Summer was sitting on her bed when Colonel Truman came into the holding area. She looked up a little, but found herself still unable to look him in the eye.
Summer, they're ready for you in the courtroom." He informed her. The Custody Sergeant next to him pulled out a pair of handcuffs, though he found himself stopped by the Colonel. "She won't run."
Summer got to her feet and followed on as the Colonel led her down the hallway towards the courtroom. She didn't register the jeers and taunts of the other inmates as she made her way to the court room. The only thing she could think about was Colonel Truman's cold and distant manner. She still hated to think that she had let him down. Colonel Truman stopped outside the door and grabbed her wrist gently.
"I can't be part of the proceedings." He informed her regretfully. "I'll be in the public gallery with the others."
"Sir." She called after him as he started to leave. He turned back to her, seeing her shivering slightly as she prepared to face the court. "I'm scared. I'm really scared."
He came back to her and hugged her for support. He wished there was more he could do for her, but given his relationship with her, he was not even allowed to be a part of the proceedings. He turned and left her, making his way towards the stairs to the public gallery. The Custody Sergeant took her by the arm and led her into the court room.
She had never been on this side of the proceedings before, and she'd always hoped she never would be. It was only now that she appreciated how intimidating the whole scene was. The stands towered over her making her feel small and insignificant. Several members of the public called out from the public gallery as she made her way to her seat in the dock. She looked to the floor as they grew louder. Colonel Truman had told her that the press had gotten wind of the story and that the public had turned on her. Having trusted her with their defence for so long, hearing that she was a murderer had caused them to feel like she had betrayed them.
"Will the defendant please rise?" The judge announced as he took his seat at the bench. Summer got to her feet and looked up at him. She could see Scott and Flynn in the public gallery behind him. She couldn't help feeling let down that Dillon wasn't there. She needed her friends right now. "Are you Summer Landsdown?"
"I am." She replied, confirming her name for the court.
"Summer Landsdown, you stand accused of the first degree homicide of Mark Gallows, Terry Bolland and Paul White. How do you plead?"
Normally she would have thought that was a pretty straightforward question, but the truth was that she didn't know if she had killed them or not. She still couldn't remember anything about that night. Under the circumstances, she would have loved just to know whether or not she did it.
"Not guilty." She replied eventually. It was really the only answer she could give. Not knowing was the worst part. She had already resigned herself to the fact that they had attacked her, and that it seemed like she had defended herself. She was a skilled fighter as a result of her training. Sober, she would never have taken things that far. She wouldn't have needed to use the knife. Of course she obviously hadn't been in her right mind, whatever she had been spiked with had left her with no memory, but she could remember briefly feeling like she was drunk. If she had remained in that state, she couldn't vouch for whether or not she would lash out to defend herself. She wouldn't have been able to fight them effectively, if she had been desperate, she may have grabbed the knife, she just didn't know.
"You may be seated." He instructed her. She took her seat as he looked through some notes. "Prosecution may call their first witness."
The prosecution attorney stood up, and began pacing the room. Summer recognised him from the times she had been involved in trials before. Kevin Marshall was a skilled lawyer, and seldom lost a case. He was a tall, slender man with black hair which he wore gelled back, making him look like something from the 70's. He wore a simple black business suit.
"Prosecution calls Stephen Walker." He announced. Summer sat silently as they prepared to begin the case against her. She looked over to the defence attorney, and immediately wished she hadn't. The way he sat chewing the end of his pencil didn't inspire confidence. Then again, given how strong the case against her was, she couldn't blame him for lacking confidence. This wasn't going to be a trial; it was going to be an execution.
Meanwhile, Dillon and Ziggy arrived in the apartment block of the victims.
"OK, we were told to stay away from this investigation, and you're going to the crime scene?" Ziggy remarked as they stepped off the elevator. "Are you completely insane?"
"I guess so." Dillon replied as they made their way down the corridor. "I didn't ask you to come with me Ziggy. If you're worried about getting in trouble, go home. I'm sure I'm going to get in trouble."
"No, this is beyond trouble. This is a one-way ticket back into prison!" Ziggy warned him. "Come on, we both want to help Summer, but this isn't it. She's being tried as we speak. We should go and support her."
"You support her; I'm going to be a little more proactive." He responded as they arrived outside the apartment. The door still hadn't been replaced, and was cordoned off with crime scene tape. Two soldiers waited outside the door to keep people from going into the crime scene. As they approached, one of the soldiers held up a hand.
"This is a crime scene, no one gets in." He told them.
"I want to have a look." Dillon stated flatly. "There may be some evidence in there."
"Sorry, no one goes in." The soldier replied.
"Ummmm...my friend here really isn't good with being told 'no'." Ziggy warned him. "I'd reconsider; he really isn't in much of a mood to be messed with."
"I'd listen to him." Dillon chipped in. "I'm going into that room."
