Keep No Secrets (40 page)

To Jack's relief, Walker's direct of Michael is short. He questions Michael about the amount of time that elapsed from when Jack left to take Celeste home, to when he returned. He also questions him briefly about the days following the alleged assault, when Celeste didn't show up at school and he couldn’t reach her.

Walker's point seems to be that Celeste couldn't face Michael after what Jack had done. Michael's testimony is so innocuous that Jack asks Earl if perhaps they'd be better off without a cross.

"And call him back as a defense witness?" Earl answers with a question of his own. "We need him, and I'd rather not make him take the stand twice."

"But don't you think Walker limited the direct so he can limit your cross?"

"Probably, but let's see what we get in.

Walker has been frugal with his

objections, probably to give us fewer grounds for appeal. He may not even fuss."

Before Jack argues more, Earl rises and approaches the witness stand.

"Mike, do you understand that because you're a minor, one of your parents had to give consent for you to testify today?"

"Yes."

"And your dad, who has been charged in this case, gave his consent, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Did you want to testify?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Michael's gaze darts around the

courtroom before he lets it settle briefly on Jack, then Earl.

"It makes me nervous to be up here in front of all these people, answering questions."

"Are you nervous because your answers may affect people you love?"

"Yes."

"And some of those people are on opposite sides of this case?"

Michael looks down at his hands. Jack can't see behind the box, but he knows his son is picking at a hangnail.

"Yes."

"Well, I know it's hard, but I want you to focus on answering the questions as best, as honestly, as you can, and let the jury decide how those answers affect the outcome of the case, okay?"

"Okay."

Jack hides a smile; of course Earl would extract what Jack couldn't.

"First, let's talk about the night your dad took Celeste home. You were in the family room with her, is that right?"

"Yes."

"And your dad heard you from upstairs?"

"I guess so. I guess he heard us."

"Were you and Celeste being loud?"

"I guess. Like I told Mr. Walker, we'd been drinking. I guess we were loud and didn't realize it."

"Did you look up and all of a sudden your dad was there?"

"No, we heard him at the top of the stairs. He made some noise."

"What kind of noise?"

"He stomped on the steps so we'd know he was up there."

"Why would he do that, Mike?"

Walker rises. "Objection, Your Honor.

I don't think Mr. Hilliard's son can testify to what Mr. Hilliard was thinking."

"I'll rephrase it, Judge," Earl says. To Michael, he says, "Why do you think your dad wanted you to know he was there?"

"He asked if we were decent. I think he didn't want to embarrass us, you know?"

"Could you explain?"

Michael's face blushes. "I think he guessed we might not have all our clothes on, and he was giving us time to get dressed before coming down."

"Did you have all your clothes on?"

"No." He whispers the answer. Earl glances at the court reporter to make sure she got it.

"Did Celeste have her shirt off?"

"Yes."

"Did she have her bra off?"

Michael hesitates. "Yes."

"Am I right to assume you and Celeste were engaged in some sort of sexual activity?"

Michael nods.

"I'm sorry, son," Judge Simmons says gently, "but you need to state your answer aloud."

Michaels nods again, this time at the Judge, and then looks back at Earl. "Yes."

"I know it's hard to talk about this publicly, so I won't ask you for details, but it's important for the jury to know whether you and Celeste were having sexual intercourse."

"Yes, we were," he whispers.

"Before that night, did your dad know you and Celeste were sexually active?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Then why would he think you wouldn't be dressed?"

"Because of some things we were saying. I think he overheard us."

Earl nods—his way, Jack knows, of telling Michael he won't make him give the specifics about that either.

"Mike, were you aware Celeste thought she might be pregnant?"

Michael stiffens, sneaks a glance at Jack.

"No."

This wasn't the answer Earl expected.

Michael might be a reluctant witness, but up to now, he was an honest one. Jack can't believe he didn't know Celeste took the pregnancy test.

