by C. M. Cevis
“Behind your back, Asher.”
Asher sighed, and did as he asked. He opened the cell, stepped inside, and put the cuffs on her wrists. Luna would have probably gone for the door, wouldn’t she have? Maybe Asher should have too. She was strong enough. But she didn’t. She sighed again, and let herself be led down the lonely hallway, towards whatever was next.
31
THE COURTHOUSE WAS ONE OF the biggest building in the downtown area. The only other one that came close was the government building that housed most local government functions for Calidity and everyone who supported them on a day-to-day basis.
Officer Bo pulled the cop car around the back of the building, through a secured gate that led to nothing but more cop cars, and pulled up in front of the building.
“There’s a few guys here that will take you in and to the holding cell to wait until it’s time for you to see the judge,” Rookie explained.
“You’re leaving me here?”
“No, I’ll be here. I just won’t be with you for a while. I have to stay to take you back to jail once this is all over.”
Luna sighed and rolled her eyes. “Lovely.”
“Sorry,” he replied, shooting her an apologetic look in the rear-view mirror before he got out of the car.
He walked around, opened her car door, helped her out, and handed her to two guys that she wouldn’t be able to pick out of a lineup.
“This way, please,” one of them said, his voice deep and completely void of any emotion. The two men led her towards the cold, gray door leading inside.
Luna didn’t fight. What was the point?
~*~
LUNA HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT the courthouse was one of the most interesting and beautiful buildings in downtown Calidity. She let her mind wander over the artwork on the walls and the cold white walls as she walked through the halls, officers on either side.
It was the outside of the building that was the beautiful part, and she lamented briefly that she hadn’t been able to see much of it when she’d arrived.
The outside of the courthouse was all warm, bright red bright paired with white columns and trim that the city power washed regularly to keep that wonderful contrast visible. The tops and bottoms of the columns were accented by fancy stonework that swirled its way around the juncture with the buildings, drawing the eyes in a way that seemed very deliberate. During the holidays, the city used those ornate bits of stone to garnish the building with greenery and lights that never failed to make everyone feel warm and festive. It might not be Times Square, but it was almost just as good, in a small town way.
The inside of the building was the complete and total opposite, almost like everyone had expended all of their creative talent on the outside of the building and just tossed up some paint and moved on for the inside. Every single wall was cold and white, scarred with kicks and forceful brushes of the public over the years. They never repainted the inside to keep those walls clean. Luna figured they didn’t see a reason to bother. There were a few paintings lining the halls, mostly of either buildings or country scenes, and the occasional potted plant, but that was about it. Honestly, Luna was fairly sure that the plants were fake and that the janitors just dusted them from time to time to keep it from being obvious.
The only thing that was nice inside, Luna noticed as she and the officers leading her entered the courtroom, was the furniture at the front of the rooms. It was a warm red-toned wood that looked sturdy and heavy. The kind that looked like it cost a pretty penny and could take some weight if something went sideways in there and it needed to be used to slam someone down on before handcuffing them.
Where the judge sat looked to be the same wood, and was probably just as sturdy, though Luna couldn’t tell from where she was directed to stand and wait. She wondered what was behind there, if the judges were allowed to keep comfort items back there like warm slippers for long days, or maybe a blanket. It seemed only fair, considering all that space and the long days that she assumed that they spent there.
“All rise,” a man in the corner called as a door to the side opened and the man that Luna assumed was the judge walked through. He was about halfway to his seat when the door behind Luna opened.
Asher walked into the courtroom, her head down and her hands behind her back as an officer led her to the front of the room to stand beside Luna.
“What in the world—” Luna started, noting that Asher wore a blood splattered shirt and pants that looked to have been halfway soaked. That was definitely dried blood. What had she missed?
“I apologize for my lateness,” Wesley called out as he slipped through the door behind Asher and her escort. He didn’t seem surprised to see Asher there at all, which meant that he had to know why she was in attendance as another person on trial. Not to mention, didn’t they normally do these things one at a time?
