A/N: At 7,818 words, this is my longest chapter yet. Most of my chapters are 4,500 words, but this one is kinda...long. There's a lot going on, and the case goes kinda quick, I guess, but the next chapter should be...more juicy, I guess.
DiceRox09: Now that you've seen my deviantArt and my AIM, there's probably no need for this, but I'll do it anyways. I realize that Cindy being seductive probably wasn't in her character, but this story is rated 'M' for a good reason. Also...her breakdown last chapter was kinda in response to having to quietly pretend that everything was okay. Priscilla being in lingerie was intended to be a bit suggestive, but also homely, as she's pretty much naked and she's comfortable as can be around her friend. THAT'S friendship. As for Cindy and Jimmy...wait until you read THIS. It's not over yet. :)
Anyways, to the rest of my readers, the far and the few, feel free to enjoy. :)
"Alright, everyone...grab hold of some part of my body."
The company had gathered in Jimmy's room and had stowed their luggage into his hypercube for the trip. Detective Flatfoot looked uneasy.
"Are you sure this is legal?"
"Of course it's legal. I'm using my own satellites to translate us."
"What I mean is, has the government cleared it?"
"No. There's no way they would clear permission for use of such a thing."
The detective grumbled, but clasped hold of Jimmy's outstretched hand and forearm. Priscilla had already grasped hold of the other one, leaving Cindy with nothing.
"Oh...right...only have two limbs."
She blinked at him, face devoid of expression. He just barely heard the whisper-quiet sound of Priscilla giggling to his right, but was forced to ignore the noise as Cindy embraced him tightly. He was mildly taken aback, but his mind had automatically located and connected to the satellites. He grunted involuntarily as his body dematerialized and warped into a laserbeam that projected him straight to the GPS coordinates of the New York City courthouse where the trial was to take place, approximately fifteen minutes before the trial was to begin. The detective wrenched out of Jimmy's grasp and stared at him demonically.
"What the hell are you?"
"Just a boy with a big brain."
Priscilla laughed. "There is no harm in having him aid us in transport. Besides, the witnesses have already been flown in on a plane and should be waiting for Ms. Vortex in the prosecutor's lobby."
It was at that moment when she finally let go of Jimmy and turned, looking very sullen and unsure of herself.
"Cindy, are you sure you can do this?"
"I'm fine," she mumbled hoarsely. Jimmy was speechless. So was Detective Flatfoot.
"Hang in there, Ms. Vortex. I have faith in you, that you will find out the truth behind this case and aid me in bringing acquittal and justice to Mr. Neutron."
The blonde sniffed. "I'll try."
"That's all I ask," Priscilla replied. She then gestured for Jimmy to enter a door to their right, where a large room with plants and cushy chairs awaited. It was guarded by two bailiffs that seemed to have a grid-iron composure. Jimmy looked over his shoulder at a very miserable Cindy and ducked out of Priscilla's grasp and into Cindy's. He squeezed her tightly to his body, and she buried her head into his chest, feeling very vulnerable and exposed. He stroked her hair, aware that Priscilla's glare was on his back and the Detective's was on his left.
"Everything will be okay," Jimmy whispered, voice shaking. He didn't sound so sure of himself anymore. Cindy sighed.
"I just hope you can handle it, Jimmy."
She gently slipped from his grasp and beckoned the detective to follow her into the prosecutor's lobby. The heavy oak door closed behind the men as they entered their respective rooms.
"Affection for the opposition will make this no easier for you to deal with, Mr. Neutron."
"I know...I just wish there was some way to say this had never happened."
He drew a very shaky breath. "What...what would you like me to say in my testimony?"
"The truth. I'll cross-examine you to see if I can find any contradictions, but other than that there should be no problems. You'll testify after Detective Flatfoot as to where you were and what you did. Keep it short and sweet; the cross-examination is intended to reveal more information than you hand out."
"Very well."
The bailiff at the end of the room cleared his throat. Both parties looked to the noise.
"Court will convene in five minutes. Please enter the courtroom and make sure you are ready to begin on the judge's request."
"Thank you, Bailiff," Priscilla responded. He opened the door for her respectfully.
"Good luck, Ms. Serafie."
"May the same be for you, Bailiff."
She entered the courtroom, head held high. Jimmy followed her lead and observed the surroundings in mute fascination.
It was as though they were in a concert hall. On their side of the room, the east side, was a counter-like surface made of solid, highly-polished oak that sparkled in the sunlight. Across the room, on the west side, a similar counter existed. In the southern end of the center of the room stood a podium, the witness's stand. Directly ahead of the stand stood a large desk with a high-backed oak chair, where the judge sat gazing at the morning newspaper and drinking from a coffee mug. His gavel rested gently near the holster it was intended to contact when order needed to be restored.
