Breaking Free (Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

Wesley let out a long-suffering sigh. “When it became obvious to me that she was not going to listen, I attempted to leave, letting her know I was going to file a restraining order. That was when she went berserk, Your Honor. I was taught to never hit a lady, and I’ll tell you it took all my power not to do so. You’ll never know how relieved I was when campus security arrived, or else I would have been forced to defend myself.”

Looking pleased, Prosecutor Brooks, nodded. “Nothing further from this witness, Your Honor.”

Gabe stood and slowly walked forward. It took all his years of practicing as an attorney to appear as calm as he was. Inwardly he was seething. He wanted nothing more than to reach over the tall, wooden box and wring the little weasel’s neck. Instead he smiled predatorily, and anyone who knew him, would have known to be afraid.

“Mr. Dandridge…” he began, only to have the witness pompously interrupt him.

“That’s Professor Dandridge.”

“As you say.” He let that go. He’d made his point. “You allege that the defendant stalked you on numerous occasions. Can you provide specific dates?”

This seemed to throw Wesley for a second before he answered. “Well the week after we broke up, that Friday, she spent the entire night banging on my door.” Gabe ground his teeth. He knew Danny usually went home and curled up with a book on Friday nights because she was tired from the week. It was a safe bet that Dandridge knew it too.

“What if I told you I could provide a witness to prove that the defendant was occupied elsewhere that night?” Gabe asked innocently, knowing that was the first night he and Danny had made love.

“W–well,” he stammered. “I may be wrong on the date, after all it’s been quite a while, but it doesn’t change the fact that she did.”

Nodding, Gabe picked up the stack of letters supposedly written by Danny to her ex-fiancé. “You claim these letters were from the defendant begging for
reconciliation,
correct?”

“Yes, as I said…” he began condescendingly, only to be cut off.

“It’s a simple yes or no, Professor Dandridge.”

“Yes.” Wesley harrumphed with a sour look on his face.

Turning back to the defendant’s table, Gabe picked up a piece of paper. “Your Honor, I’d like to enter into exhibit the sworn affidavit from a certified handwriting analyst. You will see that it states the letters were written in a different handwriting than the defendant’s.”

Judge Wrenn nodded before turning back to the witness. “Do you wish to maintain your testimony, Professor Dandridge?”

Wesley adamantly nodded. “Your Honor, she has several student aids working for her. She could have had any number of them write the letters for her,” he replied smugly.

Again Gabe let the issue drop. The evidence could speak for itself. “On the day in question, October ninth, you allege the defendant begged and pleaded for you to take her back, yet no one was aware of anything going in her office until you started to shout, is that correct?”

“Well, yes, but her office is in the back of the library.”

“But the door was open and anyone could have walked in, correct?” Gabe hid a grimace at that since he was the idiot who had walked in and made the biggest mistake of his life.

Wesley stared at him oddly for a second, before recognition struck him. “You’re that filthy man who walked in on us that day. But I don’t understand?” He turned to the judge. “Your Honor, I think you should check this man’s credentials. I don’t believe he’s an attorney. Why on earth would an attorney dress the way he did that day?” Gabe knew his mind was too closed to accept the obvious.

Gabe saw the prosecutor grimace and realized he recognized Gabe for who he actually was. The judge apparently agreed, because she shot the witness a sharp look. “I am well aware of Mr. Cavanaugh’s credentials as an attorney, and they are all in order, Professor Dandridge.”

Wesley sputtered, but apparently couldn’t think of an appropriate response, and Gabe used his silence to go in for the kill. “You are correct, I was there that day, and were your arms not wrapped around the defendant, were your lips not plastered onto hers?” His question came out seething, and Gabe fought down the image that replayed in his head. It was taking every bit of his self-control not to strangle the spineless professor, lest he ruin things for Danny.

“I…I was comforting her,” Wesley managed, more than a little intimidated by the open hatred in Gabe’s electric-blue eyes. “She b…begged for one last kiss.”

“I see,” Gabe nodded, unable to stand the sight of the lying little bastard any longer. “I have no further use for this witness, Your Honor.”

Wesley cut Gabe a wide berth as he made his way back to his seat.

Next the bailiff called the campus security guard. He appeared sympathetic to Danny, and it was obvious what he thought of the obnoxious professor, but his testimony was given factually. All he’d seen was Danny standing over her bloody and bruised ex-fiancé.

