by C.P. Murphy
Chapter Thirty-One
After the break, Richard Young got right to the eye witness. He would prefer to have Jacob Miller testify the following day but changed his mind when he remembered how fast the previous trail had ended. Thomas Van Martin claimed that he wasn’t in the village on the night in question and Young was afraid that the jury would buy the story. He knew to convince them; he would have to bring Jacob in early. After everyone took their seats, and the judge informed him it was time to resume, Young called Jacob to the stand.
Jacob stood and could feel a hundred or more eyes on him. He had wished that he could stay as calm as Emma and David but knew that he couldn’t. His hands sweat, and he rubbed them against his pants as he walked to the stand. When asked, he placed his hands on the Bible and vowed to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. He was told to be seated and when he faced out to the crowd, his nervousness grew. Jacob looked over to Thomas who was snarling at him. He took a deep breath and let the District Attorney see he was ready to begin. It would be a long afternoon, he told himself.
“Mr. Miller,” Young started. “Thomas Van Martin was your friend. Am I correct?”
“He was,” Jacob gave a hesitant answer. He’d wished that they remained friends but there was a wedge between them after Amelia had been killed.
“And the two of you haven’t been as kind towards each other as you used to be ever since the death of our victim?”
Jacob nodded his head and heard the judge tell him he would need to speak all of his answers. “That is correct,” he answered out loud.
Young paced back and forth as he asked the rest of his questions. He knew that whatever Jacob said would affect everyone in the room. “Let us start with the confrontation you and Emma received from Amelia before she disappeared. Did you think something was wrong with her at the time?”
“Yes, she was in a hurry to go somewhere and then when she slapped Emma, I knew something was wrong.”
“What did you do next?”
Jacob looked to Emma and then to Thomas. She had already told the jury they went to Thomas and like Emma, Jacob regretted that too. He looked around but could see that the judge wanted him to say it. “We went to Thomas and told him about her behavior.”
“Why?”
Jacob hadn’t expected this kind of questioning. He thought he was only there to tell the court what Thomas had done to Amelia. He continued to look around as he became confused. “I’m not sure I know what you mean, Sir.”
Young paused from pacing. He was trying to lead up to the murder, but it was apparent that the witness didn’t know. “I’m trying to establish why you felt it was important to tell him what was going on. I’m trying to understand what would make him want to kill an innocent girl.”
“It was my idea to go to him,” Jacob answered. “Neither of us thought he would want to hurt her. I figured that he should know that his fiancée slapped my girlfriend.”
“Did you want to see Amelia punished?”
“Not the way he did,” Jacob insisted. “I had nothing against the girl but I didn’t think she should get away with the way she treated Emma. I thought Thomas would say something to Amelia to correct her.”
“What happened after Thomas ran off to find her?” Young wanted the jury and the family to hear what had happened, the things they never heard before.
“I took Emma home and then took off to find Thomas,” Jacob again answered. He knew that he was getting closer to the murder and sweat even more. He also knew that he would be asked why he went searching for Thomas so he continued before giving the District Attorney the opportunity. “Emma was concerned about her friend and was uneasy about us telling Thomas. When he ran off, it made her worry even more. I went to find him to make sure he would not do anything he would be sorry for.”
Henry and his family sat in their seats waiting to hear what was coming up. It had been a long time for them and the pieces of the puzzle were going to finally come together. Henry glanced down the row of seats to Patrick and wondered how he felt. He learned, since his alliance with the man, that Patrick was disappointed in himself for not being able to protect Amelia.
While Henry thought of Patrick’s feelings, Young continued his questioning. “Did you find Thomas?”
“Yes,” Jacob answered. “I found him before he found Amelia.”
“And what happened?”
Jacob thought about the question. He was so afraid of how his words sounded and didn’t want to mess up. “I asked him what he was doing and he said he would punish Amelia for her behavior. He also said he would punish her for spending private time with a strange man.”
Young shook his head in confusion as if to let the jury know that he missed something. “Did you tell him about Emma’s interference?”
“No, we didn’t tell him about Mr. Buchanan and I don’t know how he knew.”
The District Attorney stopped pacing in front of the jury members and put his hands on the rail that divided them from the rest of the room. He didn’t take his eyes off of them when he asked Jacob Miller to tell them what had happened that fatal night. “Mr. Miller, please tell us what happened next and continue until you are done.”
