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Here are three links to the latest from Chrysalis - The Family Adventure(s), Our latest episode is Episode 85 - CHRYSALIS - THE FAMILY ADVENTURE(S) Ms. Bradock's Testimony and Amanda's Suspicious Message Into Jail. Featured is our Live with Suzanne Bronson recording and the two subsequent links are to the artificial MS voice and Google Voice respectively.
A lot happens in this episode and, as those of you who have been following steadily know, a lot of fire that upsets the foundations breaks through this episode, one in which, after a powerful court confrontation by a woman who just wants to love and protect her husband, a note finds its way through to one of our family protagonists, Josh, who is in jail and being monitored, a note from the woman who just wants to love Josh.
Please enjoy and please give me a comment about what you think of the episode, an honest and truthful comment. Thank you.
INT. JOSH’S NEW JAIL VISITING AREA – NIGHT
Giselle and Josh across the table.
JOSH
So now it begins.
GISELLE
I see you’re alone again. That should
help.
JOSH
I don’t think it’s really gonna make
a difference.
GISELLE
You don’t have to deal with all those
crazy men.
JOSH
I was protected. But I guess you’re
right. It’s more what I’m used to.
It’s like I never left home.
GISELLE
Mm. That’s a... I can’t think of the
word...thought.
JOSH
You mean a sick thought?
GISELLE
How bout an ugly thought?
JOSH
Well, either way, it doesn’t change
anything.
They pause and just sit.
GISELLE
What about...
(pauses slightly)
...Amanda?
JOSH
I told her we might get lucky if
it's only two years but...
GISELLE
Two years is good if you can get it.
JOSH
But even two years can feel like an
eternity.
GISELLE
You’d be surprised how fast time can
pass when you’re busy doing your
studying.
JOSH
And it doesn’t even matter because
she pledged herself to me for eternity.
So we got eternity covered between
us.
GISELLE
She’s like the headache that refuses
to go away.
JOSH
Well, maybe to you, but for me she’s
my one candy a day that is so delicious.
In discomfort over the difference of view, they sit.
JOSH
Tell me about the rest of the gang
at home.
GISELLE
Well, Samantha’s got her case so
she's hardly home. And Joey... He’s
Joey. Only now it’s high gas prices
keeping customers home and some
needing a tow when they get stuck
on the highway but don’t fill up.
He’s got his excitement. It sounds
almost comic but I know he gets it
and when he says our spending has
to be less, I understand. But I
still have to drive Samantha to
court tomorrow, which he’s not
gonna like.
INT. SANTA ANA HIGH SCHOOL, CORRIDOR – DAY
Cathy and Angela are there in the usual crowd of students. They stare a little blankly, at each other, the pall of something (or someone) missing in their expressions.
ANGELA
So this is how it’s gonna be for a
few days. Booring.
CATHY
Oh, so I’m boring to you.
ANGELA
No, you’re not boring. You know what
I mean.
CATHY
Yeah, I do. It’s just we gotta have
something else to talk about besides
Samantha, Kamala and Amanda.
ANGELA
You do that assignment on the book?
CATHY
Yeah, you need notes?
ANGELA
No, just making conversation.
CATHY
I heard Amanda got called in to work
an overnight.
ANGELA
So she’s blowing off school, huh.
CATHY
She just found out last minute. She
had been trying to get work as a way
to avoid the ICE raids. Like she’s
not going home. She’s staying with
her coworker, Bonnie, who works a
day shift at the same hotel. Amanda
doesn’t really need to hide from ICE
anymore, but she’s not taking any
chances. That’s how they found out
she was looking for work. But she’s
not really looking for it anymore.
She just found it cause they have
her down to call in case they have
anything. So of course she’s not
gonna turn it down.
ANGELA
So how long is she gonna be out
working?
CATHY
Hard to tell. She had to replace
someone who called out. I think she’ll
be back. She just got the call late
so she hasn’t gotten any sleep. But
now she’ll be prepared. She’s trying
very hard to keep up in school.
ANGELA
Yeah, I know, she really is trying
so hard to keep up with her studies
and get ahead.
CATHY
I should know from all the notes she
asked me to help her with.
ANGELA
Hmm. Alright, let’s go to class.
They LAUGH.
CATHY
So you’re being her today.
ANGELA
Somebody’s got to be.
EXT. THE HIGHWAY – DAY
Cars are backed up in slow traffic. Giselle’s SUV is among the vehicles.
INT./EXT. GISELLE’S SUV MOSTLY STILL IN TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY.
Giselle looks a bit frustrated with the slow pace of the traffic, hands hanging slightly over the wheel.
