Honor & Betrayal.......PT 54
Author: Gabrielle Stuart
**************
INT
COURT ROOM
1158 HOURS
Gazing over her shoulder,
Mac observes Harm as he enters the court room, and takes the nearest available
aisle seat. As he eases into the chair, she notices his face cringe
slightly with pain as his left hand slides across his torso to his right
side. As she turns back to the front of the court room,
Mac's comforted by the thought of Harm's presence, yet deeply
concerned as well. On the witness stand is Colonel
Becker as he testifies on behalf of Lieutenant Malory. Mac sits
anxiously as the portion of the tape recording of Lieutenant Malory's statement
is about to be played for all ears to hear. The cassette player
placed on the prosecutor's table, Imes presses the play button as everyone in
the court room falls into complete silence. Concerned for Mac's emotional
state of being after what he had witness happen to her two nights earlier,
Harm's eyes remain steadfast on Mac during the entire playing of the cassette
tape.
*********** Tape recording *******
BECKER'S VOICE
Lieutenant
Malory, is there anything you can add to your statement that may be pertinent to
the alleged rape of Colonel Sarah Mackenzie?
MALORY'S VOICE
What can I
say except for the fact that I know the man's guilty. I mean everything
I'd heard on the news was just too much his style for me to think any
differently.
BECKER'S VOICE
Can you be
any more specific?
MALORY'S VOICE
(with some reluctance in his voice)
Yah!.....(there is a long pause) When Captain
Peterson was first confined to the brig, he was put in the cell directly across
from mine. The SP's joked about how we could keep one another
company...you know being as we knew each other and all. Anyway, I got to
asking the Captain about the rape charges just to see how he'd
react.
There was a long moment of
silence, then Rabb's voice.
RABB'S
VOICE
Go on
Lieutenant..
With another long pause on
the tape recording, Peterson gazes over his shoulder to observe Harm
sitting across the aisle two rows back from him. Their eyes locking
momentarily in a cold and hard glare.......neither willing to be the first to
look away until Malory's voice is heard once again.
MALORY'S VOICE
When I asked him
whether or not he'd done it to her, he just responded with a cold, hard look in
his eyes....the same look he always had when a woman rejected him in some
way.
MATTONI'S VOICE
Are you saying
that Captain Peterson didn't handle rejection very
well?
MALORY'S
VOICE
Not from a
woman, he didn't! Wasn't anything he hated more than
that.
MATTONI'S
VOICE
So, did he ever
verbally respond to your question, Lieutenant?
MALORY'S VOICE
Yah!.....He said
that if I knew him at all, then I'd know that he'd always gotten what he wanted
one way or another and that the Colonel wasn't any
exception.
Her eyes slowly
drifting over to Peterson, Mac observes him contemptuously for a long
moment. Noting the agitation in his manner of posture and the
narrowing of his brow, Mac finds solace in fact that Peterson's facade of
intrepidity is slowly crumbling with the testimony of each new
witness. Becker's voice drawing her attention, Mac gazes to the
cassette recording on the table before her.
BECKER'S VOICE
Did his demeanor
reflect his sincerity or lack thereof?
MALORY'S
VOICE
Oh, he was
definitely serious, Commander. He wore the same smug look on his face the
he always had after he'd had his way with a woman. I never doubted his
complicity in the Colonel's rape, not after
that.
********************** End
tape recording *******************
With Malory's final words,
Commander Imes turns off the cassette player.
IMES
And the demeanor of
Lieutenant Malory, Colonel, what did it reflect?
RYERSON
Objection! Calls for an opinion.
MORRIS
Sustained.
IMES
Thank you Colonel! No further questions, your
Honor!
Imes retreats to her seat
at the prosecutors table with a look of optimism in her expression, while
Ryerson stands
somewhat irritably and approaches the witness stand.
RYERSON
Well, it's certainly
difficult to cross examine a man who is in a comatose state, now isn't
it?
BECKER
With respect, ma'am, but if it wasn't for the fact
that Lieutenant Malory was willing to testify against Captain
Peterson, he wouldn't be in a hospital right now, let alone be lying in a
coma!
RYERSON
(in protest)
Move to strike, your
Honor!
BECKER
(quickly adding his gaze
steadfast on Ryerson's)
Only problem is, your
client failed to realize the lengths that Lieutenant Malory
would go to in assuring that Captain Peterson would get his just reward.
MORRIS
(slamming down his gavel)
Colonel Becker!.........You
are totally out of order and dangerously close to charged with
contempt!
BECKER
(turning to
Morris)
My apologies, your
Honor!
