Lindsay stood outside the Manhattan Court House, pacing around the halls nervously. Her arms were brought up to her chest as she bit her thumbnail on her right hand. Like in Montana, Lindsay had testified in the building hundreds of times but not as a witness or victim. She shuddered as the memories flooded back to her. It was DJ Pratt's hearing. Six months after he'd rapped Lindsay in her apartment and then tried to kill her. She'd been called to testify against him, as were Mac, Flack, and Stella, who were testifying forensically and the first on-scene.
The crowd around the courtroom was beginning to grow even further. Photographers began snapping photos as policemen escorted Pratt down the hall. Lindsay's body completely froze. She stared down the hall at the monster that'd attacked her months ago. His eyes found hers…and he smiled at her. Lindsay wanted to run, but she couldn't find the strength to make her body move. As Pratt entered the room, Lindsay found herself able to move again. She exhaled deeply, not realizing that she'd held her breath. She staggered over to the closest bench before she lost her balance. Her head was spinning and she was growing nauseas.
"Lindsay are you alright?" asked a voice.
Lindsay looked up. Mac stood above her, his face written with worry. Lindsay nodded. "Just scared, Mac."
Mac sat down beside her and held her shoulder, "Just get up there and tell the truth. It doesn't matter what those people think. We've got the evidence that confirms your story."
Lindsay nodded. "It's just hard to see him again after that night."
"You'll be alright, Lindsay. Just stay strong." Mac said. He hugged her tightly.
"Miss Monroe, we're ready for you." said a guard.
Mac released her. "We'll be waiting out here for you."
Lindsay nodded and stood. She followed the guard into the courtroom. She felt the eyes of everyone in the courtroom on her. Her legs shook as she walked up to the stand. A man came up, holding the bible in his hands. Lindsay placed her hand on the bible and was sworn in. She sat down and waited for the Prosecutor to begin.
Lindsay had met with the man several times during her past few years testifying. He kept his questions short, but able to dig much information from them. His hair was grey at the roots from his many years, but his eyes held a ferocity that could not be extinguished. He stood from his table and approached the stand.
"Detective Monroe, you are a member of the New York Crime Lab, correct?" he asked.
"Yes." Lindsay answered.
"You've testified to thousands of cases involving rape, correct?"
"Yes."
"Have you every been called as the victim of a rape case before?"
Lindsay inhaled slowly, "No."
He nodded. "Could you explain to this courtroom, what events took place, the night you were rapped?"
Lindsay nodded. "I had gone to a new club that had opened up, with my coworkers. Work had kept us all busy…and we wanted to enjoy each others company on our off hours."
"So you all went to the club?"
"Yes." Lindsay answered.
"Can you tell us, who all was present at the club?"
"Detective Taylor, Boneseara, Doctor Hawkes," Lindsay inhaled. "Detectives Flack, Angell, and Detective Messer."
"A large group of coworkers." he stated.
"Yes. I had no idea at the time, but it was a ploy for a celebration." Lindsay explained.
"What kind of celebration?" he asked.
"My birthday was the following day." Lindsay could hear the gasps throughout the courtroom. "Detectives Boneseara and Angell had used the club as an excuse to have a small party for me."
"So they were celebrating your birthday, which was the following day?" the prosecutor asked.
"Correct." Lindsay answered.
"Can you tell us how long your coworkers stayed at the club?"
Lindsay shook her head. "A little over an hour. Two at the most."
"Two hours. And in those two hours, how much did you drink at the bar?"
"I had two an a half beers." Lindsay answered.
"Clearly not enough to effect your judgment. Not even enough to show on a breathalyzer test either." the prosecutor stated. He paced about the courtroom. "Miss Monroe, what caused you to leave the club?"
"I had work the next morning. I was working an early shift and I needed to get home." Lindsay explained.
"How did you manage to get yourself back?"
"Detective Messer drove me back to my apartment." Lindsay answered.
"And how long did he stay?"
"Not long. He dropped me off and headed back to his apartment." Lindsay answered.
"So, a few minutes. And you know this for certain?"
"I didn't go into my complex until Detective Messer was out of my sight." Lindsay explained.
"And why was that?"
Lindsay shrugged, "I don't know. I just couldn't stop watching him."
He nodded. "Then you entered the complex?"
"Yes. I entered my complex and jogged up the stairs to my floor." Lindsay answered. She felt her heart beginning to beat quicker.
"And when you reached your floor, what happened next?"
"I walked down the hall, to my door."
"Can you tell the court if you noticed anything…strange, before you entered your apartment?" he asked.
"I remember smelling paint. My neighbors across the hall had their apartment repainted during the week. I could still smell it drying when I walked through the hall." Lindsay explained. She inhaled deeply, waiting for the hard questions to come.
"You smelled paint. Is not DJ Pratt's job…a painter?" he asked.
The defense attorney stood abruptly. "Abjection the question is irrelevant!"
"The defendant work force is relevant it places him in the victims' apartment." the prosecutor replied.
"Overruled." the judge said.
"Miss Monroe, can you explain, what happened next?"
Lindsay licked her bottom lip. "I pulled out my keys and grabbed the door knob. My hand slipped before I turned the keys and I noticed the door was unlocked."
"Then what?"