GISELLE
Another normal day on a highway I’m
so glad I don’t have to take every
day.
They sit in traffic some more, maybe lucky if they move a few feet at all.
GISELLE
I don’t see why Joey couldn’t just
come.
KAMALA
He will if they subpoena him.
SAMANTHA
He probably wouldn’t do me much
good. And I can see him being an
annoying pain with us sitting in
traffic.
GISELLE
He’d actually be your best witness.
SAMANTHA
How you figure? I know he said that,
but I’d expect that from him.
GISELLE
I’ll tell you how. He’d give you a
scathing report and then say he could
never see you doing anything like
that, making up a charge. They’d
believe him because he’d’ve just
spent five minutes tearing you down.
SAMANTHA
I don’t know. But him coming in at
all, that’ll be a miracle. He hasn’t...
KAMALA
I told you, if they subpoena him,
he has to come in. It’s up to whether
Mr. Watkins thinks calling him in
could help our case.
SAMANTHA
Yeah...
He hasn’t visited Josh at all, huh?
GISELLE
Nope. Oh, it’s starting to move now.
Yay! Finally.
(as they start moving,
but still slowly,
spirt by spirt)
Josh got his sentence so now he’s
got a private suite instead of being
thrown in with all those men together.
I like that better.
SAMANTHA
Private suite? You’re making it sound
like a hotel.
GISELLE
In comparison to before, it is. It’s
basically what he had at home. Solitude
and monitored study. The only thing
he won’t have is grandpa.
SAMANTHA
But he wouldn’t have had grandpa
anyway. And he won’t have me. Maybe
I should go there.
GISELLE
We can go together after we drop off
Kamala tonight. Or this afternoon.
SAMANTHA
Oh, you can count on it always going
till night. They never let you down.
You’d think it was a murder trial.
INT. BONNIE’S HOUSE, MAIN ROOM – DAY
Amanda, worn out, comes in. Bonnie’s at the table with Fergo, who’s on his cellphone, eating breakfast.
BONNIE
Looks like you had a major night.
AMANDA
I don’t think I’ve ever made up so
many rooms in one night. Doesn’t
anybody actually stay at the hotel?
BONNIE
That’s the name of the game now. The
keys are electronic so they know
who’s in and who’s out. It’s like a
police department’s Christmas present.
If a room is unoccupied, the middle
of the night’s the best time to clean
and make up the rooms like brand new,
do laundry. So you hit the high
velocity shift thinking it was gonna
be the graveyard shift.
AMANDA
(starts to go to
her room)
Well let me go to my graveyard.
Nobody bother me.
BONNIE
You don’t want any breakfast?
AMANDA
Later. I’ll just grab myself a bowl
of cereal. I gotta be up at eight
again tonight for more of the same.
FERGO
You only got eleven hours. I mean...
Yeah, eleven hours. You better get
your sleep.
AMANDA
I hate to say it but he’s right.
And the best part is I don’t have
to make up my own bed. Finally a
bed I can just crash in.
BONNIE
Oh my God, looks like they really
gave you a killer job there. Did
they tell you if they’ll need you
back?
AMANDA
Yeah, they said Shirley took a week
off.
BONNIE
Just like that?
AMANDA
I don’t know. That’s what they told
me.
BONNIE
It’s gotta be a serious condition
that just broke out. I remember when
my cousin suddenly had a heart attack.
He was out for a week. Just all of
a sudden like that.
Amanda is off toward her room, her bag looking like a weight of burden.
FERGO
Oh my God, mom. You mean you could
have a heart attack just like that
and they do an operation?
BONNIE
You could also die. But don’t let
Amanda know that. She’s freaking out.
FERGO
You mean you could die from having
a heart attack just like that?
BONNIE
Usually it doesn’t happen but you
just never know.
FERGO
What will it feel like if I get it?
BONNIE
I wouldn’t worry about you, Ferg, you
got a strong heart.
FERGO
How do you know?
BONNIE
Because, one, all children, or most
children don’t get heart attacks. You
have to be beaten down in life a few
times. And I don’t mean literally beaten
down. It’s more like if you go to a
stressful job...
FERGO
What if I go to a stressful school?
BONNIE
School isn’t stressful. It’s the homework
that's stressful. And most of the time,
you just put in some effort, you’re
home clear. The reason jobs can be
stressful—like the one Amanda’s doing
with endless beds and rooms to make up—
is because adults do them and there’s
tons of work they gotta do on a time
schedule. But I wouldn’t worry about
Amanda. She’s too young to have those
kinds of problems. She’s actually
technically a child. She’s about to
turn eighteen.