Surrounding the entire courtroom was arena-like seating that looked as though it could fit a large number of people if needed. However, less than half of the seats were occupied, and those that were all happened to be eager enthusiasts, former classmates of Jimmy's, or just curious members of the public. There were three who caught his eye, however, and they all sat immediately overtop the door behind the witness stand, able to see the entire courtroom and watch all the proceedings with eagle eyes. Never in his life did Jimmy expect such attention, but even as he gazed in disbelief at Carl, Sheen, and Libby all perched in their seats behind the witness stand, he felt comforted. As long as the five of them from school, the five best friends, were all together in one place, no matter what the adventure, everything would be alright in the end.
He immediately felt the atmosphere change as he watched Cindy enter, business-like and stony-faced, as she took her spot behind her counter. Jimmy watched the Detective enter and stand near the door, waiting patiently. Both sets of doors closed simultaneously, and Jimmy moved behind the defense's counter and sat at a chair. He noted that several of the members of the audience were glaring at him in anger. He knew immediately that the odds were stacked against him.
"A-HEM!"
Three sharp taps from the gavel silenced the courtroom. The judge had stowed his newspaper and was gazing passively over the floor.
"Court will now convene for the trial of Mr. James Isaac Neutron. We will hereby decide whether or not the defendant is guilty or innocent, through use of evidence and witness testimony. Are the opposing parties ready?"
"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor," Cindy replied formally.
"The defense is ready, Your Honor," Priscilla replied less stiffly.
"Will the prosecution call its first witness?"
"Actually, the prosecution would like to request that Detective Flatfoot be called to the stand first to testify about the purported death of the victim."
"What is the purpose behind this," the judge asked, surprised.
"The prosecution wishes to make the victim's death very clear for the court record, should further suspicion arise. This is for the sake of the court, not the prosecution."
"Does the defense have any objection to this request?"
"The defense has no objection, Your Honor."
"Very well. Will Detective Flatfoot please take the stand?"
He strode very purposefully up to the stand, head high, back straight.
"Please state your name and occupation for the record."
"My name is Prosper I. Flatfoot. I am the head detective at the New York City Precinct."
"Alright, Mr. Flatfoot. Please give your account of the victim's purported death."
"As you wish, Your Honor.
"According to our scientific analysis, the victim was shot in the back at an angle of one-hundred-and-forty degrees from her left-hand-side. The bullet entered her body through her second rib, fracturing it. It then punctured her heart and exited between the second and third ribs on the front of the body. Death is suspected to have been shortly after the shot impacted her body, an estimated five minutes past the bullet's transition through her body. The official cause of death is heart stoppage due to puncture wounds."
Jimmy noticed that Priscilla was rifling through Cindy's notes while glancing at a glowing glass panel that apparently covered a screen of some sort.
"So, she died due to bullet impact?" the judge asked, as if unsure.
"Well, she died as a result. Technically, she died due to oxygen deprivation in the brain, but that resulted from the actual stoppage of her heart."
"I see." He cleared his throat. "The defense may now cross-examine the witness."
"Thank you, Your Honor." Priscilla took three short seconds to gaze at the screen and the papers again.
"Might I get a little more information about the bullet size?"
"The bullet was recovered and has been identified as a fifty-caliber bullet round. Fifty-caliber bullets are usually only utilized by military long-range sniper-rifles or serious killers."
The crowd shifted uneasily. More haughty glares focused on Jimmy. He laid his head down on the counter and closed his eyes, struggling not to begin shaking in fear. He envisioned a dark hellhole with bars and inmates that would taunt and torment him for the rest of his life. It did not look good.
"Detective, may I ask you a question?"
"Certainly."
"You say it was a fifty-caliber bullet, and that it only fractured the second rib. However...a bullet of that size would most likely shatter the surrounding area, don't you think?"
"OBJECTION!" Cindy cried. "The defense's line of questioning is irrelevant to the current issue."
"OBJECTION!" Priscilla returned. "The size of the bullet changes the impact size and depth, Your Honor. It is entirely relevant to this issue, as it affects the total, exact outcome of the entire event."
"Sustained, Ms. Serafie. However, if it does not become clear to this court why you are pursuing the size of this bullet as a significant clue, you will be penalized."
"Understood, Your Honor." She returned to the Detective. "So, what do you say, Detective? Would a bullet of that size shatter the surrounding bone structure?"
"It would...under most circumstances."
"What do you mean?"
"The impact damage on the bullet has been analyzed in close connection with the autopsy report. The reason the bullet failed to shatter the second rib from behind is because it merely glanced off of it as it struck the underside. It was a nearly-level shot, and the small impact on the underside of the second rib caused it to exit between the second and third ribs. The shot then tore a large chunk of skin and fat from her body, so she had a large hole on the front-left of her chest."
"I see..."
