HDA - Innocent by Red Chapter 16

As the days went by Joe spent most of his time meeting with his father and his attorney, Andrew Worth. Andrew felt that in spite of the large number of witnesses testifying against Joe, they had a good chance of getting the jury to find a reasonable doubt. He also thought that since no one, including the District Attorney prosecuting the case, really wanted to see Joe convicted, this could work in his favor too

Frank and Phil were working feverishly trying to track down Angela Taylor. The fact that she had such a common name and had moved so many times was making their task difficult, but Frank was determined to find her. Being unable to work with Frank as he tried to find Mrs. Taylor was proving to be one of the hardest things for Joe to deal with. In his head, Joe knew he should be grateful that Frank had someone to help him with this frustrating task, but in his heart he found himself resentful and almost jealous, feeling as if he had been replaced as Frank's partner. Joe continually reminded himself he really couldn't work on the investigation even if he wanted to. He had agreed not to leave Bayport as a condition of his bail and he needed to concentrate on his upcoming trial.

Joe knew his mixed emotions had a lot to do with the fact that following up on leads necessitated Frank being out of town a good deal of the time. Angela Taylor had left Bayport when her first husband, Josh Tilghman, had been arrested and apparently tried to get as far away from the bad memories as possible. But the bottom line for Joe was that he simply missed having Frank around to talk to. They spoke on the phone several times a day when Frank was out of town, but for Joe it just wasn't the same as having his brother right there. No one understood him like Frank did, and Joe felt lost without him.

As Joe sat in the conference room gazing out the window waiting for Andrew to finish a phone call, he hoped Frank would be home that evening as expected. While his friends and family did their best to keep his hopes up he often felt they were just telling him what he wanted to hear. Somehow when Frank told him the same things, he found it much easier to believe his future would not include a prison sentence.

As Andrew entered the conference room, Joe tried to push the loneliness he felt to the back of his mind.

"Well, they've finally given us a trial date." Andrew said, sitting down across the table from Joe and his father. "A week from today."

Joe's heart skipped a beat. He had been asking Andrew when the trial would start, as he simply wanted to get it over with. But now that he had an actual date, it became much more real to him as did the fear of a prison sentence.

"That soon?" Fenton asked. He had been hoping to put it off as long as possible. As long as there was no set date, he knew Joe would be at home and reasonably free to come and go as he pleased. Once the trial started, he was sure it would progress quickly, and although Andrew was somewhat confident he could plant a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors, Fenton was trying to be realistic about the whole situation. Depending on the make up of the jury, they could very easily be swept up in the overabundance of the prosecution's law enforcement witnesses and find Joe guilty. Fenton had hoped Frank would have more time to locate Angela Taylor.

“Their case is pretty straightforward; they don’t need much time to prepare, so the sooner the better as far as they are concerned. Everything was right there the night of the shooting – evidence, witnesses. I tried to get a later date but Judge O’Donnell didn’t exactly see things our way. He didn’t think Frank’s ‘feeling’ that Taylor left behind some kind of record of what he did was enough to justify holding up the trial. Sorry.”

“Thanks for trying, Andrew.”

“We’ll still have a little bit of time on our side once the trial starts. Dennis is planning on calling everyone who was there that night as a witness and that will take time. He plans to call Frank as his very last witness so he’ll be free to keep searching for evidence up until that day.”

Joe felt a sudden wave of sadness wash over him at Andrew’s words. It was quickly followed by panic. If Frank was out looking for evidence, he wouldn’t be able to attend the trial each day. It wasn’t until that moment that Joe realized just how much he had been counting on his big brother to be there each day to give him the emotional support he needed to get through this. Frank could read Joe like a book and knew with just one look when Joe was close to falling apart. He hoped he could keep his composure each day without his brother there to help him.

‘What if I can’t? What if I can’t hold it together? Who’s going to pick up the pieces if Frank isn’t there?’ The negative thoughts began swirling through Joe’s mind and he wished desperately Frank were there with him right now. He heard his name being called and snapped out of his dark daydreams.

“Joe?”

“What? I’m sorry. I was just thinking about Frank.”

Fenton exchanged a look with Andrew, who got the message immediately. Fenton wanted to talk to Joe alone.

“I’ve got a few things to follow up on.” Andrew said, standing up. “Give me about twenty minutes or so. Then we’ll start going through the prosecution’s witnesses one by one.”

Fenton smiled gratefully at his friend. As he heard the door shut with a soft click, he turned his attention to Joe, who’s anxiety seemed to be increasing by the second.

Even though Joe was going to be surrounded by his family and friends every single day during the trial, Fenton knew it wouldn’t matter. As far as Joe was concerned, if Frank wasn’t there with him, he’d be alone. Frank had always been able to give Joe a sense of security no one else could. It didn’t matter how many other people were there for him each day, no one could replace his brother.

“Frank will be able to attend the trial, at least some of the time, Joe. And we’ve still got a week. He may find Angela Taylor and the evidence he’s looking for before the trial even starts.”

Joe looked at his father with sadness. “Thanks, Dad. But we know that’s a million to one shot.” He swallowed hard, determined to keep his composure. “I know you’ll be there for me. And Mom. Vanessa, Callie…everyone. Please don’t think I don’t appreciate that, or that I don’t need you but…I’ve only got one big brother, you know? He’s always been the only one who could keep the monsters away.”

Fenton squeezed Joe’s shoulder. “I have to tell you something that I’ve never told anyone else. In fact I had a hard time admitting it to myself. It’s only been in the last few years that I did.”

Joe looked at his father puzzled.

“I’ve always been just a little bit jealous of you.” Fenton smiled at him. “Believe me, I love your Aunt Gertrude, and she always looked out for me when we were growing up but…I always wanted an older brother.”

Joe was stunned. He had never heard his father say anything like this before. He was sure if Fenton had ever mentioned it to Frank, he would have told Joe immediately.

“Don’t look so shocked.” Fenton chuckled. “You’d be amazed at the amount of people who, over the years, have told me they wished they had a brother like Frank. Or if they did have a brother, they would give anything to have the kind of relationship the two of you share. It is special, Joe. It’s very special.

“We’re all going to be there for you, every day. Me; your mother; Vanessa; Callie; all your friends. But none of us has any delusions that it will make up for the fact that Frank won’t always be able to be there.”

Joe leaned on the table, resting his head in his hands.

“I don’t know how I can do this without him.” He said quietly. “He knows me like nobody else does. It always seems easier to keep it together when I know he’s right there beside me if I fall apart. But he won’t be there this time.” Joe put his head down on the table. “God, I miss him, Dad.”

“He will be there, Joe. Even if he’s not physically with you, you will be the only thing on his mind. The two of you have a very special bond; this is the time to use it.”

Joe looked at his father in despair. “It’s not the same thing as him being there.”

“No, it’s not. But don’t tell me you won’t feel his presence. How many times over the years has one of you known, instinctively, that the other was hurt or in trouble? Even when you were hundreds of miles apart? That wasn’t a fluke, Joe. That was a bond that only the two of you have. And it’s strong enough to get you through the days that Frank isn’t there. I know it is. And so do you, if you just admit it to yourself.”

Joe knew his father was right. That bond was the reason Frank always seemed to show up out of nowhere when Joe needed him most. The anxiety that had been so close to taking over sloely began to dissipate. Joe knew it would be difficult to stay focused and keep his composure without his brother right there next to him. But Joe also knew, that if the time came that he really needed Frank, no matter where he was somehow, Frank would be there.