And she’s taking good care of herself.
She knows to crash. She doesn’t have a
husband or child to come home to and
wait on. She’ll be alright. She just
needs sleep desperately. That’s why I
always get on your keyster to get to
bed on time. Because I don’t want you
dragging to school and being super tired.
Come on, let’s get to school.
INT. L.A. COURTHOUSE, COURTROOM 802 - DAY
BAILIFF
Court Eight O’ Two is now in session,
The People versus L.A. Police Officer
Justin Bradock, Day Four. All rise.
Judge Carmichael enters and sits at her bench.
CARMICHAEL
Please be seated.
As the preceding day, Giselle, like Verna was, is in between the two girls. Everybody there sits down.
CARMICHAEL
Who do we have testifying today,
Jerome?
BAILIFF JEROME
Ms. Nancy Bradock, Mrs. Violet Bradock,...
SAMANTHA
(whispering to Giselle)
Must be his wife and sister...
BAILIFF JEROME
...Ms. Giselle Stivic, Mr. Joseph
Stivic...
GISELLE
I didn’t realize he was already on
the dock... He’s not here.
CARMICHAEL
I see. Counsellor?
WATKINS
It was an informal entry pending the
accusants' confirmation.
SAMANTHA
That won’t be necessary. But I do
have another request.
CARMICHAEL
And...Ms. Stivic, what is that?
SAMANTHA
Well, since we’re entitled to a jury
of our peers, I’d like to move for
more teenagers on the jury.
CARMICHAEL
Ms. Stivic, while I understand the
thinking, you’re not on trial. Mr...
Officer Bradock is. And you are not
the official plaintiff. The people
of L.A. County, which includes you,
are. This jury was selected with
the consultation on the part of both
teams, the defense and the prosecution.
Please trust that they will be
impartial and follow the law in
rendering their judgment. Let us
proceed please.
BAILIFF JEROME
Would you like me to read the other
names, your honor?
CARMICHAEL
No, that’s alright, let’s call the
first witness.
BAILIFF JEROME
Ms. Nancy Bradock, please rise and
approach the stand.
A MIDDLE AGED ATTRACTIVE WOMAN does so.
BAILIFF JEROME
Ms. Bradock, raise your right hand.
SHE does.
BAILIFF JEROME
Do you swear to tell the truth, the
whole truth and nothing but the truth
to the best of your ability?
NANCY BRADOCK
I do.
BAILIFF JEROME
Ms. Bradock, please have a seat.
Watkins approaches.
WATKINS
Ms. Bradock, where were you on the
night of the alleged incident?
NANCY BRADOCK
At home.
WATKINS
What were you doing?
NANCY BRADOCK
Either watching TV, doing some
knitting—I like to knit and sew—or
playing a game.
WATKINS
Were you alone?
NANCY BRADOCK
Yes. I either play solitary games
or sometimes will play an online
opponent.
WATKINS
Did you watch the news or follow it
online for news of your husband?
NANCY BRADOCK
Oh no, I try to leave his business
to him and keep it out of the house.
WATKINS
When did you first learn of your
husband's interactions with the
two girls who have accused him of
violent sexual assault?
NANCY BRADOCK
He did look very stressed when he
came home. It was clear it was not
an ordinary day for him. My gut
feeling was that he had been at a
large protest and it was only natural
that there would be a lot of angry
people and people who were acting
up so my main concern upon his arrival
was to make sure he could be at ease
and not have to talk about his work
unless he needed to.
WATKINS
Did he tell you about his work that
night?
NANCY BRADOCK
He usually doesn’t but sometimes it
helps after a stressful day to let
it out by sharing with me.
WATKINS
Did he share anything in particular
with you that night?
NANCY BRADOCK
He just shared that because he was
assigned to the most volatile spot,
he naturally found himself forced
into encounters with people he’d
rather not have had been forced into.
WATKINS
Did he go into detail about any of
these interactions?
NANCY BRADOCK
No, he didn’t mention any names nor
did he get into specifics. Simply
that he wished people wouldn’t
challenge him about how to do his
job and that he wished they would
just follow orders for their own
safety.
WATKINS
Ms. Jackson testified that she
challenged your husband on the
requirements for performing a body
search. Did he bring this up with
you?
NANCY BRADOCK
Naah, he didn’t get into specifics.
Only that he wished people would
cooperate when he asked them to do
something.
WATKINS
Do you believe asking—excuse me—
ordering two female detainees to
undress constitutes an order they
need to cooperate with even though
it is an illegal order?