She shuffled her papers a bit more, then looked at the screen.
"Your Honor, the defense wishes to conclude cross-examination at this time. We have no further questions for the Detective."
"Very well. Will the prosecution call its next witness?"
Detective Flatfoot left the witness stand and Cindy's eyes grew distant. She snapped to and looked to the judge.
"Your Honor, the prosecution wishes to call the defendant, Mr. James Isaac Neutron, to the stand."
"What?" the judge asked perplexedly. He looked as though he'd been punched in the stomach.
"The prosecution stands, Your Honor. It wishes to call Mr. James Isaac Neutron to the stand."
"A-alright," he stuttered. Jimmy stood and moved straight to the stand, hands clammy, face pale. The moment of truth had arrived.
"Witness, please state your name and occupation."
"My name is James Isaac Neutron. I am currently a student at Oxford University, and I aspire to be an entrepreneur; specifically, an inventor."
"Alright. Mr. Neutron, please explain to the court where you were and what you did during the murder."
"As you wish.
"On the day of the murder, the victim and I spent most of the day together, either in class or celebrating the end of the year. We ate dinner together at a very nice restaurant and walked the cliffs for a while. However, at the time of the murder, I was in my room writing a paper for my class the next day. I was not the one to kill Ms. Celeste Benson."
"Hmm...will the defense proceed with the cross-examination?"
"Yes, Your Honor," Priscilla responded. Again, she took a moment to collect herself as she read over the notes and court record.
"Mr. Neutron, what do you mean by 'celebrating' in your first statement?"
"Let me see...after the class that we shared together, the victim and I went to the park to pass some time and enjoy the atmosphere. It's actually very nice at the park during the summer, if you can believe it."
"I'll believe it. Did you notice anything amiss at the park when you were there?"
"I can't say that I did, Ms. Serafie. I'm sorry."
"There's no harm done, Mr. Neutron."
"Except for the fact that I may have missed small details that could have prevented her death."
"While that may be true, if you didn't see it, there's no testimony to be had. Next issue...this receipt is of the dinner you shared with the victim?"
Priscilla had held up a piece of paper with a copy of the receipt scanned onto it. Jimmy nodded.
"Yes it is."
"This receipt proves that the defendant was, in fact, at the restaurant as he said. However, the events following on the cliffs are undocumented. Can you give more details?"
"What's to tell? We walked and talked and laughed and shared memories."
"Walked and talked? Talked about what?"
"OBJECTION! That is irrelevant to this case."
"How can you be certain, Ms. Vortex?"
"Because the defendant and I have already discussed this issue."
Jimmy looked defeated as he stood at the podium. Cindy had never seen him so depressed.
"I...don't want to talk about it, really...I said that we laughed and reminisced, but...it was more emotionally straining than that..."
Priscilla thought about it for a moment. "What does the prosecution think?"
"After having heard the account from Mr. Neutron himself, I believe that this conversation has no relevance to the case. However...if it should prove to be relevant later in this case, I will have no objection to stating the story as it was told to me."
"Alright. I'll now conclude the cross-examination of Mr. Neutron," Priscilla stated. The judge banged his gavel.
"Will the prosecution call its next witness?"
"While it may seem that the first two witnesses only stood for a short time and only confirmed what the opposing parties already know, this next witness should be able to bring some more light to the table. I will now request that Luke Datowey take the stand."
The prosecution's doors opened and a lanky, brown-haired man entered the room. He was clothed in a white t-shirt with black jeans covering red tennis shoes. He stood at the stand, nervously scratching his arm.
"Will the witness please state his name and occupation for the court record?"
"M-my name is Luke Datowey, a-and I'm going to be a junior this year at Oxford on the four-year program."
"Alright, Mr. Datowey. Please testify to the court what you witnessed."
"Y-yes, sir.
"I happened to be in the park at about eleven o'clock on the night of the murder. It was a little cold outside, but I naturally happen to have warm blood, so I wasn't bothered. As I wandered around, I saw the victim laying on the grass, looking at the stars through a shiny black telescope. I tried making small-talk, but I'm not good at that. Then, this other woman I'd never met before came up and started talking to me, but the victim joined into that conversation too. She stood up, and not ten seconds later, a shot rang out, and she fell dead to the ground. I rushed to the nearby phone and dialed for the police while the woman tried to resuscitate the victim, but it was too late."
He hung his head. Cindy scratched the back of hers.
"Alright," the judge said. "The defense may now begin its cross-examination."
"Thank you, Your Honor." Priscilla turned to the witness. He looked nervous. Jimmy could do nothing but rest his head limply in his hands, watching as the poor guy quivered worriedly.
"Mr. Datowey. I have two questions for you. First, what was the witness's name?"
"Her name...I think she called herself Betty."
"And second...could you repeat part of your testimony? The part about the sound?"