Next came the emergency room doctor’s testimony. Wesley’s nose was indeed broken and one rib had a slight crack.

“Would you say Professor Dandridge’s injuries were consistent with an assault?” Prosecutor Brooks questioned.

“I just treated him.” The doctor hedged. Gabe sensed that he didn’t want to answer, and the prosecutor seemed to as well.

“How many years have you been an emergency room doctor?”

“Just a little over ten,” the doctor answered, a confused expression on his face, and Gabe wondered where this line of questioning was going.

“On average, how many assaults do you see in a week?”

“I don’t know the exact statistics.” Again the doctor seemed to be hedging.

“Object, Your Honor, relevance.” Gabe called, uncertain what exactly the prosecutor was trying to prove.

“Please, Your Honor, a little leeway,” Brooks replied.

The judge seemed to debate this for a few minutes before she made her decision. “You may proceed, but keep it brief.”

“Thank you.” The prosecutor turned back to his witness. “In an average week would you say you see at least ten assaults?”

The doctor considered this for several moments before nodding. “Yes, that’s probably a good answer. We’re not huge so we don’t see the numbers the big cities do, but yes, we see our share.”

“So at least ten a week, with fifty-two weeks in a year, for ten years, that’s over five thousand assaults in the last ten years. Correct?”

“I guess that’s about right,” the doctor hesitantly replied.

Gabe definitely didn’t like the direction this was going.

“So we can consider you an authority on assault.”

The doctor shook his head. “I don’t know that I’d go that far.”

“Are the Professor’s injuries consistent with other assaults you’ve seen?” Brooks persisted.

“I…” He hedged.

“Please answer the question, doctor.”

He finally answered, his voice filled with reluctance. “Yes, they are.”

Chapter Twelve

Tiffany and Mariah showed up at the courthouse just as the judge was dismissing everyone for lunch. They joined Gabe, Danny, and Gloria as they sat in the court’s tiny cafeteria quietly discussing the case.

“We’re sorry, Ms. D. We can’t find Noir anywhere,” Tiffany informed them dejectedly.

“It’s like she’s disappeared or something,” Mariah added with a confused shake of her head.

“It’s okay. I think it’s going pretty well, don’t you, Gabe?”
Danny asked hopefully.

Nodding, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s going very well. Dandridge’s testimony was weak at best, and the rest is just circumstantial. I’m pretty confident that once Danny testifies, the judge will rule in our favor.”

“There is one thing, while we were staking out his house, a delivery man from Vin Doux delivered several bottles of Vino de Bella. Tiffany distracted him while I peeked in the package,” Mariah said, obviously quite proud of their undercover detective work.

Danny and Gabe glanced at each other for a second before looking back at the girls. “I thought I told you two to be careful,” Danny gently admonished.

Mariah waved that off before she continued. “You don’t understand. This chick, Noir, she’s one of the big student advocates against drinking. I heard her give a speech one time at one of the homecoming rallies, and her parents were killed by a drunk driver. She won’t touch alcohol.”

“Hum, wonder who it’s for?” Gabe pondered. “Might be a way to break her if we could get her on the stand. Infer that he’s stepping out on her.”

Gloria and Danny’s eyes met. “I…uhm…might know who it’s for,” Gloria told them softly, drawing everyone’s attention. “Vino de Bella is Danny’s favorite wine, but Wesley always picked on her, saying it was too sweet, that a real wine was hardy and robust.”

Danny shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense though. What would he have to gain from buying my favorite wine?”

“You,” Gabe muttered, frowning with jealousy.

“Oh, that’s silly. Why would he want me back after what I did?”

Gloria rolled her eyes. “I wonder.”

“And, think about it. If he has you backed into a corner, where you think he’s the only one who can save you, then you’re more likely to give him another chance, come crawling back,” Tiffany reasoned with surprising wisdom for her young age.

Gloria nodded. “He always liked having you under his thumb. And he’ll never do better than you.”

“I think you’re all a little biased.” Danny blushed before continuing. “But after what I did to him? I don’t understand.” It still didn’t make sense.

Mariah shook her head. “Some people are into some kinky shit, Ms. D. Thankfully you have a real man now. You don’t need his paisley-tie-wearing self.”