STERN
Objection. This is probing and
extraneous to the facts of the case.
WATKINS
Your honor, I need to probe anything
that can shed light on the defendant’s
manner of thinking regarding body
searches.
CARMICHAEL
I’ll uphold the objection. The spouse
of a defendant does not need to be
questioned as to her husband’s motives
especially where any opinion offered
is only speculative, based on unproven
facts and can mislead a jury as to
the reliability of the facts presented. Sustained.
WATKINS
(after regrouping
a moment)
Have you ever witnessed your husband
engaged in any violent acts?
NANCY BRADOCK
Absolutely not. But I know that in
the performance of his job, where
public safety is concerned, actions
that are not civil may be the only
option.
WATKINS
Pardon me for asking this, Ms. Bradock,
but, due to the nature of the
accusation, have you ever witnessed
or suspected your husband of engaging
in sexual activities outside of the
marriage?
NANCY BRADOCK
No, I cannot pardon you for even
suggesting such activity based solely
on an accusation. And I find your
question extremely offensive.
WATKINS
I apologize, Ms. Bradock. No further
questions.
CARMICHAEL
On behalf of the court, I apologize
for the discomfort this caused but
there are cases where spouses’
testimony can shed light on the guilt
or innocence of a defendant. Please
accept our apology for crossing this
very sensitive line. Now if only we
had witnesses getting as offended
at the suggestion of violence on the
part of defendants, we’d be living
in a much healthier and safer world.
NANCY BRADOCK
I beg to differ. As I spoke, there
are times when violence is necessary
as a last resort in the performance
of my husband’s job. That does not
apply even in the slightest to any
type of sexual activity.
CARMICHAEL
Difference of interpretation but
your husband did state that he needed
to do a search on the two girls that,
while they may not have been for
sexual intent, would be experienced,
if true, as sexual abuse. This is
why we have these strict laws regarding
searches.
NANCY BRADOCK
(angry)
Did my husband not say he desisted
from performing such a search and
tried to wait for a female officer?
Why are you putting him through such
brutal questioning?
CARMICHAEL
Excuse me, Mrs. Bradock,...
NANCY BRADOCK
That’s Ms. Bradock. Mrs. Bradock is
my mother-in-law.
CARMICHAEL
The reason we’re putting Officer
Bradock through this scrutiny, which
is in accordance with the law and
with courtroom protocol is because
he has been accused of a crime which
is plausible though not proven.
Because of a failure of your husband’s
body cam at the moment of entry into
isolation with the plaintiffs—something
which creates great plausibility that
he did what he’s accused of—we need
to probe as far as we are able to
find whatever information can shed
light one way or other on the truth
or falsehood of such charges.
NANCY BRADOCK
Well, here’s some light. My husband
would never—I repeat—never do anything
sexual to anyone he’s got in custody.
I know him better than anyone else
here except Mrs. Bradock, and she’ll
agree with me. It’s unfortunate that
the body cam just stopped at a
suspicious moment but we know Justin
for the man of integrity he is. These
charges are just so off the wall and
so in...out of character for the man
putting himself in harm’s way and
taking on the toughest of assignments,
that my husband is.
CARMICHAEL
Thank you, Ms. Bradock. Ms. Stern,
your husband’s attorney will now
question you.
Stern approaches.
STERN
I apologize that you have to be put
through this. I’m sure you’re aware
that in an atmosphere of mistrust
of the badge as well as of other
forms of authority and protection,
you probably feel like you’re getting
the short end of the stick. This is
precisely why your testimony here
today is extremely valuable. In
addition, you live with this man who
is accused. Naturally, you must feel
robbed of what already is an earned
relationship of happiness and trust...
CARMICHAEL
Forgive me for interrupting, counsellor,
but you’re here to question Ms.
Bradock, not to make your closing
argument. Please use this time to
question her.
STERN
Ms. Bradock, tell me briefly about
your life with Officer Bradock.
NANCY BRADOCK
We have three children. Two are grown
and have moved out on their own
pursuing careers. Our last child is
sixteen and is in the honors program
at the high school.
STERN
Having had three children of your
own, what does hearing that two
children the same age as your own
brought these charges against your
husband make you feel?
NANCY BRADOCK
Well, what do you expect? Of course
it sickened me to no end. But this
is the world we are all living in
and that makes me even prouder for
having met and been proposed to by
this man, now married thirty-two
years.
STERN
You made it clear earlier, Ms. Bradock,
that synchronous disappearance of
any body cam recording is unfortunate
but that is not enough to prove what
your husband has been accused of.
Do you also feel that any suggestion
that he is responsible for having
disabled it equally as disturbing?
