Second Shot - 41. Chapter 41: Grand Jury

"Hey Pete," Jason called from the living room. "We should get going soon or we're going to be late."

Tugging at his shirt collar, Jason already knew he was going to regret wearing a suit and tie. Peter insisted, after he heard it was Royce's opinion, they should dress up. Arguing that the D.A. really wanted to talk to Peter, Jason tried to get out of wearing one. Why did they both need to be uncomfortable? In the end, however, he gave in to Peter's request they both dress up for the meeting.

"Can you come give me a hand, Jase? I'm having trouble with the cast."

The frustration in Peter's voice hurt. "Sure, be right there."

Peter stood in front of the mirror, trying to get the shirt sleeve buttoned. His pale blue tie hung untied around his neck.

"You look so hot, Jase." Peter smiled. "I can hardly wait to get home and undress you."

Jason laughed. They hadn't left yet. "That makes two of us. The sooner I get out of these clothes, the better."

Peter held out his right arm, so Jason could button the cuff. "What did you wear to work at your dad's firm?"

"Khakis, a shirt and tie." Jason moved on to the tie, kissing Peter first before he started. "A shirt whose top button was always undone and a tie I never pulled all the way up.

Buttoning the top button, Jason quickly tied the knot and moved it into place. A kiss was his reward for his efforts.

"Thanks, handsome."

Jason gave him a wink. "What else can I do for another one of those?"

"Didn't you just say we're going to be late?"

Jason frowned before nodding. "Yeah, we do need to go."

"Cheer up. It'll be over soon enough." Peter kissed him again before grabbing his coat. "Help me with this so I don't rip the sleeve trying to get it on over the cast."

Holding the blue blazer, Jason paused before holding it out. "Are you sure you don't want to wait to put this on? I wasn't planning to wear mine in the car."

"Good point." Peter took the jacket back, eyeing Jason up and down. "You really do look great in a suit and tie, Jase."

"Thanks, you look pretty hot all dressed up too." Remembering the first time they were dressed up like this and the fun that followed, Jason had to adjust himself before he could walk.

"Don't worry," Peter said. "I'm having the same problem."

Jason's eyes moved to Peter's crotch, noting if he wasn't totally hard, he was almost there. "Definitely need to get going."

Using his good hand, Peter tried to hide his erection, laughing as they left his room. "Changing topics slightly, where should we go after we are done?"

"What do you mean?"

"We're all dressed up." Peter pulled he door shut behind them. "We should go walk around and let everyone see how good you look in your suit."

"How come I don't feel good dressed like this?"

"Stop complaining." Locking the deadbolt first, Peter followed Jason down the steps. "What are you going to do when you need to wear one for work?"

"Who says I won't find a job that I don't have to wear a suit?"

Peter laughed. "What, you're going to wait tables after college?"

"I could teach and coach soccer." None of his professors wore a suit and tie. "Or work for the university. They don't have to get that dressed up."

Peter got in the car while Jason put their coats on the back seat. "Barbara and Royce will be so pleased if you decided to work in the student aid office after you graduate."

"Okay, I guess I better get used to being dress up."

"Fine by me, I like looking at you when you're dressed up."

The image of the two of them coming home, still dressed for work, tearing each other's cloths off, flashed through Jason's mind.

"Why the big goofy smile?" Peter asked.

"Just had this vision of us coming home from work each night in our suits and rushing into the bedroom to get each other naked." He tried to control his smirk, but couldn't.

"Nice image." Peter now had the same silly grin.

"Moving our minds from the gutter…" Jason tried to switch topics before he had a perpetual hard on the entire trip. "What do you think the D.A. wants to talk about? I mean, I wasn't there, so what can I tell him that helps the case?"

Peter's mood turned somber. Not exactly what Jason wanted, but better than getting frustrated talking about sex.

"I guess he wants to ask you about stuff leading up to the attack. That and maybe the incident at the pool hall."

"Probably right."

The drive to the District Attorney's office took close to thirty minutes. By the time they parked and found the right office, they were still ten minutes early. The guards at the security station gave them directions to the cafeteria, when they asked if there was somewhere to get a drink.

Water bottles in hand, they made their way to the office listed on the subpoena. Detective Belle was walking around outside in the waiting area. "Cutting things close wouldn't you say guys?"

