Loneliness Trilogy Bundle Boxset (24 page)

Melanie’s lawyer focuses strongly on her mental health diagnosis, but, now that I know just a little more about borderline personality disorder, I realize that it isn’t a mental illness, per se. I also know that Melanie can’t take medication and control her condition. She has to want to do so. She has to want to participate in therapy to understand what she has and how to control it on her own. Given that she’s got so used to drama and creating havoc in the lives of others, it’s unlikely she’s going to want to control her disorder. Therefore, we need to know as much as we can about her so we can ask for the stiffest possible sentence. We have a little girl to protect. Melanie and Cara would care nothing for any harm they do to her as long as they can achieve their scummy ends.

Therefore, Marcus puts a lot of work in, writing and sending articles to his clients in the days before Melanie’s defense begins laying out their case. Tim, Linny, Laslow and I put in extra hours of practice so we can be in the courtroom. We are a united presence. As we walk into the courtroom, minus the baby, our entrance causes quite the stir. We sit in one row, with Marcus and I sitting next to each other. Heads crane, looking at us. Finally, the magistrate has to call the entire court room to attention.

“The court calls Melanie Stabb to the stand!”

Melanie looks the same as she did in the concert auditorium - tall, emaciated and with her hair styled in a poorly cut Mohawk haircut.

“Miss Stabb, will you please describe your childhood for the magistrate and jury?”

“I am one of seven children. My mum and dad separated when I was three, so mum expected that I would take care of my youngest brother, who was, at that time, about a year old. She began dating almost immediately after my dad left. She had no time for any of us, so we basically raised ourselves. We lived on the streets when mum had no money for gas, lights or food. By the time I was twelve, I was responsible for my brother, my siblings and me. I’m one of two girls, so we were expected to make a home and go to school. I dropped out shortly after I started secondary school so I could find a job.

“I found work as a child minder in a neighborhood nursery and worked part-time up until I was about twenty-four years old. Got a boyfriend and we lived together until he left me for someone else a few years later. I got depressed and lost my child minder job. I knocked around for a while and sort of got involved in minor crime…I called people and told them they had won the lottery, that I needed their bank account numbers so my boss could put their winnings into their accounts.”

“So, you were one of several neglected children. Did your mum abuse you?”

“Oh, no! Oh, well, when she left the house and made us take care of each other, well…”

“No, Miss Stabb. I’m talking about being hit. Being abused sexually. Did that ever happen to you?”

I see where Melanie’s attorney is going and so do the rest of us. I pull my writing pad and pen out and start doodling musical notes again as I listen.

“Uh, abuse? Hitting? Sexual stuff? Uh…” She’s unable to answer that question. Whether that is due to her intellectual capability or what, I am not able to figure out. Seems pretty straightforward to me. If she was a victim of abuse, answer in the affirmative; if not, then deny it.

“Don’t you remember telling me that…”

“Excuse me, sir, but he’s leading his client!” This is the barrister for the prosecution.

“If she was, she was. If she wasn’t, don’t lead her into stating something that’s patently false,” orders the magistrate. “Move to a different topic.”

The attorney lets out a gusty sigh.

“Miss Stabb, when we talked after your arrest, we discussed your childhood. We discussed your mental health diagnosis. Do you remember?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

“What did we talk about in your childhood?”

“About me mum leaving all us kids at home alone. About how we had to raise ourselves.”

“And, what did you say about your mum’s boyfriends?”

“Oh! Oh, yeah! One of her boyfriends, he was a dock worker, would abuse me and my older sister. He’d come into our room and touch us and say things to us…”

“Okay. Thank you! And what did your mum do when you told her what her boyfriend was doing to you?”

“She slapped us both across our faces and accused us of lying. Then they went out to the bars and got drunk. When they got home, we got it from him really bad that night.”

“Okay. And, when your mum saw your injuries the next day, what did she say?”

“That we’d done it to each other. That’s when we ran away the first time. Shortly after, I found out I was pregnant and dropped out of school. I miscarried my kid and found my job as a child minder.”

“When did you meet Cara Wells?”

“Right before I dropped out. We were both ignored in school. We became friends since no one else wanted to be our friend. We got together at her house after school. Bad as her home life was, it was safer than my house. We kept our friendship after I left school and became a child minder.”

“And, what did you know about her…feelings for Marcus Hadley?”

“I know she liked him tremendously. She just wanted him to acknowledge her, smile at her once in a while - that’s all!”

I look at Marcus, thinking, Yeah, and she would have made that out to him being attracted to her. No, don’t think so.

“And, if she’d gotten that acknowledgment, what would have happened? More to the point, what wouldn’t have happened?” asks the attorney.

“To my mind, she would have known that he knew she exists. She would not have felt any need to track him down.”

“Let’s come to that date when you went to the The Lovely Loners’ concert. The day that your friend was spotted in the audience and approached by the police.”

“Yes?”

“Did you have any sense that she was up to anything she shouldn’t have been?”

“No…well…no. She wanted to hear the music and she…well, she…”

“She…what?”

“She knew he would be there. She…all she wanted to do was set her eyes on him and see if he was…if he was the same as in school. That’s all.”

“Did you try to tell her she should listen to the warnings from the police?”

“Tuh! No! Why? I don’t trust the coppers!”

“So, you didn’t try to tell her she should stop trying to track down and follow Mr. Hadley?”

“No. I just told her to be careful and try not to be too obvious.”

“Ah. Okay, then, thank you.”

“Prosecution.”

“Thank you. Miss Stabb, isn’t it true that, instead of telling Miss Wells to be less obvious, that you instead helped her to track down Mr. Hadley and his family? Helped her find where he lived and what kind of vehicle he drove?”

Melanie gives the prosecuting barrister a wide-eyed look. Clearly, she doesn’t expect his approach.

