[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM
[A/N] Welcome back my lovely readers. It's because of you that I'm still here writing this story. Thanks and hugs for all your amazing support.
This chapter here is dedicated to DeJee and Hockfan21. Hope you'll enjoy.
I apologize for any possible juristic mistakes in this chapter and the next one (I've decided to split the court scene into two). It was difficult for me to write and I hope that it doesn't suck too much.
**Chapter 99**
"Are you sure that you're strong enough to endure all of this?" Ali whispered into my ear while she gently wrapped her dainty arms around me from behind. The ends of her short hair tickled the exposed skin on my neck when she planted a last soft kiss right beneath my hairline.
I sighed deeply and turned around. When I spoke up my voice almost cracked like a broken record in an old gramophone.
"I have to,"
"No, you haven't," she mumbled, taking my hand in hers to squeeze it gently.
"Yes, I have. He was my father. I have to be here…for him."
"Bella, I'm really worried that the trial is going to be too much for you. Your blood pressure…,"
"Is already too high, I know."
I cupped her face between my hands and pressed my lips against hers for a moment until I felt Zafrina's hand on my shoulder.
"Ready to go?" she asked me, giving me a small smile.
"I'd prefer it if she'd stay outside the courtroom, but my wife is stubborn."
A low chuckle left Zafrina's throat before she spoke up again.
"Yes, she is. But on the other hand so are you. I assure you that Bella will be fine. She's stronger than you're giving her credit for."
"Did she tell you that her blood pressure is beyond good and evil today? I don't want her to break down inside there because of any crap my brother and his lawyer will come up with."
"We can always make a break if things get too much for her."
Then she turned to me and cleared her throat nervously.
"I should probably give you a warning. Things are probably going to get really ugly because you are going to hear a lot of unpleasant stuff inside that room over there."
"I know," I murmured, my voice barely audible now.
"No, you don't. Right now you probably know about twenty percent of the things to come. Don't misunderstand me; I think that you should hear the entire truth and everything. It is going to help you deal with what happened, maybe not today or tomorrow but…some day in the future."
I nodded my head and sighed deeply, trying to fight the unpleasant dizziness by taking several deep breaths.
"Let's get this over with." I whispered nervously when we entered the courtroom.
Inside the room it smelled like a weird mixture of old oak furniture and cheap disinfection spray, I instantly detested it.
When I sat down next to Zafrina on a wooden chair it squeaked slightly underneath me.
Ali took my hand in hers and started rubbing small circles all over my wrist.
When the blurring in front of my eyes had vanished a little bit I turned my head to take a brief look at the jury that was sitting on the other side of the room.
Faceless, I thought, like a grey mass of several people who are in no way capable of grasping the evil that was my ex-husband. The men…maybe a bit but I was suddenly a bit scared that the women would be lulled in by his charismatic charm. Edward was usually good with women, too good.
Maybe that was why he had managed to lull in Esme into covering up for him.
We rose from our seats when the judge entered the room and I felt my knees under me starting to tremble slightly.
I fell back on my chair, trying desperately to get the embarrassing trembling under control before Ali would pull me out of the room before everything really started.
The judge, a middle-aged man with short cropped reddish blond hair sipped on a glass of water before he spoke up. His voice was sharp like a razorblade and instantly sent a wave of fear down my spine.
"Case number 06-20-1901 the State of Washington against Edward Anthony Masen Cullen. Would the catch pole please bring the defendant in now?"
Two uniformed men disappeared through a door at the left side of the room. When they returned a few moments later with Edward between them I recognized that he looked absolutely miserable. His beautiful copper hair had been cropped short and his eyes were red and puffy. Had he been crying?
His lawyer – it was the same moron who had been with him during the awful divorce process, wiped a few sweat pearls away from his forehead.
"Mr. Hayley, would the prosecution read out the indictment so that we could get started now?"
