Chapter 11 - Robert Takes the Stand
Dad walked to the witness stand with a cane.
He was seventy one now.
Nearly a year had passed.
The prosecutor began simply.
“Did Vanessa ever hurt you before the night police were called?”
“Yes.”
“When first?”
Dad thought.
“About five months earlier.”
“What happened?”
“She wanted me to sign a paper.”
“What paper?”
“I didn’t understand it enough.”
“Did you sign?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“She grabbed my arm and shoved me into a bookcase.”
“Did you call police?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Daniel said she was under stress.”
Then another incident.
Dad found a card statement.
Asked about purchases.
Vanessa grabbed his arms.
Daniel held him when he tried to leave.
Then phone.
Then keys.
Then bat night.
“Did you ever hold the bat?”
“No.”
“Threaten Vanessa?”
“No.”
“Did she strike you?”
“Yes.”
“Did Daniel hold you?”
“Yes.”
Then the guardianship.
“What did Vanessa tell you would happen?”
“That judge would decide I couldn’t handle myself.”
“How did that make you feel?”
Dad’s voice shook.
“Like they were already talking about me as if I was gone.”
Then the secret memory care facility.
He cried.
“They picked where I would sleep without asking.”
I looked down.
Then defense.
“Mr. Hale, do you have memory problems?”
“Yes.”
That surprised counsel.
Dad almost smiled.
“I’m seventy one.”
“You forget appointments?”
“Sometimes.”
“Misplace things?”
“Yes.”
“Repeat yourself?”
“Elena says yes.”
A few jurors smiled.
“So Vanessa wasn’t inventing every concern.”
“No.”
Good.
Then:
“You become angry when questioned?”
“Yes.”
“Did you call Vanessa a thief?”
“Yes.”
“Before she was charged?”
“Yes.”
“Could that have been paranoia?”
Dad looked at lawyer.
“She was stealing.”
Silence.
Then defense:
“Did you ever shove Vanessa?”
Dad paused.
“Once.”
My stomach tightened.
“When?”
“She blocked the doorway. I pushed past.”
“So you physically touched her in anger.”
“Yes.”
“Could you have done same on bat night?”
“No.”
Then:
“You love Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“Still?”
Dad’s voice broke.
“Yes.”
“Do you want Vanessa punished because she ruined that relationship?”
Dad shook his head.
“Daniel ruined Daniel.”
That line changed the room.
Then defense:
“Your daughter Elena stands to inherit.”
“Yes.”
“Forty percent?”
“Yes.”
“If Daniel is disinherited, Elena could receive more.”
“He isn’t disinherited.”
The attorney stopped.
“Why not?”
Dad looked straight ahead.
“Because this trial is not my will.”
No revenge motive.
Then prosecutor redirect.
“Mr. Hale, why are you here?”
Dad looked at Vanessa.
“Because she decided my money mattered more than my no.”
May you like
No one spoke.
That was the entire case.