One of the officers who had brought Luna in put his hand on her shoulder and motioned for her to take a seat at one table as Wesley took a seat at the other. Asher took the other seat at the table with Luna, the one that she assumed was normally taken by a lawyer, and let her head fall forward.
“Asher,” Luna whispered.
Asher shook her head, stopping the question before Luna could even ask it. She was crying. Something bad had happened and Luna hadn’t been there for her. She felt tears sting at her eyes, and blinked them back.
“You haven’t missed anything important,” the judge said in response to Wesley’s entrance, though his face said that he was both bored and annoyed with everything. “I hope that your lateness means that you have more pertaining to this case than just your word.”
Luna’s eyes shot to Wesley. How in the world had he managed to get her in that courtroom without any evidence until that moment?
“I do, Your Honor.” Wesley stood and pulled an awfully familiar evidence bag out of the satchel he’d been carrying. He handed it, as well as a few pieces of paper to the bailiff, who took it to the judge.
“What am I looking at?” the man in charge said, putting on what looked to be a pair of reading glasses.
“This is a mallet that was found at the scene of the crime, Judge Hatcher. It belongs to the defendant, and was covered in blood, as you can see.”
Judge Hatcher nodded, looking over the evidence that had been brought to him. “Not exactly covered, but more blood than simply smashing a thumb or something, sure.”
Wesley looked annoyed, but continued. “We had the mallet tested. The blood is the victim’s, not Luna’s.”
“That doesn’t prove that the defendant used it on the victim, if we’re really looking for proof here, Sheriff.”
“Her finger prints are the only ones that are on the tool, as well,” Wesley added.
Judge Hatcher squinted at the papers in his hand. “It says here that hers are the only clear finger prints, that most others are too smudged to be identified.” His eyes popped up over the tops of his glasses.
“Yes sir,” Wesley replied, a smirk on his face.
The Judge blinked at him. “Is this all that you’ve got?” he asked.
A bit of the cocky seemed to leave Wesley’s face as he responded. “That should be enough.”
“Only because there is nothing proving that it wasn’t her, Sheriff Jay. This is not what I’d call a strong case.”
Luna looked back and forth between the two men. Why did she feel like she was missing something? And why hadn’t anyone said anything about Asher?
32
GRAHAM HIT TRAFFIC ON HIS way back. He cursed every deity he could think of until he made it through, and then flew the rest of the way. Luckily, the state troopers stayed away again, or else he’d have cursed them out too.
As soon as he hit Calidity, he made a beeline for the precinct. It was predictably quiet as he ran through the lobby and skidded to a halt at the front desk. It was just as quiet when he hauled it out of the lobby after being told that Luna was at the courthouse downtown.
He was pret
ty sure that Honey had done something to delay whatever Wesley had up his sleeve once she found out what was happening, but he wasn’t sure how much of a delay she’d been able to provide. Every second counted.
The streets of Calidity were maddeningly full, the lights obstinately red. Graham found himself wondering if life was just trying to piss him off. The logical part of his brain said that the streets weren’t any fuller than they had been during his last visit, but he really didn’t care. He just needed everyone to get out of his way.
He pulled into a reserved spot in front of the courthouse, slipped his law enforcement car identification onto the dashboard, and ran inside. His identification was enough to get him through the security checkpoints and get him pointed in the right direction. Once he found the right room, he flung open those doors with enough force to alarm everyone inside, which had been his intention.
“Your honor, I need to have a word, if you please,” he yelled, his ID held high over his head as he approached the bench without bothering to wait for permission.
He didn’t need it, and he wasn’t there to play nice anymore.
~*~
LUNA ALMOST JUMPED OUT OF her skin when the doors behind her banged open.
“This had better be good,” the judge replied to Graham’s request for his attention, though his tone didn’t seem to convey as much annoyance as the words merited.
“Oh it is, don’t worry,” Graham said, stopping beside Luna with a grin and a wink. “Do you want to do this out here, or in your chambers? It doesn’t matter to me.”
Judge Hatcher opened his mouth to respond, then hesitated. “In my chambers, please,” he said, standing.
“Your honor,” Wesley interjected.
