Innis Harbor

by Patricia Evans Cox

  “What’s going on?” Anna popped open a couple of grape sodas and passed them down to the girls. “Please tell me this isn’t another video of the kids stacking chairs on top of each other to reach the Oreos in the kitchen.”

  “No,” Kiran said. “Those are gone, I ate those last week.” She looked at Amir and smiled as she pressed play. “Trust me. This is way better than Oreos.”

  Loch got out of the Bar Harbor taxi and crossed the street toward the courthouse in the blinding morning sun. She checked that her sunglasses were still on her face for the fifth time and scanned the courthouse steps for any sign of photographers, but she seemed to be in the clear for once. She wore pale blue skinny jeans, her black leather boots, a white button-up, and a shrunken blazer with the sleeves rolled up. She’d tried on several outfits that morning but had just taken a random guess in the end; with any luck, no one would know who she was anyway. The last thing Amir needed was more attention focused on the trial.

  Once word had gotten out that she’d retired from modeling, Loch’s phone had been ringing constantly with requests for interviews, the gossip blogs were ablaze with speculation about her health, and there always seemed to be paparazzi lurking outside her apartment building. It wasn’t just that she’d decided to retire from modeling, it was the incident at the fashion show that had people in the industry insanely curious. Everyone wanted the scoop, but so far, Loch hadn’t said a word about it to anyone, which only served to amp up the speculation.

  Loch sat on the courthouse steps and pulled off her beanie, letting the warmth of the sun sink through the layers of her hair. Since the day people started to recognize her on the street, she’d worn a hat wherever she went, but it occurred to her now that, outside of Manhattan at least, she didn’t need to bother. Soon people wouldn’t care who she was anymore, and thankfully, it seemed that day had already come in Bar Harbor, Maine.

  “Loch!”

  Loch turned to see Amir striding up the courthouse steps toward her with a well-dressed man carrying a briefcase that Loch assumed must be her lawyer. Amir picked Loch up when she reached her and swung her around, breathing in the warm scent of her skin as she set her back down on the steps.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Amir smiled as she ran her fingers through Loch’s bare layers of hair. “And you look like you’re dressed for court. Why in the world would you want to go in there?”

  “What, like I’d let you do this alone?” Loch said, smiling back. “No chance. They finally sprung me from the hospital, and I took the next flight out.”

  Amir suddenly remembered that Loch and Jason hadn’t met.

  “Jason, this is Loch Battersby, my girlfriend,” she said. “And, Loch, this is my lawyer, Jason Turner.”

  Jason smiled and held out his hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Loch. It’s great to meet you. My girlfriend is a photographer, so she’s a big fan. I’ll have to tell her I met you.”

  Loch offered to take a selfie for her, and Jason put his arm around her and pulled Amir into the picture, too.

  “Thanks. That’s going to be a huge deal to her.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket and looked at his watch. “I’m going to go in and set up. We should be starting within five minutes or so. Take your time.”

  Amir assured him she’d be right in and turned back to Loch, tipping her chin up with a finger and kissing her.

  “Thank you for coming, babe,” Amir said. “Although I know this can’t be a picnic for you. I wish it wasn’t happening, but I’m so happy to see you.”

  “You look a little better,” Loch said as she moved to the side to make room as a throng of people shuffled up the steps to the courthouse doors. “Did you get some sleep?”

  “I should have, but I think I might have forgotten how to do that at this point.”

  Loch cocked her head and squinted up at Amir in the sunlight. Her eyes were tired, and she still looked pale, as if she’d stayed up pacing the room all night.

  Loch took her hand, and they hurried up the court steps and through the security check, then quietly through the double doors of the courtroom. Amir kissed Loch’s cheek and made sure she had a seat before she slid into her chair behind the defense table.

