Okay, this is around the halfway point of the story. Not to mention you may be asking a few questions, but I don't want to spoil it for you.
After being arrested, Danny had to give his fingerprints to one of the officers. With every finger being printed, Danny was getting more and more nervous. Where were Sam and Tucker? Where was Jazz? After what seemed like an eternity, they fingerprinted him and sent him to an interrogation room where he looked nervously at the detectives. How exactly was he going to get out of this? It didn't seem likely he was going to see the light of day again.
"I'm curious, Danny: Why did you kill Mr. Baxter?" asked Robbins. "It does seem like you had other alternatives, but instead you chose to kill him."
"I didn't kill him." Danny replied. "I don't have the slightest idea as to what you're referring to."
"Danny, your fingerprints are being compared to the ones found at the crime scene." Smith added. "If there's anything you want to tell us, now would be the time. Help yourself. Tell us what we already know."
"I'm telling you, I didn't kill him." Danny stated. "Why won't you believe me?"
"I'm going to go talk to our witnesses, tell them we're doing a lineup in a couple minutes." Robbins told his partner.
"Got to admit, I didn't think she was willing to testify against him. Well, tell the prosecutor she's ready." Smith replied. Robbins nodded and walked out of the room.
"What are you talking about?" Danny asked. "Who's testifying against me?"
"Miss Grey told us everything, Danny." Smith said to him. "She tells us she saw you walking out of Mr. Baxter's room with bloody clothes. Look, you're facing life in prison and I have to tell you, it's not a pleasant place to be. Confess to the crime and we'll be lenient."
"She's got to be mistaken." Danny replied, believing she would never lie to incriminate him. "I did not kill him. How many times do I have to say it?"
Robbins walked back into the room. "We've got an 11 point match on the fingerprints." He said. "It looks like we've got our guy, if you add the two witness statements. You get anywhere with him yet?"
"Nope, he's still denying it." Smith replied as if Danny wasn't there. "It's pretty stupid of him. The D.A.'s trying him as an adult."
"Look, I keep telling you, I'm innocent." Danny told them timidly. It wouldn't do to piss them off after all.
Unfortunately, it seemed to have backfired. Smith suddenly started shouting at him. "I'm through putting up with you lying to my face!" he yelled furiously. "I know you're guilty and I am not going to endure your pitiful lies! Just confess, you worthless son of a bitch! Everyone here knows you did it!"
Danny fell off the chair, landing on his bad arm, and curled into a ball, like he was often forced to do when Dash administered the daily beatings. "You stabbed him, didn't you! You planned this, you made him helpless! You couldn't even kill him straight up! You're nothing, you're a weakling!" Robbins tried to calm him down, but it didn't work.
"All right, I did it!" Danny exclaimed, more afraid. "I killed Dash, all right? Just… leave me alone and don't h… leave me alone, please!" Smith immediately calmed down and they walked out, Danny relieved that they were gone.
He missed the two detectives complimenting each other.
"Let me see my son!" Jack exclaimed, trying to force his way past the officers.
"Your son already confessed to everything, Mr. Fenton." Smith told him. "I'm afraid you won't be seeing him for a long time."
"Danny is not a killer!" Jazz protested.
"I'm sorry for breaking the news to you, but Danny is guilty." Robbins added. "He told me and my partner himself that he killed Mr. Baxter."
Someone else suddenly walked in the room. He had brown hair, brown eyes, wore a suit and tie and it wouldn't take a genius to know he was a lawyer. "I'm Andrew Mullins and I've been hired to represent Danny Fenton." he told the Fentons. "Can we talk privately?"
He led the parents and Jazz into the interrogation, where Danny was being transported to a holding cell after giving his confession in writing. After they arrived, the man sat down next to Danny.
"I'm curious: who hired you?" asked Jazz.
"I thought you'd never ask, Jasmine." said a voice behind her. It was Vlad Masters in all his glory, wearing his typical suit and attire. "When I heard Danny had been accused of murder, I obtained for him the best lawyer money can buy. I assure you, Maddie, he's not going to prison as long as I'm here."
"True, but I'm afraid I don't see how we can get him off." Maddie replied. "Those detectives told us Danny confessed to the crime."