"Yes, your honor." Derek's voice was warm and smooth like honey when he spoke up. He didn't seem to be nervous at all. But probably for him it was normal to deal with stuff like that that every day.
"Case number 06-20-1901 the State of Washington against Edward A. M. Cullen for committing first degree murder on the victim Police Officer Charles Swan; it is our intent to convince the jury that Mr. Cullen killed his former father in law out of base motives."
The judge turned to Edward's lawyer now, who exchanged a last worried look with his client.
"Mr. Mason, how does your client plead, guilty or not guilty?"
"Not guilty, your honor. My client is a mentally sick man and in no way responsible for anything the prosecution is accusing him of."
"Mr. Mason, do you have proof about your client's actual mental status?"
"Well, not exactly…,"
"Hmm, I see. I guess, we'll find out about it during the trial."
"Yes, your honor."
He wiped his forehead again with a tissue and sat down next to Edward again.
"Your honor, may I call the first witness now?" Derek asked the judge, while Mr. Mason flipped quickly through a thick folder in front of him. Edward mumbled something to him that was too low for me to understand it. His green eyes met mine for a split second before he buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply.
Derek called up Esme's name and when she entered the room I realized for the first time how fragile she looked. She had obviously tried to cover up the shadows under her eyes but they still looked incredibly tired.
"Please raise your right hand," the judge instructed.
"State your full name for the record,"
Her voice was barely a trembling whisper when the first word left her mouth.
"My name is…,"
"Keep your voice up and speak into the microphone so that we can hear you properly."
She cleared her throat twice before she continued.
"My name is Esme Ann Platt Cullen."
"Mrs. Cullen, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"I swear,"
"Mr. Hayley…your witness,"
"Mrs. Cullen," Derek started calmly while walked up and down in front of her in the courtroom.
"Could you briefly describe the events of the night when your son murdered his father-in-law?"
"Objection! The prosecutor is making assumptions. The defendant is innocent until proven."
"Sustained, rephrase the question, Mr. Hayley."
"Yes, your honor, I will. Mrs. Cullen, could you describe what happened on the night Charlie Swan died?"
Esme sighed deeply and started biting her fingernails nervously before she spoke up.
"Edward and Charlie…kind of got into a fight and then my son grabbed Charlie's Swan's gun from the table and started fumbling around with it."
"Did you tell him to put it down?"
"Yes, I did, but he wouldn't listen to me and then everything happened so fast."
"What exactly did happen, Mrs. Cullen?"
"He…he shot him."
"Where?"
"In the head…god, it was so awful there was so much blood and brain liquid…,"
My stomach heaved and I had to swallow back a bit of acid in my mouth. No wonder that everyone had insisted on a closed casket during the funeral ceremony.
"And afterwards, what did you do?"
"I kind of…cleaned up a bit."
"You cleaned up? Didn't you think for just one minute about probably calling an ambulance to get help for the victim?"
"He…he was already…dead. I checked his pulse and he didn't have one."
"How about calling the police instead?"
"I wanted to…at first, but…Edward pleaded me not to do it."
"Why?"
She didn't answer but her lips trembled slightly.
"Because he was scared of the…possible consequences?" Derek assumed after a few awkward moments of silence.
"Objection, leading…,"
"Sustained," the judge stated before he turned to the jury.
"The jury is going to ignore the last question."
"Mr. Haley?"
"No further question, your honor."
"Mr. Mason – your witness."
"Thank you, your honor."
He stood up from his chair and wiped his forehead again before he spoke to Esme.
"Mrs. Cullen, I assume that the whole situation is difficult for you."
She nodded her head and sighed deeply.
"Mrs. Cullen, do you believe that your son would have hurt anyone on purpose if he were mentally…healthy?"
"No, I don't."
"Why?"
"I don't understand the question."
"Why do you think that he wouldn't do such a horrible thing?"
"I know my son. He's a good man…he would never, ever hurt someone like that on purpose. He is sick and needs help to deal with all the…demons in his head."