"I entered my apartment. The lights were off, just as I had left them. I walked to the table by my door and opened the drawer. I kept my off duty piece inside it and I found it missing." Lindsay explained.
"What next?"
"I pulled out my cell phone and readied to dial. I walked into my kitchen and pulled a knife for protection. I had left my second piece in my holster after I'd gotten off work. I walked to my bedroom, where I had left my holster…and I found the gun was missing also." Lindsay explained. Her heart raced in her chest. She could feel fear and tears creeping up on her.
The prosecutor nodded. "What then?"
"I finished dialing and before I turned around to head for the door, I heard it close." Lindsay answered.
"What did you see?"
Lindsay inhaled deeply. "I saw a man, standing in front of the door, pointing my gun at me."
"Can you identify the man you saw?"
"Yes. He's sitting in the orange jumper." Lindsay said nodding toward Pratt.
"Let the case show that Miss Monroe has identified her attacker as DJ Pratt." the prosecutor called. He turned back to Lindsay. "Miss Monroe, go on."
Lindsay swallowed hard. "He told me to drop the phone, and I told him I wouldn't. He walked to the CD player I had set on the table and turned it on. He told me to drop my phone again, but I wouldn't do it. I gripped the knife in my hands and threw it at him. He dodged it and I hit behind my counter."
"Take your time, Miss Monroe."
"He grabbed me from behind and threw me up against the wall. I dropped my phone during the struggle. I felt the barrel of the gun under my chin. I asked him what he was doing out of prison and he hit me with the barrel of the gun. He told me that it wasn't any of my business. He grabbed my throat, and shot the gun at the window."
"Do you know why he did that?"
"I thought it was his way of telling me he would kill me." Lindsay explained.
"What then?"
"He tossed the gun to the floor and he kissed me." Lindsay answered.
The prosecutor nodded. "And at this point, he began to rape you?"
"Abjection he's leading the witness!"
"Overruled!" the judge yelled he looked down at Lindsay. "Take your time, Miss Monroe."
Lindsay nodded. "Yes. I…I tried to fight back. I started beating on his chest, trying to push him away, but he grabbed my hands and pinned me against the wall with one hand. With his free hand, he grabbed my pants and started to unbutton them. That's when I screamed."
"You screamed?"
"Yes."
"Could anyone hear you?"
"I don't believe so. The music was blasting over my voice." Lindsay answered.
"Continue."
"I tried kicking at him, but he pinned my legs against his body. He grabbed the straps of my shirt and untied them. I told him to let me go, but he wouldn't and he kissed me again. He pulled me from the wall and dragged me into my bedroom. He threw me onto my bed. I swung my legs over the other side, trying to get away. He stood on the other side of the bed, watching me. He moved around the bed and I jumped for the door. He grabbed me and pulled me back onto the bed.
"He forced my hands above my head and cuffed my hands around the headboard of my bed. I screamed for him to let me go and he taped my mouth shut. Then he grabbed my pants and pulled them off me." Lindsay stopped. Tears sprang from her eyes as the horrifying memories called her. She could feel Pratt now, pulling at her pants as she sat at the stand.
"Take your time Miss Monroe. Take your time."
Lindsay inhaled deeply, wiping the tears from her eyes. "He grabbed underwear and pulled the off my body. That's when I screamed again."
The courtroom grew louder with whispers and gasps. The judge banged his gavel.
"Continue, please."
"He hit me again and pulled off my cover shirt. Then he pulled up my tank top above my head. He started touching me and I fought beneath him. He hit me again. He starting kissing my chest before he pulled off his shirt." Lindsay brought her hand to her face, hiding the tears rolling down her cheeks. Her chest heaved as Lindsay sat at the stand crying.
"I know this is hard for you, Miss Monroe." the prosecutor said. Lindsay believed him. She'd told him the story many times, and he'd heard many versions of this form other women in his carrier.
Lindsay took another deep breath. "He removed his pants and grabbed my thighs. I screamed again, as loud as I could and…that's…that's when he..." Lindsay couldn't finish her sentence.
"Just take your time."
"I'm sorry….I…can't…"
"Your honor, this might be an appropriate time to take a break." the prosecutor said.
The judge nodded. "Two hour recess at which time this court with continue." he slammed down his gavel.
The attendants in the courtroom stood and began making their way toward the doors. The bailiff took Pratt out the doors. Lindsay sat at the stand for a few seconds, waiting fro the room to clear. Tears fell freely down her cheeks. The prosecutor walked up to the stand.
"You did very well, Detective Monroe." he said.
"I don't think I can do this." Lindsay said.
"Yes you can. You've been doing great. You can keep it up." he said.
Lindsay shook her head. "No. No, I can't face that monster again!"
"Detective we need your testimony."
"You have the forensic evidence to convict him, you don't need me." Lindsay stood from the stand and walked down. She looked up from the floor and stopped.
Danny stood in the benches, watching her. His eyes were red as he wiped a tear from his face.
Lindsay felt her heart break. She hadn't known Danny was showing up. It was bad enough that Mac, Stella, and Flack would hear her story again, but she couldn't bare to have Danny hear how Pratt rapped her. Lindsay shook her head and ran toward the door.
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yay!!! the first chapters up!! wahoo! ok, so how's it so faR?
i own nothing!