Chapter 18
ALISON
This was a nightmare.
Holly had the entire courtroom up in arms and Jack, at least from behind, looked devastated. I knew in my heart, though, there was no way he did these terrible things. Okay, yes, the afternoon he tried to get me to touch his dick while in his trailer was a point against him, but we'd already sort of had a thing, right? I'd stripped for him, we made out in the casting room. I'm sure he thought I'd be into that. I was also very, very legal. And he was totally into me. But this? This was outrageous.
It was outrageous every time I heard it, but to see Holly ham it up this time? Disgusting.
Josh was next on the stand and my stomach was in total knots. Andy knew everything that I did about his ‘promise’ with Holly and his feud with Jack on set, so I could only hope that this would put all the bullshit aside.
Holly's lawyer asked some softball questions about their feud on set. Josh seemed almost gleeful to recant all the stories he'd harbored about Jack's ego and the way they fought on set. Josh even pointed to me, saying I had to be used as the set Babysitter because of Jack's reputation.
Bile rose in the back of my throat. How dare he try to pull me into his lying web of bullshit? I wanted to kick his ass eight ways to Sunday. Even Jack looked rigid when my name was mentioned in court.
Andy, though, was ready to fight. He had Josh tell his side of the events, which mirrored Holly's well enough: there was a party, Holly was drinking, he saw Jack talking to her and was concerned, and offered to drive Holly home. He didn't find her, and assumed that she'd found another ride home.
"I just feel so terrible for leaving her there." Josh, despite his animosity, almost looked pale. "If I'd only been there...."
"You didn't go look for her?" Andy asked. "A sixteen-year-old girl, lost in a sea of drunk adults, and you didn't try to find her?"
"I did." Josh sniffed defensively. "It's a really big lot. Cars and people everywhere. Since she was nowhere to be found, I assumed she'd gotten a ride home with one of the other girls on set."
"But you didn't check."
"No. I was tired, man. We'd been filming for ten solid weeks and it was late. All I wanted to do was go home and sleep for three days. I know I should have looked for her and it will eat me up forever that I didn't."
"Did you see Jack after that?"
"No. He was gone."
Andy nodded. "I see. Several weeks before the end of filming, after a fight with Jack, one of the crew members overheard you talking to Miss Fisher in your trailer. You made her promise something, and were rather angry about it. Does this ring any bells?"
Josh stiffened. "No."
"Do you need a moment to rethink your answer, Mr. Bowen?" Andy asked. "Filming shut down for the day and you claimed to be running lines in your trailer. But this idea of a promise wasn't in the script."
Josh's gaze flickered over to me. I gave him my best Go Fuck Yourself glare.
"I tell you what I think, Mr. Bowen,” Andy said. "I think you hated my client due to a well-established series of arguments and because he took a role you desired."
"Objection."
"I'll rephrase, Your Honor." Andy shook his head. "We've already established you two had a nasty history. I think you wanted to get back at him, so you hatched this scheme with Holly to get him out of the picture. Possibly before filming even ended. I think you have dirt on Miss Fisher, and you used that against her. You blackmailed her into going through with this ridiculous scheme that would devastate the life of an innocent man."
Josh turned white as a sheet and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "That's not what happened. I didn't...no. That's...no."
"Then what did you do, Mr. Bowen? What did you make Miss Fisher promise you that day?"
"Objection!"
"Overruled,” the judge answered gruffly. "Answer the question, son."
Josh's eyes darted all over the courtroom, possibly looking for an out. But he had none. He was cornered. He collapsed backwards in his chair and buried his face.
"Mr. Bowen?" Andy coaxed.
"Jack didn't....didn't do anything,” he mumbled.
Ice flooded my veins and I couldn't breathe.
"Who did?" Andy asked him.
Josh looked like he'd rather swallow poison than answer.
“Answer the question, Mr. Bowen,” the judge said again.
Josh somehow managed to turn even paler. "Look, I wasn't trying to convince Holly to do anything terrible! I was trying to stop her. Holly made everything up. She planned it for ages. She knew I despised Jack, so she thought I would help. But I wouldn’t. I tried to make her promise not to do it. That’s what I was overheard saying!"
What?
You could hear a pin drop in this room.
"She…she came to me that day with this ridiculous plan to frame Jack for assault so she could be at the center of a scandal and use it as a platform to elevate her career. She said Jack was an easy target because he stirred the pot so often, and since he already had a record, no one would believe him over her."
"Objection!"
"Be quiet. Overruled,” the judge snapped. "Continue."
Josh squeezed his eyes shut tight. "I made her swear she wouldn't go through with it because it's a terrible thing to do to someone. It's wrong. It's illegal. Jack was an asshole, but he didn't deserve to be thrown in jail because some teenager wanted to be the center of attention."
"So tell me what happened the night of the party, Mr. Bowen," Andy said firmly.
"She...Holly blackmailed me. Said she'd release...photos...to my family if I didn't go along. I didn't want to do it, okay? But these pictures would kill me. So I had to help her. I had to,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“What photos?”
Josh cast his eyes down. “Photos that showed me with…with a man. My family…my father…very homophobic.”
He was sobbing now, barely able to get the words out coherently. I almost felt bad for him despite what he’d done to Jack. I’d known a terrified young gay man once, back in my younger days. He’d been terribly afraid of his father finding out, too, and rightfully so—the man beat him within an inch of his life when he caught him sharing a bed with a boy. It was goddamn awful that this shit still happened.
“Okay. What happened after she blackmailed you, Josh?” Andy pressed on.
“We drugged Jack and hauled him off to his trailer when he was looking for a place to lie down. We staged the pictures and left him to pass out."
"Did you or Miss Fisher sexually assault Mr. Steele?"
"No." Jack looked pale. "I didn't...I didn't do anything. We just took the pictures and left. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Jack. She said she'd tell everyone...about me. My family wouldn't accept me if they found out what I am. They’d destroy my job, my life. But I can't do this anymore. I can't keep lying like this. Jack is innocent, Your Honor. He doesn't deserve this."
My heart raced so hard it could have won a NASCAR race. I knew Jack was innocent, and now we had proof! But god…this didn’t go the way I thought it would. This whole time, I honestly believed Josh was the one who put Holly up to doing something this awful. But it was her.
I hoped to god that little harlot was going to have everything in the world thrown at her, because how dare she not only do this to Jack, but make real sexual assault victims all across the country look like lying whores. She may have only been sixteen, but she was a terrible, spiteful little thing. Someone needed to spank her ass, and not in the fun way.
I wanted to climb over the pews and wrap my arms about Jack, but the judge was busy hammering his gavel against the desk and the place was in chaos. All that was left to do was to cross my fingers and hope the judge would set my Jack free, where he belonged.
Free and with me.