Chapter 23

Early the next morning the same group reconvened at the court house and took the same places as the day before. Lindsay was sworn in for her testimony and the DA started asking her questions.

At times Lindsay tried to evade answering, but in the end the judge would order her to answer to the questions the DA was asking.

The whole time Lindsay sounded haughty and played her Mother Earth routine that everyone knew so well. She claimed that what she had done had not been an abduction attempt, but merely a help mission to get Brian to get back his old life.

When the DA didn't seem to go for that line of argument and always went back to the cold, hard facts of the case, Lindsay became aggravated and obviously annoyed.

During the short recess the judge had ordered after Lindsay's testimony, Brian and Ted talked about what she had said and both wondered if she actually believed what she was saying or if this was all an act to try and gain some sympathy from the jury. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to work as the jury had seemed quite annoyed by her towards the end of her testimony with more than one juror rolling their eyes when the judge had once again reprimanded her to just answer the questions she was asked and not go off into storytime.

After the short break it was the defense attorney's turn to interrogate Lindsay.

“Mrs Peterson, is it correct that Mr Kinney is the father of your son, Gus Peterson-Marcus?”

“Yes, he is.”

“You are a lesbian, aren't you Mrs Peterson?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Could you explain how Mr Kinney became your son's father with both of you being homosexuals?”

“My wife and I,” Lindsay was then interrupted by the DA, who had objected.

“Her former wife. The divorce has gone through two days ago,” the DA pointed out, not wanting Lindsay to be able to play the 'happy family' card.

“Sustained. Mrs Peterson, please make sure that your testimony is accurate, everything else could be considered perjury,” the judge admonished and Lindsay only huffed in annoyance.

“Fine, my former wife and I wanted to have a child together and we were looking at possible donors. In the end we settled on Mr Kinney.”

“Why him?” The lawyer asked.

“He's smart, successful, good-looking. All things we were looking for in a possible donor.”

“When Mr Kinney agreed to become a sperm donor, did he want to be a part of your sons life?”

“Oh god no,” Lindsay chuckled, almost as if the thought was ridiculous.

“And you were okay with that?”

“Yes, like I said, my former wife and I wanted a child and we wanted to raise the baby between us.”

“Weren't you confused that Mr Kinney would agree to be your sperm donor, but didn't want any part in the child's life?”

“Not really. Brian has always been a free spirit. He was always more concerned about himself and his reputation than being a family man. And with his past, well... it's probably better that he didn't want to be involved in our son's future.”

“What about his past?” The lawyer went on asking, but was once again interrupted by the DA who was objecting on the count of relevance.

“Mr Kinney's past has nothing to do with the case we're hearing.”

“Sustained,” the judge agreed once more and the defense attorney just nodded, before he turned back to interrogate his client.

“Mrs Peterson, can you explain to us the circumstances of the birth of Luke Victor Kinney-Taylor?”

“Objection! Your honor, relevance. This is a case about the abduction of an infant, not about the father's life and choices in the past.”

“Sustained. You are walking a tight rope here, counsel. You better get to the point,” the judge ordered the defense attorney impatiently.

Nodding once more, the young lawyer went on with his line of questioning. “Please describe to us the events of the day of the alleged abduction, Mrs Peterson.”

“I had offered to watch Luke for Brian, so Brian and Michael could meet in Pittsburgh and talk over their problems. Their friendship hadn't been what it used to be before because of the baby and I thought it would be important that they worked things out.”

“Why Mrs Peterson?”

“Brian is the father to my son Gus and Michael is the father to my daughter JR. I didn't want there to be any tension for family celebrations in the future. I didn't want the children to suffer because of differences between their fathers.”

The defense attorney nodded and then continued his questioning.

“What did you do while Mr Kinney and Mr Novotny met in Pittsburgh?”

“I packed a bag of supplies for the baby and prepared him for travel.”

“Travel to where?”

“Toronto, where my former wife and I were living at the time.”

“Why would you do that, Mrs Peterson?”

“I just wanted to make sure that Luke would be able to grow up with his big brother and would be raised in a loving home. He didn't deserve to grow up with a single parent who never wanted to be a parent anyway and had just been trapped into the role of father by a lover who didn't know where his place was.”

