Hello again, everyone! Your reviews (even if I didn't understand some of them) have inspired me to continue. So, here it is- Shark is on the witness stand!
Dumon looked at Nash, who had gotten very tense next to him. "You ready for this?"
Nash let out a long breath and nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."
Dumon rose to his feet. "The defense would like to call Mr. Reginald Kastle to the stand."
Judge Kay looked at Shark. "Are you willing to do this, Mr. Kastle? You have a right not to testify at your own trial."
"I have nothing to hide, your Honor," Nash said, walking to the witness stand with his head held high, like the King that he was.
Anna stood. "Please raise your right hand, Mr. Kastle. Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"
"I do." Shark took a seat and looked expectantly at Dumon.
"Mr. Kastle, please tell the Jury, in your own words, what happened on November 6 of the previous year."
"Well, I was walking home after taking a walk around town- you see, I lived in Heartland, and it was my first time back in a while- and I stopped at Spring Meadows when I saw a young woman with green hair locking up. I had gone to school with Tori Meadows, and I was wondering if the young woman could be her, so I watched her for a bit. That was when I was staring." He paused for a moment, gathering himself for the next part of the story.
"She and I eventually locked eyes, when she had finished locking up. She waved me over, so I crossed the street to meet her. The first thing I did was to apologize that I had been staring; it was just that she reminded me of someone. She asked me if I had thought she was Tori Meadows. When I said yes, she laughed and told me that she was Tori; she had thought she recognized me as Shark, whom she had gone to school with. We stood there talking for a while, and then she looked at her watch and realized that she had to get home. I offered to accompany her and to carry her bag as well."
Reginald took a deep breath and glanced at Tori. It's all right, Mr. Kastle, just focus on me please."
Reginald focused his gaze back on Dumon. "She invited me inside for some tea, because it was chilly outside. I didn't have to be home for another two hours, so I accepted her offer. We sat for a while, drinking tea and talking. I was getting ready to go, but she kept coming up with new questions to ask me. Finally, when we both out in the hall together, she said…she asked me if I had found a girl to love in my time away. I told her that I hadn't/. She said, 'Well that's a coincidence, neither have I. A boy, I mean.' Then she sort of…put her hands on my chest and asked me to… she said, "Come sleep with me, Shark!"
There were murmurs around the room. Reginald looked down at his lap and breathed deeply. He then began to speak very quickly, as if the sooner the story was told, the better. "I told her no, that I couldn't do that, and that I was surprised that she would even ask me. She was persistent, eventually getting desperate, clinging to my jacket and telling me that she wanted me, and that she needed me to sleep with her. She wouldn't tell anyone, no one would ever know. I- I panicked. I left my coat in her hands and ran. I didn't stop running until I got home. The next thing I know, there's police knocking on my door with a warrant for my arrest." He looked up and met Dumon's eyes. "That's it."
"You did not try to rape Tori Meadows?"
"No, sir. It never entered my mind."
Dumon walked over to the evidence box and retrieved Tori's clothes. "Was Miss Meadows wearing these clothes on the day that all this happened?"
"Yes, sir. But they weren't torn like that when I left her house."
"Did you happen to notice the time that you left the house?"
"Tori has a large clock in her front hall. It was just about 5:15. Maybe a bit later- 5:17."
"Thank you," Dumon replaced the torn clothes in the evidence box. "No futher questions, your honor."