"She stood up, and not ten seconds later, a shot rang out, and she fell dead to the ground."
Priscilla paused for a moment, then uttered a single word very clearly, but not loudly: "Objection."
"What could possibly be wrong with that statement?" the judge asked in disbelief.
"The simple fact that there were two shots fired that evening. One of them pierced through the victim's textbook and has not been found, despite a very vigilant search of the crime scene. The other did indeed strike Ms. Benson, but this does not deny the fact that two shots were fired."
Muttering broke out in the crowd. The gavel sounded.
"Order. Ms. Serafie, what are you getting at?"
"I am by no means calling this man a liar. I am more inclined to believe that he may have misheard in the panic of the moment. However, as the textbook proves," she paused, holding up the piece of paper with the punctured textbook's image inked into its surface, "there were two shots fired."
"Objection," Cindy interjected. "Could it not simply have been one shot?"
"Objection," Priscilla called over her. "There is no possible way that there could have only been one 'magic bullet' that could have caused such a penetration. The angle that the bullet was fired at does not match, as well as the key fact that there is no blood on this textbook."
Cindy had a mixture of anger and pride on her face. Priscilla looked a bit smug. Jimmy still felt that the worst was yet to come.
"Hmm. So, there were two shots fired, one into the book, the other into the victim. The witness claims not to have heard the second one."
"I-I never said I never heard a second shot!" Luke cried desperately.
"Well, why didn't you include it in your testimony?"
"It's l-like you said, Ms. Serafie...I got caught up in the heat of the moment."
"Witness, please testify to the court about this other shot."
"Y-yes...
"W-well, when we were conversing, the victim was holding her textbook with a slightly outstretched arm. The first shot came, a-and it seemed like she turned away from it. Then the second shot rang out, and she fell down dead."
"Hmm...she turned away from the shot?"
"Analysis has shown that the shot which impacted the textbook did indeed cause the victim to turn in accordance with the shot's trajectory, meaning it would appear that she turned away from the bullet," Cindy stated, the tablet just barely visible over the top of the counter. Jimmy knew she had reread his analysis just to be safe.
"Alright. Is a cross-examination necessary?"
"Yes, Your Honor, if you don't mind."
Priscilla winked. The judge seemed a bit startled. "V-very well, Ms. Serafie. Feel free to cross-examine the witness."
She looked at the testimony once more. "So, why was her textbook out in the open, do you suppose?"
"Objection. This is irrelevant to the case; the only thing that matters is that it was shot at."
"Objection! It is relevant to the current testimony because it most likely connects to another piece of evidence."
"Most likely?" Skepticism seemed carved on the judge's face.
"If I find something strange or that connects to another piece of evidence, I will be sure to inform the court to my musings. If it turns out to be nothing, then I will let it go."
"Understood. Witness, answer the question: Why was the victim's textbook out in the open?"
Luke twitched. "I...I think she was saying something to the other witness, Betty. She lifted her arm to make a point."
"Tell me, Mr. Datowey. Was there anything noticeable about the textbook?"
"W-well...it seemed to be a very large and heavy textbook...but other than that, I don't think there was anything wrong..."
"Not something wrong, something noticeable."
"Well, no, I don't think so."
Priscilla paused. Then...
"Objection."
Luke looked stricken. "There was something wrong?"
"Not something wrong, just something noticeable." She held up the envelope itself, a single bullet hole stabbing through the lower half of the document inside. Luke gasped.
"That...I saw that!"
"Why didn't you mention it?"
"It looked like it was just a folded piece of paper!"
"Well, it was more than that. It was a motive for the victim to be at the park that evening." She cleared her throat and read loudly from her notes, laying the envelope visibly on the counter.
"To Ms. Celeste Benson. I just thought I'd let you know that your brother got out of prison a week ago, and that I agree with his sentiments. He was truly a genius, a real man who overpowered those who could be overpowered. He lived for his own personal gain, and I agree with everything he did to the fullest. It also lightens my heart to say that I took no greater personal pleasure in triumphing over you at everything you tried to do. I laugh every night at remembering how hurt your expression looked that day, how angry or sad or frustrated you were that day. I suppose it was to be expected, though; I am, after all, a genius by nature and trade. You can't outsmart me. But, nonetheless, if you're willing to try, I'll be waiting for you in the park tonight. If you have the gall to try and stand over me, then please, I beg you to try. Eleven-fifteen tonight by American time, twenty-three-fifteen here. In the park. Near middle of the sidewalk, by the pay phone and the overhead lamp. I'll be waiting to mock you once again, Ms. Benson. James Neutron, Your Superior."
The courtroom was silent. Finally, the judge cleared his throat. "Well, this seems to be conclusive evidence that Mr. Neutron has indeed committed this crime."
He then noticed that Priscilla was gazing at him in pregnant silence. He closed his mouth and waited.
