A/N: You can blame/thank Josh Charles's eyes in the last episode for the speed of this update. They begged me to put him out of his misery. I can't do that here in one chapter but I can get him closer. I'm not sure if the murder narrative works for you. If not, I'm sorry. Despite years of criminal training, via TV shows I still don't know how to create a compelling case. If you don't like Will's closing, it's my own fault. Don't blame the poor Will, he has had enough blows lately ;)
"Her name was Julia Thompson. She was smart, tall, blonde and beautiful and I was desperately in love with her. The problem was that the entire heterosexual population of my high school was too."
He paused for the slight chuckle coming from the jurors. "Make them laugh" was a mantra that could be applied even to a closing argument in a murder trial. The illusion of levity after days of hearing gruesome evidence was so needed that somehow one little smile could make them thankful enough that they would hear the rest of his words with much more attention than usual.
"She was the Holy Grail of women and all of us were on a dangerous quest to get her attention."
Lie. Even in his playboy days brunettes always held a particular charm.
"Why am I telling you about my not-so-glorious high-school days?"
Pause for effect. Let the jurors try to guess their own answer. They would be much more engaged.
"Because I think this trial is not about Jon Del Mar. It's about her, about Joy. A girl with no means that has been working since she was 14 to help her family. Joy, which in high-school was the shy girl that was overlooked by the Mark Thompson of the situation but grew up to be a beautiful young woman. Joy that at a party a friend has brought her to, meets again Mark, the dream of her adolescence. Mark this time doesn't look over her but right at her. Mark that asks her out, and they start a relationship."
Pause again. Let them think over the narrative, make sense of it in their own heads.
"But as any of us has learned, the Mark and Julia Thompsons of the world are heartbreakers."
Read their faces, notice which of the jurors have been disappointed by the jock or the head-cheerleader in high school. He spotted at least 3 men and 2 women. Good, the women in particular were essential. He kept walking as if he were thinking what to say next. He had it all memorized but he wanted them to relive the pain that the unattainable could inflict on the others.
"They also have an ego complex. They think it's all right for them to step out on you but God forbid you repay them with the same coin."
Flinch from juror number 5, a woman. Excellent, let her empathize with the victim and her reasoning.
"Keeping that in mind, I'll tell you the rest of Joy's tragic and too short story. Joy discovers that Mark is cheating on her but she loves him, she doesn't want to give him up. Enter Mr Del Mar, her boss, an attractive man, most of all Mark's mother's doctor. Joy starts thinking, what would be the harm in an innocent lie? She'd play the girl in love for the woman, the woman would report to her son and see if he likes being taken for the same ride."
"I want you all to picture the Mark and Julia Thompsons of your life. Would it have been unreasonable to lie to get them back? Can you be sure beyond any reasonable doubt that Joy didn't play a part for a particular patient? You've heard Mrs Downey say under oath that Joy had never acted affectionately before, just that day. That day, just a week after having discovered that she had been cheated on, as her best friend testified. Such an incredible coincidence, as the prosecution would have you believe?"
He saw some jurors give a disbelieving snort when he had nominated Geneva. He was no jury-reader but he felt sure that some of the 12 people standing in front of him had not been convinced by the State's case.
"Are the Joys of this world content of being just victims, or does any of them play an active role in deciding their lives?"
"We are nearing the end of my tale. The plan goes smoothly. The mom, who doesn't like Joy in the first place, calls her son and Mark goes to the study to confront her. He waits for Mr Del Mar to come out. He is a big man, there is the risk of a serious brawl that would bloody his newly minted jacket."
Distaste in some pairs of eyes. Exactly, hate the guy that thinks himself above any consequence!
"He then goes to Joy. He is furious. Who is she to sit at the adult tables? They fight, she refuses to admit the mistake unless he admits his, he gets angry and strangles her. Now he has won for sure. Joy won't be cheating on him anymore. Indeed, she won't have any other man after him."
He stopped for a while, once again giving the jury time to digest the information he had given them. He looked towards the gallery. He noticed Laura smiling brightly at him. She of course should not be taking his side but she wasn't Geneva's biggest fan while she seemed to be more and more fond of him. Indeed, just the day before, before his final rehearsal of the closing argument she had insisted to take his edge off and it had worked wonders for his mood. He forced his head back in the game. If all went as he wished it to go, this was the last act of this absurd case. No more forced meetings with Alicia and his son, no exploiting all his strength to keep his feelings at bay.
