Chapter Twenty-Five
A steady beeping filled Lilly's ears as she struggled to open her eyes. Her lids felt as if they were weighed down with bricks, and it was painful to open them. A chill ran up her spine and goosebumps rose on her skin. Lilly forced her eyes open, and a splitting headache overcame her as soon as the light hit her eyes.
"You just don't seem to want to leave this place do you?" A voice above her asked. Lilly glanced up and was met by Dr. Coughman's smiling face.
"What happened?" She asked, her voice was rough and her throat hurt with each word.
"You took quite a tumble down the stairs." The doctor said, "But you were lucky, you got away with only a few cuts and bruises." His voice trailed off and Lilly knew that something was wrong.
"What is it?" she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Miss Carter," Dr. Coughman said gently, "you lost the baby in your fall." A blanket of heavy grief covered Lilly. Lost the baby? She couldn't have, could she?
'Why am I upset by this anyway?' she asked herself, 'Did I really want this child? Did I really want to live the rest of my life knowing that I gave birth to my rapist's child?' Lilly stared out at nothing, trying to answer the questions, but she had no answers.
"Miss Carter? Are you alright?" Dr. Coughman asked worriedly.
"I'm fine." Lilly said, shaking the questions from her mind, "Are my parents here?"
"They're in the waiting room." The doctor said, "Would you like to see them now?"
"Yes." He nodded and left the room. Minutes later Tom and Vivian Carter came in.
"You had us so worried." Vivian cried, hugging her daughter tightly, "We woke up and you weren't there and then we got a call from the hospital saying that you had fallen." She pulled back and gave Lilly a scolding look, "Don't you ever do that to us again missy."
"I won't mom." Lilly said weakly, "I promise."
"How are you feeling kiddo?" Tom asked.
"Like I've been hit by a Mac truck." Lilly said, making a feeble attempt at humor.
"Lilly..." her mother started then paused, with a heavy sigh she continued on, "the doctor told us...you know...about losing the baby. We're so sorry honey." A tear slipped down Vivian's cheek, and Lilly wanted to hold her mother and rock her like a crying child.
"It's okay mom," she said, sounding braver than she felt, "Its' okay."
"No it's not Lilly. You shouldn't have run off like that. What were you thinking?" Her mom cried.
"I had to get out of that room. You guys, though I know you meant well, you were suffocating me. I'm a grown woman, I can take care of myself."
"You had been raped, found out you were pregnant, and just got out of the hospital." Vivian cried, "Of course we're going to want to take care of you."
"Vivian," Tom cut into his wife's rant, "Lilly's right. We were being too domineering. The girl needed her space, we should have known and respected that." Vivian huffed and sat down in the chair.
"When can I leave?" Lilly asked before silence could take over the room.
"Whenever the doctor gives you the go ahead." Tom said. Lilly nodded and resigned herself to the wait.
~*~*~
Two days later Lilly and her parents were allowed back into Lilly's apartment. Gil and his team had finished up their investigation only days before. As the young woman was trying to gain control of her fear and settle back into a normal routine, she received word that Scott Kennedy would be going to trail in just one day. Tom was immediately on the phone calling up an old lawyer buddy of his to represent Lilly in the trail. His friend agreed, and before Lilly wanted to, she was heading into the courtroom.
~*~*~
Sunlight streamed in through the windows and sprawled across the floor. Lilly breathed in deeply as she followed her lawyer, Simon Hutchinson, to their table. At any minute, Scott would be entering that very room and sitting down mere feet from her. Glancing behind her, Lilly saw Grissom enter and sit beside her parents who were seated directly behind her. The door opened again and she smiled slightly as she saw Catherine, Warrick, and Nick enter. Her smile fell when she could not spot Greg amongst the crowd that had gathered. She watched, curious, as Warrick wrote something down and handed it to Grissom, who then handed it to Lilly. She took it and opened the folded paper slowly. On the crisp white paper were written three simple words; "He'll be here." Lilly felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she read the words over and over. Greg was coming.
Two armed guards entered then, from a door on the side of the courtroom. In between them was a tall, well-built man. His shaggy, sandy blonde hair fell into the ocean blue eyes that bore into Lilly. Her heart thundered within her chest, and she fought to control her rising anger as she watched the guards seat him beside his lawyer. She gazed straight ahead, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing the effect he had on her. The bailiff entered then, calling for them to rise for the judge. The judge entered and took his place in the front of the room.