  As the jury filed in and the gallery rose for the judge to enter, Loch recognized Mrs. Farzaneh in the second row. She was sitting by herself. The courtroom seemed divided; most of the spectators sat behind the prosecution table on the left side of the room, and just a handful were scattered in the rows behind Amir on the right. Mrs. Farzaneh was the only person in her row, and she looked smaller than Loch remembered, even with the sky blue headscarf covering her hair. Before she had a chance to talk herself out of it, Loch walked to the front and slipped into her row.

  “Mrs. Farzaneh?” she whispered, settling into the seat beside her as the bailiff called the court to order. “Do you mind if I join you?”

  Mrs. Farzaneh smiled, then squeezed Loch’s hand and leaned into her shoulder. “I’d like nothing better.” She let out a breath as her shoulders relaxed a bit.

  After calling court into session, the judge asked the defense to call its witness.

  Jason stood immediately and asked to approach the bench; both lawyers spoke in hushed tones to the judge for so long that even the jury was whispering about the delay. Of course no one could hear what Jason was saying, but whatever it was, the judge thought for a few seconds when he was done before he nodded to Jason and spoke again to the two lawyers. When they both took their seats, the prosecutor instantly bent her head and conferred with the rest of her team at the table.

  Jason stood, glancing behind him on the opposite side of the courtroom. “The defense calls Charlotte Clancy.”

  Loch knew this had to be the girl who had accused Amir of assaulting her, but it was the first time she’d gotten a look at her. Charlotte slid out of the row of people and walked confidently to the witness box. She looked like an affluent, entitled teenager, so no surprises there. Loch had met a few in her line of work.

  “Ms. Clancy,” Jason said after she was sworn in and had taken her seat. “Do you remember what we were talking about when we left off yesterday?”

  “Yes,” Charlotte said in a softer voice than Loch expected. “I was going over the details of my assault for you.” She paused. “Again.”

  “Let’s just recap for the jury,” Jason said. “You testified that the defendant, Amir Farzaneh, entered your room uninvited on the morning of the incident and assaulted you on the bed, is that right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Or was it that she first assaulted you in the bathroom?” Jason continued, tapping his pen lightly on the surface of the jury box. “You seemed confused on the specifics the last time we spoke.”

  The judge leaned over and said something to Jason that Loch didn’t hear.

  “I’ll rephrase the question.” Jason directed his attention back to Charlotte. “Is it your testimony that Amir Farzaneh held you against your will in the bathroom on the morning in question?”

  Charlotte shifted in her seat. “Yes, it is.”

  “And is it also your testimony that she then forced you to submit to sexual activity on the bed even after you’d asked her repeatedly to stop?”

  “Yes,” Charlotte said, looking down at her hands. “And then she physically assaulted me when I resisted.”

  Jason walked back to the defense table and held up the eight-by-ten glossy photograph of Charlotte’s injuries. “And is this the result of that attack?”

  Charlotte’s eyes filled with tears, and she turned her head away from the photo as it was passed from person to person on the jury.

  Loch tensed in her seat; she knew Amir’s lawyer must have a plan for this line of questioning, but two of the jurors winced when the photograph of Charlotte’s injuries was shown again.

  Jason nodded to the bailiff, who rolled in a TV screen and powered it up, plugging it into the laptop Jason handed him. It was a big enough screen for all th
e jury and some of the people in the gallery to see it clearly, and those who couldn’t shifted in their seats to get the best view possible.

  “Ms. Clancy, you’re familiar with the security footage obtained from inside your home on the morning the alleged attack occurred?”

  Charlotte looked confused, then shook her head.

  “You weren’t aware that we had obtained that footage?”

  “I didn’t even know that Dad’s system still worked,” Charlotte said, her voice even and calm. “I never thought about it. But if you do have that tape, you’ll see Amir entering my room that morning.”

  “You’re right, that’s exactly what it shows.” Jason walked back to the table and chose two more photos from a folder. “But it also shows you exiting the room a few minutes after Ms. Farzaneh left.”

