Boy Toy (35 page)

I walked to the witness box. The bailiff told me to raise my right hand. "Do you solemnly swear or affirm under the penalties of perjury that the testimony you are about to offer is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

I had trouble swallowing. "Yes."

"Be seated."

I sat down in the chair. Now, for the first time, I could see everyone in the courtroom—the jury off to my left, the prosecution and defense tables ahead of me, the entirety of the gallery, filled only with family and media, at the judge's orders.

My parents had moved into the front row of the gallery, right behind the prosecutor.

Eve sat at the defense table with her lawyer. George was nowhere to be seen.

Eve wasn't looking at me. She was looking down at her hands, folded over each other on the table in front of her.

Purdy came around in front of his table and leaned against it. "Good morning, Josh," he said, smiling. It was one of those smiles adults put on at parties when they're bored stiff with the person they're talking to.

"Morning," I mumbled.

"I'm going to ask you some questions today. Is that OK?"

I shrugged. I couldn't really stop him, could I?

"You need to answer out loud," he said with the air of someone who's talking to a complete moron.

"Yes," I said, leaning forward into the microphone.

"We're going to take this slow, Josh. I want to start with a simple question." He walked over to me, holding something familiar in his hand. He held it up so that the jury could see it, then held it out at arm's length in front of me.

"Do you recognize this, Josh?"

It was the birthday card Eve had given me. It was still in the plastic bag, only now there was a tag with a
C
on it. "Yes."

"What is it?"

That was a stupid question! Anyone with
eyes
could tell it was a birthday card. "It's a birthday card," I said with as much annoyance in my voice as possible.
You doofus,
I left off.

He smiled tightly. "Thank you. And who gave you this birthday card, Josh?"

I opened my mouth. But not to speak. I thought I was going to throw up right there in court, maybe hit the bailiff with some of the puke, splash the jury, I don't know. My whole body was ready to collapse into my gut like a black hole and then spew out again.

"Are you OK, Josh?" Purdy asked, a fake look of concern on his face.

I didn't trust my voice;

I shook my head. "Can we get some water for this young man?"

The bailiff brought me a glass of water.

I looked at it like it was poison.

I didn't want to drink the water. I thought I would puke if I had anything at all in my stomach.

But then, the more I thought about it, the better that sounded. If I threw up, they wouldn't make me testify, right? I sipped the water. It did nothing but cool my throat on the way down and sit like a ball of ice in my gut.

"I'm going to ask the question again," Purdy said as if reading a picture book to an imbecile. "From whom did you receive the card inscribed 'I love you' that the police found in your bedroom, the card labeled 'People's Exhibit C?'"

I shook my head and looked down at my own hands.

"Your Honor..."

The judge sighed and said, "Mr. Mendel." Then: "Mr. Mendel, please look at me."

I looked up at Dad, who was dutifully looking at the judge.

"Mr. Mendel!" the judge snapped. "Look at me, please."

That was when I realized: "Mr. Mendel" was
me.

I looked at the judge, who glowered at me from his bench. "Mr. Mendel, you have to answer Mr. Purdy's questions. Otherwise, I'll hold you in contempt of court. Do you know what that means?"

I shook my head.

"It means you can be fined. Or put in jail. Now, since you're so young, I would have to fine your parents, do you understand?"

Yeah, I understood.

"Now answer Mr. Purdy's questions."

I gritted my teeth together and put my palms on either side of my body on the chair, pressing down as if I could launch myself up through the ceiling.

"Answer the question, young man."

I closed my eyes. I flickered. I didn't care. I wouldn't tell them. I wouldn't tell them anything. "Young man..."

"Judge, permission to treat this witness as hostile?"

A sigh. "Granted."

"Josh," Purdy said, "didn't Evelyn Sherman give you this card on the occasion of your thirteenth birthday?"

I said nothing.

"Answer the question, Josh."

It hit me then. With a sudden and painful clarity. I knew what I had to do. I've always been a lousy liar, so I only had one choice.

"Did Evelyn Sherman—" he repeated.

I opened my eyes. I cleared my throat and looked Purdy dead in the eye. "I plead the Fifth," I said.

Dead silence in the courtroom.

I looked over at Eve's table. Her lawyer was staring at me as if I'd grown a third eye in the center of my forehead. Eve looked confused. I flickered: her eyes, her bedroom.

"...can't plead the Fifth," Purdy was saying.

"Judge!" This from Eve's attorney, suddenly on her feet.

The judge waved for her to settle down and sit down. "Mr. Mendel, you're not on trial. You can't plead the Fifth. That's only for people who are on trial."

He sounded awfully convincing, but I wasn't about to cave. I had seen people do this on TV and it
always
worked. It was my only way out.

"I plead the Fifth," I said again. For good measure, I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly.

The judge sighed. "I'll see the witness, his parents, and counsel in chambers. Bailiff, please take the jury out."

"Why is
she
here?" Mom's voice had sharp edges to it. She was pointing to Eve, who was sitting next to her lawyer in the judge's chambers. I was in the chair right across from the judge's desk, and Purdy and my parents were standing behind me.

"Mrs. Mendel, we're only going to be here a few minutes, OK?" The judge gestured to a sofa against a wall. "Why don't you sit down and relax for a minute?"

Mom and Dad sat on the sofa, watching Eve. She looked down at the tips of her shoes the whole time.

"Josh, we need to talk," said the judge. "I know you're a bright young man, so you'll understand this when I explain it to you. You just can't take the Fifth in this situation. It doesn't work that way."

I shrugged. "I don't want to testify."

