Chapter 99: Binch
*The lesson of history is that no one learns. – Steven Erikson, Deadhouse Gates*
The courtroom had wood paneling all around the room except for the six-foot space behind the judge. The stone façade had the state seal in the center flanked by the American and state flags. The judge had a monitor on either side of his desk. His assistant sat on his right and the witness stand was on the left.
A short wall with swinging gates separated the gallery from the working area of the court. The prosecutors’ table sat in front of the witness stand and the defendants table in front of the clerk. A bank of windows lined the far wall with the jury box in front of it. In place of the jury, prisoners sat in the box.
Hank knew the room well. He had sat on the witness stand many times and spoke for the prosecution. He had helped put bad guys away. He had been Jolene’s hero in blue.
Now he wore an orange jumpsuit and sat waiting for his name to be called like some common criminal.
His mother and father wore similar outfits and sat waiting for their names.
When he got his hands on that little slut, he was going to finish the job he started. She wouldn’t go to the hospital this time. He’d plant her in the ground, and no one would ever question who was in charge ever again.
The cases before his went on and on. Stupid pricks that got picked up for parole violations and other misdemeanors.
The judge called an hour break for lunch, and they were taken down for a cold ham sandwich. The lawyers and others would go to any one of the nearby restaurants. There were so many times that he had gone and ate with them. Shared a beer after a long day of court.
It was late in the day when they were finally called. The bailiff moved the three of them to the defendant’s table. The public defenders stood with them, and they waited for the judge to tell them to proceed. Public defender. He no longer had his union rep. He wasn't sure how that happened.
Judge Binch finally sat the files to the side and focused his attention on the three people standing before him.
“Henry ‘Hank’ Fargo, I am thoroughly disappointed with the fact that you were before the court in November. The fact that you are now back here again disappoints this court even more. We will not even bring up the state of your former department.”
“Your Honor, I believe I am merely suspended at this point.”
“No, you have been terminated. If you had checked in like you were supposed to, it might just be a suspension. But now that this court has issued an arrest warrant and search warrant for you and where you were hiding at, and you were in violation of an order of protection, the state investigators had no choice but to terminate your employment.”
Binch picked up a large stack of papers. “This is every arrest that you have ever made. Every criminal that has been put away on *your* testimony. Every. Single. One. We now have to review everything that you have ever done. Everything! Do you know how many people have filed to have their cases reviewed?”
“Miss Anderson?” The judge turned to his assistant.
“One hundred and eighty-nine, so far.” The woman replied.
“One hundred and eighty-nine cases that we have to review. And more are being filed every day.” The more that the judge spoke, the angrier that Hank got.
“Not only do we, the courts, have to review everything that came before us, but the state investigators have to review every one of your arrests and tickets. Everything! You were a good cop. You passed your sergeants test and were approved for a promotion. All of that means nothing now.”
He paused to take a drink and calm himself.
“Your-.” Hank started to take advantage of the silence to plead his case.
“My advice for you, Mr. Fargo,” Binch warned, “is for you to remain silent. There is nothing that you can say that can sway this court in your favor. You were told to stay away from your wife. And,” he picked up a copy of the order of protection, “you received a copy of this.”
He flipped to the second page and pointed to the fifth paragraph. “The basic gist of this paragraph states that you are not to be within five hundred feet of Jolene Fargo. Nor are you to have any direct or indirect contact with her or her immediate family. Indirect contact includes your *mother* trying to convince your wife to drop the charges against you.”
“The very next paragraph states that you are not to have direct line of sight on your wife. And sweet baby Jesus, do you want to discuss the creepiness of you watching your wife through the window while she recovered in the hospital?”
“What on God’s green Earth possessed you to even think that this was a good idea?”
Hank’s jaw was clenched shut so tightly that his teeth began to hurt.
“Am I allowed to speak now?” Hank asked angrily.
“Sure. This court wants to hear your logic for these actions.” The judge replied.
“I love my wife-.”
“If that is love, I do not want to see what you do to your enemies. Please, continue.” Binch leaned back in his chair and waited for the angry man to try to explain his actions.
“I do love my wife. I wanted to make sure that she was getting better. I feel guilty for my actions that day.”
Binch grunted as he sat up.
“Amber Fargo, how do you plead in assisting the violation of an order of protection, aiding and abetting a wanted person and impeding an investigation?”
“Not guilty, your honor.” she answered softly.
“Henry Fargo, how do you plead in aiding and abetting a wanted person and impeding an investigation?” Binch asked as he wrote down Amber’s response.
“Not guilty, your honor.” He replied and Binch shook his head as he wrote down that answer also.
“Hank Fargo, how do you plead in violation of an order of protection, failure to appear, impeding an investigation, failure to report, lying to a peace officer and violation of a court order?”
“Not guilty, your honor.”
“Of course. Fifteen days in county jail for contempt of court for the defendants, Amber and Hank.”
“When they are released, they will be fitted with ankle monitors pending trial. Henry is to be fitted with a monitor immediately pending trial. Trial dates will be worked out by the respective attorneys and this court.”
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