  “So?” Charlotte said, her patience starting to thin. “Why is that important? Of course I left my room. I went downstairs to call my mother and tell her what had happened.”

  Jason pressed play on the laptop, and the black and white image of the empty hall outside Charlotte’s bedroom filled the screen. Amir exited the room, and a few seconds later, Charlotte walked out and turned the corner toward the stairs. Jason stopped the tape.

  “Now I know this tape is difficult to see in detail,” he said to the jury. “So, we had an expert enhance some still images for you.”

  He walked over to the jury box and handed the first juror the set of two photos. He waited while each juror looked at them carefully, then handed the photos to the judge.

  “Those photos side by side might raise some questions for you,” Jason said. “I know they did for me when I first saw them.”

  Loch watched as three of the jurors nodded, and one more asked to see the first picture, as well as the last two, and held them side by side.

  “In the first picture, we see the serious injuries that Ms. Clancy testified that she sustained as a result of resisting Ms. Farzaneh’s advances.” Jason looked away from the jury and into Charlotte’s eyes as he continued. “The troubling part is that in the second pictures, pulled from the video of her exiting the room after the alleged incident occurred, there are no injuries.”

  Jason turned back to the jury. “The image, which Ms. Clancy herself has told us was taken just after the alleged attack, shows no injuries.” He paused for a moment and locked gazes with Charlotte. “There are no visible injuries because there was never an attack, isn’t that right?”

  The prosecution objected, which the judge reluctantly sustained, reminding Jason to let the jury draw its own conclusions.

  Jason nodded. “I think we’ll just let the next video take it from here.”

  Charlotte looked uncomfortable and looked at the prosecutor, who shook her head with a barely perceptible shrug.

  “Before I start this tape, Ms. Clancy,” Jason said, his gaze locked on the jury. “Is there anything about the testimony you’ve provided under oath that’s untruthful?”

  “Of course not,” Charlotte said. “I was assaulted by Amir Farzaneh.” She turned and looked at the jury, tears shimmering in her eyes. “And it was the scariest experience of my life.”

  The judge nodded to the bailiff to turn down the lights, and Jason pressed play.

  The video started, and it was clear to Loch that it had been filmed in the diner at Innis Harbor. There was a lot of restaurant background noise, but when a blond girl leaned slightly into the frame, Loch recognized her as Kiran’s girlfriend Amy from the picture she’d shown them that day in the high school parking lot. Amy leaned away from the camera and started to speak to someone else at the table.

  “So,” Amy said, her voice clear despite the background noise. “How much are you getting?”

  “Not enough,” another feminine voice out of range of the camera said. “This is becoming a huge pain in my ass. I never signed up to play little miss innocent in court. It’s like, taking over my life or something.”

  Loch heard a sharp intake of breath from Mrs. Farzaneh, and there was a low murmur in the courtroom as the video played on.

  “I know,” Amy said, her voice tinged with the sarcastic knife edge only a teenage girl can wield. “You’d think they’d just arrest her and throw the book at her or something. How is she not still in jail?”

  Loch’s mouth dropped open, but she kept her gaze on the video that showed only half of Amy’s face and the surface of a diner table at a slightly skewed angle. When she finally looked up, she saw Charlotte staring intensely at the prosecutor and mouthing, That isn’t me.

  “But whatever,” Amy’s voice continued off camera. “When you told me you made the whole thing up, I thought you were crazy, but if they’re giving you enough money, who cares about a couple days in court?”

  “Will you shut up?” the voice across the table from Amy hissed. “There’s always somebody listening in this town, and I just have to pull this off before someone figures it out. I swear my mom already thinks something’s up. I guess she and Amir’s mom are friends or something.”

  The prosecutor sat back in her chair and shook her head, her jaw tense and set.

  “Okay, sorry,” Amy said as the video continued. She stirred sugar into her iced tea, the clink of the ice cubes in the audio magnified in the silent courtroom. She dropped her voice to ask the next question, but the words were still clear. “How do you know the guy is even going to pay you, though? When do you get the money?”