"It doesn't work that way, Josh," the judge said. "When you're on the witness stand, you have to testify. The Fifth Amendment is there to protect people who are accused of crimes so that they don't have to testify against themselves. It's not so that witnesses can just suddenly decide not to testify."

"Your Honor..." Eve's lawyer, tiptoeing into the conversation like a kid who knows she's not supposed to be up this late at night but wants a snack anyway. "Your Honor, we could be overlooking something here."

Purdy snorted. The judge shot him a look. "Go ahead, Ms. Cresswell."

"Judge, the witness has been accused of sexual assault on a minor female—"

"Those charges were dropped!" Purdy exploded. "The ink wasn't even dry before the family called the police and—"

"Counselor!" the judge barked, and I remember being impressed at how suddenly, how immediately, Purdy shut up and shut down. "In my courtroom
and
in my chambers, both sides get a chance to talk. Now shut up and let Ms. Cresswell finish."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Ms. Cresswell said. "As I was saying: The charges were dropped, but could certainly be reinstated on the basis of something in the witness's testimony. Or, should the charges be refiled at a future date, the witness's testimony could be used against him."

"Oh, for—!" Purdy couldn't help himself, but he stopped as the judge shot him another look.

"Well, Ms. Cresswell, that's an interesting approach. But my understanding is that the parents of the girl in question have no interest in pursuing the case. Isn't that true, Mr. Purdy?"

"In fact," Purdy said triumphantly, "they're on the witness list for the prosecution." He paused long enough to look down at Ms. Cresswell. "A fact the defense is
well
aware of."

This didn't faze Ms. Cresswell in the least. "Your Honor, the parents' current wishes are immaterial. The fact remains that charges could be refiled at any time within the statute of limitations. The parents could change their minds down the road. In that case, the witness has the right to protect himself."

"The only thing he needs protection from is your client!" Mom yelled all of a sudden.

"Mrs. Mendel, please!" The judge looked pained. "Please, we need to remain civil. I know this is stressful for everyone." He sighed and massaged his temples with the tips of his fingers. "The only way out that I see is if the People are willing to grant immunity to Mr. Mendel on the assault charge. Are you willing to do that, Mr. Purdy?"

Purdy hesitated. "I'd have to talk to the girl's parents."

"Do so. We're adjourned until tomorrow morning."

I had no idea what had happened. I just knew that I was—for the rest of the day, at least—off the hook.

As we all got up to go, in that momentary confusion of chairs and throat-clearing, I looked over at Eve. She was, for the first time, looking at me, her eyes moist and wide. She smiled sadly and pursed her lips for just a moment, blowing me a kiss.

And then it was over, back to reality, out the door, back to the world.

The next day, before the judge called the jury in, he asked, "Mr. Purdy, has there been any movement on the issue discussed in chambers yesterday?"

Purdy stood up. "Yes, Your Honor. The People have extended immunity to Josh Mendel with regards to the events of March eighteen of this year."

That was Rachel's birthday. It took me a second to realize what had just happened, but then Mom put her arm around my shoulder and squeezed me tight and whispered "Thank God," and I knew that I was in trouble. They would never prosecute me for attacking Rachel. Which meant that I had to testify.

I returned to the witness stand. Purdy once again held the card up before me. "Let's pick up where we left off yesterday, Josh: Who gave you this card for your birthday?"

I looked over at the defense table. For the first time, Eve wasn't looking down at her hands—she was looking straight at me and there was fear in her eyes. No, more than fear—terror, dread. The kinds of fear that make you bite through your own lip.

"Do you need me to repeat the question, Josh?" Purdy noticed that I was looking at Eve, who was looking at me. He stepped to one side so that the jury could see it, too. "I'm sorry, Josh—are you being distracted by something?"

I wrenched my gaze from Eve and settled on Purdy. Bastard! I knew what he was doing. Trying to make it look like ... I knew what he was doing.

"The card, Josh." He slapped it down in front of me. "Who gave it to you?"

I gritted my teeth. "I plead the Fifth," I said, loud and clear.

"Your Honor!" Purdy exploded, spinning toward the judge.

"Young man!" The judge twisted in his chair to face me. "We discussed this yesterday. You are
not
permitted to plead the Fifth in this case! If you do so again, I will hold you in contempt of court. I will fine your parents one thousand dollars. Now answer the question."

I wanted to spit in Purdy's eye. I wanted to kick the judge in the balls. It was no one's business! It was
my
card. They were
my
secrets. And no one had a right to them.

Purdy held up a pad of yellow paper. "Josh, do you recognize this?" He slapped it down in front of me, along with another one just like it. Both were covered in my own handwriting. My gut tightened. "Isn't this your handwriting, describing events of a sexual nature that took place between you and the defendant?"

"I plead the Fifth," I said again, louder this time. I avoided looking at Mom and Dad.

The judge banged his gavel.

"The contempt order is issued, one thousand dollars to Mr. and Mrs. Mendel, payable by check to the clerk's office by the close of business." I stared straight ahead. The judge told me to look at him. "That's one strike, young man. You only get two in my courtroom. If you do not answer Mr. Purdy's question, I will have you remanded to a juvenile detention facility until you
do
answer the question, do you understand?"

Sweat—cold sweat—began to collect on my scalp and run down my neck. My palms were clammy and I closed my hands until my fingertips bit into them.

"Didn't you write on these legal pads in my presence and sign and date them?" Purdy asked, this time leaning in toward me, as if daring me to plead the Fifth.

Before I could answer, I heard something from behind Purdy. Everyone else heard it, too—they all turned to look at the defense table, where Eve and her attorney whispered ferociously at each other.