MORRIS
The members will disregard
both of the last statements made by this witness. Ms Ryerson......move on
please.
RYERSON
Wasn't
Lieutenant Malory's statement given in exchange for a plea
bargain?
BECKER
Yes.
RYERSON
What kind of plea
bargain?
BECKER
The prosecution agreed to a
lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.
RYERSON
Pleading down from a second
degree murder charge?
BECKER
Yes.
RYERSON
Sounds like a good reason
to be making up a story now, doesn't it.
IMES
Objection! Badgering
the witness!
RYERSON
Withdrawn. (turning and gazing toward Commodore
Rabb) And the prosecuting attorney responsible for handling this plea
bargain, Colonel, wasn't it Commander Harmon Rabb?
His eye meeting
Ryerson's, Harm sucks in a deep breath as he restlessly shifts his weight
in the chair. Shocked by Ms Ryerson's question, Mac gazes to
Harm with deep concern as Imes and Mattoni exchange frustrated
glances.
MATTONI
(standing)
Objection, your
Honor! In fact I'm objecting to this whole line of
questioning!
RYERSON
It goes to conflict of interest, your Honor!
Because regardless of how you look at it, Commander Rabb couldn't have any
more objectivity in handling Lieutenant Malory's plea bargain then he
could have when he was assigned as Captain Peterson's defense
counsel.
MORRIS
Commander Rabb isn't the
one on trial here, Ms. Ryerson!
RYERSON
And I realize that, you're Honor. But all I'm
asking for is a little latitude here. I mean the cassette recording
of Lieutenant Malory's statement is prejudicial to my client and as I am not
able to cross examine this witness, it's my job to discredit it in the only
manner I have available. ........that being to show the members of this jury
that there has been a serious conflict of interest from the onset of
this trial and that this so called testimony of Lieutenant Malory may have been
improperly obtained by and through the same attorney that was dismissed from his
duties as defense counsel after he assaulted his own client in this very court
room.
MATTONI
I move to strike, your
Honor!
RYERSON
And I maintain that this
conflict of interest has seriously influenced the course of this trial from it's
onset, your Honor!
MORRIS
(his temper flaring, his eyes steadfast on
Ryerson)
Approach!
All attorneys stand and
take their respective places before the bench.
MORRIS
I needn't remind you...
again, Ms Ryerson that Commander Rabb is not on trial here......neither is his
integrity as an attorney or otherwise. The conflict of interest
issue is a dead issue under the auspices of this particular courts martial and
will not be brought up again! As to the Malory case, Commander Rabb
has done nothing to warrant any doubt on my part that he has handled the
Malory case with anything but the utmost of professionalism. He took
all the proper channels to obtain the Lieutenant's statement assuring that all
parties involved were present. There was no conflict of interest
there, no breech of ethics. Don't test my resolve any further
on this issue, Ms. Ryerson or I will charge you with contempt and throw you out
of this court room. ........Am I making myself
clear?
RYERSON
(bitterly)
Yes!........Your
Honor!
MORRIS
Good! (addressing the jury members) Defense counsel's
argument of conflict of interest will be disregarded and stricken from the
record.
With that, all the officers
leave the bench and return to their seats. Ryerson paces the floor
momentarily as she attempts to gain her own resolve.
RYERSON
A reduced sentence is a good incentive for any man to lie,
wouldn't you agree, Colonel?
BECKER
The Lieutenant wasn't
lying, ma'am! He gave up the information knowing full well that it
could cost him his life!
RYERSON
So he said, Colonel.
So he said! But then without the ability to cross examine the
witness, how can we ever be sure that what he claims to be the truth... is
in fact the truth, Colonel?
BECKER
(gazing out into the court room, his eyes meet
Harm's)
Well, may I suggest that
you put that question to Commander Rabb while he's testifying under oath later
on this afternoon, ma'am. From what I understand, he knows first hand the
price Lieutenant Malory paid for the sake of the
truth.
RYERSON
(stepping back away from the stand)
I move to strike, your
Honor!
MATTONI
I object, your Honor! Counsel asked a question
and the witness gave a viable answer.
MORRIS
Sustained.
Ryerson exchanges a hard
gaze with Becker, then takes a few steps away from the witness
stand.
RYERSON
(turning back to Becker)
Well, let's not
forget that it's been Captain Peterson's contention all along that he did have
sexual intercourse with the plaintiff. He's never denied that!
In fact he's more than admitted to it by willingly subjecting himself to DNA
testing three months ago. So, couldn't the Lieutenant have
misinterpreted what Captain Peterson was saying?
