Thicker Than Water - 50. Chapter 50

“All rise,” the Clerk called out once again.

Diego was nervous. According to Billy, Clarke didn't have any more witnesses, so it meant that Calvin had to be called. Calvin was one of the most annoying people Diego had ever met, because he refused to answer questions, especially any that would make him look bad.

Judge Arthur entered and told everyone to sit. He then asked Mr. Clarke to call his next witness.

“I'd like to call the Petitioner, Calvin Johnson, to the stand.”

Calvin stood and walked to the witness stand. He was wearing a cheap t-shirt and jeans. Calvin had a very high opinion of his looks and always assumed that what he wore was good enough; however, it just made him look like a teenager who refused to grow up. At least he combed his hair, Diego thought, though he was certain that his former friend didn't shower.

“Please state your full name for the record,” Mr. Clarke asked once Calvin was sworn in.

“Calvin Travis Johnson Jr.”

“Mr. Johnson, would you please explain to the Court why we're here today?”

Calvin signed. He looked into the gallery at nobody in particular, and said, “I want to get my boys back.”

Mr. Clarke paused for a few seconds, clearly expecting Calvin to give more information, but when it was clear that Calvin wasn't going to say anything further, Mr. Clarke asked, “Mr. Johnson, why do you want your children back?”

“Because they're my kids.”

Yep, this is going to be boring as fuck, Diego thought, almost amused.

“Mr. Johnson, why don't you have custody of your children anymore?”

“Because he took them from me,” Calvin said, pointing at Diego.

“Let the record reflect that the Petitioner has indicated the Respondent, Diego Padilla.”

“Noted,” Judge Arthur said.

Mr. Clarke then asked, “How did the Respondent take your children, the Minors Bryan Padilla and Caleb Padilla?”

“He and my mother tricked everyone.”

“Could you explain how?”

“They told the judge and CPS that I wasn't coming back for them.”

“Just for the record, you mean Bryan and Caleb?”

“Objection, leading.” Billy called out from his seat.

“Overruled. I think we all know that Mr. Johnson wasn't referring to Mr. Padilla nor Ms. Johnson, Mr. Parker. With that said, watch your phrasing, Mr. Clarke.”

“Yes, Your Honor. My apologies. Mr. Johnson, please answer the question.”

“Yes, I meant my boys.”

Diego watched as Billy made a note but couldn't read it.

Mr. Clarke paused for a few seconds and shuffled through some documents. Diego felt that he was stalling for time. “Mr. Johnson,” Mr. Clarke said, as Billy was about to speak up, “why have you drawn the conclusion that your late mother and Mr. Padilla conspired to take Bryan and Caleb?”

“I told them both I was coming back for them and they went ahead and took them from me anyway.”

“Objection, Your Honor,” Billy said, looking annoyed. “As fun as the Pronoun Game is, Mr. Johnson needs to start using proper nouns when speaking of individuals in this case, as he's being intentionally ambiguous with his testimony.”

“Sustained,” Judge Arthur said, before Mr. Clarke could say a word. “Mr. Johnson, please refrain from being vague about those you're speaking of and use the names of the individuals you're talking about.”

Calvin only nodded, which didn't seem to win over the judge, who ordered him to use his words when answering questions. Diego was glad that Calvin was finally showing some of his true personality. Diego had wondered for years if Calvin was on the Autism Spectrum or just sociopathic, though he settled on it being both.

“Please answer your attorney's question correctly this time, Mr. Johnson.”

“I told my mom and Diego that I was coming back for the boys, and my mom and Diego took the boys away from me.”

Billy made another note and let the statement stand.

Mr. Clarke seemed to be getting annoyed with his client and asked, “Can you explain to the Court how they took Bryan and Caleb from you?”

“Diego called the cops after I left and said that I abandoned the boys. CPS came and gave them to my mom, who took me to Court knowing I couldn't afford to come back. She told me that she was going to do everything in her power to keep the boys away from me.”

“Objection, Your Honor,” Billy said, standing this time. “Hearsay. Ms. Johnson is no longer alive and is unable to refute the claims Mr. Johnson is making, nor is she, obviously, available to cross examination.”