"You may be seated." He said, raising his gavel he hit it upon the desk, "The case of Carter vs. Kennedy is now in session. Counselers, if you would please approach the bench." The two lawyers stood, and approached the judge as one. They spoke quietly for a few seconds before the judge sent them back to their seats.
"Mr. Marshal, call your first witness." The judge said.
"Of course Your Honor." Mr. Marshal said rising, "I call to the stand Miss Lillian Carter." Upon hearing her name, Lilly forced her trembling legs to carry her to the witness stand where the bailiff swore her in.
"Miss Carter," the lawyer said, "Please tell the court how you know my client Scott Kennedy."
"We..." Lilly's voice trembled and she closed her eyes tightly forcing herself to calm down before continuing in a stronger voice, "We went to Harvard together."
"And in that time at Harvard, did my client give you any reason to think that he was stalking you?"
"Well..." Lilly started.
"That was a simple yes or no question Miss Carter." The lawyer snapped.
"No sir." Lilly replied, feeling her heart sink with the words.
"When you were 'kidnapped' did you ever see your abductor's face?"
"No," she said, but before Mr. Marshal could continue talking she said, "But the room was dark and he never turned on the lights."
"That was a yes or no question Miss Carter." Jeffery Marshal cried.
"Sorry," she mumbled. Marshal drew himself up to his full height and paraded in front of the jury like a preening peacock.
"That's quite alright Miss Carter." He replied snobbishly. The doors that led into the courtroom squeaked, and Lilly saw Greg hurry inside. He sat towards the back of the room and gave her a light smile. Lilly could feel her confidence coming back and she drew in a deep calming breath.
"So you never saw your abductor's face," Jeffery Marshal continued, "did he ever give you a name?" the young woman could sense the sarcasm in his tone.
'So he thinks he's got this all in the bag does he?' Lilly thought, 'Well he'll be singing a different tune soon enough.'
"No sir," she said with a tone of voice that told the lawyer she was not going to play his game, "He never gave a name."
"Then I have no more questions. Your witness prosecutor." Mr. Hutchinson stood and buttoned up his suit coat.
"You may return to your seat Miss Carter." He said kindly, "I'd like to call Gil Grissom to the stand." Gil was sworn in and took the witness stand.
"Mr. Grissom," Simon started, "you're the CSI in charge of this investigation, are you not?"
"Yes I am." Grissom said.
"Could you please, at this time, present us with some of the evidence collected?"
"It would be my pleasure." Grissom said glaring at Scott Kennedy. The bailiff approached and placed a box next to Grissom who reached inside; "This is a video camera found inside of Miss Carter's apartment." He said, "The video feed found in this camera was traced back to Mr. Kennedy's home. We also found several boxes containing photographs of Miss Carter in the defendant's home." At this point he pulled out a handful of photos and handed them to the bailiff who, in turn, handed them to the jurors and the judge. As they looked over the photos, Lilly chanced a glance over at Scott and was met with a harsh glare from his cold eyes.
Grissom continued to show evidence to the court for nearly thirty more minutes. Lilly was growing tired, and her nerves were raw from sitting beneath the stares and glares of so many. The courtroom grew hot and oppressive. Sweat fell down her face, and Lilly was constantly rubbing her eyes. She tried to keep her composure. The confidence that had taken over her as she sat on the witness stand had long since left, leaving her trembling in its wake. Her hands shook and her legs bounced, refusing to stay still. Grissom finally left the stand and Mr. Marshal was told to call a witness. He called Scott to the stand.
Scott sat there as the bailiff swore him in. His eyes bore into Lilly's with a cold animosity. A shiver ran down her spine as memories of his touch swarmed her mind.
"Mister Kennedy, if you will, please tell the court the relationship between you and Miss Carter?" Mr. Marshal said.
"We were both students at Harvard," Scott said gently, ever the picture of innocence, "But I haven't seen her since we graduated." Lilly wanted to jump up and yell at him for lying.
"Then where do you suppose Miss Carter got the impression that you were stalking her?" Jeffery Marshal asked pompously.
"I have no idea." Scott replied with an innocent shrug. After a few more questions, Mr. Marshal sat back down and Lilly's lawyer stood.
"Mr. Kennedy," Simon Hutchinson said, "these files that I hold in my hand are notes from when Detective Jim Brass and CSI Gil Grissom interrogated you. They say that when you were brought in for questioning that you pled guilty to the abduction of Miss Carter. Now that's a different story from what you're telling us today. Do you care to explain yourself?" The panic was clear on Scott's face. He shot a glance to his lawyer whom only glared at him in response.