"This might be a difficult question for you to have to think about, and I'm sorry I have to ask it." Michael tilts his head warily; his long body sinks lower into the witness chair. "But was there any time that night, before your dad took Celeste home, that you felt like he tried to catch a glimpse of Celeste without her clothes on?"

"No." He wears a look of pure disgust at the question.

"Or was sexually attracted to her in any way?"

"No!"

"What about any other time before that night?"

"No! If anything, he seemed nervous around her when he first met her."

Earl pauses, and Jack sees his mind churning. He didn't expect anything other than a simple
No
. "May I have a moment to confer with my client, Your Honor?"

Earl comes near Jack and writes on the legal pad:
You care if I bring up JD with him?

Jack stares at it, not understanding. All he thinks about, seeing the letters JD, are the words "juris doctr" he saw referenced in Celeste’s and Michael's messages.
Dodson
, Earl writes to clarify. Jack still doesn't answer. His mind is too busy trying to piece together older thoughts with new.

"Jack?" Earl whispers.

Jack nods hurriedly and Earl leaves his side to resume his questions.

"Mike, you said your dad seemed
nervous
when he first met Celeste?"

"Yes."

"Was that because of her resemblance to Jennifer Dodson?"

"Yeah, I think. I mean, it sort of freaked out both my mom and my dad the first time they saw her. I think she sort of reminded them of a bad time, you know?"

Earl presses his lips together in sympathy. "Yeah, I do know." He blows out a stream of air. He's not enjoying his job just then. "You explained what happened once your father returned home from dropping off Celeste. Was there anything in his demeanor, or even any physical evidence, that led you to believe he'd had inappropriate contact with Celeste?"

"No. He was gone a long time, but he said—"

"Objection. Anything his father said would be hearsay." Walker doesn't bother to look up from his legal pad.

"Mr. Walker, perhaps we should hear the testimony first," the judge says.

"I don't want the jury to be prejudiced by what they might hear," Walker argues.

The judge sighs and turns to Earl. "Mr.

Scanlon, will you be using the witness'

testimony to prove the truth of the matter asserted?"

The question is the judge's way of hinting to Earl that he's ready to overrule the objection as long as Earl gives him a legal reason to do so.

"No, Your Honor. We want to show Mr. Hilliard's state of mind during the time he spent with Ms. Del Toro, which will be consistent with and support the explanation Mr. Hilliard later gives on the stand for why the trip took so long."

"I'll allow it, then. Proceed."

Jack glances at Walker, who's shaking his head at being home-towned.

Earl asks the court reporter to read back the question and the start of Michael's answer. She pulls the tape from her machine until she sees her marks. In a robotic voice, she says, "Was there anything in his demeanor, or even any physical evidence, that led you to believe he'd had an inappropriate interaction with Celeste?" and then "No. He was gone a long time, but he said—" She drops the tape and her hands quickly return to the keys.

"Go on," Earl says, prodding Michael gently. "Please finish your answer."

The truth, Michael. Tell the truth. Don't hold
anything back.

"He said she asked him to give her time to sober up, so her dad wouldn't know she'd been drinking. She was afraid of getting in trouble."

"Did your father mention that she seemed extremely afraid of her father?"

"Yes," Michael says.

"Did he say why he thought that?"

Michael shrugs. "He just said he thought she was acting afraid. He said she panicked when he told her he planned to talk to her dad. He asked me why she would be so afraid."

"And what did you tell him?"

"Just that her dad was strict."

"In your opinion, is her father strict?"

"Yeah, really strict."

"What did your dad say to that?"

"He thought she was hiding something.

He thought maybe her dad was hurting her."

"Did he say how?"

"No. He asked me if I knew anything."

"What did you say?"

Michael lowers his eyes but sneaks a peek at Jack. Jack subtly nods to let him know it's okay.

"I told him I thought he was crazy."

"Why did you think he was crazy?"

"I don't know. He's always suspicious of little things. I guess doing what he does, you know, he sees a lot of kids being abused, and so sometimes he thinks someone is being abused when maybe they're not."