Mr. Clarke grabbed a stack of papers and said, “Mr. Parker is fully aware of the various text messages obtained earlier in the proceedings and this Court's ruling allowing them to be admitted.”

“I have a duty to my client to raise all reasonable objections, and this is certainly reasonable.”

“Mr. Parker,” Judge Arthur said, “I've warned you several times to honor the rules made by this Court and this Bench. The documents serve well enough as evidence of these conversations, so long as the Petitioner sticks to what's in them and nothing more. Your objection is overruled. Mr. Clarke, please continue.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Mr. Clarke asked to approach Calvin and hand him a copy of the texts. “Mr. Johnson, would you please tell the Court what these are?”

Calvin didn't even look at them and said, “They're the text between me and my mom.”

Before Billy could object, Mr. Clarke hastily asked, “Would you please visually verify and confirm the documents?”

Calvin looked annoyed, huffed and very quickly flipped the pages. “They're what I said they were.”

“Mr. Johnson,” Judge Arthur said, banging his gavel, “you'll lose your attitude or I'll hold you in contempt. Is that clear? You're not being asked to do anything difficult, and this is to benefit your case.”

“Yes, Sir,” Calvin said, obviously pouting.

“Your Honor,” Mr. Clarke said, “perhaps a small recess might be in order.”

“Objection. As you said, Your Honor, Mr. Johnson isn't being asked to do anything difficult. His poor attitude is his problem, and Mr. Clarke shouldn't be given an opportunity to influence his client's testimony any further.”

“How dare you?” Mr. Clarke snapped at Billy.

Billy rolled his eyes and said, “It's clear your client knew what those documents were before you handed them over, since he didn't bother checking first. Preparing your client for what could be asked is one thing, but going over his testimony word for word, including props is unethical.”

Judge Arthur banged his gavel and said, “That's enough. I'm not calling a recess, Mr. Clarke, and Mr. Parker, save your allegations for the State Bar Association. Mr. Clarke, as for the objection, it's sustained, so ask your next question or yield to Mr. Parker.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Clarke said, as he tried to regain his composure. “Mr. Johnson, in your own words, could you sum up the conversations that are presented in these texts?”

“They're between me and my mother, and she said that she was going to take the boys from me and keep me from there no matter what it takes.”

“Are there any specific parts of the conversations where this is specifically mentioned?”

Calvin thumbed through the documents, which totaled about 50 pages. He took his time reading through every text, and seemed to go back to reread many of them.

“Objection, Your Honor. This is clearly a delay tactic by Mr. Clarke. It would serve the Court and my client for Mr. Clarke to reference specific pages for Mr. Johnson to read out loud for the record.”

“Your Honor, Mr. Parker has already accused me of leading my witnesses and preparing them for questioning. It would seem that if I even try doing as he suggests, he'd only object and make more of the same allegations.”

“Objection to that, as well, Your Honor, as it calls for speculation. It isn't unreasonable for any lawyer to hand a witness a piece of paper and ask them to read it. It happens all the time.”

“Objection sustained, Mr. Clarke. I don't appreciate having the Court's time wasted. Either ask your witness to read an excerpt out loud or move on.”

“Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Johnson, could you read from pages 3 to 6?”

“Fine,” Calvin said.

Diego listened as Calvin read from the texts between him and his mother. Diego had seen a copy of the transcripts during a meeting with Billy. He didn't see much value in the information they provided. Calvin whined about not having the money to fly Bryan and Caleb to Pennsylvania and asked his mother to buy the tickets. She, of course, refused, since she was on a fixed income and could barely support herself without the boys. They got into an argument in which she informed him she was seeking custody, since he made no plans to get them himself and just dumped them off with Diego without any real plan to come back for them. It was Calvin who accused her of taking the boys away from him forever, and she said that she had the right to do so, since they were in her care and that he should've thought about that before treating his children like luggage.

Diego remembered having several conversations with her about the cost of raising children, and he helped her with what he could afford, including food, clothing, toys and medical supplies, while also taking them during his days off to give her a break.

They had several conversations about Calvin neglecting the boys when he was still with Donna and how she was the one taking care of the boys while Calvin either pretended to find work or was creating on her. Donna seemed to put up with a lot from Calvin, according to Calvin's mother, anyway. Diego tried to avoid Donna as much as possible, since she had a personality that grated on his nerves.