NANCY BRADOCK
Of course. This is just not who he
is. To suggest any violation of the
law on the part of my husband is
outrageous and it is my duty as his
wife to combat this with the truth.
STERN
So you are certain that even the
fact that the circumstances on that
day were so extreme that could make
another man break and bend the law,
your husband still resisted this?
NANCY BRADOCK
Of course. That is who Justin is.
His job assignment is not pretty but
at the end of the day, we sleep better
knowing that he has made and kept
the people of our community safer.
And that’s what I think counts more
than anything, especially ridiculous
false accusations.
STERN
That’ll be all, Ms. Bradock. Thank
you for your testimony.
INT. BONNIE’S HOUSE – DAY
Amanda, groggy, gets out of her bed. She rummages through her bag, pulling out fresh underwear. She then goes to the bathroom.
INT. BONNIE’S HOUSE – DAY, A LITTLE LATER
Amanda exits the bathroom in her clean underwear, a clean T on top, throws what she was wearing onto the bed in the side alcove and heads toward the kitchen off the side of the main area. She grabs a box of cereal and a bowl and pours the cereal into the bowl. She then pours some milk into the bowl, puts the box back where she got it from and the milk into the refrigerator, then goes into the main room where the table is that she had sat with Bonnie and Fergo. She eats the cereal with relish and holds her phone with her left hand, seeming to surf it.
AMANDA
Now, with all this money I’ll be
making...Naah, one week’s pay won’t
be enough. Too bad.
IMAGE – TEXT being typed (Amanda): Hey
You there
IMAGE – TEXT being typed (Amanda): Hey
You there
AMANDA
Oh that’s right, she went to court
too. Let me try the others.
IMAGE – TEXT being typed (Amanda): Hey, you there
IMAGE – TEXT being typed (Amanda): Hey you there?
AMANDA
They should call this the graveyard
hour. Well, I guess back to the
graveyard.
She finishes the bowl, takes it and puts it in the sink, where she washes it lightly and then puts it in the dishwasher.
She heads back to the bed in the alcove, gets into it, puts on some music and lies back in the bed.
INT. JOSH’S PRIVATE JAIL CELL – DAY
Josh is sitting at a computer, a MONITOR sitting by his side, watching him. He is engaged in what looks like some form of study. He seems a little uncertain.
JOSH
I’m sorry, this is making me a little
nervous, you just sitting there
watching. My grandfather actually
taught me stuff.
MONITOR
I’m sorry, I’d love to, but my job
is to make certain you don’t cheat
and start hacking again.
All of a sudden, a dropdown message appears: “From Amanda the Goat – Hey thinking of you.” Both Josh and the monitor appear shocked.
JOSH
Would it be considered breach of
protocol to just say I’m fine,
thinking of you too?
MONITOR
That’s not supposed to happen.
JOSH
She’s my girlfriend who I love and
would really like to respond to. I
don’t know how she got in.
MONITOR
Did you share any confidential
information like a password with
her?
JOSH
No.
MONITOR
You sure? Nothing passed to her when
you really desired her and she said
you had to?
JOSH
Oh no, she wouldn’t do that.
MONITOR
Did you ever do any hacking yourself
on her phone?
JOSH
(seeming to remember
something)
Uhno, wouldn’t’a ever done that to
her.
MONITOR
You sure?
JOSH
No. Like I said I stopped hacking
after I met her. I mean after she
started coming over. When we were
really together.
MONITOR
Is it possible she got on your phone
maybe when you were sleeping and got
hold of the codes you kept on there?
JOSH
Oh no, she was there only after my
phone was taken away.
MONITOR
What about that computer hack you
did to look for her?
JOSH
You mean the one where the computer
Froze and I got nowhere?
MONITOR
This is strange. And you’re sure you
didn't do any hacking on your phone...
JOSH
Well, this was a harmless message.
MONITOR
Did you tell her verbally how to
hack into a system?
JOSH
No. Our purpose was only for love.
MONITOR
It was that love you’re in here for.
JOSH
But the love part is the good part.
MONITOR
People do all kinds of really sinister
things for love. I don’t agree. You
sure she didn’t let you borrow her
phone?
JOSH
I guess I won’t get to tell her I
love her. Well, that’s alright, I’ll
see her when she comes by to visit.
MONITOR
Okay, thank you for that.
JOSH
Don’t mention it.
INT. L.A. COURTHOUSE, COURTROOM 802 - DAY
BAILIFF JEROME
Ms. Giselle Stivic, please rise and
come to the witness stand.
FADE OUT