He raised his blaster and his partner did likewise. Dillon just smiled at them.
"Not a good move." Ziggy said as he turned his back. He didn't need to watch to know that the soldiers were about to be beaten down.
Back at the court room, the prosecution had finished with the first witness, the barman who was on duty the night of the murders. The surveillance cameras on the premises hadn't been working that night, but he testified to seeing her leaving with the victims. She didn't need to look at the jury to realise they thought she had gotten drunk and left with them. Her own attorney, however, had not done her any favours. They couldn't deny that she had left with them; the only thing in dispute was whether she left with them willingly or not.
"Your honour, I'd like to call Colonel Truman to the stand." The prosecutor announced. Summer went pale as she heard the name. She knew he'd want to help her, but while he was under oath, he couldn't help what he said about her. Colonel Truman made his way to the stand and was sworn in by the bailiff.
"How do you know the defendant?" Kevin asked him.
"Summer Landsdown is one of the finest troops I've ever served with." He responded. "She's been a friend of my family for many years."
"Would you say your relationship is close?" Kevin continued.
"I would consider her a member of my own family." He informed the court.
"Would you say that you believe her to be the kind of person to seek casual sexual encounters?" Kevin asked him.
"Objection your honour!" Her attorney called out. "This is a murder trial. Not a forum for commenting on my client's lifestyle or insulting her."
"It's a valid question." Kevin interrupted him. "I'm trying to ascertain the defendant's character."
"Over ruled." The judge stated. "Answer the question please."
"No, I do not believe that." Colonel Truman replied.
"Is there any reason in particular?" Kevin asked him. "A certain incident in her past perhaps?"
"I'm not sure I follow what you're asking me." Colonel Truman replied.
"Then let me clarify." Kevin said with a smile. "What happened between the defendant and Ronan Wells?"
He looked to Summer a little apologetically. He had hoped that this wouldn't be brought up, but he knew that was too much to hope for. A few tears came to her eyes as the memory came back to her.
"Ronan Wells was a training officer attached to my unit." Colonel Truman told him. "He trained Summer when she was a cadet."
"He resigned, didn't he?" Kevin asked. "Would you care to explain to the court what happened?"
"Summer came to me one evening and informed me that Ronan Wells had been making inappropriate advances towards her." He responded. "She told me that he had suggested they begin a relationship, and when she turned him down, he started to harass her. He gave her negative appraisals and threatened to have her removed from the unit if she didn't respond to his advances."
Summer put her face in her hands and wept. It had been almost three years since it had happened, but the memories were still so vivid to her, it was as if they happened only a few days ago. It was one of the reasons she was so reluctant to trust others.
"So you dismissed him for harassment?" Kevin asked him. "There was no record of disciplinary procedures."
"No disciplinary action was taken against him because Summer never made a complaint." Colonel Truman told the court. "By the time it was all over, she couldn't face a trial so she didn't report the issue. I told Ronan that I would be observing him very closely for any signs of similar behaviour. He chose to resign as a result."
"So he and Ms. Landsdown never met again?" He asked. Summer looked up at the Colonel with tears streaming down her face. Her eyes begged him wordlessly not to continue. This was the part of the story that he swore he would never tell anyone. She couldn't even tell her best friend Scott about that night. He sighed and shook his head. She knew he didn't want to, but there was no way he could refuse to answer. He was under oath, he had no choice.
"About a fortnight after he resigned, Ronan attacked her." He told the court. "He beat her badly, and he tried to rape her. Fortunately I was in the area and was able to stop him."
Summer looked up to the gallery where she could see Scott and Flynn looking at her in disbelief. They knew about the harassment, but they didn't know about the attack. She had never been able to tell anyone about it. The only reason Colonel Truman knew was because he was there.
"Again, I can find no record of charges being filed." Kevin stated. "Are you telling me that the defendant, a woman you consider to be a member of your own family, was almost raped and you did nothing about it?"
"I did something about it." Colonel Truman replied. "Summer couldn't face bringing it all up in court and opted not to press charges. I, however, was not so forgiving. I politely informed Mr. Wells that if he came within 100 miles of Summer again, I would kill him."
"Well, threats aside, what do you think this incident did to Ms. Landsdown's mental state?" He asked. Colonel Truman looked at her again a little apologetically. He knew he was doing nothing to help her case, but he couldn't lie under oath.
"It very nearly destroyed her." He responded. "It took her a long time to get over that."
"You saw the injuries on the defendant's body after the murders." Kevin continued. "What would you say those injuries indicated?"
"They were consistent with a sexual assault." He sighed.
"After what happened to the defendant before, and given her level of training. Do you feel that she would defend herself if she was in that situation again?" Kevin continued. "Perhaps even with lethal force if necessary?"
"Objection your honour!" Summer's attorney called out. "Counsel is attributing guilt."
"Withdrawn." Kevin replied. "No more questions your honour."
