Shelton Family Saga

Chapter 48

Showin' Out
February 2017

As the bailiff led the accused Pastor Anthony Givens into the courtroom, he moved slowly just as much as awkwardly. His hands were shackled together and tightly cinched to the chain around his waist, as well as his ankles being shackled closely together. He did not make eye contact with anyone. He was intently focused on making it to his seat on the opposite side of the big walnut desk that rested in front of him and currently separated him from the spectators. Both he and Frankie were being represented by a public defender, and Frankie was called to the witness stand first. As soon as Frankie was sworn in and took a seat on the witness stand, he crossed his legs, then uncrossed them. After that, he shifted in the chair, then using both hands since they were still cuffed together, smoothed his bangs down, before starting to fidget again. The public defender waited patiently before speaking,

"Frankie. It's okay. I know that you are nervous. Its understandable. Just relax and let me ask you some questions so we can clear up some things for the court."

"Yes sir."

"Frankie can you please state your complete name for the record."

"Fra..." Ahem. He cleared his throat. "It's Franklin Arthur Callie Thompson."

"And, can you please state your...."

Frankie again started to fidget. His head pounded with tension, and his heart hammered in his chest as the adrenaline rushed through his veins. He felt the biggest urge to run, but to where? His panicked thoughts grew wild as a strange stab of fear assaulted him in his throat and the blood pounded in his ears. His mind started to drift. He thought about Shar's speech and a supposed omnipotent God. Where was this supposed God now? Couldn't he see Frankie's fabulosity fading?

The judge interrupted his thoughts as she turned from her position on the bench and said to him "Mr. Thompson, it is vitally important that the court hear your testimony. In order for that to happen, we must focus on your words and not your actions, which are becoming a distraction."

"Yes ma'am your honor, I understand what you mean."

"Okay, good. Counsel, continue."

The public defender went through a line of questioning with Frankie that he handled quite well. Unfortunately, under cross examination things didn't go as smoothly, which led to a shouting match between him and Cazee.

The judge repetitiously banged her gavel. "Order in the courtroom. We'll have order in this courtroom, NOW!"

After things had settled down, the public defender called Corey to the witness stand to be sworn in and started his line of questioning the same way he did with Frankie.

"Corey, can you please state your complete name for the record."

"Corey James Thompson"

"Mr. Thompson, how do you know the deceased?"

"We were raised together in Kansas."

"What do you mean raised together," the public defender asked?

"We were both adopted by a woman we called Muh. She was like a grandmother to us. She didn't have any children of her own, so it was just my brother Robert and myself."

"How did y'all end up with Muh?"

"She was a social worker and took her job very serious. She was gone a lot, so we were cared for by our stepbrother Kevin."

"And, who was Kevin," the public defendant asked.

"He was her husbands son by his ex wife."

"How old was Kevin?"