Out of the corner of his eye, Fenton saw his wife stare at Keith Rashman so intently with a hatred so strong he feared he might actually have to physically restrain her from attacking the man right there in the courtroom. It suddenly occurred to Fenton that should Rashman be found guilty – no, he corrected himself, when Rashman was found guilty – the ideal punishment would be to lock him in a room for five minutes with an enraged Laura Hardy.

‘There probably wouldn’t be enough of him left to fill a Dixie cup,’ Fenton thought letting the warped fantasy bring him a few seconds of satisfaction.

Seeing Laura shift in her seat, he glanced at her and smiled inwardly. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible Laura was leaning forward trying to see around Vanessa, who was seated between she and Joe. Her mother’s instinct told her to seek out her son and satisfy herself that he was all right.

Listening to both the prosecution and defense attorney’s blithely discussing Joe’s abduction and abuse with no apparent regard for how it was affecting him had lit a fuse inside Laura. Struggling to maintain her outwardly calm façade, Laura fought the urge to stand up and address the jury herself. The law of averages said most of the jurors were probably parents themselves. If she could simply tell them about Joe’s ordeal from a mother’s perspective, she was certain the trial would be over in minutes with a unanimous guilty verdict. She would then be content to let any parent on the jury dole out the punishment, which she knew would be swift, painful and permanent.

Finally able to steal a glance at Joe, she knew that to a stranger he appeared calm and at ease. Laura, however, could easily see the anxiety and uncertainty that had been plaguing him for weeks now growing stronger, bringing home the harsh reality that many times life simply wasn’t fair. Laura ignored the unrealistic urge to protectively watch Joe’s every move and forced herself to return her attention to the front of the courtroom. If she continued to stare at Joe who was so far able to maintain the tenuous grip on his composure, she would eventually give in to a mother’s primal instinct to grab her child and flee, putting as much distance as possible between him and those who were causing him so much pain.

Focusing on the young woman who was now seated on the witness stand, Laura listened as Peter Handling asked the woman her name and occupation. Tess Maguire, an attractive girl in her early twenties with red hair and green eyes, worked at the foreign currency exchange kiosk that was located across from the restroom Joe had been abducted from. As she responded to the D.A.’s questions, Tess would glance at Joe from time to time with a tentative smile.

Initially, Handling simply asked Tess to relate what she saw that night. Blushing slightly, Tess shyly admitted she had noticed Joe in the lounge area, talking on a cell phone. Not having any customers at the time, she had furtively watched him restlessly pacing back and forth, as he talked. After concluding the call, she had seen Joe approach the gate agent and speak to her briefly. Tess then watched Joe walk towards the restroom, passing directly in front of her and disappear into the restroom just as a customer approached her.

Now resuming a more structured line of questioning, Handling asked Tess what she saw after the customer had left. Tess admitted she made a visual sweep of the lounge area, noting Joe’s absence and quickly resumed her surveillance of the restroom hoping to get another glimpse of Joe when he came out. When Handling asked if she did indeed see Joe again when he emerged from the restroom, Tess’ entire demeanor changed.

With her voice shaking slightly, Tess replied that as she watched, two men emerged from the restroom supporting Joe between them. Seeing that Joe appeared to be unconscious and knowing the men had not been in the lounge area with Joe earlier, she became alarmed. Tess had confronted the men, asking if Joe was all right and offering her assistance. The larger of the two men told her they were with airport security, working undercover. He went on to say that Joe was a drug courier they had been tracking for months, further explaining that when they confronted Joe in the restroom and attempted to take him into custody, he tried to escape leaving them with no choice but to use ‘necessary force’ to subdue him.

As Tess concluded her response, Handling waited a moment before he resumed the questioning, wanting Tess’ words to sink in with the jury. He hoped that having already established Joe’s occupation and the purpose for his visit to Chicago that day would make Rashman’s lie that much more damaging. Standing in front of the prosecutions table, Handling turned to look at Tess.

"Ms. Maguire, are either of the two men you saw with Joe Hardy that night in this courtroom?"

"Yes," Tess replied nervously.

"Can you point him out, please."

With a shaking hand, she pointed directly at Keith Rashman without hesitation. "The man sitting at that table."

"Please let the record show that Ms. Maguire has identified the defendant, Keith Rashman," the D.A. requested as he walked towards the witness stand, stopping in front of Tess. "Ms. Maguire, how long have you worked at O’Hare Airport?"

"Almost five years."

"Would it be reasonable to say that you interact with airport security personnel on a daily basis, given that you work at a currency exchange?"

"Oh, yes. The security staff makes regularly scheduled stops at all our kiosks throughout the day and escorts us back and forth to the vault when we are opening or closing up for the day."

"So it would be safe to say you know most of the security personnel on sight."