"Deceit is an effective tool, Maddie." Vlad replied. "How long has it been since Daniel was arrested?"
"A couple of hours." Maddie replied, not sure where this was going.
"How'd you get here so fast, Vladdie?" asked Jack.
"It's called an airplane, idiot." Vlad replied. "Mine happens to be specifically designed, but we're going off topic here. About 2 hours, you said? How long did it take for you to arrive?"
"About an hour." Jazz put in. "Dad kept getting lost." She then closed her mouth once she realized what she had said.
"No, it took you 20 minutes to get here." Vlad replied.
"No, it took us…" Jack began, but Vlad cut him off with the same answer.
"We may have a chance to exclude this 'confession'." said Mr. Mullins. "Danny, what happened when the detectives were questioning you?"
"They put me into a room and started telling me to confess." Danny told his companions. "I kept telling them I was innocent and they didn't listen. Then one of them starting shouting at me and telling me I was worthless. I panicked. It… reminds me of when Dash used to beat me up. I would have said anything in order to get it to stop."
"Well, that means we have at least a chance to exclude it." Mullins stated. "We'll be quite capable of arguing coercion. The detectives frightened my client and he would have said anything in order for it to stop. In his mind, he felt he was going to be beaten if he didn't tell them what they wanted to hear. And Vlad, arguing that the officers deliberately delayed him will not work. Minors do not have a right to have parents present during questioning, although it is sometimes recommended."
"But what if we can't exclude it and Danny goes to prison for something he didn't do?" asked Maddie.
"We'll worry about that when we come to it." Vlad replied. "We can always try the EED defense."
"I'm not sure that'll work." Mullins told him. "The prosecution will argue he had other options than to allegedly kill him. He's told me his side of the story and I believe him. I'll draft up motions to exclude it, and see how to refute any other evidence."
"There's apparently a considerable amount." Vlad replied, taking out a folder and dropping it on the table.
"How did you get this?" Jazz asked suspiciously.
"Oh, I have my ways, Jasmine. Besides, you don't want your brother going to prison, do you? Speaking of which, Maddie, why were neither of you present during questioning?"
"Jack and Jazz both got a little hysterical." Maddie replied. "The officers were forced to hold them back. It wasn't a very pleasant experience."
"Thanks for getting this for me, although I'm curious as to how you did so." Mullins declared, referring to Vlad. "Well, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth."
While they continued talking, Vlad pulled Maddie away from the others, needing to talk to her privately. Ignoring his romantic feelings for the moment, he turned to her. "Maddie, how has Danny been acting the past few months?" asked Vlad. "I know there's something seriously wrong with him."
"It's like he's a completely different person." Maddie replied. "What has that boy done to Danny? He used to be happy, a goofball sometimes, but a nice boy. Over the past few months, all that has changed. He walked home from school with bruises and cuts. A couple weeks ago, his arm was broken. He never told either of us what was going on."
"You never thought to investigate, to see what was going on?" asked Vlad.
"I tried many times, but there was always a shiver of fear whenever I asked. A few days ago, Jack got mad at Danny and he was acting like he expected to be hit. He was almost crying." A flash of fury went through both their minds.
"So are there any other changes that you've noticed? Forgive me for prying, but I have to know."
"Yes, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz have become very protective of him. (Vlad's eyes turned towards Jazz, who had an arm around the nervous Danny) They were close, but not that close. I'm sure they know about all of this. Still, they're about as closed with it as Danny is."
"So essentially, because of this, he resembles an abused child. This means we'll have a psychologist testify for the defense, make the jury believe he could not possibly commit the crime, though doubtless Mullins has already thought of that. In addition, I propose we put Danny through therapy; it's obvious he needs it. While Jasmine is capable, he'll need more help than hers."
"I can't believe all of this was going on right under our noses. What kind of a mother am I?"
"Everyone makes mistakes, Maddie. What we have to do is find a way to resolve them. Remember, all we have to do is create some reasonable doubt. And I suggest that if bail is allowed, you keep Daniel away from school. Mr. Baxter has some clout, based on what I've heard, and it would likely be a very unpleasant experience."
"How do you know all this, Vlad?"
"Right now, that doesn't matter. I think we'd better rejoin their discussion and see how best to help young Daniel in this trial."