Jacob felt an uneasy pit growing in his stomach. He knew the time had come that he’d been waiting two weeks for. He licked his lips which had become parched and swallowed a lump that had gathered in his throat. Then he began. “We were close to her house when Thomas saw her walking in our direction. He asked me to hide so she couldn’t see me and that he would do the same. I didn’t understand why he felt the need to sneak upon her but didn’t have the time to question him. As she walked past, Thomas grabbed her and covered her mouth. She tried to break free of him but Thomas is stronger than most people give him credit for. Amelia tried to cry out for help but his hand was too tight over her mouth and allowed no sounds out. Amelia turned her head and she saw him. She fought harder to be freed. She didn’t see me and when I attempted to move, Thomas had warned me to stay still. At that point she didn’t know that I was there. Thomas lifted her and carried her away. I followed but remained hidden so she didn’t see me.
He carried her almost to the creek north of her house but made the mistake of putting her down for a rest. She took advantage of his hands being off of her and she took off. Thomas was mad and chased her. Amelia would have headed back towards the village and he didn’t want that. I wasn’t there when she ran from him, I was still trying to catch up myself, but I arrived just as Thomas grabbed a loose plank from the creek’s bridge and hit her in the back of the head. I was shocked. I didn’t think he would go that far to punish her for her behavior. I was believing that he was taking it too far and for Emma’s sake, and Amelia’s, I screamed at him and told him to stop. I said she didn’t deserve what Thomas had just done to her. That is when she realized that I was there but I’m still not sure if she knew it was me or not, she seemed very dazed after he hit her.
The strike on her head had forced her to the ground and Thomas knelt over her and punched her in the face and upper arms. When Amelia cried out, Thomas thought that her sounds were bound to be heard by someone so he jumped on her chest to muffle her cries. It worked, though I insisted that he was going beyond punishment and that he should stop. She was still crying and calling out for help but she could barely speak not to mention scream. Thomas turned and told me he was just putting her inline so she didn’t misbehave anymore. I thought he was too harsh, but he assured me he was doing what was right. He said a woman had to be beat once in a while or they would talk back the way Amelia had.
While he was arguing with me about whether he was treating her right or not, she crawled away. By the time he noticed, her dress had become torn and her leg was bleeding from scrapping against some rocks. I felt bad for her and decided it was time to stop him but he threatened me to stay out of it. I was afraid of him by that point, I’ve never seen him act that way before and I couldn’t believe what he was doing, so I took a few steps back but for her sake I didn
’t leave. Thomas must have thought I was gone because his torture continued. He kept one hand on her to hold her down and used the other to take his belt off. I thought he would use it to hit her but instead he tied her wrists together.”
Jacob took a deep breath before continuing. He could already see the alarm on her family’s face and knew that the rest of the story would upset them even more. He was being urged by both the judge and Young to go on so Jacob continued. “Thomas tied her wrist together and then placed them over her head. The next thing I knew, Thomas was on top of her and raping her. I ran to him and tried to pull him off of her but he insisted that I leave the area. She was crying and her face begged me to help her but I couldn’t. I should have but I was too afraid and didn’t know what to do. Thomas warned me I should never say a word to anyone about what I saw and assured me that everything would be fine and that even Amelia would respect him more from that moment on. I did what I was told and ran home. When Amelia was reported missing, I knew that he killed her but her body wasn’t found in the creek when it was searched. He told me I should’ve had more faith in him and once again I believed that he wasn’t responsible for her disappearance. He said that she ran away after the way he punished her and I thought that made sense.”
The entire room was crying or tear-streaked except Thomas. Jacob wasn’t happy that he had to tell the entire village what he had seen but a part of him was glad it was over, for now at least. He knew that soon Maxwell would question him more. Jacob looked at Henry and finished speaking to him more than to anyone else, “I wouldn’t have left her if I would have realized he would kill her. I’m sorry.”
Even Young was choked up to hear Jacob’s story, but he swallowed the sadness he felt and said, “No further questions.”
Judge Harrison took a moment before allowing Maxwell to take his turn. He looked around the room and saw the hurt in the citizens’ faces. Harrison knew that they believed everything that Miller had said but was more concerned about whether the jury did. He turned to Maxwell and asked him to continue.
Joseph Maxwell whispered into his client’s ear and then faced the judge. “Your Honor,” he started. “I request the right to question this witness later.” The room filled with surprise and Harrison had to call for order before they quieted. The defending attorney continued, “I’d like to prove to the jury what kind of man Thomas Van Martin is, his credentials so to speak, before asking Miller to clarify some of his answers.”