"It is not conclusive evidence."
"How could it not be?"
"Because it isn't his handwriting."
"How in the blazes do you know that?"
"We've already asked Mr. Neutron to compare this handwriting with his own. It does not match his."
"He could have been using a false script to deter suspicion!"
"Your Honor, if he wanted to do that, why on earth would he have signed it?"
The judge looked dumbfounded. "Er...well..."
"The simple truth is that the person who wrote this letter was not James Isaac Neutron. This person never knew my client because this person's handwriting is completely different from that of my client's. This means that my client did not summon the victim to the park that evening. Furthermore, since he did not summon her, he could not have killed her."
"How can this be possible?"
"The letter says that he spoke highly of her brother. Her brother was arrested at the age of eighteen for the molestation of the victim. Mr. Neutron is not the kind of person to embrace rape or violence. Both I, the defense attorney, and Ms. Vortex, the prosecution, can attest to this fact."
Murmuring popped in and out of the crowd. Cindy looked impassive; Priscilla looked determined. The judge was just as confused as the audience.
"So...this man to my left..."
"Was not the killer of Ms. Celeste Benson."
"Well, it certainly seems that the evidence points that way...Does the prosecution have any comment?"
"None, Your Honor. I merely wish to call my next witness, if we are finished questioning Mr. Datowey."
"Does the defense have any objection?"
"None, Your Honor."
"Call your witness, Ms. Vortex."
"The prosecution will first request a ten-minute recess to reassess the situation and proceedings."
Everyone looked astounded. "A recess? But it's not even eleven o'clock yet."
"But I wish to have a moment to gather my thoughts, just as I'm sure the defense would like as well."
"Well...if no objections are present, then this court will take a ten-minute recess." The judge banged his gavel and leaned back in his chair, pulling the newspaper out from underneath it. Cindy departed into the prosecution's lobby, Luke on her heels looking sullen and apologetic. Priscilla led Jimmy gently by the hand into the defense lobby.
"Well, I managed to sway the judge's opinion so far," she sighed, flopping onto a large cushy couch as the doors closed behind them. Jimmy sat across from her, a coffee-table containing a dish of butterscotch candies seated between them. He looked pale and unsteady.
"Cheer up, Mr. Neutron," she quipped. "You're innocent as long as I say you are."
The doors on the far end of the room banged open and Cindy barged into the room. She looked slightly pleased and slightly annoyed.
"Luke just had a nervous breakdown because you made him out to be a liar."
"As I explained to the court, I was not implying that he was a liar, merely that he had misheard or confused facts with one another in the confusion of the moment. Besides, he's not the one accused of murder."
"Everyone knows that, but he seems to think otherwise. I've never seen you treat a witness so harshly. You don't need to be condescending."
"It gets them to answer and fess up. Besides, I've pretty much proven my client innocent."
"Not if the next witness has anything to say about it. Need I remind you that Ms. Quinlan is the next person to testify? I called a break to warn you before she rips you apart."
"Rips me apart?"
"She'll tear you limb from limb and feed you to the flies, Ms. Serafie. Don't get cocky around her; she'll make you regret it."
"I won't get cocky if she won't."
Cindy grumbled an unintelligible response and left the room, slamming the heavy double-doors behind her. Jimmy gulped.
"Betty Quinlan is testifying?"
"Doesn't make my job any easier, but yes, she is."
Jimmy was silent. The bailiff opened the doors and they returned to their spots on the defense's side of the courtroom. Cindy entered a short moment later, looking flustered.
"Alright. I believe that was less than ten minutes, but since everyone appears to be ready, I will reconvene the court."
The judge still looked as though he had no clue what was going on, but banged his gavel importantly anyways. "Now, Ms. Vortex. You may call your next witness."
"I will now call to the stand Ms. Betty Quinlan."
Jimmy heard Libby gasp and Sheen cry out in the audience. He could almost imagine Carl's face paling at the news. However, he could not look up at them, as his eyes were drawn to the brunette beauty that entered the room from the prosecution's doors and took the stand.
"My, you are certainly very divine," the judge gawked. Cindy cleared her throat.
"Will the witness please state her name and occupation for the court record?"
Betty batted her eyes on the stand and the judge practically fell from his chair and desk onto the floor. "My name is Betty Quinlan, and I am a model for various magazine agencies."
"I bet you're constantly getting calls for photo-shoots," the judge stated with satisfaction. Jimmy caught sight of Cindy rolling her eyes.
"Actually, I've been a bit out of the modeling loop for the past couple of months," Betty replied. The silky allure of her voice was like a dose of instant-hormones for most of the males in the room. Jimmy tried not to vomit.
"Well, I'm sure something will turn up. Er...will the witness please testify to what she, er...witnessed?"