“Objection!” The DA angrily called out, not able to believe what he had just heard.

“Sustained. Jurors, please disregard the witness' latest statement. Counsel, please advice your client to only answer the questions she is being asked. We're not listening to stories here,” the judge declared.

“So you believe in family values, Mrs Peterson?” The defense attorney asked, hoping that he could end this interrogation on a high and appeal to the mothers in the jury and the family oriented jurors.

“Yes, I do. Every child deserves to grow up in a loving home being raised by two parents.”

“That's all, thank you,” the attorney declared and moved back to his table.

The judge looked at the DA and asked if he had more questions for the witness.

“Yes, your honour.” The DA then got up and walked over to the witness stand.

“Mrs Peterson, you just declared that you believe in family values and that every child deserves to be raised by two parents, is that correct?”

“Yes, correct.” Lindsay looked and sounded quite haughtily as she stared down at the lawyer in front of her.

“Then why would you want to bring Luke Victor Kinney-Taylor into a broken home? Isn't it correct that you and your then wife Mrs Marcus had already separated a long time ago by the time you wanted to take the baby to Toronto?”

Lindsay fidgeted for a second and it almost felt as if she was nervous. “I... I knew that Melanie and I would reconcile. We've had our differences before and we have always reconciled.”

“Isn't it correct that your divorce was finalised two days ago?” The DA pressed and all Lindsay could do was nod quietly.

“Your honour, can you please advise the witness to speak up?”

“Please answer the question, Mrs Peterson.”

“Yes,” Lindsay mumbled, hardly above a whisper.

“So you would have been a single parent then just like Mr Kinney is?” The DA continued asking.

“Yes,” Lindsay once again mumbled hardly above a whisper.

“Mrs Peterson, you mentioned earlier that you wanted Mr Kinney and Mr Novotny to work through their differences so there would be no tension at family celebrations. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Lindsay nodded eagerly.

“How many family celebrations have you had in your home in Toronto since you have moved there?”

“We have only moved a short while before, so we hadn't really settled in yet.”

“Mrs Peterson, please just answer the question.”

“None,” Lindsay once again mumbled quietly.

“How often has Mr Kinney been to Toronto since you have moved there to see his son?”

“He came over once a month before he got pregnant.”

“And after he got pregnant?”

“He paid for me and Gus to come and visit him in Pittsburgh since he couldn't fly anymore.”

“And Mr Novotny? How often has he come to Toronto since you have moved there?”

Lindsay avoided the eyes of the DA and pleadingly looked at her attorney who only shrugged his shoulders as if to say that there was nothing he could do and that she had to answer the question.

“Not once.”

“Isn't it correct that Mr Novotny is married and he and his husband have adopted a child that used to be their foster child?”

“Yes,” Lindsay agreed.

“So, the loving father from a good family home never managed to fly to Toronto to visit his daughter, but the single father who you said wouldn't be a good enough father to Luke Kinney-Taylor flew over once a month and when he wasn't able to fly anymore paid for plane tickets for you and your son so he could spend time with his child?”

“Yes,” Lindsay pressed out reluctantly, knowing how this kind of questioning made her family values look. Like an absolute joke.

“Thanks. No more questions, your honour.”

The judge then ordered an hour long lunch break before it was time for Michael's testimony.

After Michael had been sworn in, the DA pretty much asked him the same questions only focusing more on Michael's role in distracting Brian and how much he knew about Lindsay's plan. At first Michael had tried to play innocent and had argued that he hadn't really known all of Lindsay's plan for the baby, but when the judge reminded him that he was under oath and lying under oath was perjury and when the DA played the tape of Michael's confession on the phone to Brian, he quickly folded in on himself and answered all the DA's questions honestly.

Then it was the defense attorney's turn and having learned his lesson from Lindsay's interrogation earlier, he didn't allow Michael to veer off topic too much. A couple of times Michael would pipe up about how much of a club boy Brian was and how he was only interested in drugs and drinking and sex, but he would always be immediately interrupted by the DA and the judge.

After an hour the defense attorney was finished with his interrogation and the DA declared that he had a couple more questions.

“Mr Novotny, you mentioned earlier that Mr Kinney was a club boy and was only interested in – and I quote: drugs, drinking and sex -. Is that correct?”