  “I got half when I agreed to do it and smashed that step out back. I knew Dad would call her to come over and fix it. And I’m supposed to get the rest when it’s all over, but I don’t know if I’m actually going to see it. The guy hasn’t been returning my calls for a week.”

  Charlotte stood and started to leave the witness stand.

  “Ms. Clancy,” the judge said after the video had been stopped. “You’ll stay on the witness stand until I excuse you.”

  “I don’t have to listen to these lies,” Charlotte said, her words tense and staccato, with an edge like torn metal. “I don’t know who that girl in the video hired to make this up and pretend to be me, but I never said any of this.”

  The judge cut her off. “Young lady, sit down. Now.”

  Charlotte reluctantly took her seat.

  When the video started again, there was another exchange between the girls that was drowned out by what sounded like a truck passing by a window, then Amy’s voice was suddenly audible again.

  “How did this person even ask you to do this?” she said. “I mean, you don’t just walk up to random people and ask them to frame someone for trying to rape you or whatever.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Charlotte said, her voice low and annoyed. “The only thing that matters is that I wrap this the fuck up and get back to the pool. I’m getting seriously pale from all this drama.”

  There was an audible gasp from the courtroom, and Loch felt Mrs. Farzaneh’s hand over hers.

  The sound on the tape was muddled for a few seconds as Amy unexpectedly picked it up and angled the camera at Charlotte’s face.

  “Just checking to see if my mom finally stopped texting,” Amy said as she put the phone back down and Charlotte disappeared from the screen. “She’s such a bitch sometimes.”

  The courtroom fell silent as the girls gossiped about other people for a few minutes on the video until Amy finally turned the subject back to Amir.

  “At least your face looks better finally,” she said to Charlotte. “How did you manage to make it look like that, anyway? Beat yourself up?”

  There was a pause, then Charlotte’s voice dropped to a whisper. “It’s amazing what you can do when you’re thinking about all the stilettos five thousand dollars will buy.”

  After the video clicked off, it didn’t take the prosecutor long to decide to drop the charges against Amir, and the judge even apologized to Amir on the court’s behalf before he told her she was free to go.

  Amir had known before court that morning that the charges would pro
bably be dropped given the video, but it was still surreal to think that if that video hadn’t been filmed, she could have been hours away from prison. The person who framed her had to have known about her conviction for statutory rape; without that knowledge, the accusation would have been too flimsy to stick. She’d stayed up nights sifting through the people she knew who might have a motive to ruin her life but hadn’t come up with even one possibility. She knew now she’d have to find a way to let this whole experience go, but without knowing why it had happened, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it might happen again.

  Later that evening, everyone gathered on the dock behind Amir’s house to celebrate. When Hamid pulled up with his family, Hameen got out of the truck proudly carrying a stack of pizza boxes taller than his sister, and they ate at the end of the dock, their feet dangling in the water while they watched the sun sift through the clouds and slowly sink behind the cliffs. Amy and Kiran supervised the younger kids with the sparklers Anna had brought, then they joined the adults as the sky shifted from blue to fiery oranges and pink as the sun sank behind the cliffs in the distance.

  Loch looked over at Amy. “I’ve been wanting to ask you this since I saw the video. Did you pick up your phone near the end just to get Charlotte’s face on camera?”

  “Yep,” Amy said with a slow smile. “I didn’t want her to be able to say later that it wasn’t her.”

  “Smart,” Loch said. “She tried to say that before the tape was even finished.”

  Amir smiled, flipping the top off a beer and handing it to Hamid. “We didn’t hear much from her once the camera showed her face, though.”

  Loch shook her head. “Well, I think Amy’s a genius. I wouldn’t have even thought about that.”

  “What I want to know,” Hamid said, folding an entire slice of pizza into his mouth. “Is who paid Charlotte to accuse Amir in the first place.”