However, he was soon to have more visitors. Sam and Tucker had walked into the room, behind a woman in her early-40's who was undoubtedly another attorney. She had black hair, brown eyes, was about 5'5, Hispanic, and somewhat on the heavy side. "Mr. Fenton, I've been hired to represent you." she told him. "My name is Maria Gonzales."
"Two minds against one." Vlad stated. "I have already hired counsel for Daniel, but I will accept your assistance. Please sit down if you can find room."
They didn't manage to and opted to stand near Danny while they discussed strategy. "Vlad, I believe you said you know some private investigators?" he asked.
"Yes, I researched during my flight and found several that I believe will be useful for us. Daniel, do you know anyone Mr. Baxter hung around?"
"Well, there's Paulina, Kwan, and Star." Danny replied. "Those are the only ones who's name I know, though I wouldn't be surprised if there were others." After stating that, he fell silent again, Jazz giving him what comfort she could.
"By the way, we've been subpoenaed, so we've pretty much been forced to testify for the prosecution." Tucker explained, giving a silent apology to Danny.
"I don't care; I'm not going to testify against him." Sam exclaimed. She then turned to Vlad angrily and whispered in his ear. "I know you're behind this whole thing and if he's sent to prison, so help me, I will kill you!"
"For once I'm innocent, Samantha." Vlad replied. "However, we could turn this to our advantage, since all we have to do is convince one juror that there's a shred of doubt. What sort of jury members should we attempt to get on the panel, ones that would be sympathetic to Daniel and more likely to believe that there is reasonable doubt?"
"If I had to hazard a theory, I would say people that have been in his position." Mullins replied. "It worked for O.J. Simpson, so it's possible it could work for us."
"What do you mean, 'could work'?" asked Jack. "You mean there's no way to tell for sure if this defense will be effective?"
"There is a great deal of uncertainty in a trial." Maria explained. "You can never be sure which way a jury will go."
"Which means we have to prepare as much as possible." Mullins replied. "Speaking of which, the motion's ready. It's unlikely we will be able to exclude the evidence obtained at the house, but we have a decent shot at the confession."
"Yes, you've mentioned this before." Maddie replied, losing patience. Gonzales and Mullins left the holding cell to argue their case to the judge.
"What detectives Robbins and Smith had done is a known and common police tactic." Michele Baker argued to the judge. "There is no reason to exclude his confession."
"My client is a 15-year-old boy under a great deal of emotional stress." Mullins argued. "He would have said anything in order for it to stop. He was afraid of detectives Smith and Robbins; his memories wandered to the frequent bullying by the victim."
"Your honor, they did everything by the book." Baker replied. "Mr. Fenton was taken into custody, read his rights, was questioned, and confessed to murdering Dash Baxter. The fact that he is a minor should not be enough reason to disallow the confession based on an unproven theory."
"Your honor, detective Smith shouted at him, heaping emotional abuse onto my client." Gonzales added. "In his mind, he was back with his abuser and reacted the same way. Given my client's state of mind, "
"Again, there is no proof of Mr. Fenton's mental state and the defense is grasping at straws." Baker countered.
"We will have a psychologist examine him and confirm not only my client's state, but that he could not possibly commit the crime." Mullins retorted.
"That's enough from all of you." Judge Smith intervened before things accelerated further. He was a man in his 60's, with white hair, brown eyes, a beard, and was slightly overweight. "I will give you my motion tomorrow."
With that, they left, Baker pondering on the possibilities. Even without the confession, there was a strong case, but not a definite one. The fingerprint evidence was not as reliable as it could be, as a few other pairs were found inside. The defense could not argue robbery; the evidence was too clear for that. They had teachers and classmates that would testify that he had been to the house before, so he would know his way around and whoever committed the crime obviously did. The defendant had motive, means, and opportunity, having been bullied by the victim for years and had an alibi that not only could be confirmed, but disproved by a witness. However, the D.A' s case was only as strong as its weakest link. If the defense found any holes at all, the entire case could fall apart. She would do her best to strengthen the knots.
Don't go away; things are just heating up. The trial will be coming up next, and the drama increases as twists are found and the two sides battle it out deciding the fate of Danny Fenton. As for his guilt or innocence, you won't know that until the very end of the story.