Calvin finished reading the last message from his mother, “ She said, 'Diego is a better father than you ever were. They're better off without you, and if I have my way, you'll never see them again, and when I'm gone, Diego will raise them.' And that's it.”

“Thank you, Mr. Johnson. I'd like to submit these as Petitioner's Exhibit P-1.” Judge Arthur allowed it and told Clarke to continue. “I'm sure that wasn't easy,” Mr. Clarke said to Calvin. “Now, what did you take from those messages?”

“Objection, speculation,” Bryan called out.

“Overruled. Mr. Johnson, answer the question.”

“Like I said, she was planning to take my boys from me and give them to him.”

“Your Honor,” Billy called out.

“Mr. Johnson,” Judge Arthur said, “Proper nouns only, please.”

Calvin rolled his eyes and said, “My mother was planning to take my boys from me and give them to Diego.”

“Mr. Johnson. Why has it taken you so long to return for Bryan and Caleb?”

Calvin seemed thrown off by the question. “Well, I didn't think I could ever get them back.”

“And what made you think that?”

“I don't know. Everything happened, then I didn't hear anything from anyone, so I just assumed it was done for good.”

“And when did you find out that Mr. Padilla had custody of Bryan and Caleb?”

“I guessed it after my mom died. I was notified of her death, but nobody told me what happened to the boys. I sent Diego a text asking if he knew what happened to them, and he said that they were with him, and that my mom had already given him custody before she died.”

“And what did Mr. Padilla say?”

“He told me that he wasn't going to give me custody and to stay out of their lives.”

“Your Honor, I'd like to submit Petitioner's Exhibit P-2 into the record, which is a text message between my client and Mr. Padilla indicating everything my client has just testified to.”

“So entered. Please continue, Mr. Clarke.”

“Calvin, did you leave Mr. Padilla and the boys alone after that?”

“Not at first. I sent several texts to Diego begging to have video chats with them, but he just ignored me. Next thing I know, I was contacted by the CPS about everything, and they said that if I wanted my rights back, I needed to show up at a hearing, and when I told them I couldn't because I didn't have any money, they said it wasn't their job to buy my ticket.”

“So, what happened after that?”

“I gave up for a while, moved around, not sure what to do.”

“So, what made you think you could get custody now?”

“I talked to my wife and she asked her father who was a lawyer. I talked to him and he said that I had a good case.”

“No further questions, Your Honor.”

Calvin went to get up from the stand and was told to sit by the judge, since he wasn't excused yet. Judge Arthur looked at the clock and said, “Given the time, unless Mr. Parker objects, I will recess us for lunch early, and we'll reconvene at 1pm, at which time, Mr. Parker will conduct his cross examination.”

“No objection here, Your Honor,” Billy said.

“That's a first,” Judge Arthur mumbled a little too loudly.

“Objection, Your Honor! That was incredibly disrespectful.”

“Deal with it, Mr. Parker. Court is recessed for lunch. Please be back on time. Oh, Mr. Clarke, please be sure to have a conversation with your client about his attitude and respect for the Court, the Bench and all court officers.”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Calvin continued to sit in the witness stand as everyone else stood up to leave. Judge Arthur rolled his eyes and said, “Mr. Johnson, leave my courtroom, and you will have a better attitude when you return.” With that, Judge Arthur left the courtroom.

Billy gathered his things, looked at Clarke and said, “You know. It's still not too late to drop this case.”

Clarke didn't say anything as he and Calvin left in a hurry.

“So,” Diego said, as he and Billy walked into the hallway, “how do you think that went?”

“It's hard to say. Calvin did get on the judge's nerves, but that might not mean anything. His testimony was weak. If Judge Arthur is planning on ruling against us, it won't matter what Calvin has testified to or what his attitude is. It could be that the judge was only making a fuss to further obfuscate his bias, but it's also just as likely that he was actually annoyed.”

“Calvin does have that effect on people.”

“I see that. My plan is to point out his lies and inaccuracies.”

“I hope you have a way of getting around all of this.”

“I guess we'll find out, won't we?”