"I would like to call Mrs. Marks up to the stand." Mary's lawyer said confidently as he faced the judge. Mary, who was clad in a red business suit walked in a sad, yet confident manner to the stand and stood there as she was sworn in. When she was allowed to sit, the lawyer started firing off his questions.
"Mrs. Marks, can you please tell us about what happened the night that the Plaintiff stated that you allegedly attempted to strangle her."
"Of course. I will never forget what she did that night." Mary answered with sorrow in her voice. "It was late. My husband and I went out to a company dinner with our boys, Greg and Scott. That girl over there-" she said pointing at Penelope "Was supposed to go with us. But she stayed home- no doubt to plan what she was going to do when we got home. Shes nothing but trouble!"
"And what was that?"
"She trashed the house and assaulted my youngest boy as soon as we walked through the doors!"
"How did she assault your youngest boy?" Her lawyer asked.
"I'm not entirely sure what all happened. But shortly after we got through the door, I heard a scream coming from upstairs. It was Scott. I rushed up to see what was going on, and when I got there, Scott was running out of her room. Penelope had a wet towel in her hands, and my boy was struggling to keep his pajamas up."
That was not what happened. Penelope thought, as she sat on the plaintiff side of the courtroom. Her face was turning red, and she was struggling to not stand up and say anything. The Filmore lawyer touched her lightly on the arm. "Stay quiet. She is going to say what she wants to get out of all this. We already know this. Don't let her see your reaction." Penelope swallowed. She knew this, but she couldn't help herself. Mary was a beast that could not be tamed, and this just probed it.
"Do you know what she was doing with the towel?"
"Yes. According to my boy, she attempted to wrap the towel around his neck to subdue him while she- she-." Mary paused, fake tears beginning to roll down her cheek.
"While she what, Mrs. Marks?"
"While she attempted to undress him to have her way with him."
"And what do you mean by 'have her way' with him" Her lawyer asked.
"Well, I assume she was going to assault him at his private areas. But when she heard me coming up the stairs, she let him go."
Her lawyer nodded. "And what happened next, Mrs. Marks?"
"Well, I did what any mom who is just trying to protect her child would do. I lost it. I don't remember anything from beyond that point. The next morning, I got up to Penelope and her dad gone. I started to do my morning chores, trying to figure out what I was going to do about the night before. The next thing I know, the police were at my home and I was being arrested for something I didn't do!"
"And what was that?" Her lawyer asked.
"They said that I somehow hit her in the head. And that she had passed out at work because of it. But it was the next day! If I had done such a thing, surely she would have gone to the hospital sooner! I'm not a monster as she claims, Your Honor." Mary said, looking at the judge, her fake tears continuing to stream down her face.
"Thank you for sharing your story, Mrs. Marks. You said that you weren't entirely sure what happened to your minor child before you got up the stairs, but that he was trying to fix his pants when he left her room. Are there any other indicators which might have suggested he has been sexually assaulted by Penelope Marks?"
"At the time, no. After I was released from the prison for making bale, my son told me everything. That it wasn't the first time Penelope had attacked her, and that she has continuously been sexually assaulting him since we moved into the house with her. My other son, too."
"Yes, I understand. The court can't take testimony for him through you. But we do have his recorded testimony, given by the investigators in this case. Mary nodded sadly. "I understand. I just can't help it though. These are my boys! As their mom, its my job to protect them and I failed." Mary's tears turned into sobs, and her lawyer handed her a box of tissues.
"I know that this is hard for you, Mrs. Marks. But can you tell me about Penelope Marks' behavior at home otherwise?"
"Yes. That woman is a monster! Whenever her father isn't around, Penelope is always yelling, getting into her brothers things and destroying them. She wrecks the house and then blames Scott or Greg. Or if I catch her, she says that they made her do it. I have replaced so many things! Except for family heirlooms. Oh, the worst was her smashing my late grandfather's urn on the floor. She told her brothers that such a dusty old man didn't deserve to be on the mantle!" Mary cried.
But that was not what happened at all. Penelope remembered that incident. She swallowed hard, trying not to remember what happened that day. Mary's lawyer continued on.
"So she broke your late grandfathers urn, sexually assaulted your children, and tore your house apart." He mused aloud. "Doesn't sound like Penelope Marks is as much of a victim as the state claims she is, does it?"
"No. She is not." Mary shook her head. "She is a horrible, horrible person, and it should be her answering for her crimes up here. Not me."
"OBJECTION!" Penelope's lawyer shouted. "Speculation." He called out.
"Sustained." The judge ruled.
Mary's lawyer dismissed her and then called Kent to the stand. "Mr. Marks. Are you aware of the things that Mrs. Marks stated your daughter did while you were away from the home?"
"There are some things, yes."
"And why did you not punish your daughter for them?" The lawyer demanded.
"Because Mary always did. We had an agreement, that if any of our children had disciplinary problems, whoever disovered it would handle it, within reason, and we would discuss it later."
"So, you allowed Mary to be a disciplinarian in the house? You never disciplined Penelope on your own or talked to her when you were alerted of these things?"
"Not unless Mary told me that she did something that I felt needed my attention. Like her grandfather's urn."
"And how did you react when Penelope broke your grandfather's urn?"
"I asked her for her side of the story. She said that it was an accident. Penelopie was very remorseful for the incident, and so I didn't think it was done on purpose."
"Yet she told Mary that his remains didn't deserve to be there."
"That's what Mary claims." Kent replied.
"And did you ask her about that when you confronted her behavior?"
Kent shook his head. "I saw no need to. It was clear to me that it was an accident. Nothing more."
"But another trusting adult told you that your minor child did say it. And you just ignored it?"
"Objection! Hes badgering the witness, Youre Honor."
"Overruled." The judge replied. "Answer the question, please, Mr. Marks."
"No. I didn't ignore it. I believe that there are two sides to every story. Mary was in another part of the house when the urn broke. It was Greg who claimed that Penelope made that statement. Not Mary. Penelope was distraught enough over the incident. I didn't see fit that she should be punished for it."
"So you didn't discipline her, and you left it all up to Mary, then?"
"Not for that incident, no."
"Take a seat, Mr. Marks." Kent sighed and went back to his spot on the bench. This was not going so well.