"Ms Pine has explained that Mr Del Mar was going out and he had already put his gloves off when he killed her. That's why there were no traces of his DNA on the victim. Then he ran off, leaving her dead. If I were to read the tea leaves, I would posit a different scenario. Mr Del Mar had argued with Joy still inside his office, when Mrs Downey heard them. Then, after leaving her there, he took his coat, put his gloves and he walked off his rage before returning home. Joy's boyfriend instead came from outside. It was natural for him to have gloves on with the freezing temperature. He also magically disappeared the day after. Our P.I. suspects that he is in Europe with his parents. What a coincidence! "
Final peroration. Will loved the thrill of those.
"When you go back to your deliberating room, please, keep Joy's best interests at heart. Let her have the ultimate justice against a man that wanted to protect his ego so badly he didn't think twice about ending Joy's life. Show him that she wasn't irrelevant, that you will not convict the wrong man and you will thus hold the SA's office and the police accountable to find the real killer. Show this city that high-school ends. In Adult-Chicago Mark Thompsons cannot get out of jail with a winning smile and a plane ticket and good men like Jon Del Mar get to go home to their family. Thank you"
The silence following his last word was broken by a soft clap. He turned around and saw Nisa and her mother that with tears in their eyes wanted to storm the room with an applause but had refrained. The instinct had remained and that first meeting of their hands had been enough to end the tranche the entire room seemed to have fell in.
The judge was talking now, starting to give instructions to the jury. He went back to his desk and was met by Alicia's eyes. He had expected gratitude but his senses had to have been a little off because what he perceived in her gaze was love. She was looking at him how he had always wished her to. Her brown eyes were brightened and twinkled with a tear or two. She was smiling and her entire countenance seemed to suggest such affection that it would have been natural for him to take her in his arms and kiss her until she begged him to stop for some air while breathlessly laughing.
He then remembered where he was and what situation they were now in. After all, he had never truly seen Alicia's eyes shine with love for him. He was mistaking intense gratitude for love. That's how much his brain still would not let go of the idea of her.
She put an hand on his arm and murmured "Thank you", then they both moved towards Mr Del Mar, with some encouraging words before being taken in custody waiting for the jury to come back. The court-room door had just been closed behind Mr Del Mar's frame when Zach came from behind him and said:
"Will, that closing almost made me want to change my major in college to pre-law. You're coming with us for lunch, right?"
Was he? He and Laura had sort of made plans if he got done at a decent hour. She would understand if he went to lunch with the client's family.
And Alicia. And Zach.
But he had already spent too much time at the receiving end of Alicia's gaze. His traitorous heart was already beating with unjustified enthusiasm. Better to quash all hope before it could take root again and in order for him to have a chance to do that, he needed to be with Laura and to be away from Alicia. He would not be able to avoid a celebratory dinner if they won, or a starting-the-appeal-strategy dinner if they lost. This lunch he could avoid. So he did.
"I'm sorry Zach. I am going to have a quick launch with Laura and then go back to the office. Work waits for no orator" he smirked and tried not to disappoint him.
"But you'll be here for the verdict?"
"Of course. They'll call me and I'll come straight over."
He did not miss Alicia's sharp intake of breath at his refusal but he had been training himself to ignore any possible signal coming from her. He greeted the Del Mar's family, Zach, and briefly waved to Alicia before reaching Laura that was waiting for him at the end of the room.
The jury came back fast, after just over an hour. She could never predict if it was good or bad news.
Will came rushing from Laura's office and she hated that jealousy inflamed her as it had the first time she had seen them together. It had been two weeks since she had given Laura her sort-of, maybe-not, blessing and they had already slept together.
She had noticed the always-put together Will come to work with the same suit two days in a row, looking mighty satisfied. She had wanted to slap him or to kiss him to keep that grin off his face. She was the only one allowed to put it there. He could not be already moving on, he could not be already falling in love with someone else. Not when she was still replaying moments with him in her mind, when her thoughts were consumed by his face, his hands, his lips, his eyes so much that she found it difficult to concentrate.
Her conversation with Peter of the day before had troubled her. He had asked about living arrangements if he became the governor of Illinois. She had to start thinking about her future. Did she want to move to Springfield and abandon Lockart/Gardner? She had no intention whatsoever of doing that. She was a partner now, she enjoyed her job and the idea of not seeing Will every day was inconceivable, no matter how much pain she had lately associated to his presence. She would have to commute from time to time. Maybe even take planes and choppers in order to be there for the main events.
The tedious life of galas, fundraisers and speeches flashed in front of her. Peter returning late in Chicago when he could, expecting her to be chipper and so glad to have this life with him.
She wasn't.
She still cared deeply for him. She would venture out and say that she loved him. But being in love with him? That was gone forever.
In an alternate world, she could survive just fine with her companionship with Peter. She was still attracted to him. They had two amazing kids and she would never feel that deep betrayal if he ever decided to look for prostitutes again. He had not only broken her love. He had broken her trust. He would never get it back.