BECKER
I don't know! You heard the tape. It sounded
clear to me that Lieutenant Malory had no doubt as to the Captain's
inference.
RYERSON
The Captain could have been
inferring that he indeed had sexual intercourse with the plaintiff,
Colonel! Now the argument here continues to be whether it was consensual
or not. (addressing Admiral Morris) May I replay that part of the
tape, your Honor?
Morris nods
affirmatively. Imes reluctantly proceeds to rewind the tape and pushes the
play button.
********** Tape
Recording ********
MALORY'S
VOICE
He said that if I knew him
at all, then I'd know that he'd always gotten what he wanted one way or
another and that the Colonel wasn't any exception.
************** End
Tape Recording ***********
RYERSON
First off, we're hearing
Captain Peterson's words second hand.........more commonly known as
hearsay. Secondly, it's debatable as to whether or not Captain
Peterson ever expressed anything of this nature. And thirdly,
we're hearing them from a man who's facing murder charges of his own and whom
had everything to gain by blackening the good name of his commanding
officer.
MATTONI
Objection! This
is sounding more like closing arguments!
MORRIS
Make your point, Ms
Ryerson.
RYERSON
Colonel Becker, couldn't Lieutenant Malory have easily
misinterpreted the Captain's words?
BECKER
I guess it's possible, but
I doubt it.
RYERSON
But the possibility does
exist, Colonel, doesn't it? I mean couldn't what Lieutenant Malory
interpreted as an admission of rape on Captain Peterson's part really have been
the Captain's acknowledgement that he had indeed had consensual sex with
the plaintiff?
BECKER
I don't
know!
RYERSON
Well, given the weeks
and months that the Lieutenant had to allow the Captain's words to fester in his
mind, I'd say it's more probable than
possible.
MATTONI
Objection......editorializing.
RYERSON
Withdrawn.
No further
questions, your Honor!
***************
INT
HARM'S
OFFICER
1325 HOURS
With court in recess for
lunch, Harm is busy finishing up some work on a case file. Completing it,
he closes the file and places it in the outbox on his desk. As he
does, he gazes up and observes Agent Holland walking across the bullpen
toward his office. As she reaches the door of his office, Harm
stands to greet her.
HARM
(smiling
cordially)
Agent
Holland.
HOLLAND
Commander. Got a
moment?
HARM
(gazing to his
watch)
Yes, I suppose I've got a
few moments to spare.
HOLLAND
(pulling her gloves off and rubbing her hands
briskly)
Good, cause the damn wind chill outside is like seventeen
and I wasn't in a big hurry to just turn around and head back out the
door.
HARM
(laughing slightly)
Guess I can't blame you
there! Would you like a cup of coffee or something?
HOLLAND
If you got some that's
fresh and hot, I'd surely appreciate it.
HARM
(coming around his desk and indicating for her to walk out
of the office before him)
Right this way, ma'am.
INT
KITCHENETTE
Helping herself to a cup of
coffee Agent Holland adds sugar and cream and then turns to face Harm as he
gazes to her curiously.
HARM
Seems to me like you're trying to evade the very
subject you came all the way out here to discuss, Ms Holland. You
must have some bad news to tell me.
HOLLAND
Oh, Commander, you have
come to know me all to well over these past few months.
HARM
Ok,.... then it is bad
news.
HOLLAND
I'm afraid so,
Commander. (she takes a long sip on her coffee)
Forensics has gone over that locker room ten times over now and nothing has
given us any indication that Master Sergeant Durant was in any way responsible
for the assaults on Lieutenant Malory or yourself.
HARM
(his brow narrowing)
What about
witnesses?
HOLLAND
Either they know nothing or
they're too scared to say a word. And the three inmates who saw Durant on
their cell blocks during the time that the assault went down are sticking to
their stories.
HARM
You're not giving up on
this investigation already?
HOLLAND
We have no leads at this point, Commander even in regards to
who the other two perpetrators may be. You know what that means. I
mean I certainly am not going to allow this investigation fall through the
cracks, but for now there's nothing we can do to Durant short of charging him
with dereliction of duty.
HARM
(bitterly)
Dereliction of duty!
Hell, he'll be getting off with a slap on the
wrist!
HOLLAND
For now, it's all we can
do.
HARM
Well, you do what you have
to, Ms Holland, but I for one am not going to settle for anything less than
seeing his sorry ass convicted on attempted murder charges. Count on
it.
************
INT
COURT ROOM
1433 HOURS
Lunch break over, the
members of the courts martial are once again assembled. Lieutenant
Commander Jordan Parker is sitting on the witness stand testifying in regards to
her relationship with Lieutenant and Mrs Malory.
