“But what?” she asked.
“If we come forward with this, Gary could end up in jail,” Simon said. “You have to be willing to risk that if you want to win.”
“Yes.” She shut her eyes, the shame of betraying her ex-husband momentarily flooding her. “Yes, I’m willing to do that.”
“Let’s head back, then.” Aaron’s hand landed on her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. “I know you don’t want to hurt Gary, but Finn is who we have to fight to protect now. Don’t feel guilty, Heather. Think of your son.”
They hurried back to the courtroom and Aaron called Gary to the witness stand.
“I’m sure your lawyer has informed you by now of the evidence we’ve managed to gather, Mr. Hall,” Aaron said.
Gary crossed his arms, his entire body stiffening. “It’s lies. All lies!”
“Mr. Hall, you didn’t tell the court that you were no longer employed,” Aaron said in a calm voice. “Why didn’t you reveal that information to your ex-wife?”
“She lost her job, too,” Gary shot back.
“Yes, but she informed you of that. She informed the court of that fact,” Aaron said. “Your ex-wife has been very open with this court. Yet you kept your unemployment a secret. How did you manage to pay your child support payments without steady employment?”
Gary frowned and began to squirm in his seat. “That’s none of your business.”
“Mr. Hall, you’ve been asked a question,” the judge chided. “You will answer it.”
“I... friends,” Gary said. “A friend helped me.”
“Is this friend a young woman who seems to frequent your home?” Aaron asked. “A young woman by the name of Fiona?”
The blood drained from Gary’s face. “She’s one of my friends.”
“Does your girlfriend know about this friend?” Aaron asked. “Because it seems to me like Fiona has given you quite a great deal of money recently.”
“No. My girlfriend doesn’t know about Fiona.”
Aaron took a confident step towards the witness stand. “Why doesn’t she know about this friend, Mr. Hall?”
Gary scowled. “Because I’ve been seeing Fiona.”
A gasp rippled through the courtroom. Heather didn’t bother to turn around and look in Tiffany’s direction. Tiffany’s gasp had been the loudest of all.
“You’re in a relationship with Fiona?” Aaron asked.
“That’s right. And she’s been helping me make child support payments,” Gary muttered.
“You know, Fiona has a criminal record. She’s only nineteen years old, but her criminal record is already extensive,” Aaron pointed out. “Did you know that she previously made the bulk of her income from drug trafficking?”
“Objection!” Gary’s lawyer cried. “He’s practically accusing my client of a crime.”
The judge pinched the bridge of his nose. “Answer the question, Mr. Hall.”
Gary paused, uncrossed his arms, and sighed heavily. “I know that’s what she used to do. But she’s cleaned up now.”
“Is that why a stash of drugs was found at your house?” Aaron asked.
A hush fell over the courtroom as Gary’s eyes widened.
Gary swallowed and looked at his lawyer helplessly. “I... Fiona promised me she’d go legit,” Gary sputtered. “That was why I asked for payments from Simon. If I got my hands on that kind of money, neither of us would have to do that kind of shady work anymore.”
“You asked for payments?” Aaron asked. “But Mr. Hall, at the previous hearing you said under oath that your ex-wife was the one who wanted to pay you off. Why would you ask for payments if your ex-wife was the one who initiated the pay-off in the first place?”
“I don’t know,” Gary said in a halting voice. “I think I need a minute.”
Aaron smiled. “No further questions.”
Gary slumped in his seat as Aaron headed back towards her.
Gary’s lawyer questioned him next, but Heather barely heard a word of it. Her heart was pounding so hard she couldn’t even hear her own thoughts.