“Yes, he is the Stud of Liberty Avenue. That's who he is.”

“When is the last time you saw Mr Kinney in any kind of club or bar?”

“Well, that must have been when he was pregnant, I think. It's been quite a while, I guess,” Michael answered easily.

“Mr Kinney testified earlier that he hadn't been in any club or bar in almost a year. He only went once to a club called Babylon with you and a couple of your friends, but didn't drink any alcohol as he was already pregnant and he testified under oath that he hadn't been to any club or bar since his son was born. Are you doubting that statement?”

“I wouldn't really know,” Michael started. “We haven't really been hanging out a lot since Brian got pregnant. We had a disagreement.”

“I see. So you can't really judge the life Mr Kinney is living right now and don't have any substantial proof for your claim that he is a club boy.”

“Well, it's just who Brian is. He's always been like that and always will be,” Michael announced and he sounded almost smug when he said so.

“Mr Novotny, you are the father of a small daughter, isn't that correct? And together with your former partner Mr Benjamin Bruckner you have adopted a son called Hunter, right?”

“Yes,” Michael affirmed.

“How often have you been to the gay club called Babylon in the last twelve months?”

“Hmmm, I don't really know. Probably two or three times a week,” Michael guessed.

“And to a gay bar called Woodies?”

“Probably the same.”

“So, if we assume you went two to three times a week to a gay bar and a gay club, that would be an estimate of about 150 visits a year. Am I correct?”

Michael's forehead creased and it was obvious to everyone that he was trying to do the maths in his head. In the end he just mumbled. “I guess.”

“Would you consider yourself a club boy?”

“Me? No, I am a respectable family man. My husband is a professor at Carnegie-Mellon and I own a business. We also have a family.”

“I see. You go to bars and clubs about 150 times a year and don't consider yourself a club boy. Please explain to me how a man who hasn't been in any club or bar in the last twelve months would be considered a club boy instead?” The DA asked seriously and to Brian it almost seemed as if Michael started to sweat.

“Well, that's different,” Michael started to stammer, but was stopped by the DA.

“No more questions, your honour.”

When Michael still continued to talk on, the judge ordered him to be silent or he would be in contempt of court.

In the following two days more testimonies were heard. The FBI agents involved in the case presented their views, a biologist came in to explain the DNA test and its result, the TSA agent and the officers from the airport gave their statements about how Lindsay and Brian had acted that day and in the end Carl and Ted had to give statements as they had been at the airport as well, if only in a smaller capacity.

Once all the testimonies had been heard, the lawyers gave their final statements to the jury and once again summarized the results of the trial and the outcome they were hoping for. In the end the judge left the jury with the jury instructions and the jury was sent off for deliberations.

The gang left the court house and had just settled down for a late lunch at a restaurant not far away from the courthouse when the District Attorney gave them a call and informed them that jury deliberations were over and the jury had come to an agreement.

“Wow, that was fast. They have been gone what... hardly an hour?” Ted mused and Brian could only nod, wondering if that was a good thing or not.

“Well, those two are guiltier than guilty, so I am not surprised they reached a verdict quickly,” Jennifer said quietly, as everyone got up again and left the restaurant to quickly make their way back to the courthouse.

“We can only hope they reached the right verdict,” Brian muttered darkly, not able to avoid going back to another time when a verdict should have been clearer than clear and in the end had not been.

“Brian,” Jennifer said quietly, squeezing the man's arm, obviously having known where his thoughts had gone. “This is different.”

“How?”

“It just is,” she said seriously, not allowing Brian's dark mood to take over. “It just has to be,” she muttered more to herself than to him which resulted in him squeezing her arm in return. She smiled at him gratefully as they made their way back to their seats.

Michael and Lindsay were already sitting at their table with their lawyer, heads bowed together in deep discussion. Brian could also see Debbie and Carl back in their places and he could see what looked like Carl trying to placate an irate Debbie. For a second he wondered what was going on there, but then he didn't really care enough and turned back to the District Attorney who was speaking to their group quietly.

He assured them that a quick jury verdict was probably a good sign and with the evidence they had had he had no doubt that Lindsay and Michael would be found guilty.

