CHAPTER 2: HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN

"So, tell us how it all went down, Ms. Van Pelt."

Lucy was on the witness stand during Schroeder's trial for kidnapping her. She was about to recount the day that he decided to kidnap her and murder her before committing suicide. It was the first time he had saw her since that awful day. His lawyer Beth advised him not to have any kind of outburst or direct any kind of threats to her during her testimony, and to let her handle Lucy herself when it was time to cross-examine her. Linus and Derrick were in the gallery. Linus glared angrily at Schroeder the entire time. Schroeder looked briefly at Linus, and if a stare could kill, Linus would've ended him right there and then.

"Well, I was coming out of the Bronze Beagle to see my boyfriend Derrick," Lucy recounted. "When I turned the corner, I was ambushed by the defendant."

"Did you know it was the defendant?" asked the prosecutor.

"Yes. He identified himself after I said his name. He then forced me at gunpoint into his vehicle, despite, for what I was told, he had a suspended license. He took me to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. He told me it was because of me that he was, pardon the phrase, unable to get it up."

The gallery choked and gasped at the statement. The judge hit her gavel. Turning to Lucy, she said, "You can just say 'impotent', Ms. Van Pelt."

"Sorry, your honor," said Lucy.

"Go ahead and continue," said the judge.

"He told me that it was because of years of being possessive over him, despite the fact that we weren't dating, was the reason that he could never feel anything for a woman, or even a man, and that I, essentially, made him asexual. But, the final straw was when I attacked his colleague at the school thinking she was flirting with him."

"You served time for that, am I right?" asked the prosecutor.

"That's right, and I was recently paroled. Prior to the kidnapping and my release, Mr. Klimt had filed a permanent iron-clad restraining order banning me from having any contact with him, which, up to the kidnapping, I abided by. Getting back to that, he later revealed that he was not only going to kill me, but kill himself to try to avoid any kind of prosecution."

"So, how did you escape?"

"I kicked him and bit his nose. Then I was able to get my restraints loose, and get to the highway, where, by coincidence, a state trooper happened to be driving up. He stopped and I explained what had happened. That was when I found out that they were looking for me and for Mr. Klimt. I directed the officers back to the warehouse where he kept me, and as luck would have it, he was already outside about to hop in his car to go after me when the police stopped him. He tried to go back into the warehouse, but it was too late. They had their weapons drawn on him."

"So, just for verification, the man that kidnapped you is in this courtroom today?"

"Yes, he is."

"And could you point him out to us, please?" And Lucy immediately, pointed at Schroeder, without hesitation.

"Let the record show that Ms. Lucy Van Pelt identified the defendant Schroeder Klimt as her kidnapper. No more questions, our honor." And the prosecutor stepped down. Beth, Schroeder's attorney, got up for her cross-examination.

"Now earlier you said you were out on parole," Beth began. "Plus, my client filed a restraining order against you. None of us are disputing that. But, is it true about a couple of months ago, you ran into my client at a grocery store?"

"Yeah, but I had no idea he'd be there," said Lucy.

"But, he was there. Thus, making you beyond the 100 ft. mark of distance that you were supposed to be away from him-"

"Objection, your honor!" said the prosecutor. "Not only is Ms. Van Pelt NOT the one on trial here, but a chance encounter at a store with the man who filed a restraining order against you is far from a crime here!"

"Sustained," said the judge. "And the jury will disregard any mention of that encounter. Continue, Ms. Foster."

"Do you still have any feelings for Mr. Klimt, Ms. Van Pelt?"

"None, whatsoever. I have moved on. With all due respect, your client is the one who hasn't moved on." The judge struck her gavel.

"The jury will also disregard that last statement, and it is to be stricken from the record," the judge ordered. "Go ahead."

"Ms. Van Pelt, you really have no more feelings for my client?"

"No."

"So, you have no reason to torment him?"

"None."

"No more questions, your honor."

"You may step down, Ms. Van Pelt," said the judge. Lucy left the witness stand and rejoined Derrick and Linus. The judge then said, "We are adjourned for today and will resume tomorrow." Then she struck her gavel one last time. Schroeder was escorted back to the waiting van to take him back to his mother's house, where he was spending his house arrest. Lucy, Derrick, and Linus decided to get a bite to eat at Ray's before heading back home.

NEXT CHAPTER: RELAXING AFTER COMING HOME