The judge was surprised just as much as the crowd but agreed to let Maxwell question Jacob later in the trial. He turned to the witness and reminded him he was still under oath and not to speak a word to anyone about the case. Then he decided that the family had heard enough for one day and recessed for the night. “In that case, court is adjured until tomorrow morning at nine.” Then he again struck his gavel against the desk and stood to leave the building.
Outside Patrick paced back and forth, waiting for his chance to speak to the District Attorney. The women were sent home and Young was with Henry, David, and Phillip, discussing what would happen next. Patrick wanted to be part of that conversation but was skeptical about how the District Attorney would feel about having the ex-suspect joining forces with him. He had hoped that Henry would speak for him and explain why he was there but he was too emotional from the testimony. Patrick heard Young tell the immediate family that there was still no motive in the murder and that he was afraid of how Maxwell would twist Jacob’s words in their favor. Patrick couldn’t stand the wait any longer, he had the missing piece to the puzzle and though it might jeopardize his new friendship with Henry; it had to be told. “Excuse me, Mr. Young, but I think I know what his motive was,” Patrick exclaimed as he moved closer to the others.
“What are you doing here in the first place?” He quizzed. Before Patrick could answer for himself, Young heard the others tell him they had made amends and that Patrick will help in any way he could. “All right then, what is it you think you know?”
Patrick decided that he shouldn’t say anything in front of Amelia’s family and asked to speak to the District Attorney alone. The truth would hurt these men more than they were already and Patrick didn’t want to tell them to their faces. He pulled Young to the side and the two men talked.
Henry was astonished. He wanted to know why Patrick was being secretive when he thought they had discussed everything together. He gave the other two a puzzled look, wondering if they had any ideas what was going on, but they shrugged their shoulders back at him.
“Put me on the stand tomorrow,” Patrick insisted to the District Attorney. If he learned anything about Thomas Van Martin, he knew that what he had to say could well be a motive to kill.
Young looked around to make sure nobody could hear what they were talking about. He knew why Patrick didn’t want to say this in front of the victim’s family. “He appears to have anger problems and this could well be what we need, but,” Young explained. “You’re not on my list of witnesses and I’m not sure if Maxwell would agree to let you testify.”
“You have to,” Patrick chimed in. He knew that what Jacob had told the court was strong but yet it wasn’t strong enough for a defense attorney with Maxwell’s reputation. “I’m needed more in this case than you give me credit for. I’m not proud of what happened but I’m glad it did. And, I know that Thomas Van Martin knew and his temper must have flared.”
“Fine,” Young reluctantly agreed. He would have to convince both the judge and Maxwell but it shouldn’t be too much of a task. “I don’t foresee Maxwell giving me too hard of a time, considering they still think that you are the guilty one.” He shook Buchanan’s hand and then turned back toward Henry and the others; then said his goodbyes to them.
When Young stepped away, Patrick rejoined the other men who were very interested in what he had to say and why he couldn’t say it in front of them. He assured them that everything would be fine. Both David and Phillip said that they were headed home; leaving Henry alone with Patrick. “Tell me, what did you say to him?” Henry pleaded for an answer.
Putting his hands in his pockets and lowering his head, Patrick found it hard to look into Henry’s eyes. He felt as though he was betraying a new friendship and breaking Henry’s trust but this wasn’t something he could tell him face to face. Still, he didn’t want the elder man to hate him again after hearing his testimony so he tried to make an agreement before he even said a word on the stand. “Henry,” he started. “You and I have put our differences behind us and I want nothing to interfere but I’m afraid what I told Young would do just that. I will testify tomorrow, if the judge allows it, and you will not like what you hear.”
“How do you know? Test me,” Henry interrogated Patrick. If Patrick knew something about his daughter’s case then he demanded that he knew too.
“No,” Patrick shouted. “You’ll hear it in court tomorrow but I want you to remember that I loved your daughter very much and will do anything it takes to see the bastard who killed her pay for his crimes; even if that means you detest me again.” He waited for Henry to speak to him but no words were spoken until he spoke up again. “I hope you’ll take the time to understand and that it doesn’t come to hatred. We’re not so different, you and I.”
Henry’s curiosity was more than he could stand. He wanted to know what was going on but Patrick wasn’t speaking a word of it. He wondered what the man could say that would cause hatred and how they weren’t so different. “All right,” he replied. “I’ll keep that in mind.” They shook hands and then parted their ways agreeing that they would meet up at the town hall the next morning.