"I...I...alright." He cried, "I did it!" A roar went through the crowd at the confession.
"I admit that I kidnapped Lilly," Scott continued, "But I only did it because I love her. Ever since we met in college I haven't been able to get her off my mind. She belongs to me, not HIM." he pointed out into the crowd to where Greg sat. Lilly looked over her shoulder at Greg who was visibly trying to hold back his anger. She could see the veins popping out of his neck, the way he balled his hands into fists, turning the knuckles white. The two men stared each other down, refusing to be the one to lose. The tension was high in the room, so thick that you could cut it with a knife.
"He doesn't deserve her." Scott continued, "Not after all he did to her."
"Your Honor," Mr. Marshal cried, jumping to his feet, "My client would like to plead insanity."
"Over ruled Mr. Marshal, sit down." The judge said angrily, pounding his gavel on the desk. Dejected, Jeffery Marshal sank back down into his chair. The courtroom listened in horror as Scott Kennedy continued to tell his story. Once he was done, the judge pronounced the trail over and adjourned the jury to the deliberation room.
An hour passed in baited silence, the whole room anxiously waiting for the jury to return. Finally, the door opened and the jury filed in.
"Have you reached a verdict?" the judge asked as the jury was seated.
"Yes Your Honor." The head juror replied, "We, the members of this jury, find Scott Kennedy guilty of abduction and rape." A ripple of whispers ran through the room, and Lilly breathed a sigh of relief. He would be going to jail.
"Thank you," the judge said, "Mr. Kennedy, I sentence you to ten years incarceration without bail, and five hundred hours of community service. Court adjourned." The judge banged his gavel and left the room.
~*~*~
Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! One HUNDRED reviews! You guys ROCK! Thank you so much for helping me to reach my goal and a special shout out to Warrickishot who wrote the one hundredth review. That's the good news, now the bad news. The completion of this chapter means that I have only one more to go before this story is finished. I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed over the months that it took me to write this, you all are very special to me. and I promise that this will not be the last you hear from Lilly and Greg. I already have the sequal in the works, and it should only be a few short weeks, after the completion of LILLY OF THE VALLEY that is, that the sequal should be out. Once again thank you all very much for reading and reviewing this story.
A steady beeping filled Lilly's ears as she struggled to open her eyes. Her lids felt as if they were weighed down with bricks, and it was painful to open them. A chill ran up her spine and goosebumps rose on her skin. Lilly forced her eyes open, and a splitting headache overcame her as soon as the light hit her eyes.
"You just don't seem to want to leave this place do you?" A voice above her asked. Lilly glanced up and was met by Dr. Coughman's smiling face.
"What happened?" She asked, her voice was rough and her throat hurt with each word.
"You took quite a tumble down the stairs." The doctor said, "But you were lucky, you got away with only a few cuts and bruises." His voice trailed off and Lilly knew that something was wrong.
"What is it?" she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Miss Carter," Dr. Coughman said gently, "you lost the baby in your fall." A blanket of heavy grief covered Lilly. Lost the baby? She couldn't have, could she?
'Why am I upset by this anyway?' she asked herself, 'Did I really want this child? Did I really want to live the rest of my life knowing that I gave birth to my rapist's child?' Lilly stared out at nothing, trying to answer the questions, but she had no answers.
"Miss Carter? Are you alright?" Dr. Coughman asked worriedly.
"I'm fine." Lilly said, shaking the questions from her mind, "Are my parents here?"
"They're in the waiting room." The doctor said, "Would you like to see them now?"
"Yes." He nodded and left the room. Minutes later Tom and Vivian Carter came in.
"You had us so worried." Vivian cried, hugging her daughter tightly, "We woke up and you weren't there and then we got a call from the hospital saying that you had fallen." She pulled back and gave Lilly a scolding look, "Don't you ever do that to us again missy."
"I won't mom." Lilly said weakly, "I promise."
"How are you feeling kiddo?" Tom asked.
"Like I've been hit by a Mac truck." Lilly said, making a feeble attempt at humor.
"Lilly..." her mother started then paused, with a heavy sigh she continued on, "the doctor told us...you know...about losing the baby. We're so sorry honey." A tear slipped down Vivian's cheek, and Lilly wanted to hold her mother and rock her like a crying child.
"It's okay mom," she said, sounding braver than she felt, "Its' okay."
"No it's not Lilly. You shouldn't have run off like that. What were you thinking?" Her mom cried.
