clear and bright as usual. There's no sign of nervousness which Michael feels right now. "How did you find out that your husband was cheating on you?"

"At first, I did not notice and I believed that my husband would not betray me in that way. But in his sleep, he kept calling her name, and later on, I found out from Joshua."

"Did Mr. Bishop admit that he cheated on you?"

"Yes, he did."

"What exactly did he say to you?"

There's a brief silence before Sophie answers, "He apologized for sleeping with a younger woman when I was away."

The juries make noise and Judge Smith has to silence them before he asks Kate to continue.

"Did he mention the young woman's name?"

Sophie nods. "Yes, he did. Her name is Rossie Harris Miller."

"That's all, Your Honor." Kate walks back to her seat.

"Does the defense wish to cross-examine the witness?" Judge Smith asks.

"Sophie Bishop, where were you exactly for the past eighteen years?"

"I was restrained in Scotland because of state issues."

"Did your husband know about this?"

"Based on the law, I should not say anything about my country's issues to anyone."

"So he did not know," Julia concludes. "Did you ever contact him when you were in Scotland?"

Sophie plays with a piece of lint of her sleeves, but she doesn't look away. "He changed his number and none of my friends knew his new number, so we had trouble keeping in touch."

"That's all, Your Honor."

"Prosecution, you may call the next witness," Judge Smith says after Sophie leaves the stand.

Michael tries to control his breath before he stands up. "We call Julius Reignald to the stand."

Kate slips a paper to Michael's palm which contains some questions he would need to ask. He thanks her by his eyes and walks toward the witness' stand.

"Mr. Reignald, what is your occupation?" Michael says.

"I'm a cashier in Walmart at 3601 E Main Street."

"Did you remember this man," Michael points at Josh who sits on the corner of the front desk, "coming to your store?"

Julius Reignald nods twice and brushes his mustache. "Yes, he every so often comes to our store."

"Does he come alone?"

"No, he always comes with a young lady. But the last few months he comes alone."

Michael tilts his head. "Could you tell us what the young lady looks like?"

"She always wears a mini skirt and a crop top." His pupils go up. "I remember she has long blond hair."

"Is she here, with us, in the court?" Michael says slowly. His eyes never leave Julius'.

"Yes, she is."

"Could you show us the young lady?"

Julius extends his hand and his forefinger points at Rossie.

Michael feels uneasy as he can't do anything to help Rossie Miller, but he turns his body and pulls out a small paper from his pocket and hands it to the clerk. "Your honor, the prosecution would like to present the bill of Mr. Bishop and Ms. Miller's transaction on December 24th, 2016 as the evidence."

Judge Smith adjusts his glasses as his eyes glance at the paper. "The paper is admitted as the first evidence," he announces to the juries.

Two minutes later, the paper has been scanned and showed in the LCD panel.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this is the original bill of Mr. Bishop and Ms. Miller's transaction." He picks up a pen with a red laser beam in it and uses the laser to point the LCD screen. "There are two condoms purchased in it."

"Does the defense have any objection for this?" Judge Smith asks.

"Not at this time, Your Honor."

It was clear to everyone in the court; one point for Sophie Bishop.

***

Saturday, February 10th, 2018. 2.43 p.m.
Edited on July 18, 2018. 8.02 p.m.