"Yes."

"And had you ever seen Mr. Rashman prior to that evening?"

"No."

"How did Mr. Rashman react to your offer of help?" Handling asked, now turning to look at the jury.

"He seemed annoyed that I was bothering them, like he was in a big hurry to get out of there."

"Rather odd behavior from someone purporting to be an undercover security officer who has just captured a suspect he’d supposedly been trailing for months," he pointed out to the jury. "No further questions, Your Honor."

After Matthew Barning declined to cross examine Tess at that time, she stepped down from the witness stand and walked across the front of the courtroom towards the gate leading back to the seating area. Slowing down slightly, Tess caught Joe’s attention and smiled at him who returned it with one of his own. Glancing at Vanessa who was seated so very close to Joe and holding tightly to his hand, Tess felt a pang of envy. Forcing herself to look away, Tess noticed the woman seated next to Vanessa bore a striking resemblance to Joe and realized it had to be his mother.

Watching as Tess passed in front of them, Laura smiled gratefully at her and mouthed a silent thank you, hoping she would get the opportunity to properly thank the girl for attempting to come to Joe’s aid. Tess smiled warmly in acknowledgement before returning to her seat at the back of the courtroom.

Peter Handling then called two more airport employees to the stand – a bookstore clerk and a grounds crew worker for one of the airlines. Both related eerily similar stories to Tess’, saying they too had stopped Keith Rashman, concerned that Joe was in trouble. Having gotten the same story simply cemented the fact that Rashman had lied at least three times to cover up the fact that Joe was indeed his unwilling, and unconscious, captive.

Hearing three different people describe their efforts to help him somehow made Joe feel a little better. They may not have been successful but the simple fact that they were willing to get involved and help a total stranger who appeared to be in trouble reminded him there were still more good people in the world than bad.

Joe watched as a man in his mid-thirties, with light brown hair and a slightly receding hairline took the stand. After being sworn in, he responded to the requisite questions of name and occupation. For the last seven years, Gary Millard had worked as a security guard at O’Hare Airport.

"Mr. Millard, while you were making your rounds of the terminal on the night in question, at any time did you encounter either Keith Rashman or Joseph Hardy?" Handling asked.

"Yes, I did," Millard replied, his eyes automatically seeking out first Rashman and then Joe.

"Can you please describe that encounter?"

"I came on duty at four o’clock that afternoon. During my second sweep of my assigned terminal, I observed two men who appeared to be supporting a third man between them heading in the direction of baggage claim and the exit. As they got closer, I could see the man between them was unconscious so I stopped them.

"Mr. Rashman said he and his partners had accompanied a new client to the airport to see him off. They had just signed a new deal and decided to wait with their client in a bar at the lounge to celebrate. He indicated his partner, Mr. Hardy, had gotten drunk and passed out. I offered to call a cart to take them to our First Aid center but he declined. Said it would be easier to just drive Mr. Hardy home and let him sleep it off."

"Mr. Rashman specifically referred to Mr. Hardy as his partner?" Handling asked for clarification. "And said he was going to drive him home?"

"Yes, sir, he did," Millard confirmed.

Under Handling’s careful questioning, Millard repeated word for word the story Rashman had told him revealing Rashman had lied yet again, playing up his ability to do so at the drop of a hat but still in great detail. As Millard returned to his seat the district attorney focused in on that revelation, wanting it to be seared into the juror’s memory’s.

"A total of four people have now testified to the lies they were told by Mr. Rashman when they attempted to intervene on Mr. Hardy’s behalf. Lies that he created on the spur of the moment. They were intricate, detailed and most of all believable. And they allowed him to escape into the night with his captive. Most importantly, these are lies that a man who was insane – temporarily or permanently – would never be able to construct."

Seated next to Frank, Callie could almost feel the anger coming off her husband in waves. The moment Rashman had walked into the courtroom that morning Frank’s absolute hatred for the man had exploded to the surface, clearly visible to anyone who cared to look. As the security guard had responded to Handling’s questions, the details he provided only fueled Frank’s rage.

Callie reached out and took his hand, becoming increasingly nervous at his uncharacteristically open display of hostility. It was only the first day of the trial with the most difficult days still ahead of them, leaving Callie to wonder if Frank would have any self control left by the time Joe had to give his own graphic and disturbing testimony.

Thankfully, the judge called a recess for lunch, waited for the jury to be escorted out of the courtroom and then disappeared into his chambers. Those remaining began to file towards the doors, talking in lowered voices about everything they’d heard that morning. Waiting patiently for the people ahead of her to move out of their row of seats, Callie started to turn over her shoulder at Frank who was standing right behind her. As her gaze swept the front of the room, her eyes landed on Keith Rashman and she gasped softly.