"I had to get out of that room. You guys, though I know you meant well, you were suffocating me. I'm a grown woman, I can take care of myself."
"You had been raped, found out you were pregnant, and just got out of the hospital." Vivian cried, "Of course we're going to want to take care of you."
"Vivian," Tom cut into his wife's rant, "Lilly's right. We were being too domineering. The girl needed her space, we should have known and respected that." Vivian huffed and sat down in the chair.
"When can I leave?" Lilly asked before silence could take over the room.
"Whenever the doctor gives you the go ahead." Tom said. Lilly nodded and resigned herself to the wait.
~*~*~
Two days later Lilly and her parents were allowed back into Lilly's apartment. Gil and his team had finished up their investigation only days before. As the young woman was trying to gain control of her fear and settle back into a normal routine, she received word that Scott Kennedy would be going to trail in just one day. Tom was immediately on the phone calling up an old lawyer buddy of his to represent Lilly in the trail. His friend agreed, and before Lilly wanted to, she was heading into the courtroom.
~*~*~
Sunlight streamed in through the windows and sprawled across the floor. Lilly breathed in deeply as she followed her lawyer, Simon Hutchinson, to their table. At any minute, Scott would be entering that very room and sitting down mere feet from her. Glancing behind her, Lilly saw Grissom enter and sit beside her parents who were seated directly behind her. The door opened again and she smiled slightly as she saw Catherine, Warrick, and Nick enter. Her smile fell when she could not spot Greg amongst the crowd that had gathered. She watched, curious, as Warrick wrote something down and handed it to Grissom, who then handed it to Lilly. She took it and opened the folded paper slowly. On the crisp white paper were written three simple words; "He'll be here." Lilly felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she read the words over and over. Greg was coming.
Two armed guards entered then, from a door on the side of the courtroom. In between them was a tall, well-built man. His shaggy, sandy blonde hair fell into the ocean blue eyes that bore into Lilly. Her heart thundered within her chest, and she fought to control her rising anger as she watched the guards seat him beside his lawyer. She gazed straight ahead, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing the effect he had on her. The bailiff entered then, calling for them to rise for the judge. The judge entered and took his place in the front of the room.
"You may be seated." He said, raising his gavel he hit it upon the desk, "The case of Carter vs. Kennedy is now in session. Counselers, if you would please approach the bench." The two lawyers stood, and approached the judge as one. They spoke quietly for a few seconds before the judge sent them back to their seats.
"Mr. Marshal, call your first witness." The judge said.
"Of course Your Honor." Mr. Marshal said rising, "I call to the stand Miss Lillian Carter." Upon hearing her name, Lilly forced her trembling legs to carry her to the witness stand where the bailiff swore her in.
"Miss Carter," the lawyer said, "Please tell the court how you know my client Scott Kennedy."
"We..." Lilly's voice trembled and she closed her eyes tightly forcing herself to calm down before continuing in a stronger voice, "We went to Harvard together."
"And in that time at Harvard, did my client give you any reason to think that he was stalking you?"
"Well..." Lilly started.
"That was a simple yes or no question Miss Carter." The lawyer snapped.
"No sir." Lilly replied, feeling her heart sink with the words.
"When you were 'kidnapped' did you ever see your abductor's face?"
"No," she said, but before Mr. Marshal could continue talking she said, "But the room was dark and he never turned on the lights."
"That was a yes or no question Miss Carter." Jeffery Marshal cried.
"Sorry," she mumbled. Marshal drew himself up to his full height and paraded in front of the jury like a preening peacock.
"That's quite alright Miss Carter." He replied snobbishly. The doors that led into the courtroom squeaked, and Lilly saw Greg hurry inside. He sat towards the back of the room and gave her a light smile. Lilly could feel her confidence coming back and she drew in a deep calming breath.
"So you never saw your abductor's face," Jeffery Marshal continued, "did he ever give you a name?" the young woman could sense the sarcasm in his tone.
'So he thinks he's got this all in the bag does he?' Lilly thought, 'Well he'll be singing a different tune soon enough.'
"No sir," she said with a tone of voice that told the lawyer she was not going to play his game, "He never gave a name."
"Then I have no more questions. Your witness prosecutor." Mr. Hutchinson stood and buttoned up his suit coat.
"You may return to your seat Miss Carter." He said kindly, "I'd like to call Gil Grissom to the stand." Gil was sworn in and took the witness stand.
"Mr. Grissom," Simon started, "you're the CSI in charge of this investigation, are you not?"
