Hello! Here is the next chapter. Thank you for all of your kindness and all of your awesome reviews! Please review again, but more importantly, please enjoy this chapter!
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"Jett's a mafia boss?" Logan asked incredulously from the backseat after hearing James' revelation.
"Hey, no talking until you can breathe!" James reprimanded his partner from the front seat. "And yeah, believe it or not, Jett is a mafia boss."
Kendall shook his head disbelievingly. "I never would have seen that one coming," he muttered. "I feel like we're in a movie or something."
"Yeah, we're in a movie where the good guys, that's us by the way, are totally late for Carlos Garcia's hearing and don't have a motive for Jett killing Jennifer Moroe. Go us," James said unenthusiastically, speeding his car a little more when he saw that it was already an hour into Carlos' trial.
"So we know Jett definitely killed Jennifer Moroe," Kendall prompted, trying to figure out the motive. "But why?"
That was the only question left unanswered, the only piece missing in the puzzle. The three men knew that Jett had killed Jennifer because he had admitted it to Kendall and Logan when he left them for dead in the freezer. They also knew that Jett didn't have an alibi for the morning that Jennifer was killed, and had lied to Logan and James regarding his whereabouts at that time.
They knew the Jett was the murderer, but they didn't know why.
"Maybe she threatened to tell Jo that Jett was cheating on her," James offered halfheartedly as he sped along to try to get to Baltimore sooner. They had to make it back before the hearing was over.
"No," Kendall said after thinking about James' theory. Jo told me and Logan that she based her relationship with Jett on trust. Jett would have known that and would have told Jo that Jennifer was lying and she would have believed him."
Logan gasped from the backseat and both Kendall and James turned around in their seats quickly enough to give themselves whiplash as James hastily pulled the car over, both worrying that they friend was having another asthma attack.
"No, keep driving!" Logan yelled. "I'm fine, I'm fine! I think I figured it out!"
James started driving again and let out a shaky breath. "Geez, Logan, what the hell. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Kendall wiped a hand over his face as Logan's gasp had sent him back to their time in the freezer when Logan had stopped breathing.
"I would apologize," Logan said guiltlessly, "but this is much more important than that. Jo told Kendall and me that she knew Jennifer because she hung out with Jett, only they had a fight and stopped hanging out after he found her going through his things. Jo said she was supposed to have lunch with Jennifer today. Jennifer told her that she wanted to tell Jo something. What if she found out?"
"Found out what?" James questioned as he continued to focus on the road.
"What if she found out that he was in the mafia?" Logan said, excitement glowing in his eyes. "Think about it. She's going out with this guy, goes through his stuff one day and finds evidence that he's involved with the mafia. He catches her and then she wants to meet with Jo to tell her. She found out, and Jett found out that she knew so he killed her!"
James eyes widened as he tried to take all of this information in. "Okay, okay" he said, trying to get his thoughts in order. "Okay, so two weeks ago Jo overhears Jett and Jennifer arguing because he caught her looking through his things, at which time Jennifer had stumbled on something that proved that Jett is involved with the mafia. So she wants to meet with Jo to tell her what she's getting into, Jett somehow finds out, and kills her before she can tell anyone else?"
"Maybe!" Kendall exclaimed excitedly. "What do you think, Logan?"
When no answer came from the backseat, Kendall quickly turned around and saw Logan nodding while rubbing his chest.
"Logan, are you all right?" Kendall asked, his excitement for possibly finding a motive quickly replaced by concern for his friend.
Upon hearing the concern in Kendall's voice, James adjusted the rearview mirror so that he could see Logan while keeping his eyes on the road.
"Yeah," Logan said assuredly. "It's just a bit of tightness. Natural side effect of an asthma attack, I'm all right."
Neither James nor Kendall were completely assured by Logan's excuse, but they needed to get to Carlos Garcia's hearing before it ended and before an innocent man was put in jail. So they continued the rest of the drive in silence only interrupted by Logan's suppressed coughing and the sound of the car's police siren.
Carlos Garcia watched as his hearing progressed. He had a different prosecutor than he had had last week, but what most troubled him was the fact that Detective Diamond and the other detective who arrested him weren't at his hearing. He thought for sure that James had believed him, but he hadn't even shown up. Carlos was sure that his life was over as it unraveled before his eyes.