Danny turned to Gabe and was surprised to see him blushing under their compliments. Reaching over, she tweaked his chin. “Where’s my big, bad biker man now?” Her teasing brought chuckles from the girls and a growl from Gabe.

Catching her hand in his, he pulled her close and whispered against her lips. “Little girl, I’m going to show you just how big and bad I am if you don’t watch it.”

Blushing furiously, Danny turned to Tiffany and Mariah to try and laugh it off, but their dreamy sighs stopped her. What was to explain? She was hooked.

Gloria just rolled her eyes again. “I think I’m going to gag.”

* * * *

When court reconvened after lunch, Prosecutor Brooks announced that he had no further witnesses.

Gabe had been reluctant to put Danny on the stand, knowing that a good lawyer could get a witness to say most anything, but now he had no choice.

“I call Danika Eldridge to the stand,” he said as everyone settled into their places for the defense’s portion of the trial. Watching her take a seat in the large, wooden witness chair, he felt his gut twist. She looked so small and vulnerable sitting there in her prim suite and wire rimmed glasses. Her hair was in its usual tight bun, and her small hands shook slightly as she folded them into her lap. To anyone who didn’t know her, she appeared the picture of meekness, but he knew her strength and integrity were equal to those of people ten times her size. This was what he intended to show the court. “Danny, you admit to once being involved with the plaintiff, Professor Dandridge?”

“Yes, we met my last year of college. He was my history professor. I’d always been shy, so it seemed really flattering that someone like him noticed me. Of course, now I realize he notices a lot of his students,” she added the last with a wry smile.

“Objection, Your Honor, assumes facts not in evidence.” The prosecutor jumped to his feet.

“Sustained. Ms. Eldridge, you will stick to the facts as well,” Judge Wrenn instructed.

“Yes, ma’am,” Danny answered politely before turning her attention back to Gabe.

He smiled reassuringly at her before he continued. “Can you tell us about the day you went to surprise Professor Dandridge with a new bottle of wine?”

“It’s kind of embarrassing.” She flushed.

“I know, just take your time,” Gabe urged. He hated putting her on the spot like this, but the judge needed to know what kind of man Dandridge was.

Nodding, Danny spoke. “I had a key to his house because he used to get me to take care of his cats when he went to teaching conventions. He wasn’t usually home that time of day, so I had planned to leave the bottle for him on the table. But then his car was in the driveway. When he didn’t answer, I figured he was in the shower, so I used my key to let myself in. He was never much for surprises, but I knew it was his favorite, a dark, rich merlot, well aged, almost impossible to find. Then I heard these funny sounds coming from the bedroom, all this moaning and groaning, and I thought he might be sick, so I went to check it out. I…”

Mr. Brooks jumped up again. “Objection, Your Honor, what relevance does this have to today’s case?”

Judge Wrenn shot Gabe a questioning look.

“This attests to the character of the plaintiff, Your Honor. Professor Dandridge had made himself out to be an innocent party, Your Honor, when facts will show he is anything but.”

The judge seemed to consider this for several seconds before nodding. “I’ll allow, but you need to keep it short, Ms. Eldridge.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Danny nodded before she continued. “I was so shocked when I opened the door, and there he was in bed with one of his freshman students. I knew she was a freshman you see, because all freshmen are required to complete a library skills test as part of orientation. She was pretty hard to forget. Anyway, I finally saw Wesley for what he was, controlling and manipulative.”

“Objection,” Mr. Brooks called yet again. “Opinions.”

“Sustained.” Judge Wrenn shot her a censoring look.

“Sorry.” Danny flushed, her frustration was obvious, but Gabe came to her rescue.

“That’s all right, Danny. Let’s move on.” Gabe tried to give her an encouraging smile. “After your relationship with Professor Dandridge ended, did you move on with your life?”

“Yes, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I started dating, met a wonderful man. For the first time in my life I was really happy.” She added the last with a twinkle in her eye, which he returned.

“And the night that he claimed you came to his house beating on his door, where were you?”

“With you, we went out.”
They’d discussed it and decided not hide their relationship. It was bound to come out eventually anyway.