Summer buried her face in her hands. This had been the most devastating blow to her case yet. She would never allow anyone to take her dignity like Wells had. She would fight with every ounce of strength in her body rather than allow anyone to do that to her. Of course the only question she couldn't answer was would she have killed to prevent it?
Back at the crime scene, Dillon was looking around the room, hoping for some inspiration as to how he could prove that Summer was innocent. The bodies had been removed, but the apartment was still covered in blood.
"Dillon, there's nothing here." Ziggy told him. "We've been here over an hour, there's nothing here."
"There has to be Ziggy." Dillon told him. "The investigation team had to have missed something."
"Look, I don't want Summer to go to jail either, but there's nothing here." Ziggy repeated. "Let's go before we get into any more trouble."
"Why did the troops come to the apartment?" Dillon asked him. "Who called them?"
"The caller was anonymous." Ziggy reminded him. "He said he heard noises coming from the apartment and called law enforcement."
Ziggy suddenly got a look on his face that indicated he'd thought of something. He looked at the pieces of the door the troops had blasted open to get in.
"Dillon, I think she was set up." Ziggy told him. "More than that, I think whoever made that call is in on it."
"What makes you so sure?" Dillon asked him. Ziggy gestured to Dillon that he wanted him to follow him. He went a few doors down the hall and pressed the door bell. An elderly lady answered the door.
"Can I help you?" She asked them. Ziggy held up an ID card.
"RPM, can I borrow your door for a second?" He asked her. "Dillon, wait there."
Dillon let out an impatient sigh and waited outside while Ziggy stepped inside. He pressed the door close button and started to sing.
"I am the very model of a modern..." His voice was cut off as the door closed. He opened the door again, finding Dillon with a small smile on his face.
"The doors are soundproof." He commented. Ziggy nodded excitedly.
"All the apartments are soundproof." He replied. "The troopers had to blast the door open to get in. There's no way the neighbours would have heard anything happening in the apartment."
"That means whoever called them..."
"Must have already known what had happened." Ziggy interrupted him. "Dillon, at least one other person was involved."
"We need to find out who made that call." He replied. "Ziggy, you're a genius!"
"You're only just figuring that out?" He joked as they left the apartment block quickly. "So we tell the court..."
"We haven't got enough evidence to clear her." Dillon reminded him. "Until we do, we can't say anything. So far the only advantage we have over the scumbag who did this is the fact he thinks he's gotten away with it."
Back at the courtroom, the rest of the trial just seemed to blur past. Summer sank into her seat as her story took blow after devastating blow. By the time the jurors had left to confer, she was in no doubt that there were only three people in the court room who believed her when she said she didn't remember anything. The jury came back in, taking their place on the stand.
"Will the defendant please rise?" The judge instructed her. Summer did as she was told, getting to her feet and facing the jury. "Has the jury reached a verdict on which they are all agreed?"
"We have your honour." The foreman announced as he stood up.
"On the charge of homicide in the first degree in relation to Paul White, do you find the defendant guilty, or not guilty?" He asked the foreman.
"Guilty." He replied. Summer felt a tear beginning to run down her face. She looked up to the gallery where Scott and Flynn stood, dumbfounded by the verdict.
"On the charge of homicide in the first degree in relation to Terry Bolland, do you find the defendant guilty, or not guilty?" The judge continued.
"Guilty." The foreman said again. By now Summer had to fight every instinct to just collapse on the floor in a heap and cry.
"Finally, on the charge of homicide in the first degree in relation to Mark Gallows, do you find the defendant guilty, or not guilty?" He asked the foreman.
"We find the defendant guilty as charged on all counts." The foreman replied.
"That's a load of bollocks!" Flynn roared from the public gallery. Scott grabbed him, trying to restrain him. He didn't believe the verdict any more than Flynn did, but he knew this wouldn't help. Flynn looked like he was ready to jump the barrier and try to get her out himself. "She never did anything wrong!"
"Order!" The judge yelled as he smacked his gavel repeatedly on the bench. "I will have order in this court!"
Flynn finally backed down and took his seat. Scott leaned over, saying something to him to reassure him. The judge turned back to Summer, looking down on her. She felt like a little girl about to be told off by her father in that moment. She stood, awaiting his sentence.
"Summer Landsdown, you have been convicted of three counts of murder by a jury of your peers." He began. "While you have served and protected Corinth, and many citizens owe their lives to you, we must make an example of you to demonstrate that crimes of this magnitude will not be tolerated. I therefore sentence you to life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole. Bailiff, remove the prisoner."
The bailiff came over to Summer, handcuffing her hands behind her back and started to lead her from the courtroom as the public gallery erupted in raucous applause and cheer at the verdict. She took one last look up to her friends. She always knew that this was the likely outcome. The case against her was so strong that it was a foregone conclusion. She was going to jail, and there wasn't a thing her friends or Colonel Truman could do about it. She was on her own, for the rest of her life.