“You have a girlfriend; is that correct?”
“At the time of my arrest, I had a girlfriend, yes.”
I felt tears spring to my eyes at his words. He had effectively broken up with me in front of a courtroom full of people in one sentence. I knew I deserved it, but it still stung.
“I see.” Brent’s lawyer nodded. “And her name is?”
“Megan Jacobs.”
“The same last name as my client?”
“They’re siblings.”
“I see…and she’s currently not your girlfriend?”
“I… Uh…”
“Mr. Roberts?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so?”
“Objection,” Phil’s lawyer said. “Relevance?”
“I’m getting to it, Your Honor,” Brent’s lawyer said, as I sat there with my heart beating faster than ever.
“I’ll allow it,” the judge said.
“Mr. Roberts?” Brent’s lawyer pressed.
“She didn’t believe I was innocent.”
“I see.” Brent’s lawyer nodded. “I think that means something, don’t you?”
“I think it means that I overestimated her belief and her love for me,” Phil replied.
I could feel tears pooling in the corner of my eyes, but I forced them back and willed myself to be strong. I still hadn’t been called to the stand and when I did, I didn’t want to be a weeping incoherent mess.
“Or it could possibly mean that she always suspected you were capable of something like this?”
“Object—”
“Withdrawn,” Brent’s lawyer said quickly, before Phil’s lawyer could even finish the word. But it was enough to have planted a small seed of doubt in everyone’s mind, and he had been banking on that. The argument he built, however, crumbled in five seconds when Phil’s lawyer took the stand. There was evidence that proved Brent had been involved with several drug deals before finally trying to become a dealer in his own standing a few months back.
Then character witnesses were brought up to the stand. There were seven for Phil and none for Brent. I realized that I would be serving as a character witness for both and the thought made my palms sweat. Of the seven character witnesses called upon to speak for Phil, four were from his station and that included his Sergeant and three were people he had saved on emergency rescue operations and had moderate contact with afterwards.
While Brent’s attorney kept trying to discredit each one, he couldn’t really succeed with Phil’s colleagues, especially Sergeant Green, who was both composed and forceful on the stand. He immediately impressed me, and I had only just seen him.
Finally, I heard them call for my name and with shaky legs and a full heart I walked up to the stand, took my oath and sat down. I could see both Brent and Phil clear as day. They were sitting right in front of me, on opposite ends of the courtroom and I could their eyes watching me carefully. Brent still looked angry and Phil just looked…sad? I wasn’t quite sure anymore.
“What is your name?” Phil’s lawyer asked me.
“Megan Jacobs,” I replied.
“Can you explain your relationship to my client, please?”
“I am… I was his girlfriend,” I stammered. “And, I am also Brent’s sister.”