Daughter of the Deadman III
Chapter 14: A Trial
One week later, Angel found herself not in the hospital, but sitting in the lobby of the courthouse with Ozzie and her father in tow. She was nervous. Even though she couldn't see anything in a real sense, she didn't want to come face to face with Lexie again. Kristy and Wyatt were in the courtroom, listening to everything that all the other witnesses were saying. Lea sat next to Angel, looking nervous as well.
Bret, Owen, and Davey had all called down to Houston and wished Angel and Lea good luck. Kane had had to go back on the road and deal with the consequences of having betrayed the Authority because they hadn't forgotten. Conspicuous by his absence was David. He had phoned and told Angel that they needed to talk and that he would come to Houston when he got time off, but that he wasn't going to be there for her during the trial. She couldn't help but feel kind of hurt by that.
While all this was happening, their house was being renovated so that it would be safer for Angel to move around. Everything that they owned was in storage and it was a good thing that Taker and Lea were staying with Angel at the rehabilitation hospital, otherwise they would have had nowhere else to go. Angel was snapped out of her thoughts by Lea speaking.
"Daddy, how come Angel and I have to do this? I'm scared." Lea said.
"I know, Lea. But the people that are trying to keep that lady out of jail want to hear the story from the both of you." Taker said.
"They want to make sure we aren't lying, Lea." Angel said.
"But why would we lie?! Especially since this is so serious! It's important! Besides, it's not nice to lie to people." Lea said.
"We know, Lea. But they just want to be sure." Angel said.
"It still doesn't make it fair." Lea said.
"No. It's not. And I know it's going to be hard, you two, but you can both do this. Just…try not to look at her. If you have to, look at Kristy, Wyatt and I. We'll be there." Taker said.
"I find it funny that I step in a ring in front of thousands of people and it's no problem, but stick me in a court room with twenty to thirty people and I'm screwed." Angel said.
"It's different when it's an arena, baby girl. There are so many people there that you can't see everyone. In a courtroom, you can see everyone." Taker said.
Angel nodded. She just wanted to get this over with and get back to the rehabilitation hospital and finish up there so that she could get home and get back to training. Just as Lea was about to speak up, the door opened and they called Lea in. Lea looked back at Taker and Angel nervously as she left. Taker said he would be back as soon as Lea was done and left too. Angel was left alone with Ozzie, who was sitting beside her on the couch just staring at her.
Out in the court room, Lea swore that she would tell the truth no matter what. She looked downright scared as she stared around. The prosecutor stood up.
"Alright, Lea, I'm going to need you to tell me what happened the night that you and your Dad and sister got into the accident. Can you do that?"
"Yes. Daddy took Angel and I out for family dinner to spend some time with us. We were on our way home, laughing and talking and having fun. We were stopped at a red light when suddenly, Angel yelled at Daddy to look out. There was a bright light coming at us. After that…I don't remember a lot. But when I woke up my sister was gone and Daddy was hurt and so was I." Lea said.
"Thank you, Lea. No further questions."
Lea nodded. The prosecutor sat back down and the Defense Attorney stood up. Lea was even more scared about this. She knew that it was this man's job to keep Lexie out of jail by whatever means possible.
"Now, Lea. If you say that's what happened, then how is it that you know that my client was the one that hit you and your family?" he asked.
"Because Kristy…my other sister found out about it when she came to the hospital later that night." Lea said.
"And what did Kristy say my client said?"
"Kristy said that Lexie kept apologizing and telling the nurses and the doctors that she had been in an accident and that she wanted my Daddy to know that she was sorry." Lea said.
"And then what did Kristy say?"
"She went and talked to Lexie. There was a lot of yelling, but Kristy did say that she wasn't going to let Lexie get away with what she had done." Lea said.
"Thank you, Lea. No further questions."
Lea got off the witness stand and ran back to the room she had come from. Just as she did, Taker came back in. Lea ran to him, hugging him. Angel was smiling.