Brian hoped against hope that the man was right and he wouldn't be disappointed by the justice system once again. He wasn't sure what he would do if Michael and Lindsay were to walk free after trying to abduct his son and take him away from him. He would not be responsible for his actions.

After about five minutes of waiting the judge entered the room and asked for the jury to be led back into the room. He asked the foreman of the jury if a verdict had been reached which the foreman confirmed.

The verdict was then handed to the judge who read and checked it quickly, before he nodded to confirm that everything was in order.

He then addressed the defendants and lawyers as well as the witnesses in the courtroom. “There will be no outbursts while the verdicts are being read. Any person disobeying will be held in contempt of court.”

A heavy silence settled over the court as the judge cleared his throat and started reading.

“In the case of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania against Lindsay Peterson on the charges of abduction of a minor over state lines, perjury and forgery of documents, a jury of her peers has found the defendant guilty on all accounts.”

Brian let out a sigh of relief, not realising that he had been holding his breath the whole time the judge had spoken. He felt relief sweep through him at knowing that Lindsay would be punished for what she had done to him and his son.

Everyone around him clapped him on his back in silent gestures of support and Jennifer was nodding as if in approval of what the judge had said.

Lindsay's shocked gasp could be heard, but she was quickly quieted down by her lawyer who warned her to stay quiet and not have an outburst in front of the jury and the judge.

“In the case of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania against Michael Charles Novotny on the charges of being an accessory to the abduction of a minor over state lines and perjury, a jury of his peers has found the defendant guilty on all accounts.”

Once again Brian let go of a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding and sighed in relief. As Jennifer turned to him to tell him that they had won and justice had been served, a loud cry from Debbie could be heard all throughout the courtroom, turning everyone's attention to the redhead who had jumped up from her seat and was angrily pointing her finger at the jury.

“WHAT? How dare you? How can you do this to my baby? He's innocent,” she yelled at them, before the judge angrily announced that she had to quiet down as he wouldn't allow any further outbursts in his courtroom.

Carl quickly pulled her out of the courtroom, even though it was obvious that Debbie was struggling against him, the whole time yelling for her baby's innocence.

After Debbie had been pulled out of the room, things quieted down again and the judge announced that he would confirm the sentences the next day at 9am.

He then dismissed the jury, thanking them for their service and left the room.

Michael and Lindsay were led out of the room as if in a daze while Brian's side of the courtroom met in happy hugs and congratulatory claps on the backs. Justice had been served. At least this time.

A few minutes after everything was over the gang left the courtroom, deciding to head to Britin for a celebratory dinner. At first they had wanted to go back to the restaurant they had wanted to go earlier, but Brian had insisted on heading home, not wanting to be away from Luke for longer than was necessary. Everyone just smiled gently and understood where he was coming from, so everyone headed for Britin.

The next morning everyone reconvened at the courthouse to hear the judge announce the sentencing and Brian was glad when Debbie didn't spare him and his group a glance as she stomped by. Carl quickly stopped to talk to them, after all he had never had any problems with Brian or anyone in the group and had been involved in the case from day one. They talked for a few minutes, all of them ignoring the glares Debbie was throwing in their direction.

“Carl, I am not sure it's a good idea for you to talk to us,” Brian said quietly, even though he was glad for the man coming over and talking to them. He had always liked and respected Carl and felt slightly sorry for his argument with Debbie also having impacted his relationship with Carl.

“Don't worry, son. I still decide myself who I want to talk to and Red won't be able to change that, no matter how much she wants to,” Carl said seriously, waving off Brian's concern about causing trouble for the two of them. “She'll just need a bit more time to see what we're all seeing and to accept that Michael isn't as innocent as she'd like him to be.”

Ted could only wonder how much more time Carl was talking about as the abduction had already happened about six months ago, but in the end he could only applaud Carl for his patience. He knew that Carl agreed with them all on Michael's guilt and agreed that Michael deserved whatever was coming his way, so he could only imagine what life for him at Debbie's house was like at the moment.

They ended their conversation when the judge entered the room and Carl quickly moved over to his place at Debbie's side, who immediately started berating him for talking to Brian. Carl just ignored her and concentrated on the judge, hoping that Debbie would get the hint, which surprisingly enough she did when the judge banged his gavel.