Smooth one, judge... Cindy growled inwardly.
"Well, I don't want to hold out on you.
"Let me see...I had just finished a very delicious lobster dinner with a friend of mine. We had been talking business, but nothing was related to modeling. I then took a stroll through the park and saw the victim lying on the grass with a telescope. I decided that conversation would be nice, but she seemed like she'd rather stare at the sky. Then Luke came along, and he was sociable. The victim finally stood up and joined the conversation, and that's when she and the book both got shot, one after the other. Luke ran to the phone to try and call for help while I tried to resuscitate the victim, but it was too late."
"Oh, how brave you were!"
The prosecutor, defense, and accused all gagged and snorted in unison. The judge failed to notice.
"Well, will the defense cross-examine this witness?"
"We will, Your Honor."
"I'll allow you to do so, although I really see no reason for it...such a beautiful girl could never make a mistake."
You'll be eating those words shortly, judge...
"Right. Ms. Quinlan. About the dinner. Who exactly were you eating with?"
"An old friend."
"I know that. Who exactly were you eating with?"
"Objection! That is irrelevant to the murder."
"Objection! That person may be related to the murder even if the dinner was not. The possibility cannot be overlooked."
"S-sustained," the judge mumbled, clacking the gavel weakly on its pedestal.
"Well, his name is Riege. No first name was ever given; I always knew him as Riege and he always knew me as Quinlan. That's the way we kept it; we may have been friends, but first names seem terribly overrated to me. He's probably a couple of years older than I am, at least."
"Nice man?"
"Very. Gorgeous to look at, too."
"Looks aren't all that matter. I'm assuming your dinner partner's name was Venn?"
"That sounds familiar..."
"Venn Riege is another witness to this case," Cindy interjected. "I believed that he would only need to be called in as a last-resort to this case."
"He was there? Fancy that...small world."
"Let me ask you, Ms. Quinlan, about something unrelated to Mr. Riege. You tried to resuscitate the victim. Do you care to explain a bit more?"
"Oh, that. I tried pushing on her chest and giving her mouth-to-mouth just like in the movies."
"Ms. Quinlan. Have you ever attempted to utilize cardiopulmonary resuscitation?"
"Car-what?"
"Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, otherwise known as CPR, is a vital, potentially life-saving technique usually only learned and mastered by nurses, doctors, or other healing personnel. Ms. Quinlan, tell me something. Do you know how to utilize CPR?"
"Of course."
"Then tell me this, Ms. Quinlan: how many compressions are recommended per breath given to the victim?"
"Eight," she replied confidently. Priscilla paused, then laughed loudly.
"What is so funny, Ms. Serafie?"
"Forgive me, your honor. This woman is terribly confused. There are to be fifteen compressions administered to the victim, followed by three breaths into the victim's lungs, after which the resuscitator should listen for the victim's breathing. If none exists after two seconds, the cycle begins again. Obviously, television programs insist on cutting such acts to the short and quick, and that is why most victims undergoing CPR die on television: the character has no experience with how to breathe life into the victim."
"What are you getting at?"
"Ms. Quinlan claims that eight compressions are needed before breath. The correct answer is fifteen. I know this and I am not a doctor, nor a nurse, nor any kind of medically-trained individual. Therefore, Ms. Quinlan does not know CPR."
"Objection! This is irrelevant bantering and badgering of the witness!"
"Objection! There is a point to this line of questioning, I assure you."
"Overruled. I cannot allow you to badger such a nice, kind witness."
Priscilla growled. "Let me ask you something, Your Honor. How likely is it that Ms. Quinlan happened to be eating dinner with Mr. Riege on the very night that a murder occurred which they both witnessed?"
The judge paused. "It is an astronomical coincidence, I assure you, but it is possible. Besides, there was no point behind your line of questioning. My ruling stands."
She cursed under her breath. "Alright...Ms. Quinlan. Might I request that you testify more about the actual murder? About what you saw?"
Betty thought it over. "I don't see why not."
"Very well. Witness, please testify as to what happened to the victim."
"Let me think...I was talking with Luke on the sidewalk near the victim while she stared at the sky. After a moment, she joined the conversation. I asked her why her telescope was so big, and then she held out her arms to show me the size of a larger one. That's when the book got shot at. She turned, tripped, and then was shot as she fell. Luke ran for the phone while I gave her CPR."
"Oh, my," the judge blurted.
"I'll begin cross-examination," Priscilla called. The judge snapped out of his daydream and nodded.
"However, Ms. Serafie, there will be no badgering or questioning of the witness. You are only allowed to present evidence that may contradict her statements. If you fail to do so, your client will receive an immediate guilty sentence. Understand?"
"Understood, Your Honor." She paused a moment, rereading the testimony as it had been recorded onto the screen.
"OBJECTION!" she cried. The judge jumped in fright.