"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen."
He turned to the judge again.
"No further questions, your honor."
"Mrs. Cullen, you are excused."
She stood up from the stool and for a moment I wondered if she would collapse on the hard ground now. Somewhere out of nowhere Carlisle popped up and pulled her in his arms. Several low sobs left her throat when he guided her out of the courtroom.
"Mr. Hayley, call up your next witness."
"Yes, your honor. We would like to hear the defendant himself now."
When they escorted Edward over to the witness stand he glared at me, his mouth twisting into the damn crooked smile and my hands automatically wrapped around my middle as if I was instinctually trying to protect the baby from him.
"Raise your right hand,"
"Mr. Cullen, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"I swear,"
"Mr. Hayley – your witness."
"Mr. Cullen did you or did you not kill your former father-in-law?"
"I don't know, Mr. Hayley. Look, I've already talked to the prison psychiatrist for several times. The problem is that I don't remember anything about shooting."
"But you remember that you've been there, don't you?"
Edward nodded his head.
"Yes, I remember that part of the night."
"Do you remember arguing with him?"
"Yes, I do."
"What were you arguing about?"
"Objection! It doesn't matter one tiny bit what they were discussing that night."
"Overruled; Mr. Cullen, answer the question."
"Fine, your honor; Charlie Swan was mad at me because he had discovered that I was…seeing someone else behind my wife's back."
"I see. Am I assuming right that he wasn't very pleased about that?"
"Yes, he was…furious. He threatened to tell her everything."
"What happened then?"
"I don't remember. The next thing I know is that he was laying on the ground…bleeding out of a head wound."
"That's pretty practical that you don't remember anything about the essential parts."
"I'm sorry about what happened, but I can't take it back. Believe me that I would if I could. I don't want to be a monster."
"I don't believe one word that comes out of your mouth, Mr. Cullen."
"But I am sorry. You don't know how it's like to hear those…voices in my head over and over again. They're almost always present when I'm in a stressed…situation."
"What do those voices do? Are they telling you what to do?"
"Not exactly…it's more like a constant murmur in my mind. Sometimes I manage to blend it out but when I'm agitated it doesn't work."
"Hmm, I see. Did you ever consider getting professional help to deal with your so-called voice hearing?"
"I had some therapy when I was a child. It didn't work for me, so I stopped."
"Was it your idea to start therapy back then?"
"No, it was my father's suggestion."
"Do you have any idea what lead to his decision to get professional help for you?"
"I guess, he was worried because of some things that happened in school."
"What kind of things?"
"I got detention for hitting another boy unconscious."
I fucking knew that Lilly inherited her temper from him. Jeez, I prayed to god, that she wouldn't have inherited his maliciousness too. What in heaven's name should I do if she was going to develop signs of his…craziness?
"Do you remember why you hit that poor guy so hard that he had to spend several weeks in a hospital, living on liquid food?"
Edward's mouth twitched for a moment but he didn't answer.
"Don't you remember, Mr. Cullen?"
"It was a long time ago and I don't see any connection to the current case."
"Your honor, I think my client is actually right. It is of no concern for this case what kind of things he might have done in the past."
"I assure you that it is of concern. It's my goal to show the true character of the defendant. I don't believe in this whole hearing voices thing."
Derek turned to Edward again after loosening the white tie around his neck a little bit.
"Have you made this whole mental issue thing up to avoid spending time in jail?"
"Objection; leading."
"Sustained,"
"I'm not pretending to be sick…," Edward stated through gritted teeth.
"Mr. Cullen, you don't have to answer Mr. Haley's last question."
"Hmm,"
"Mr. Cullen, does the name Royce King Junior ring any bells for you?"
"Should it?"
"That's the name of the boy you've beaten up back then. I've read the record about that case. Just like your last victim you left him behind bleeding."
"I hate to repeat myself but that was almost twenty years ago. I'm sorry for having had such a temper back then."
