A/N: I tried writing this in true trial format….it didn't work. So….yeah. I've done the best I can, hope you all can forgive me. After all, my imagination is nothing like a real courtroom. Also, this is super short because while I would love to put in Frank and Hendrick's testimonies at this time, they have to wait.
"Hear ye, Hear ye, Hear ye….all rise for his Excellency, the Honorable Judge Caddis."
And so it began. The trial of Ian Hendricks, accused kidnapper of Frank Hardy and Nancy Drew, and accused murderer of Nancy Drew. Two counts kidnapping. One count second-degree murder.
Witnesses came and went. Policemen took the stand to explain the details of Hendrick's arrest and questioning. How he had originally been taken stopped on a traffic violation, but the man's apparent mental state prompted the police to bring him in. His apparent lack of remorse during questioning.
The medical examiner gave evidence that Nancy did indeed die of a gunshot wound to the lower abdomen. Photos were presented, that many present found difficult to look at. The defendant, however, appeared fascinated.
The doctors who examined Frank for shock. The EMTS spoke. Everything they said was similar: severe emotional distress upon arrival, elevated heart rate, etc. etc.
Carson Drew took the stand, his voice breaking slightly as he answered the questions put to him. When asked to give a summary, he didn't have much to say.
(A/N: Both the answers for Carson and Joe are summaries only)
"Nancy and the Hardy brothers were off on a case in Ohio. On the day Nancy and Frank were abducted, Nancy was supposed to be flying to Chicago, then catching the train to River Heights. But when Nancy didn't arrive home on the day she was supposed to, I didn't worry too much. I just assumed she'd missed her flight and would be staying with the Hardys for another day. It happens sometimes, if a case wrap-up doesn't move as quickly as expected. It…it wasn't until I called Fenton that night and found out Joe had reported Frank as missing that I began to worry. And then….I got the call the next morning..." After a few more moments of questioning, Carson was allowed to sit down, looking shaken. Fenton Hardy's testimony was much the same.
When Joe took the stand, his answers were simple.
"I stayed in the hotel room for a nap while Frank took Nancy to the airport. I wasn't too tired, actually, but I figured Frank and Nancy would want to spend some time alone together before she went back home. There was a chemistry between the two of them they didn't get to acknowledge until very recently, so when Frank didn't return within the time frame I expected, I figured that they'd missed Nancy's plane and that they'd gone off together for a romantic dinner. But when still didn't come back, I called Dad. I knew Frank wouldn't have disappeared for so long without at least contacting me, unless he was in some sort of trouble." Shortly after that, Joe was allowed to return to his seat.
Based on Joe's testimony, the atmosphere suddenly changed, becoming charged with a heavy sense of apprehension. If Frank and Nancy were as close as his brother claimed, then an outburst from Frank Hardy during testimony could certainly be expected. Especially as the press began to recall the testimony of a police officer, who'd said Frank had encountered Hendricks in the station and acted like a madman.
And how would Hendricks react? Everyone knew that he had sat unaffected throughout the trial, seemingly perfectly unworried about the verdict these proceedings might lead to. Would he deliberately try to unsettle Frank during testimony? Would he lash out at Frank when it came his turn to testify?
Media attention grew as the day that Frank and Hendricks were to testify came closer. Vans with channel logos permanently parked outside of the courthouse were now an everyday sight. So were the ones parked outside the Drew home where Frank Hardy stayed, and the prison Ian Hendricks currently resided in. Despite several attempts to dissuade the reporters from their invasion Frank Hardy's privacy, they did not desist. The public would not let them. Nancy Drew had been well-known and the testimonies of two men were to be the deciding factors in the verdict of the hottest trial of the year.