"What is the meaning of such a loud cacophony?"
"Your Honor, please pay attention. Now, Ms Quinlan...You say that the victim spun, tripped, and was shot as she fell?"
"Yes..."
"The autopsy report does not state this. The math doesn't add up, either. Unfortunately for you, that statement was a lie."
"How...?"
"The bullet was completely horizontal to the ground until it impacted the lower part of the back of her second rib on her left-hand-side. If she were falling when the body hit her, then it would have hit her at an angle, and the bone would have shattered. No, the victim was still standing when she was shot. Furthermore, the impact mark made in the ground by the bullet does not mathematically align with your suggested flightpath. And on top of that, had the victim fallen, you would have had to roll her over to perform CPR. But there were no marks of blood on the ground to indicate this."
Betty was shaking in rage. The judge looked surprised. "Well, the defense has a point. Witness, explain."
"She...was shot standing up. The weight of the book had twisted her upper body into the second bullet's flightpath, Your Honor."
"Why did you lie?"
"Because it does not change the fact that the victim was killed by the shot."
"OBJECTION!" Once again, the judge jumped.
"Had the bullet struck the victim at your suggested angle, it would have missed her heart and instead damaged her aorta. However, there was no damage to the aorta, only to the heart and surrounding tissues."
"OBJECTION! What does this have to do with the case?"
"It defines how the victim was shot, and what the witness observed."
"But whether or not the bullet struck her body one way or the other doesn't matter!"
"It matters because from that point on the testimony is a lie!"
"Me? Lying?"
"Yes. I have established that you did not see the moment that the victim was shot, and I established before that you do not know CPR."
"If I didn't see the moment that the victim was shot, Ms. Serafie, then what was it that I was looking at?"
"Simple. The murderer."
She gasped, as did most everyone in the courtroom. A large outcry of opinions and insults washed through the crowd. The judge beat his gavel with so much force Jimmy worried that the head might break under strain.
ORDER! OOOORDEEEEEER!"
Finally, the courtroom quieted. The judge sighed.
"That is a very serious accusation you have, Ms Serafie. Where is your evidence?"
"This," she said, producing the letter for the second time.
"This is the letter to the victim from the killer, right? The one that 'wasn't' written by Mr. Neutron?"
"Correct. At the moment of the first shot, the victim had her arm outstretched and was grasping the textbook with it. The bullet hole punctured the book and the letter, destroying a small portion of the text. Betty noticed the envelope, and looked to the murderer where he laid in wait across the park, and gave him a signal about the book. He then proceeded to shoot it for one simple reason: to destroy evidence against him."
"Evidence against him?"
"Should the handwriting on the letter ever manage to get traced or checked, the killer would have a hard time explaining the condemnation of an innocent man to angry policemen. Therefore, he needed to destroy that which he created, and so he shot at the envelope. Then, he had to shoot the victim, to deter suspicion and to fulfill his mission of killing this poor woman."
"Hmm...that does sound plausible..."
"Following that, when Ms. Quinlan claims to have been performing CPR, she was not. There is no way she could be. Even a four-year-old child with no concept of death would have understood that the victim was helpless and could not be saved by something as trivial as CPR, which is used on bodies that are already pronounced dead or have stopped breathing due to asphyxiation or drowning. This body would not have needed CPR, as it is not used to reconstruct a destroyed heart."
"Then what is it that Ms. Quinlan was doing?"
"Cleaning up evidence."
"Do you have any proof?"
"The missing bullet."
Cindy held up a photograph of the bullet hole that had punctured the concrete without a tell-tale bullet left behind. "This is an actual photo of the crime-scene's missing bullet. Here you can see the hole that it left behind and that it disappeared from its impact point."
"There's no other way that this bullet could have gone missing, since police records indicate that Mr. Datowey did, in fact, use the phone in the park to call the police when the murder occurred. Both he and Ms. Quinlan testified that she tried resuscitating the victim, but there was no purpose for resuscitation of a lost cause."
The judge tugged at his beard. "I'm loathe to believe that this beauty before me did anything wrong, but Ms. Serafie does have a point. Ms. Quinlan, did you remove the bullet from the scene?"
She stood, hair hanging over her face. There was a long silence. Finally, "So...this is what it's come to."
She whipped her hair back, eyes glimmering in anger and hatred as they bored into Priscilla's soft features.
"You think that because you're an attorney that you can just stand there and defile me? Call me a liar? No. You're wrong. I am not a liar. I am a protector."
"A protector of what?"
"My best interest.
"See, if there was a bullet where I was standing, and the clues aligned, I could be made out to be the murderer. And I couldn't have that. So I took the bullet and ground it up into powder. After all, I'm not a murderer. And I'm not a liar."
She locked eyes with Jimmy. He suddenly felt that he knew what was coming.