"Yes I am." Grissom said.
"Could you please, at this time, present us with some of the evidence collected?"
"It would be my pleasure." Grissom said glaring at Scott Kennedy. The bailiff approached and placed a box next to Grissom who reached inside; "This is a video camera found inside of Miss Carter's apartment." He said, "The video feed found in this camera was traced back to Mr. Kennedy's home. We also found several boxes containing photographs of Miss Carter in the defendant's home." At this point he pulled out a handful of photos and handed them to the bailiff who, in turn, handed them to the jurors and the judge. As they looked over the photos, Lilly chanced a glance over at Scott and was met with a harsh glare from his cold eyes.
Grissom continued to show evidence to the court for nearly thirty more minutes. Lilly was growing tired, and her nerves were raw from sitting beneath the stares and glares of so many. The courtroom grew hot and oppressive. Sweat fell down her face, and Lilly was constantly rubbing her eyes. She tried to keep her composure. The confidence that had taken over her as she sat on the witness stand had long since left, leaving her trembling in its wake. Her hands shook and her legs bounced, refusing to stay still. Grissom finally left the stand and Mr. Marshal was told to call a witness. He called Scott to the stand.
Scott sat there as the bailiff swore him in. His eyes bore into Lilly's with a cold animosity. A shiver ran down her spine as memories of his touch swarmed her mind.
"Mister Kennedy, if you will, please tell the court the relationship between you and Miss Carter?" Mr. Marshal said.
"We were both students at Harvard," Scott said gently, ever the picture of innocence, "But I haven't seen her since we graduated." Lilly wanted to jump up and yell at him for lying.
"Then where do you suppose Miss Carter got the impression that you were stalking her?" Jeffery Marshal asked pompously.
"I have no idea." Scott replied with an innocent shrug. After a few more questions, Mr. Marshal sat back down and Lilly's lawyer stood.
"Mr. Kennedy," Simon Hutchinson said, "these files that I hold in my hand are notes from when Detective Jim Brass and CSI Gil Grissom interrogated you. They say that when you were brought in for questioning that you pled guilty to the abduction of Miss Carter. Now that's a different story from what you're telling us today. Do you care to explain yourself?" The panic was clear on Scott's face. He shot a glance to his lawyer whom only glared at him in response.
"I...I...alright." He cried, "I did it!" A roar went through the crowd at the confession.
"I admit that I kidnapped Lilly," Scott continued, "But I only did it because I love her. Ever since we met in college I haven't been able to get her off my mind. She belongs to me, not HIM." he pointed out into the crowd to where Greg sat. Lilly looked over her shoulder at Greg who was visibly trying to hold back his anger. She could see the veins popping out of his neck, the way he balled his hands into fists, turning the knuckles white. The two men stared each other down, refusing to be the one to lose. The tension was high in the room, so thick that you could cut it with a knife.
"He doesn't deserve her." Scott continued, "Not after all he did to her."
"Your Honor," Mr. Marshal cried, jumping to his feet, "My client would like to plead insanity."
"Over ruled Mr. Marshal, sit down." The judge said angrily, pounding his gavel on the desk. Dejected, Jeffery Marshal sank back down into his chair. The courtroom listened in horror as Scott Kennedy continued to tell his story. Once he was done, the judge pronounced the trail over and adjourned the jury to the deliberation room.
An hour passed in baited silence, the whole room anxiously waiting for the jury to return. Finally, the door opened and the jury filed in.
"Have you reached a verdict?" the judge asked as the jury was seated.
"Yes Your Honor." The head juror replied, "We, the members of this jury, find Scott Kennedy guilty of abduction and rape." A ripple of whispers ran through the room, and Lilly breathed a sigh of relief. He would be going to jail.
"Thank you," the judge said, "Mr. Kennedy, I sentence you to ten years incarceration without bail, and five hundred hours of community service. Court adjourned." The judge banged his gavel and left the room.
~*~*~
Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! One HUNDRED reviews! You guys ROCK! Thank you so much for helping me to reach my goal and a special shout out to Warrickishot who wrote the one hundredth review. That's the good news, now the bad news. The completion of this chapter means that I have only one more to go before this story is finished. I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed over the months that it took me to write this, you all are very special to me. and I promise that this will not be the last you hear from Lilly and Greg. I already have the sequal in the works, and it should only be a few short weeks, after the completion of LILLY OF THE VALLEY that is, that the sequal should be out. Once again thank you all very much for reading and reviewing this story.