"So back then it was just your temper that leaded to your outburst and now it's the evil voices in your head."
"Kind of,"
"No further questions, your honor."
"Mr. Mason – your witness."
"Thanks, your honor."
"Mr. Cullen, are you planning on getting professional treatment to overcome your psychological problems?"
"Definitely,"
"Why didn't you try to get some earlier?"
"I was afraid that it would lead to losing my job."
"I assume being arrested for first degree murder had sort of the same consequence for you."
"Yes, it had."
"So, Mr. Cullen, you don't remember anything about killing that poor man. Maybe you didn't even do it. Did the police find any of your fingerprints on the murder weapon?"
"No, they didn't."
"Why?"
"My mother cleaned it with some disinfection spray afterwards."
"Maybe she did that to wipe away her own?"
"Objection, leading – we have the ballistic expertise that the shooter was at least 6.2 tall. Mrs. Cullen is what…5.3 or something like that? So Mr. Mason's assumptions are pretty pointless."
"Sustained,"
"Mr. Cullen, are you sorry for what happened to your former father-in-law?"
"More than words could ever say and I wished; I could somehow turn back time, to make it undone."
"And just to please, Mr. Hayley and his concern about the…ugly, little incident with Mr. King. Do you regret that too?"
"No, I don't." his answer came out a little too harsh.
Mr. Mason wiped his sweaty forehead again and I wondered if the man was having hot flush because he was so nervous.
"Do you have a specific reason why you don't regret it?" he asked Edward hesitantly.
"Objection,"
"Overruled, Mr. Cullen, answer your lawyers question."
"Yes, I have a reason why I don't regret what I did back then, but it's not of any concern for this case."
"Hmm, I see. No further questions, your honor."
"Miss Penthes, do you have anything more that you would like to ask the defendant?"
"Yes, your honor."
Zafrina's voice was warm and friendly when she addressed Edward directly for the first time.
"Mr. Cullen, whose idea was it to clean up the weapon and the floor after the murder, yours or your mother's?"
"She did clean up the blood and the other stuff from the ground."
"I've not asked which of you cleaned up the mess. I want to know who of you came up with the idea of cleaning up in order to cover up the evidence of the crime."
"That was me."
"Did your voices suggest that to you?"
"No, they didn't. It's not like they are talking to me and give me advices or something like that."
"Are the voices male or female?"
"I'm not sure."
"But you are sure that they are there and that they are responsible for what happened with your former father-in-law."
"Yes,"
"Were you afraid afterwards? I mean after you…woke up from your… shall I call it a mental attack or something like that?"
"Yes, I was."
"Afraid to get punished for what you did to the poor man?"
"Objection; leading…"
"Sustained. Miss Penthes, rephrase the question."
"Yes, your honor. Let's try it differently. Mr. Cullen, when you recognized, that Charlie Swan was dead what was your first thought in that moment?"
"Panic," he whispered hoarsely.
"Speak into the microphone, Mr. Cullen." the judge instructed, sipping on the glass of water on his desk.
"It was panic. God, there was so much blood and…bone splitters. The worst thing was the smell…like burned flesh. When I looked down at what had been his face once, I knew that this would haunt me for the rest of my life."
I pressed my hand against my lips while I waited for the nausea to end. Ali wrapped one arm around me and pulled me closer towards her.
"Do you need a break?" she whispered worriedly into my ear.
I quickly shook my head and when I gasped for air I tasted something wet and salty on my tongue.
"No further questions, your honor." Zafrina informed the judge and sat down next to me again.
When she saw my face she cringed slightly. Jeez, did I actually look that bad right now?
"Your honor, could we have a break now; my client's health is quite fragile at the moment. What is no surprise concerning the circumstances of this trial."
"It's alright, Miss Penthes. I'll interrupt for an hour. Maybe you should take your client outside. She looks as if she's about to faint any minute."
XOXXOXXOXXOXO
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