JORDON
I counseled Lieutenant and Mrs Malory in the months
immediately following her diagnosis with breast cancer.
IMES
What were their main
concerns, Commander?
JORDAN
Mrs Malory was five months
pregnant at the time of her diagnosis. Desiring to have the child, she
refused to have an abortion over the objections of her
husband.
IMES
How did Lieutenant handle
it?
JORDAN
He had a pretty difficult
time of it at first, but he eventually came around to understanding why she
wanted the child. With the progression of the disease, she felt it may be
the only child she could ever give him, and so he began to accept her
decision.
IMES
What changed all
that?
JORDAN
About a month after the
baby was born, Mrs Malory's oncologist decided that the best way to treat her
cancer was through a radical mastectomy. Her husband just
couldn't handle it and then he stopped coming to the counseling sessions
altogether. Mrs Malory, finally admitted to me that
Captain Peterson had been greatly influencing her husband's attitude toward her
and their marital relationship.
***
Mrs. Malory now on the
stand, the court martial continues.
MRS
MALORY
A few weeks after my
mastectomy, Captain Peterson came to me one evening and told me how much my bout
with cancer was tearing Brian up inside........that he couldn't cope and that it
was affecting his performance in the field. He recommended that I leave
him......or that he move out of our home for awhile until Brian could at least
start to confront the wide range of emotions he was feeling.
Well, all I could think of was my own pain......physical and emotional. I
couldn't see myself without him even if we weren't getting along. At
that point Captain Peterson so much as told me that there was no choice in the
matter. He said he didn't want to see Brian ruin his Navy career over a
woman.
IMES
How did you find out your husband was using
GHB?
MRS.
MALORY
I never knew he was using
it......at least not until Brian told me the very afternoon before he was
assaulted at the brig. ( she pauses for a long moment as her eyes
momentarily meet Harm's) I mean I'd seen the pills, but
I didn't know what they were.
IMES
Can you
explain?
MRS
MALORY
The first time I was aware
that the pills even existed, was the day that Brian came flying down the
stairs screaming and yelling over what I had done with a zip lock bag he had in
the hip pocket of a pair of his jeans I'd thrown in the
wash. In this zip lock bag was about thirty
tablets. Before I handed them over, I demanded to know what they
were.
IMES
What was his
answer?
MRS.
MALORY
He told me they were
sleeping pills.....that he'd gotten them from the clinic on
base.
IMES
(presenting a zip lock back
containing pills)
Are these the pills,
Mrs. Malory?
MRS.
MALORY
(examining the pills
closely)
Yes!
IMES
I'd like to enter into
evidence.....exhibit seven.....GHB tablets found in the vehicle owned and
operated by Lieutenant and Mrs. Brian Malory. Go on Mrs.
Malory.
MRS
MALORY
Well, everyone knows that prescriptions aren't dispensed in
plastic zip lock bags, so I approached Captain Peterson and asked
him if he knew what they were. He told me that it was a little something
he'd given to Brian to help him through some of the emotional problems he was
experiencing since my cancer diagnosis.........that I needed to understand, and
that everything would be ok just as long as he kept an eye on Brian.
IMES
So Captain Peterson
actually said that he was supplying your husband with the substance enclosed in
that zip lock bag.
MRS
MALORY
Yes! That was his
inference. And for awhile things did get better. Brian
was calmer and sleeping much better.
IMES
What happened to change
things?
MRS
MALORY
Brian accidentally walked
in on me while I was changing. He couldn't handle what he
saw. He started spending his nights at all the bars with some
of the guys from the teams. It was something he'd always done.....but not
to the extreme of hardly ever came home at
night.
RYERSON
Objection your Honor!......
I mean as compelling as this story is, how is it relevant to this
case?
IMES
Your Honor, I think the
relevance here is all too blatantly obvious! It strongly
suggests that Captain Peterson not only had possession of an illegal
substance, but distributed it to a subordinate officer under his command.
MORRIS
Then lets move on
Commander! Overruled Ms Ryerson.
IMES
Did you ever see him in
possession of any more of the tablets, Mrs. Malory?
MALORY
No. But I could tell
when he was on them. I couldn't wake him from his sleep regardless of what
I did to him. He just wouldn't wake up.
IMES
Thank you Mrs Malory. I have no further questions,
your Honor.
MORRIS
(addressing
Ryerson)
You're
witness?
RYERSON
I have no questions of this
witness, your Honor.
******************To be continued **********