“Ahhh, …Well, when she told me she just needed to see him, I just wanted to help her. That’s all!”

“Okay. If I’m to accept that explanation, let’s talk about the day of the Hadley child’s kidnapping. How…”

“Oh. Don’t wanna talk about that. No sir!”

“Miss Stabb, how do you know what I’m going to say? You’re on the stand and you’ve sworn to tell the truth. You must answer any question I ask you. And I’m asking you, how were you involved in that near-kidnapping? What did you do?”

Melanie sits, obstinately still. She refuses to answer that series of questions.

The magistrate looks at Melanie, waiting for a response.

“Miss Stabb! You are under oath and I am ordering you to answer his questions! Now!” The magistrate’s voice comes out in a dull roar.

“Oh! Must I? I already know I’m in trouble. Why should I make it worse for myself?”

“It’s already bad. You were implicated by Miss Wells. You’ve undergone a psychological evaluation, for which there is a diagnosis. You will be sentenced to some type of penalty, although I don’t know yet what that will be. Answer the question. Now!”

Melanie lets out a sigh, indicating she feels very put-upon.

“Well, all right! We were talking about how much she loves Marcus Hadley. When we were at the concert and she spotted him, we sat a row behind him …he’s not really that bad-looking. I can see why she took such a liking to him.”

“So, her fixation upon him didn’t concern you?”

“No. Why should it?”

“He’s married…a father.”

“And? She liked him first. To our minds, she had the right to get involved, not his wife. When I saw how much she likes him - Cara, that is - well, I just knew that I had to help her get closer to him. To try and get him away from his wife, if at all possible. And we were going to use their kid to do that.”

As I hear that, Marcus’ arm goes around me, partly to protect me and partly to keep me from leaping out of the bench and attacking Melanie. My heart begins pounding and I grow light-headed as I hear Melanie’s testimony.

Tim is sitting on my other side and he grabs my hand. Feeling the support from the band and Marcus helps me to calm down.

I look up to find the prosecuting barrister looking at me with concern in his eyes. He turns and asks the magistrate a question.

“Sir, that revelation had to be a shock to Mrs. Hadley…”

“Mrs. Hadley, do you need a break? I don’t know what other testimony we’ll be hearing,” says the magistrate.

I take a deep breath. “Thank you, sir. I’m fine.”

“Continue,” the magistrate orders Melanie’s attorney.

However, he is just as stunned by Melanie’s admission as we are. It takes him several seconds as he fumbles to catch up and recover from the damage Melanie has done to her case.

“Uh, so your plan was to grab an innocent, harmless baby and use her as a ploy to get her father to start spending time…with her…kidnapper.”

“Yeah. Pretty much. If she hadn’t stopped for the blanket and if the band hadn’t run after her, it would have worked. Why shouldn’t she get what she wants, once in a while?”

There is little Melanie’s attorney can do to recover from this damaging testimony, and he knows it. However, he still tries.

“If you had realized that what you were planning would land you behind bars…would you have tried to do it?”

“Don’t know. All I know is that, when a friend needs my help, I’m going to try and help her out.”

The attorney pounces on this tiny lifeline.

“Loyalty! Much to be praised. Yes. Maybe you didn’t understand that your contemplated actions could be harmful or that they were illegal, hmmm?”

“Well…maybe.” Melanie finally catches on to what her attorney is saying. Still, I think it’s too late.

The magistrate releases Melanie from the stand and the defense barrister pleads his client’s case.

“Sir, I think you can see that my client has trouble with the concepts of right and wrong and cause and effect. All she saw was her friend’s lovelorn condition. All she wanted to do was to help her. Therefore, she should be given leniency. As well, she has been given a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, which renders her incapable of understanding the effects of her actions upon others.” His arguments went on in this vein for some time.

Finally, it was the prosecuting barrister’s turn to speak.

“Sir, Miss Stabb’s mental health diagnosis renders her ‘incapable’ of understanding how her actions affect others. It’s more like she doesn’t care to regard the effects of her actions on others. She doesn’t care now - and she didn’t care then - about how her actions impacted baby Hadley and her parents. If she is released from jail, she will be very likely to resume her past behaviors - entering into illegal acts and ‘mischief’ with others, regardless of how they harm others. Sir, she must be held liable for her participation in the attempted kidnapping of baby Hadley. She must serve time behind bars, beyond what she has already served. She must be given the opportunity to take advantage of therapy so she begins to understand the effects of her actions on others.”

Finally, both trials are over. It is all over but for the jury’s verdicts and the magistrate’s decision. He plans to take a few weeks considering any possible sentences, depending on the verdicts coming from the jury.

Chapter 16

N
ow that both Cara’s and Melanie’s trials have ended, we return to practicing for the concert tour, which is now imminent. Even though both women are still behind bars, Marcus and the boys feel we should keep our security high - especially since the press are still bothering us. They are still upset at us for the stunt we pulled several weeks ago on the big reveal we hinted at. We’re still in complete compliance with the gag orders. The press are, as well, but they do keep a very close watch on us. It’s highly irritating. Now that it’s so cold outside, we don’t take the baby outside, but for a few minutes here and there.

“Johanna, Marcus, you might want to take a look at this,” Tim warns us. He’s holding out one of those ever-present rags.

I sigh and take it from him. Opening it, I read, “Hadley Family Spiraling Into Depression. Rarely Seen Outdoors.” Looking at the title, I laugh, then I read:

Now that the trials for Cara Wells and Melanie Stabb have ended, the Hadley family appear to have virtually disappeared. Where are they? What are they doing? Mrs. Hadley has gone into hiding, close friends say, because she is “concerned” that the women who attempted to kidnap her baby girl are soon to be released from jail.