Sure, she trusted him enough to deal with the kids and also to well govern the people of Illinois. Her heart was off-limits, though. She would suspect at every rumor, question every tabloid article she happened to glance at the supermarket. She would never feel safe again with him.
She would not mourn the loss of that sensation so deeply if she hadn't felt it with someone else, when she had thought it gone forever.
She would adjust easily to her life with Peter if she didn't love Will so incandescently. When a wanderer pilgrim found a single path instead of a crossroad he did not waste time wondering what that other path would lead to. Alicia had found herself at a crossroad, she had taken the Will path before retracing her steps. The knowledge of the bliss she had felt, that she would still feel could not be erased. She would be stuck in a never-ending loop. Every time an event didn't catch her complete attention (almost always), her mind would roam back to Will and to what that very moment spent with him would entail.
Was that a life worthy of that name?
While the judge was entering she snack at peek at her son. She was doing it for him and his sister. It was a valid reason but if Zach was any indication maybe having it all wasn't completely out of the question.
"Madame Foreperson, have you reached a verdict?"
"We have, Your Honor."
"What say you?"
"In the matter of Cook County versus Jon Del Mar on the account of first degree murder we find the defendant not guilty."
She heard her Zach almost yell "Yes" behind her and Will at her side looking mightily relieved and a bit proud.
"Members of the jury, I thank you for your service. Mr Del Mar is free to go."
What about her? She was grateful of course but that wasn't enough. She was in love with him, she wanted to hug and kiss him and have him take her in the very courtroom in which he had worked his magic. She craved to spend the night with him, rediscovering each other. She needed to spend hours finding the best words to describe her love for him and then showing him to make the doubt in his eyes go away.
Instead when she turned he had already been enveloped in a hug by Mr Del Mar. Then it had been Mrs Del Mar and Nisa's turns and finally her son's.
Will had not presumed to initiate the contact with the teenager but Zach had given him a real hug and he had immediately reciprocated it.
She could mask the tears in her eyes as tears of joy for Mr Del Mar but they were of a truly different nature. They were tears at watching the two men she cherished the most in the world be at peace with one another, she even dared guessing loving one another. Instead of participating to the reunion she was standing awkwardly on the side.
The destiny of a woman who had chosen not to gamble and thus never won.
His mother was still sending longing glances to Will. He imagined that she found it hard to mask those anymore. When it was his turn to hug the lawyer that had freed Nisa's father he caught his mother's eyes filled with tears and the kind of tenderness he had seen in her every time he and his father ended up spending quality-time together.
It was obvious to him now that his mother wanted Will. He suspected she was holding back because of him and Grace but, at least for his part, it was no longer necessary. Sure, the divorce of his parents would open some wounds but he would get to see Will more often and he especially would get to see his mother properly cared for. He inferred that if Will had elicited such a love from his mother after she had been so thoroughly betrayed by his father, he had to be a man he could trust with his mother's heart.
He wanted to give his mother a possibility of being happy. He was going to college in a few months and Grace not long after. Now that she had her life back, she should get to live it with the man of her choice.
Will was dating the other lawyer and he didn't have enough information to formulate a true scheme. He could always coerce him into sharing some more.
They had already decided that the celebratory dinner needed to be postponed for a day. The Del Mar family needed a night for their own. He completely respected that. Plus, it fit seamlessly with his next move.
"Will, why don't you have dinner with us tonight? Grace has been bugging me with details about the case. Who better to tell her than the man who saved the day?"
He smiled but found a completely puzzled Will. He hadn't been expecting any such invite. At all. Will turned to his mother and seemed to be even more surprised when his mother got along with his invitation.
"Yes, Will, we would love to have you. I'm sure Grace would like to meet you."
He wasn't. Grace wouldn't like this evening at all but if this operation of his were to succeed, he needed his sister on board. There was no better way than by meeting the man himself and realizing how their mother hanged on his every word and gesture.
The unforeseen suggestion had made him speechless but when he recovered the power to speak and move, he started shaking his head.
"Thank you very much. It's a very generous offer. But I have already other arrangements and you need some family time."
He was sorry for Will but he was the son of two excellent lawyers. He wasn't going to get out of this dinner.
"Come on, Will. I'm sure your girlfriend could spare you for one evening. You saw her at lunch and you can always see her after dinner."
His mother came to his aid.
"And I know that you don't have any work-dinner scheduled. You have exhausted every option."
Will seemed not to like his mother's push too much, so he intervened again with the one word he knew would make him cave.
"Please, Will."
He begrudgingly nodded.
Victory.
His mother was beaming and was giving him the patented proud-hen look.
He smiled right back.
A/N: Next time you'll see Will's POV at being roped into this situation and then, let the family dinner begin.