“Proceed,” the Judge said to his attorney.
Kenneth Richards was his lead attorney. He left his seat with three additional attorneys seated at the table to assist Richards. To the back of the courtroom sat Armand Al Jabaar. It didn’t surprise Maverick that this benefactor had arrived in time to witness the show. Delilah Montgomery and the Montgomery family were living in salacious times. So many news outlets had been in touch to get his side of the story. So far, he avoided them all.
“Mr. Lennon, you were a police officer, right?” The attorney asked.
“Yes,” Maverick replied. “A detective for the special crimes unit, and then a member of the drug task force for NYPD.”
“Did you quit? Were you fired? Can you tell us the exact status of your employment?”
“I was suspended after an investigation of a cop killer, named Jose Garcia. I was acquitted of wrongdoing but terminated by force due to community pressure. Since then, I’ve moved to Madison County and opened a mechanic shop. I own the business, and I’m currently building a house on the land behind it.”
“So, you have a steady income?”
“I do,” Maverick glanced at Delilah once more. She didn’t appear impressed. Why did he want to impress her? To hell with what she thought of him. He only needed to impress his son. “I also have my pension.”
“And you said you are building a home, so where do you live now?” The attorney asked.
“I have a trailer home on the land. It’s big enough for my son and me. We’ll be fine.” Maverick glanced to the judge, who only stared on. “It’s a tiny community of fewer than 7000 people. Family-friendly. I have plenty of land for him to play on and can care for him since my business is at my home.”
“Can you tell the court how you found out you were a father?” The attorney asked.
“No one contacted me from that clinic, ah Eve’s Promise, to tell me what had happened. A concerned citizen learned about the practices at the clinic and came to see me. He told me I might want to look into it. I contacted your office and hired you to investigate. When you told me that the sample I gave to the clinic might have been misused, we requested a DNA test for the donor recipients who were inseminated around that same time. Then I found out I had a son.”
“Have you always wanted to be a father?” The attorney asked.
“No,” Maverick glanced at Delilah. “I was married. I was a cop, and it was a very stressful job. My wife was patient with me, but I wasn’t perfect. I never thought we’d be able to raise a kid with my hectic schedule. And it wasn’t an issue because of her fertility problems. We decided children weren’t for us. She was a schoolteacher, so she used to say the kids she taught were her babies. Then her friend told her about the IVF process she was going through. It was successful. My wife went to a doctor without me just to learn about it. When she found out it was possible she could have a baby because she had a uterus and could carry a child, she told me she had changed her mind and wanted one. I didn’t know if I could be a good dad. I wasn’t the greatest husband. I didn’t have a father growing up or a mother.”
“Who raised you?” asked the attorney.
“The system,” he said. “Family was something I dreamed about but never really believed in until I met Melissa. The thing is,” he paused and tried to push down his emotions. “I had a very dangerous job. What if something happened to me? She wanted a child, a piece of our love. I understood her reasoning. Even if I was skeptical about it myself. I loved her. More than I’ve ever loved anything or anyone on this planet.” Maverick glanced out at the courtroom, half expecting to see the ghost of his wife present. He hadn’t seen her apparition since she appeared and disappeared in the attorney’s office. He lowered his gaze to hands and then opened and closed them into fists. “I loved her. Love her. I would have done anything for her. So we went to that clinic and let them do the procedure. The moment she began to show, I knew I wanted to be a father—a better husband. And I was. Then I lost them both.”
“Talk about that, Mr. Lennon. Do you know what happened?” The attorney asked.
“The doctors say they’re not sure. She was fine up until the eight-month. She didn’t have high blood pressure or pregnancy diabetes. One morning—.”
“Objection, your honor,” Delilah’s attorney spoke up. “Relevance? We only need to know if he is fit to be a father.”
“I’ll allow it; I want to hear the story. Go on, Mr. Lennon,” the judge said. For the first time since the proceedings started, Delilah Montgomery wasn’t staring at him. She, too, was looking down.
“Melissa came into the room to get my shirt to iron. And then left—my morning wakeup call from her. I didn’t think anything was wrong. I heard her scream my name a few minutes later. I ran into the other room, and she was on her knees, bleeding. Something happened. Ruptured, I don’t know. There was just blood. I was so scared I grabbed her and ran out of the house with no shoes on, barely stopping to get my car keys. I drove like a madman to the hospital.” Maverick felt his eyes tearing and blinked fast to hold them back. But he couldn’t hold back the emotion in his voice. Maverick struggled with voicing his feelings. It was as if each had clogged in his throat. He pushed himself to continue. “She had a stroke. They tried to get the baby out of her. The baby was... I don’t know...they said the baby was in distress.” He exhaled deeply. “I think they said the child took a breath or two, but that was it. She died, and my daughter died. That was it.”
Maverick looked up at the attorney. “They tell me those fertility treatments that they did on women at the clinic caused a lot of stillborn deaths. This was far worst. I think these Montgomery people poisoned her. Killed her. The government does too because they are investigating—”
“Objection!” Jefferson shouted in court.
“Sustained. Are we done, counselor?” the judge asked.
“No further questions, your honor,” the attorney said.
Delilah’s attorney Alvin Jefferson stood. He was at least six-foot tall with deep dark skin. He imagined he won over many jurors with his polished charm and good looks. Maverick hated him on sight. Maverick also wondered what his relationship was with the widow Montgomery and her handsome defender. She seem to look at him with hope in her eyes.
“Detective Lennon?” Jefferson said.
“I’m not a police officer,” Maverick replied.
“But you were. For 13 years? Correct?” Jefferson asked. He placed a folder down on the podium he stood before and spoke with one arm behind his back in a formal manner. The focused attention on Maverick with a sly smile made him uneasy.
Maverick glanced at Delilah. She stared directly at him. “Your point?”
“My point is. You were hired to protect and serve. But your record is pretty interesting. You’re not a detective anymore, but not by choice. The department has had several documented, some even public violations and suspensions, due to your inability to perform your duties without causing bodily harm and trauma to the community you were sent to serve. Looks like violence was your specialty.”
“Objection!” Attorney Robinson said.