As everyone was taking their seats in the courtroom, Justin turned to look across the aisle at Lucy who was sitting alone behind the prosecution's bench. She looked so desolate. He wondered why her husband wasn't there with her.
When he heard Victoria gasp he looked up to see the police escorting Hector into the courtroom. Oddly enough, Hector seemed to be the most calm and confident person in the room.
"All rise," the bailiff called out as the judge entered the courtroom and took his seat behind the bench.
The judge announced the case and instructed the jury before addressing Hector. "Will the defendant please stand?"
Hector rose from his seat standing up straight in front of the judge.
"Hector Burgess, you have been charged with the attempted murder of Clifford Stuart, how do you plead?"
"Attempted murder?" Lucy thought, looking up in shock. Why wasn't he being charged with murder? Did that mean . . ?
She turned around, looking over her shoulder at the closed courtroom doors. For a moment she almost expected her father to burst into the room and announce that he was really alive and had been all this time, but when nothing happened and everything around her remained calm, she knew it couldn't be. She had seen his body at the funeral, she knew there was no way he could be alive. That kind of thing just didn't happen in real life.
But people did buy their way out of trouble, that certainly happened. She turned her attention forward to the front of the room, waiting to see what would happen next.
Hector frowned. He couldn't help it. Attempted murder. He couldn't believe it. All this time he thought he had been responsible, when what he did hadn't killed Clifford after all. He should have been relieved to be facing a lesser charge, but instead he just felt cheated. It was bad enough that he had been caught and was being tried, but being tried when he hadn't actually killed Clifford was completely ridiculous.
"How do you plead?"
"Not guilty."
"You may be seated," the judge said. "Mr. Sharp, you may present your opening statement."
"Thank you, your honor. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the man you see seated before you may seem, by all appearances, to be a well respected and upstanding citizen . . . on the surface, but I warn you appearances can be deceiving.
"The defendant, Hector Burgess, is an ambitious, hardworking, driven man. Those sound like good qualities, but what happens when someone with these characteristics is pushed to the extreme? Does an ambitious, driven young man with big goals let an obstacle stand in his way or does he take action? How far would he go to get what he wanted?
"The obstacle in this case was the victim, the defendant's boss, Mr. Clifford Stuart. In the days before his tragic death, Mr. Stuart was deeply concerned about who would run his company, the Stuart-Townsend Corporation, when his partner, Arthur Townsend, retired. The witnesses you meet today will tell you that Mr. Stuart did not want Mr. Burgess to have the job and made his feelings well known around the office. They will also tell us more about the Hector Burgess they know, what they have seen him do with their own eyes to get ahead in the business world, and we will even hear from his former fiancee who will testify that the defendant confessed to committing the crime.
"We will also hear from one of the police officers who was at the crime scene and has physical evidence that not only unquestionably places Mr. Burgess on the scene, but also shows that he handled the potentially dangerous medication that Mr. Stuart ingested. Fortunately, as toxicology reports have shown, the medication wasn't in a large enough dose to kill him, but today we have to ask, why would Mr. Burgess, a man who has no medical background, but did have a reason to want his boss out of the way, have given Mr. Stuart that medication?
"Mr. Burgess's actions may not have ended Clifford Stuart's life, but if those actions were taken with the intention of ending a life, as I intend to prove in this case, then he deserves to be punished for his actions to the full intent of the law. We are here to see that justice is served."
"Thank you, Mr. Sharp," the judge said as the prosecuting lawyer took his seat. "Ms. Ramsey, you may present the opening statement for the defense."
"Thank you, your honor. My client, Mr. Burgess is an upstanding member of the community. He comes from an honest, well respected family. He has a college degree, a good job, friends, and no criminal record or history of violence. Why would someone, who has everything going for him, like Mr. Burgess, throw that all away?
"You'll hear from witnesses on both sides, who may give conflicting stories about my client, but there are no eyewitnesses to what happened in Clifford Stuart's hospital room that morning. No one can testify as to what actually happened between Mr. Stuart and my client, they can only testify to what they think they know of Mr. Burgess. When considering their testimony, I want you to think carefully about what their motivation is and how their relationship with Mr. Burgess will shape their opinions of him. I believe you will find the good impressions of him will outweigh the bad.
"I also want you to remember that the burden of proof lies with the prosecution. Yes, they can prove that my client was in Mr. Stuart's hospital room the morning that he died, but simply being there does not make him guilty. Having difficulties with his boss does not mean he was driven to attempt murder. Circumstances are not enough prove a man guilty. We need to look at the facts.
"Sadly, one man's life has ended abruptly and now another's hangs in the balance. At the end of this trial, if you believe beyond a reasonable doubt that my client intentionally tried to end the life of Clifford Stuart, then by all means do find him guilty. But if the prosecution fails to provide the evidence that Mr. Burgess did try to murder Mr. Stuart, then you must find him innocent and let an innocent man get on with his life."
"Thank you, Ms. Ramsey," the judge said, putting on his glasses. "Mr. Sharp, you may call your first witness."
"The prosecution calls Lieutenant Dorian Kauker to the stand."
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