"Do you think that's the case here?

That your dad saw something that wasn't there?"

"I don't know."

"Mike, do you have
any
reason whatsoever to suspect that maybe your dad's concerns were warranted in this case? That maybe Celeste has been abused?"

"Objection." Walker stands and glares at Earl. "Unless Mr. Scanlon has some sort of substantive evidence, these questions call for speculation, which will only prejudice the jury."

Before Earl argues, the judge calls the attorneys to approach the bench.

Earl and Jack discussed ahead of time whether Earl should ask Michael if he thought Celeste had been abused. From the beginning, Jack sensed that Michael knows more than he lets on. The instant messages and Celeste's journal confirmed that hunch. But both lawyers agreed that without knowing how Michael will

answer, the question is risky. It forces Michael to choose between honesty and perjury, if perjury is the only way he can cover for Celeste. Jack doesn't like doing it this way, but he believes, if pressed, his son will tell the truth. He hopes he's right, because if Michael lies, Jack refuses to allow Earl to impeach him.

When Earl leaves the bench to resume his questioning, he winks at Jack to indicate victory. Jack's gut clenches in anticipation of Michael's answer.

This time, Earl doesn't ask the court reporter to repeat the question. He wants to ensure emotion accompanies the delivery.

"I know this is hard, Mike." His voice is quieter. "I'll repeat the question for you. Do you have any reason, any reason whatsoever, to suspect that maybe your dad's concerns were warranted in this case? That maybe Celeste has been abused?"

Michael appears to grow younger

before their eyes. Jack sees a boy on the edge, reaching out his hand and asking someone to take it and lead him across the abyss. That someone should be his father, but instead Jack feels as if he's the one who pushed him out there.

"I . . . . I don't really know."

"Is there something preventing you from answering my question with a simple
No
?" Earl asks the question with the tenderness of a father who raised four girls.

Michael shrugs again; Jack sees him swallow. "Just . . . I don't know . . . I mean, her dad is just strict, you know?

Like I said."

"Can you give me an example?"

Another shrug. "Like, for

Homecoming this year, he wouldn't let her wear the dress she wanted to wear.

And he doesn't let her do normal things, like wear nail polish, or get her driver's permit, even though she's old enough."

"Do you think those things are abusive?"

Jack admires Earl for playing it smart.

He asked the question in a tone

suggesting the things Michael listed are pretty typical for a parent who falls on the far side of strict.

"No, but . . . I don't know. He's weird about them."

"In what way?"

Michael avoids Earl's gaze. He must know that even if he doesn't out Celeste, anything he says at this point will probably anger her father enough to ban future contact with his daughter.

"Mike?"

"He's just really mean about it. Like with the dress, he didn't just say 'that dress is inappropriate.' That's what my mom and dad would say. She said he called her a slut for wanting to wear it."

"Objection, hearsay," Walker says with weariness.

"Sustained." Judge Simmons is growing weary, too. "Michael, you'll have to stick to your own impressions, or things you saw or heard yourself, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you consider it abusive for a parent to call their children bad names?"

Earl asks, carefully avoiding a direct reference to the stricken testimony. It's enough that the jury heard it.

"I don't know. My dad might. He might say it's emotionally abusive."

Walker shakes his head—he certainly recognizes Michael's answer as

speculation—but he apparently decides it's wiser not to object again.

"What about you?"

"It makes Celeste cry, so yeah, I guess I do, in a way."

Earl glances at Jack, seeking his silent input.
How far do you want me to go?
he wants to know. Michael is obviously trying to help Jack without hurting Celeste, but nothing he's said so far rises to anything Earl can really use. Jack nods, giving his reluctant assent.

"She cries?"

"Yes. She gets really upset."

"Don't you get really upset sometimes when your parents discipline you?"

"Yes . . . but it's different. I can't explain it."

"I want you to try. I want you think carefully. Is there any way—that you know of personally, that is—that Celeste expresses her distress, other than crying?"