The prosecutor brought up witness after witness, all saying something against him. And the worst part was Carlos didn't even know how to respond. He had watched enough crime shows and law dramas to know that there were objections he could be saying and arguments he could be making, but he just didn't know what to say. Everything that the witnesses for the prosecution said was correct, but it was all being spun against him. Everything was out of control.
"What am I supposed to say?" he asked himself after hearing one of Jennifer's friends say that he was somewhat of a stalker. "Objection, Your Honor, but that's not true?" Carlos was at a loss.
And then Jett Stetson came on the stand and started telling lies. He said that he had seen Carlos Wednesday morning running from Jennifer's apartment with blood all over his clothes, but that wasn't true! He didn't run from Jennifer's apartment, and he definitely didn't have any blood on him. But it was too late now. The jury already had their minds made up, and Carlos couldn't really blame them. Even he, who knew the truth, could have been convinced that he was guilty of murdering Jennifer Moroe.
It was nearly six o'clock when James, Logan, and Kendall arrived at the courthouse, and they prayed that they weren't too late. They ran into the correct courtroom to find that the jury was about to read off their decision regarding Carlos' guilt.
"Wait!" Kendall yelled before the decision could be read and he ran up to the judge's bench.
"Excuse me!" the judge exclaimed indignantly, her stern expression almost stopping Kendall from making his announcement.
"Please, Your Honor, I'm sorry for interrupting," Kendall said a little breathlessly since he ran to the courtroom. "But this is urgent. You've got the wrong man. Carlos Garcia isn't guilty for the murder of Jennifer Moroe. Jett Stetson is the murderer."
The courtroom buzzed excitedly as the disheveled man before them just laid guilt on one of the witnesses for the prosecution.
James and Logan made their way over to where Jett Stetson was sitting, awaiting the jury's decision. They had to make sure that he wouldn't run away and try to escape, especially after he saw that Logan and Kendall were no longer locked in a freezer. So instead of being able to run away, Jett was forced to stay in his seat and listen to what Kendall had to say.
"Oh?" the stern judge asked scathingly. "And what gives you the right to run into my courtroom and interrupt my hearing? I will hold you in contempt!"
"Please," Kendall pleaded. "You can hold me in contempt, you can arrest me, you can do whatever you want. But please, please let me explain."
Before the judge could give Kendall permission to continue, Kendall began to speak. "My name is Kendall Knight, and I was the original prosecutor assigned to this case. I didn't believe that Carlos Garcia could have killed Jennifer Moroe, so I started looking into the case with the arresting officers, Detectives James Diamond and Logan Mitchell.
"We discovered that Jennifer Moroe had a boyfriend, who we discovered to be Jett Stetson. So we talked to him, thinking that he may be a suspect in her murder. He gave us an alibi which, as it turns out, was false.
"Detective Mitchell and I went back to Mr. Stetson's apartment to question him further. Apparently we asked too many questions, because yesterday Detective Mitchell and I were kidnapped by Mr. Jett Stetson and locked in a large freezer, left to die. And Detective Mitchell almost did.
"While in this freezer, Mr. Stetson admitted to Detective Mitchell and me that he had indeed murdered Jennifer Moroe. Thus, on Detective Mitchell's and my testimonies, we would like to arrest Mr. Jett Stetson for the murder of Jennifer Moroe, the kidnapping and attempted murder of Detective Logan Mitchell and me, hindering a police investigating, perjury, and involvement in organized crime."
When Kendall finished, the courtroom was silent. This dramatic unfolding of events seemed like it should have belonged in a book or a movie, not in real life. The silence, however, was interrupted after a few moments by whispering, the majority of that whispering asking about the charge of involvement in organized crime.
The judge finally interrupted the whispering and the buzzing. "Bailiff," she ordered, "take Mr. Jett Stetson and Mr. Carlos Garcia into custody and contact the Baltimore Police Department. Tell them that we may have a situation on our hands. I am declaring this court proceedings null and void until all of this information can be sorted out and justice can be served. So jury, you are free to go. Mr. Knight, Detectives Mitchell and Diamond, follow me."
And with that, the judge led Kendall, Logan, and James to the judge's quarters.
Did you like it? I hope that the explanation into Jett's motive made sense...I tried to be as clear as possible, but what may appear clear to me may be completely vague to anyone else. Thanks for reading and keep your eyes out for the next chapters! There are 23 chapters in all so two more left!