"What?" Peter shrugged. "It's ten fifty-seven, we're early."

"You call three minutes being, 'early?'"

"Well, we were here ten minutes early, but you didn't say there would be refreshments." Jason laughed. "So we bought our own before coming up."

Shaking his head, Belle waved to the receptionist. "You two kill me."

He pulled the door open after they heard a click. "The D.A. should be ready for you. I'll take you to the conference room. Just so you know, he'll speak to you both together to explain what to expect. After that he'll speak to you one at a time. Nothing sinister, we do it this way all the time. This way you can't hear what the other says."

"How long will this take?" Peter asked. They followed the detective down a hallway full of offices. Some had the doors closed, others were open but empty. Only a few were occupied as they walked by. Jason tried not to stare, but couldn't help being nosy.

"Not sure," Belle answered. "It really depends on your testimony. Given our conversations, I expect a couple hours at least, then another couple hours to testify before the grand jury."

"Seriously?" Jason didn't expect they would be here that long. "You didn't mention this was an all day thing."

"You didn't ask." Belle stopped before an opened door. A rectangular table with space for ten was in the middle of the room, surrounded by more chairs on both walls. A young woman in a blue business suit sat on the side facing the door. Several yellow pads were in arms reach, one of which she was reading.

She looked up when the detective tapped lightly on the door. "Joshua."

He stepped back indicating they should enter. "Guys, this is Assistant District Attorney Mary Alberts. She's helping Martin with the case."

She stood up when they entered. "How are you both?"

"Fine, ma'am," Jason said. He heard Peter say hello as well.

Belle pointed to each of them. "Jason Tellerman, Peter Gregory."

"Please sit." She motioned for them to take seats opposite her. "Martin will be here in a minute, he's helping someone who's starting a trial today."

Jason let Peter take the seat closest to the door before sitting next to him. Neither spoke as the attorney scribbled on a pad. "Sorry guys, I don't mean to be rude. I'm just writing a few things I want to go over with you when Martin gets here."

Peter tapped Jason's leg with his cast. Jason saw Peter wiggle his fingers so he grabbed the offered hand.

"Do you have plans for tomorrow?" she asked.

Jason wished they could dispense with the small talk. It was bad enough they needed to be here all day, making it longer only made him more grumpy. "My parents are going to my uncle's house in Ohio. They left today."

"Are you meeting them there?"

"No, ma'am, I needed to be here today." He tried not to sound too upset. He got to spend Thanksgiving with Peter.

"Oh wow." She looked at the detective. "I'm sorry, we didn't need to keep you from your family. This could have waited until next week."

"It's okay." Jason shrugged. "I get to stay here."

"My mom invited Jason to spend it with us."

Jason smiled, remembering the, 'invitation." More like, 'ordered.' When Mrs. Gregory heard he couldn't go with his family, she told him he was coming to her house. When he expressed the mildest hesitation, she called his mother, ending the discussion.

"That doesn't sound so bad." She smiled. "How long have you two been dating?"

"About a year." Peter answered. "This will be the first Thanksgiving we spend together."

"How nice." She sounded sincere to Jason.

If the fact they were a couple bothered her, she didn't show it. He was going to say something, but he heard someone approach. He turned just as someone entered the room. About Jason's height, he appeared to be around his father's age. His brown hair with more than a hint of gray that receded around the temples was cut short, almost military short. With his sleeves rolled up and his tie pulled down slightly, he looked busy, yet comfortable.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He took the seat next to the other attorney. "I had a trial question I needed to help answer."

They both mumbled something about it being fine.

"You two are going to put me to shame, dressing better than me," he joked. "Maybe I need to go get my coat."

"I could take mine off if it would make you feel better." Jason's quick offer drew laughter from the others.

Martin gestured toward them. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

"Keep it on, Jase," Peter whispered.

"Just to be formal for a minute, I'm Martin Pratner and this is one of the assistants in my section, Mary Alberts. She'll be helping me try this case, so if she calls you I would ask you to cooperate with her as you would with me."

"Sure." Jason nodded.

"So," he looked at Peter. "You're Peter Gregory."

"Yes, sir." Peter nodded and looked down.

"I recognize you from the pictures." His voice was soft, but serious. "That makes you Jason Tellerman."