"You did great, Lea." Taker said.
"Good." Lea said.
Just then, the security guard poked his head in again and Angel sighed. She stood up and Ozzie followed. They were at least going to let her take him with her. Lea and Taker went to sit down and watch. Both of them noticed that Kristy looked angry as she watched Angel swear that she would tell the truth. Angel sat down and waited.
"Angel, can you tell me what happened that night…or at least as much as you can remember?"
"OK. Well, Lea and I went to family dinner with Daddy. We were on our way back and stopped at a red light. We were talking and laughing when I saw the headlights coming. I yelled at Daddy to watch out. The next thing I knew…I was thrown from the car. Just before I landed….I saw Lexie sitting behind the wheel of the other car. Then I tried to get to Daddy and Lea to make sure they were alright….but I blacked out. I woke up six months later at West Houston Medical Centre." Angel said quietly.
"And what happened due to this accident Angel?"
"Dad got a bit banged up. Lea had a broken arm and a few cuts and scrapes, but….I got the worst of it. I ended up blind. I spent six months in a coma and when I woke up, I was immobile, a lot of my memory was missing and I couldn't speak. I've had to relearn how to do everything and have had to learn to cope with not being able to see." Angel said.
"Thank you, Angel. No further questions."
He sat down. Angel waited. She knew that it was the defense attorney's turn and she was worried. What she couldn't see was Kristy getting angrier and mumbling that if Angel broke down, this man was going to be dead.
"You're sure that this was what happened?" he asked without mercy.
"No. I'm positive that this was what happened to us." Angel said.
"Your friend Kristy was the one who figured out that it was my client, correct?"
"Yes, sir. That's correct." Angel answered.
"Kristy also said that she would make sure that my client paid for what she did to your family times ten. What did she mean by that?"
"Well, Kristy's in the courtroom. You'd have to put her up here and ask her about that because I don't know exactly. She is my best friend, but even I don't know everything that she's planning. Or thinking." Angel told him calmly.
"Right you are. Thank you, Angel."
"That's it? I would have thought you'd ask me outright stupid questions." Angel said.
"That's all. Thank you Angel."
Angel nodded. She got off the witness stand and walked back to the room she had come from. She sat down on the couch and broke down crying because she was so relieved. Just then, the door opened and Taker, Lea, Kristy and Wyatt came in. Kristy ran over and hugged Angel.
"What are you crying about?" she asked.
"Just glad this is over." Angel said through her tears.
"Me too. I didn't like that lawyer." Kristy said.
"Mom kept mumbling that she was gonna kill him if you got upset." Wyatt said.
"I believe it." Angel said.
"Lexie's daughter being up there was hard to listen to. Lexie didn't care about her. Poor girl." Kristy said.
"What about Mom? Who talked on her behalf if Dad was back here with Lea and I?" Angel asked.
"Mommy." Wyatt said.
"What?! How?" Angel asked.
"I told the attorney that I knew the story and that it was too hard for you and Uncle Taker to talk about." Kristy said.
"Kristy….you didn't have to do that…" Angel said.
"Yes, I did. You're my family too." Kristy said.
Angel nodded. Just then, Dean and Liam came in and announced that the jury was out deliberating and that it was safe for them to head back to the hospital. They hugged Angel and Kristy. Then everyone left. They headed back to the hospital. Rather than get back in bed, Angel walked over and sat next to the window. She looked worried.
"Baby girl?" Taker asked.
"What if she gets away with all this?" Angel whispered.
"She won't, baby girl." Taker said.
"What if she does? What are we going to do? It…won't be safe." Angel said quietly.
"We'll make it, baby girl. Don't worry." Taker said.
Angel nodded. She knew that she shouldn't worry, but at the same time it was hard not to imagine the jury feeling kind of bad for Lexie and letting her go. All they could do was wait and see what would happen.