"You. You're the cause of all of this. You went and toyed with me when we were kids, mocked me openly for being less smart than you, sucked up to me and adored me until it made me sick, and then I fell for you in high school and you kicked me down! You went after that blonde-haired bimbo over there and left me to rot, Neutron! You left me to ROT!"
She was now crying angry tears, but she wasn't finished. She heaved another deep breath.
"Do you every lay awake at night and wonder what happened to you two? Do you? I dare you to guess, right here, right now, in front of everyone, Mr. Genius. Why did you two, the dream team, rivals in everything, then lovers to the end, break apart and remain so for three, long, cold, devastating years? I ask you, Neutron, the boy genius, WHY?"
All eyes focused on Jimmy. Even Priscilla knew not what to say. Cindy's face was white as a sheet and her hands were shaking violently beneath the edge of the counter.
"You. You split us apart. You caused us to hate each other, then mourn for one another."
"And I thought you would have guessed before now and made up, but it didn't occur to you that I was that smart, did it? I planned for it to happen that night, even used your voice synthesizer to break you two apart from one another. It didn't matter that the conversations were different; you were gone and she was stuck here, pregnant with your child. And YOU!"
She rounded on Cindy, who now had her hand resting gently on her stomach.
"Wasn't it in December that you lost the baby? Oh, wasn't that the worst Christmas day ever, you slut. Do you know why you lost the baby? Guess. Right here, right now."
"You...you MONSTER!"
She was now clutching her stomach as though she'd been stabbed. Her face was whiter than ever, hands shaking like maracas.
"You're all so willing to point fingers at me, so willing to prove me guilty, and for what? I didn't kill that girl! I didn't even know that girl. All I knew was that I hated James Isaac Neutron and everyone that he was friends with, and that included her. But there was someone who hated her more than I did. The lawyer's right: I looked at the murderer that night. And that murderer was James Isaac Neutron, and I was his accomplice!"
The whole courtroom rose into screaming and swearing, stomping their feet and jeering loudly at Betty, Cindy, and Jimmy. Cindy stood her ground, still clutching her stomach. Betty looked absolutely scary. But it was Jimmy who stood and hung his head in shame.
"What's wrong, genius? No comebacks? Nothing to say? No words to comfort me? No more flirting? What, did you lose interest in me? Or are you really just not smart enough to respond?"
He raised his head, finally pushed into anger. He locked eyes with Betty and the courtroom fell silent; the tension was so high that it could have thrown people at walls if they spoke out.
"I once cared for you a great deal, Betty Quinlan. We weren't friends, no, but I didn't mind. I believed in the best in you. I believed that you had some good left inside you, something that I couldn't see because I was so busy trying not to be mad at you for hurting me. You're the reason I hated Cindy so much, Betty Quinlan. You're the reason I was always angry with her, always feuding with her. Because I couldn't vent to anyone. Because I had an image of perfection and snobbishness to live up to. Because you kept hurting me over and over so that I no longer trusted the affections of girls. And when I outgrew it in high school and you hung on me because I was the smart guy, I had learned, Betty Quinlan. I was a good student, and I was very close with Cindy, and you couldn't stand that I wouldn't give you, the whore, the attention that I used to in grade school. You're what drove me to hating Cindy for most of my childhood, not because she was always trying to compete with me, but because everything that she said about you was true. And I hated her because I knew within me that she was right, one-hundred percent. THAT is why I stayed away from you, Betty Quinlan, and that is why I stand before you today: I will not be pushed around by the likes of you any longer."
He looked absolutely lethal as he glared lasers at Betty. She was beginning to pale and sweat, realizing the extent of her outrage. She had admitted to being the murderer's accomplice. She had finally told the truth about what had happened. But most painfully, she had been stabbed in the back by the nicest guy she had ever known. She was livid, crushed, and regretful all at once, and she didn't know which emotion to cater to first.
The judge cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "Bailiff, please incarcerate the witness. Place her in the detention center for further questioning about this case and her actions toward Ms. Vortex regarding her unborn child. This court will reconvene tomorrow morning at ten o'clock sharp. That is all."
The judge beat his gavel on its podium one final time and watched as Betty was dragged away without protest, her eyes glued to the genius breathing deeply as he stood vehemently at the defense's counter. One hand clutched tightly to the counter, the other to his chest. For within him was a new-found pain, one spawned by the demons from hell, and it felt like an icy dagger had been plunged into his bare, naked heart.
Ahh, so emotional...so spiritual...so weird how the events twisted. Everyone remembers Betty as the 'beautiful bimbo', but I decided to give her a little more purpose than to just play Jimmy's had-been object of affection. I want to know what everyone thinks about what she said, about what she did. How does that make your heart feel inside? (I'm not asking to be cruel, I'm asking as a test to see if I wrote it the way I wanted it to be)