Jason nodded.

Martin flashed him a quick smile. "I know your dad. You look like him."

"How do you know my dad?" Jason asked.

"We have mutual friends in the legal community," Martin answered. "Did you tell him you were meeting with me?"

He shook his head. "No, sir. I just said the D.A. assigned to Peter's case."

Martin shrugged. "I see. No matter. How did your game go?"

"We won."

"Jase scored a goal and assisted on the other," Peter said proudly.

"Excellent." Martin sounded pleased. "I hear your brother is quite a player too."

"He's much better than me, sir," Jason corrected.

The D.A. laughed. "Don't be modest. I'm also friends with your coach, Jacob Slewman. I told him I was meeting with you today. He thanked me for letting you play Monday. Jacob says you're one of his best players. High praise from him."

"Thank you," Jason mumbled not knowing what else to say. Peter squeezed his hand under the table.

"What about you, Peter? Feeling better?" Martin asked.

"Getting there, sir. I still have the cast on my arm and I'm not allowed back at martial arts until the doctors say the bones in my face and back are completely healed," Peter answered. "But I'm doing well otherwise. Glad to be home."

"I'm sure." The older man nodded. "I spent a week in the hospital a couple years ago. Wouldn't wish it on anyone."

Martin reached over for a blank pad. "Okay, let me explain what's going to happen here. Simply put, we, Mary and I, want to talk to you about what happened before, during and after the attack. Once we do that we'll have you tell it to the grand jury. The grand jury is the one who will hand down the indictment. Indictment is a formal way of saying the charges. We can suggest charges to them, but in the end they decide what the actual charges will be.

"Couple points to note. The grand jury is different from a jury at trial. In the grand jury room, it's just me, you and the jurors. No detective, no lawyers, no defense lawyer, not even a judge. The jurors can ask you questions. One reason we like the grand jury so much is that they will often asks questions we don't think are important. Their questions help us get a sense of what other jurors might be thinking during the trial, what they want to know that sort of thing. You should try to answer their questions just as you would mine. If I don't want you to answer a question, I'll tell you before you can answer.

"You have certain rights I want to go over with you before you testify. Just like a trial, you have the right to refuse to answer any question where the answer to that would incriminate you. More legalese, I know. What that means is, if I ask you a question, and the answer to that would make you admit to a crime, you can refuse to answer.

"The example I always use is, suppose you are the witness to a robbery, but the reason you're in a position to see the crime is you were selling drugs on the corner where the robbery took place. If I were to ask you why you were on the corner at the time of the robbery, your answer would be an admission to a crime.

"In our case, say for example during the night of the attack the two of you were drinking, something that is illegal for people your age, you wouldn't want to admit that to the grand jury. You could assert your right to remain silent.

"If that were the case, that you were drinking that night, I need to know. Then I would have to decide if I wanted to give you immunity. If either of you have any issues you think would be similar, you ought to let me know. I can get an attorney to speak to you, a defense attorney not someone from my office, and they can advise you. Let me be clear, however, we're not interested in under-aged drinking.

"But before you answer my first question, let me explain the second part. We also need to know if there was any criminal activity related to this event. By that I mean something like, you two robbed Jordan or his friends, or you two attacked them before and this was in retaliation. I'm not interested in if you were smoking pot, doing drugs, drinking anything like that unless it was at the time of the attack. But as I have seen your medical records Peter, I know at the time this occurred your system was clear of drugs and alcohol.

"So, first question, do either of you have any issues you might want to disclose now that I need to know about?"

They both shook their heads.

"Good." Martin smiled and wrote something down on his pad. "Okay, you also have the right to consult with an attorney before you testify. Your attorney will not be allowed in the grand jury room with you as I said, but can wait outside to answer any questions you might have that come up during your testimony. Have you two thought about whether you want to speak to an attorney before you testify?"

"We talked to my dad about this," Jason answered for them. "He spoke to one of his attorney's and they didn't think it was necessary for us to have legal representation for this."

"Typically that is the case for victims and cooperating witnesses, but we go over this just in case." Again he wrote something down, this time showing it to Mary. "Any questions so far? No? Good, we can move on. Just a couple more points then we'll talk to you each individually.