Gabe approached the judge, placing a piece of paper in front of her. “Your Honor, I would like to enter into evidence a sworn affidavit from an undercover agent with the DEA who was in the bar on the night in question. He can verify the defendant’s whereabouts. For obvious reasons, he is reluctant to testify in court, since doing so would jeopardize his cover.” He’d known Jake since they were kids, and he’d never put his old friend at risk. Jake, however, had been adamant about giving his testimony.

“Object!” the prosecutor said, jumping to his feet. “How can we trust that this isn’t some type of scam by the defense if there is no witness here to corroborate it?”

The judge pursed her lips. “I am familiar with the work of this particular agent, and his reputation is impeccable. The evidence is accepted.” Gabe knew Jake had earned several commendations for his work in the DEA. He kept a low profile, but the judges knew him.

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Gabe sighed in relief. After the emergency room doctor’s testimony, he was relieved to have something go in their favor. Moving to stand back in front of Danny he continued.
“After we left the bar, what happened next?” Gabe forced himself to ask, hating putting their private lives in the public, hating that he was embarrassing her, but she smiled broadly through her blush. She might be embarrassed, but she wasn’t ashamed.

“We went back to my apartment, spent the rest of the night there, so there’s no way I could have gone to his house. I don’t think we slept more than a few minutes at a time.” Gabe turned to observe the courtroom audience as this brought several chuckles from the audience, and the look on Wesley’s face reminded him of someone who’d just swallowed a bug.

Clearing his throat, Gabe fought back his own blush before he turned back to her and continued. “Now I know it’s hard, but I want you to tell us about the events of the day in question.”

“I was in my office getting ready to leave for the day. We had plans to meet some friends after work. I was just shutting down my computer when he came barging in. We argued, like he said, but not about what he said. He fussed at me about how I was dressed and the new company I was keeping. Apparently word had gotten around campus about our relationship. I didn’t see where it was any of his business, and I told him so, but then he was the one who went crazy, not me. He was the one who begged for another chance. He grabbed me, tried to kiss me.” She let out a shuddering sob at the awful memory.

Gabe ground his teeth. God, how he wanted to go to her, to take her in his arms and soothe her fears. His arms ached with the need, and it was only through sheer willpower and determination that he was able to keep his professional demeanor. “What happened after I startled the two of you and left?” He felt lower than low, repugnant, but for her sake he was willing to embarrass himself in front of the world.

“I kept telling him no, because I wanted to go after you and explain, but he wouldn’t let me go. It was scary. He kept saying I had to give him another chance, and I didn’t know what he was going to do. I just lost it. It was like I was fighting for my life.” Sitting up straight, not at all ashamed of her actions, she continued. “Yes, I hit him. Yes, I kicked him, but only after he assaulted me.”

“So you claim it was self-defense?” Gabe concluded, and Danny nodded. “No further questions.” He stepped back, ready to jump if the prosecutor went too far.

Mr. Brooks stood, a sneer on his face. “You claim that within a week of breaking up with your long-time fiancé you slept with another man. Are we supposed to believe that? And if so, what does that say about your character?”

“Objection, Your Honor. Argumentative,” Gabe shouted, the man in him wanting to defend his woman’s honor, but the attorney side forced him to try and stay calm.

“It’s okay, Gabe,” Danny interrupted. “I’m not ashamed of anything I’ve done.” Turning back to the prosecutor, she looked him square in the eye and lifted her chin proudly. “You might not believe in love at first sight, but I do, Mr. Brooks. Yes, Gabe and I became lovers quickly, but I’m not ashamed of it. I knew the moment I met him that he was the one. Think what you will, we’re happy.”

Gabe drew in his breath, in awe of her dignity.

Undaunted, the persecutor forged ahead. “The day you ruthlessly attacked Professor Dandridge, you were trying to relive old times, weren’t you?”

“No, of course not.”

“You expect us to believe that after years of being in a relationship with Professor Dandridge, you simply turned off the feelings?”

“No, I was young and inexperienced when we met. I didn’t know what real love was. There was nothing to turn off.”

“If you fell so quickly into bed with one man, how is this court to believe that you wouldn’t fall back into bed with an old love?”

“No, it wasn’t possible.”

“What do you mean wasn’t possible?”

Blushing to the roots of her hair, Danny took a deep breath before answering. “Gabe is a very…uhm…energetic lover
.
I honestly didn’t have the energy for anyone else.”