Free Witness for the Defense by Michael C. Eberhardt

denied her request to order the sheriff to return Jared’s necklace. When the judge refused, Jared fell to his knees and pounded the floor with his fists while yelling obscenities at the judge. Four deputies had to tie his hands behind his back while pushing Jared’s face into the courtroom’s cold wooden floor. The elderly judge mumbled something about contempt as he repeatedly pounded his gavel, Everyone else in the courtroom stood open-mouthed.
    “Do you have any idea why he is so attached to that necklace?” Sarah asked her father.
    He was staring blankly into the fire. “I don’t have the foggiest.”
    Sarah leaned her head back against the cushions and closed her eyes. “Probably the only thing he owns that means anything to him,” she mumbled. “Sentimental value or something.”
    “I’m not so sure he understands what’s happening to him,” I interjected.
    “Don’t underestimate Jared,” Avery said. “He’s no dummy.”
    “I’m not worried about his intelligence. It’s his emotional stability that concerns me.”
    “Neither one of you should pay much attention to how someone reacts when they’re behind bars,” Avery barked. “How would you act if you were arrested for a bunch of trumped-up charges?”
    I could tell Avery was upset and was trying to rationalize his ex-army buddy’s bizarre actions. “You’re probably right,” I said, though still thinking his behavior was odd.
    “So what proof does that idiot McBean think he has?” the judge asked.
    Sarah lifted her head from the cushion. “The police report indicates they have a pretty strong case.”
    “But the prosecution does have a few problems,” I volunteered.
    Avery’s look was strained. The newspaper’s reporting of the details had been sketchy at best. He was anxious to find out what the evidence was, and he didn’t like having to pry it out of us. “Like what, exactly?”
    Sarah brushed several stray strands of hair from her face. I could tell she was having a difficult time even thinking about the terrible things that had happened to the ten-year-old. Especially when her father’s friend was the one being accused of perpetrating them.
    “The boy had just left Sav-on drugstore when he was jumped by someone and thrown into a car,” I said.
    “That someone,” the judge interrupted. “Did the boy give an accurate description?”
    “It was too dark to get a good look,” I said. “He couldn’t even pick him out of a six-pack.”
    Sarah slowly shook her head. “But the general description fits Jared.”
    I gave her a look as if she should know better. “That vague description fits half the men in this county.”
    “What description?”
    “Nothing much, really,” I said. “Only that it was a man who had a full beard and he was wearing a baseball cap.”
    “I see,” the judge said, contemplating the possibilities.
    I continued. “The man threw the boy into his car. Then, as they drive out of town, he slugged the boy in the face, knocking him out cold. By the time the kid regained consciousness, they were somewhere in the mountains.”
    “Does the boy know where, exactly?”
    “Also too dark,” I said.
    Avery rested his hand on the mantel and nervously thumped his fingers. “Then what happened?”
    “When the car finally came to a stop, the man dragged the boy to a spot where he eventually ripped his clothes off.”
    Sarah rose and slowly walked in front of the fire and stood with her back to the flames, warming herself. “Can you imagine what must have been going through that poor boy’s mind?” she said. “He must have been scared to death.”
    “I’m sure he was,” I said. “But he sounds like he’s a pretty spunky kid.”
    “What makes you say that?” the judge asked.
    “Because as he’s lying in the dirt, naked, with the man straddling him, he lets the man have it,” I said. “He kicked the pervert square in the groin. When the man doubled up in pain, the boy escaped deep into the