"There was a probable cause hearing three Wednesdays ago. That's where we asked the judge to hold the defendants on the charges we think we can make. It is sort of a bare bones recitation of what we think the evidence will show that justifies the charges we have against the defendants. The judge found probable cause and bound the case over for the grand jury to handle. The defendants also requested bond."

Martin paused. Jason held on to Peter's hand as he suspected what was coming. "The judge granted their request and set bond at $500,000 each except for Jordan Colmar and Edward Portman. They were deemed more culpable and their bond was set at $750,000. The judge required cash, no property or collateral and he imposed several conditions of release if they did post bond."

Jason felt Peter's hand tense.

"Have they posted bail yet?" Peter asked.

Martin nodded. "All but one of the defendant's posted bond. Warren Berimen was not able to post bond and is still incarcerated."

"What were the conditions of their release?" Peter's voice and body told Jason he was not happy.

"They have to report weekly to a probation officer, have a curfew, but I forget what it is."

"Nine p.m. until six a.m." Mary put in.

"There you are." He nodded to his assistant. "They are not allowed back on school ground except with their lawyer and only for purposes of investigation. Even then they need court approval and have to give notice to my office, so we can alert you to their presence. The judge ordered them not to have any contact with either of you, they can't call, write, email, have anyone else do it for them. If they happen to see you, they are to walk away and not say anything. If any of them try to contact either of you, notify myself, Mary or the detectives immediately. We will have them picked up and their bond revoked."

"So they're not allowed back at school?" Jason wanted to be sure he understood everything.

"No." Martin shook his head. "They were allowed to get their things with a police escort, but they can't come back to school until the case is over or the court changes their conditions."

"If the judge does change their conditions, will we be told?" Peter asked.

"Of course." Martin turned to Mary. "Mary is handling all pretrial issues right now."

"If the court sets a hearing on any motion to modify the conditions of release, I'll notify you both prior to the hearing," she told them.

Peter stared straight ahead, listening, but Jason knew he was thinking about something. Finally he nodded, asking, "Are we allowed to go to the hearing and speak to the judge if that happens?"

"You can," she said hesitantly. "But it's best to let us tell the court your feelings at this point."

"Why?" Peter's question mirrored Jason's dissatisfaction with the answer. "Who better than Jason or me to tell the court how we feel?"

"It isn't about how you feel, Peter," Martin cut in. "We're trying to make sure you don't take the stand prior to trial. If you show up and want to speak, you could be asked to take the witness stand. That would allow the defense attorneys a chance to ask questions. Nothing good will come of that, I assure you. Not only that, but the judges take victim's safety very seriously. Right now the five that are out are lucky. Their lawyers have probably told them that a dozen times by now. The conditions set by the judge are reasonable and asking him to modify them won't be well received."

"The choice between them coming back to school and your feeling safe is not a fight they're likely to win with our judge," Mary added.

When Peter relaxed his grip somewhat, Jason was able to relax a bit.

"One last thing before I ask Jason to step out," Martin said. "The defense attorneys and their investigators have the right to speak to you if you want. What that means is they're allowed to contact you and ask if you'll speak to them. The choice is entirely up to you. I can't tell you to speak to them or not. However, I do need to caution you on one point. The law says neither side may do anything that deters a witness from speaking to the other side. That applies to the defense and their witnesses, as well as the government and our witnesses. I can, and did, advise you of your right to speak to anyone you want and not to speak to someone if you don't want. That's why Detective Belle told you this meeting with me is optional. I can't make you speak to me. I can compel your testimony to the grand jury, but you didn't have to come here and talk to me beforehand.

"This is a long winded way of explaining that the defense probably will try to speak to you. If they do and you decide not to speak to them, and I'm not advising you not speak to them. If it's your choice not to speak to them, make sure you are clear that it's your decision, and not something we told you to do.

"Now you may wonder why I'm going into this in such detail. The reason is, sometimes they'll ask you tricky questions like: did the D.A. say you don't have to talk to me? You would be amazed at how many people will say, 'yes' to that question. The problem is then the defense attorney files a motion saying I told the witness not to speak to them. Of course, all I said was talk to whomever you want, don't talk to those you don't want. But now I have to come into court, I have to call you, the detective and maybe even Mary to establish that all we said was the choice is yours. So, if that question ever comes up, simply tell them I told you who you speak to is your choice."

