Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 116

Jacko POV

The court hearing was underway. It was a Saturday, not a typical day for a court hearing, but it was the only time we could get it heard. The judge slotted the day in for us, as we promised it would only take the day. The courtrooms were booked out for months, and we no longer wish this case to be drawn out. The courtroom was closed, and no public, including the media, was allowed in. We tried to keep out who was going to others; it looked low-key. If someone wanted to push, they could dig further and find out, but it's been so good so far. When I arrived, I had yet to investigate.

I sat in the audience watching as our prosecutor tore strips off the first few men from the Gutter Boys gang to pieces, and the four of them went to jail. The first three guys tried were the ones that hit Bethany's car and were also the ones that fired the tranquilizer darts at Scott's team. They had a good lawyer, but our case was airtight, and they were sentenced with parole, but they still had five years worth before they could get out. The judge said they were dangerous to people, so he gave them the maximum he could provide, hoping it would deter others.

Next came the guy who pulled Bethany out of the vehicle and hit her, then, in the cave, hit her repeatedly. The dash showed the men pulling Bethany out of the car, and this man hitting her, and the other car showed him throwing her in the van. We were lucky to have gotten that footage. The i***t did not think of removing the dashcam. He got a longer term with no chance for parole. The crime was seen as heinous and not acceptable in our society. The footage of both bashing made the judge so angry that he was so wound up when the next person came in to be tried that he would not be too forgiving.

'Mr Sanderson, you are supposed to be an example for the people you serve and represent. What we have seen here today is not a good representation of your status. You have abused your position as a congressman, and having a hand in this crime, you must be made an example of. Visit J o bnib.com to read the complete sentences for free.If you are not reading this novel on Jo b nib.com, some paragraphs are incomplete. You are hereby sentenced to five years with no parole. He banged his gavel on the table, and the guards came and took the angry, shouting Bennett out the door. He does not know it yet, but that is only the start of our case against him. At least we have him off the streets while we tidy up the rest.

The last one to be tried was our favorite. He has more to come, too, but this one will hurt him more than he realizes. Judge Henderson, the man, had all the knowledge to fight this and the best lawyer's money could buy. However, when we showed the video of him getting out of the car and into the tunnel and the one that was taken by Wendy on her phone, showing the Judge hitting Bethany in the face before he left, he could not get out of it. Wendy had taken the footage to keep the judge under her thumb, but it worked in our favor. A lot of Wendy's keepsakes for a rainy day were part of making our cases airtight.

He, too, was furious, not at all sad to be caught but angry that he had been. He located me in the audience and sneered at me as if to say this was not over, and he was right; it was not. But he is the one who got five years with no parole, and if he thought this was it, he was in for a shock because our next step was to arrest all the others involved in the wedding group. He thought we did not know he was not part of it all. We did not arrest him. At the same time as the others, we waited till it was closer to the court date and arrested him so we could get him in and tried before the media got hold of it all; also, we had hoped he would lead us to some of the others we had not yet got on our radar.

Only Wendy and Cynthia won't be put on trial yet, but by the time this case is over, they will not see the light of day if they leave the place they are in now. From the reports I am getting, the inmates and staff are giving them the usual treatment to new arrivals. I do not know what they do, and I do not want to ask; they are just working on breaking them, and there won't be any trouble when they leave.

So far, we have all those involved with Bethany's accident and k********g and beating in jail. All we need now is the head of the Gutter Boys and the police involved in the other case, which includes the old chief of police. The old chief was cooperating with us in the hope of being put in a minimum security prison and kept separate from other inmates, as he knew he would be beaten in jail or even killed if he was not careful. He had made a lot of enemies, and they would love to get their hands on him to serve him some of their own justice.

I left the courthouse feeling good; there was no media circus outside, jailing the congressman, and the high judge slipped their notice, but I am sure the lawyers will put out a press release and make it seem they are the victims. We are ready for that. We are not beyond leaking photos or videos of the case to the press if either of them tries to make it hard for Bethany.

I decided to phone Bob and let him know the first step was done.

'Hey Jacko.' Bob said. It sounded like he was in a busy place.

I wanted to let you know step one was completed. Where are you?' I thought I heard a doctor's name being called.

'At the hospital, my daughter-in-law just gave me my first grandchild. He said cheerfully.

'Congratulations, girl or boy?' I was just as excited for him as he was, a child to hold and love, just what he needed right

now.

'Boy, they are going to name him after me. Can you imagine after me?' He was so choked up by this news that I could hear it in his voice. 'Wow, that is an honor.' I could see no reason why they would not name the boy after such an important person, granddad.

'Yeah, right? I can't believe it yet, and you will never guess what. Bethany was the doctor who helped at the birth. We were having dinner over at their house, and Judy went into labor. Is that not fate? Thomas is over the moon, and Nate is still pale from the whole experience. He said with a chuckle, and I could imagine some men not coping with their partners giving birth. That was why some men never go into the birthing room. It is not for the faint-hearted.

'Well, good for you; I just wanted to give you a heads-up; the case might get media attention and put Bethany in the spotlight again. Be extra careful. I will call Scott and give him the heads-up, too, and congratulations again! I hung up in an excellent mood. His friend deserved some happiness, too, and Bethany had a knack for being at the right place at the right time. That girl had a gift.

Scott was all for upping the security and would not tell Bethany. She was already angry about having the four assigned to her. If she were told they would triple it, she would hit the roof. Scott was more than capable of protecting Bethany. Unfortunately, he underestimated the enemy, and it won't happen again. This was a lesson he learned; changes made now will be used in the future. You cannot plan for some things, but training for the unexpected is what he is organizing now.

If he can think it up, so can the enemy. He will have all his men wear a GPS with a built-in fall monitor. This would have alerted others earlier that something was going down. I suggested some bodyguards for Bob, too. When he is not at home, he will be looked after. He is in more danger than he realizes, and if they are prepared to go after Bethany, they might be prepared to go after her family, too. He does not need to know about it until it is all finished.