“I won't accept any outbursts while I am announcing the sentences. This is a place of court and it will be treated with the respect it deserves,” the judge announced seriously, throwing a glance in Debbie's direction.

He then opened a folder in front of him and announced the sentences.

“Lindsay Peterson, I hereby judge you to 17 years in prison for the abduction of a minor across state borders, for the forgery of documents and for perjury. Your sentence will be served at State Correctional Institution – Muncy. You will be transported there immediately after court proceedings have ended here.”

A gasp could be heard from Lindsay, who seemed to sink into her seat at hearing the sentence. Brian didn't feel an ounce of pity for her, but just felt a strange sense of satisfaction come over him as he saw her sunken form in her chair. Too late for that, Wendy, he thought bitterly as she hid her head in her hands and seemed to cry.

“Michael Charles Novotny, I hereby judge you to 8 years in prison for being an accessory to the abduction of a minor across state borders and for perjury. Your sentence will be served at Federal Correctional Institution, Loretto. You will be transported there immediately after court proceedings have ended here.”

The judge then banged his gavel, got up and left the room. When two security officers came over to put handcuffs on a crying Lindsay and a shell-shocked Michael, Debbie began wailing loudly.

“No, no, no! You can't take him away. No! She made him do it, he's innocent. He's my baby. You can't take him away!” She held on to Michael for dear life while Carl talked to her quietly and urged her to let go of her son. This only made her lash out at Carl next to her, but gave the security officers a chance to lead Michael out of the room, after Lindsay who had already been removed a few seconds prior.

“No, no, no!” Debbie only wailed again and the group on Brian's side of the courtroom couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for her. They could only imagine how hard this had to be for her, but they all agreed that Michael deserved nothing less for his part in this whole mess.

As Carl tried to lead Debbie out of the courtroom, she suddenly broke free of his arms around her and headed straight for Brian, slapping him hard.

“Are you happy now? Are you fucking happy now you son of a bitch?”

Jennifer and Blake immediately stepped between Brian and Debbie and Jennifer's voice was deathly quiet when she spoke. “Don't ever do that again! You want to slap someone, go and slap some sense into that son of yours. He is the one who caused all this mess, not Brian.”

“How dare you?” Debbie seethed, glaring at Jennifer.

“Jennifer is right,” Blake quietly agreed. “I get that this is hard for you, Debbie, but Michael brought this upon himself. He willfully committed crimes and now he has to face up to that and pay the price for it.”

“You fucking son of a bitch,” Debbie yelled at Blake. “Who are you to talk to me like that, you fucking junkie?”

“Debbie!” An outraged Ted cut in, immediately ready to defend his partner's honour.

“Debbie, calm down,” Carl said sternly, trying to pull Debbie away from the group.

“We get that you're angry and hurt, Debbie. We do! But you're looking for blame in the wrong place,” Jennifer said quietly. “There is only one person to blame here and that is your son.”

“How can you be on his side? After everything he has done to Justin? What kind of mother are you?”

“Don't pull Justin into this,” Brian gritted out, ready to lash out himself.

“After what he has done to Justin? How dare you speak about things you know nothing about,” Jennifer accused angrily. “All he has ever done is love him. In a completely unselfish way where he loves Justin enough to sacrifice his own happiness, so Justin can get the chance at the life he has always wanted. But you wouldn't know about any of that, would you? You know nothing about unselfish love. You just put a price tag on love and demand payment for everything you ever did.”

“This is enough!” Carl interrupted sternly, pushing himself between the two women that looked as if they were ready to lash out at each other with more than words.

“I am sorry, Brian. We'll leave now. If you want to press charges for assault, you would be within your rights. Just so you know.”

“What?” An outraged Debbie turned towards her partner. “You're on his side as well?”

“We're leaving now and if Brian wants to press charges for your unprovoked attack on him, you'll just have to deal with that just like your son will have to face up to what he did.”

Not allowing any further comments, Carl pulled a fighting Debbie out of the courtroom after him and left the stunned group on their own.

“Did this just happen?” Ted asked, his voice sounding absolutely disbelieving.

“Yeah,” Brian said sadly, before he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “Lets get out of here.”

Everyone nodded and then followed Brian out of the courthouse.