Martin looked from Peter to Jason before asking, "Are we good?"

Jason nodded, while Peter said, "Yes, sir."

"Good." He looked down at his pad. "That's all the preliminary information I have. At this time, Jason, I'm going to ask you to sit in the waiting area. After we speak to Peter, we'll speak to you. Then we'll break for lunch. I have scheduled time with the grand jury for two o'clock. That should give us plenty of time to complete the interviews and give you time to eat."

"Before I forget," Mary pulled two sheets of paper from her folder, "for the trouble of being subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury you are entitled to the princely sum of thirty-five dollars, each."

She slid the pages across the table. "Fill in your personal information such as social security number, date of birth, etc. For the address use the address on your driver's license as the court will need ID for you to cash these. Once you're finished testifying, Detective Belle will take you to the payment office at the courthouse where you can cash those."

"Don't go crazy with your new found riches guys," Belle joked.

Jason almost said that right now thirty-five dollars was two nights out to dinner for them, but didn't want to make Pete feel bad.

"Come on, Jason." Martin got up. "I'll walk you out."

**

Jason loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button as soon as he made it to the waiting area. The brown wooden door swung shut behind him, preventing him from going back inside. Peter was watching something on the television the office placed outside for people to use.

"Done already?" Peter asked.

"Yup, mine was short." He smiled. "All they needed from me was some background and the incident at the pool hall, just like you thought."

"That's cool." He picked up his coat from the chair. "Belle went down stairs to speak to another lawyer, but said he would be back up in a minute."

Peter offered him a water bottle.

"Where did you get this?" Jason asked, opening before he received an answer. Right now he didn't care where it came from he was so thirsty.

"One of the support staff asked if we needed anything while you were testifying. I asked for some water for us both." Peter held up his half empty bottle.

Jason nodded before draining most of the bottle. "I wish I could thank her, I really needed that."

Martin came out of the grand jury room, followed by Mary. "Guys, thanks for being so cooperative. Things went really well, I think. We still have some things we want to present to the grand jurors, medical records, some officer testimony, but for the most part, we have given them most of our case."

"Do we need to come back again?" Peter asked.

"No." Martin shook his head. "I can't see why that would be necessary. We'll keep in touch to let you know what the grand jury decides, the next court date, and when the trial is set."

"Do you know when the trial will go?" Jason asked. The sooner this was over, the sooner they could put it behind them and focus on their future.

"Assuming defendant Berimen doesn't post bond, April or May. But I heard from his lawyer the family found a bondsman willing to post the bond and he should be out sooner than later. If he gets released, the trial will probably be the end of the summer, early fall."

"That far?" Peter didn't sound happy.

"Given the court's schedule, the need to coordinate six lawyers' schedules and their desire to investigate, that's the best we hope for, I'm afraid," Martin explained. "There is also a very good possibility we can get some of the six to plea, maybe all of them. In which case there will not be a trial."

"Jordan will never plea," Jason mumbled louder than he meant.

"You don't know that," Mary answered. "He is facing a lot of time if he is convicted. He might want to cut his losses with a plea."

Jason shook his head, wishing he hadn't said it out loud. "I know him better than you. He thinks he's smarter than everyone else. I'm certain he'll think he can beat this."

Martin stared at him then shrugged. "It's his decision. But our case is very strong, stronger if we can flip one or more of the co-defendants."

"Is that likely?" Jason wanted to believe they could. Testifying dredged up all his anger toward Jordan. More than ever, he wanted to see Jordan get what he had coming.

Loosening his tie, Martin gave them both a smile. "Right now I'd prefer not to discuss those things. If we decide to make a plea offer to any of them, I will notify you before it is offered. That way if you have any strong feelings you can let me know. I can tell you this: any plea we make is going to involve a significant amount of jail time."

Peter looked over at Jason, seeming confused. "Why would they accept it then?"

"Five years is a whole lot better than thirty-five or fifty," Mary explained. "Right now they are facing a total of a hundred plus years. The judge handling the case is not known for being lenient, so some of them will be motivated to deal with us if they can. Plus, the first to cooperate gets the best deal."

Offering his hand to Peter, Martin said, "We're operating from a position of strength guys. They know that as well."