“Sheriff, I’ll deal with you in just a moment.”
And with that, Judge Hatcher and Graham disappeared behind the heavy wooden door beside the bench.
“What in the hell is going on?” Wesley said, staring daggers at Luna, who shrugged.
“You know where I’ve been for the last however many hours. I’m as lost on this as you are.”
Wesley flopped back down onto the prosecutor’s bench, content to grumble to himself while he waited.
Luna turned to her friend. “Asher, what in the world is going on? Why are you here?”
Asher gave an embarrassed smile and held up her handcuffed wrists. “I got into a little trouble.”
“How?”
“I’m not sure. I woke up surrounded by police officers and up to my elbows in blood that wasn’t mine.”
Luna winced. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
“No, it doesn’t. But there I was,” she whispered.
“Did you kill someone or just hurt someone?”
Asher shrugged. “I have no idea.”
The door to the judge’s chambers opened, and conversation in the courtroom stopped as the judge returned to his bench and Graham returned to Luna and Asher.
“What are you doing here?” he asked Asher.
“Long story,” she replied softly.
“Agent Lloyd, can you please repeat what you just told me in my chambers?”
Graham smiled and nodded. “Of course, your honor.”
Graham moved to the table for the defense, out of range of Wesley’s prying eyes, and opened the folder that he’d been clutching since he’d arrived.
“First, I present the results of the autopsy, performed in a federal morgue, on the body found in the entryway of Miss Luna’s home. Originally, the body was identified as her father, but it is not.”
Luna felt lightheaded. “What?”
“It was the body of her older brother.” He glanced at her. “I don’t believe that she and her brother had the closest relationship, so I can see where the mix-up would be.”
That was partially true. She and her brother didn’t have the closest relationship, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t tell the difference between her father and her brother. And that meant her father was still out there, free when he wasn’t supposed to be.
The thought was interrupted by a crack appearing in the middle of the judge’s bench in front of her. Bright, blinding light shone through it, just like it had in her room the day before, and pain shot through her head. Luna squealed, bringing her handcuffed hands to her eyes. But the pain and the crack of light disappeared just as soon as they had arrived, and she was left with several people staring at her questioningly as her vision slowly cleared.
“Are you alright?” Asher whispered.
Luna nodded carefully, putting her hands back down and frowning. “Yeah, sorry.”
“Second,” Graham continued, turning back towards the judge, “we present to you the paper trail left by the Calidity police department from the professional cleaning they had done on the scene in Miss Luna’s house less than twenty-four hours after a supposed murder was committed there.”
“You can’t prove that was me,” Wesley interjected.
Graham turned slowly to face the sheriff. “I never said that it was you. I specifically said that it was the police department. However, your immediate protest does seem telling.”
Wesley sat back down, and a crack of light appeared directly in the middle of his forehead. Pain shot through Luna’s head again, but she swallowed the yelp that came along with it. Something seemed to still be going terribly wrong with that serum, but she needed to keep it together. She just needed to get through this and back to her house so that she could try and undo whatever she’d done.
“Third, your honor, I present to you pictorial evidence that your sheriff has been stalking several women in this town over the course of several years. Miss Luna was one of them.”
“What? Where did you get that?” Wesley said, springing to his feet again before he noticed the two armed officers that had appeared behind him pushed him back into his seat. He looked like he was about to protest, but then grumbled something and stayed seated.
“Next,” Graham continued, ignoring Wesley, “We have testimony that the sheriff was burning something in his backyard. It was assumed that it was leaves, except that the fumes made his neighbor sick for days afterwards. That doesn’t sound like leaves to me, your honor.”
“No. It doesn’t,” Judge Hatcher said, his eyes moving to Wesley’s and narrowing.
“The items weren’t completely consumed, and we were able to test what was left. The remnants look to be synthetic material, something like polyester or similar.”
“So, he was burning clothing?” the judge asked.
Graham pulled a plastic evidence bag from his shoulder bag and put it on the table beside him. “You can test further, if you’d like. I’ve brought the materials back.”
Luna waited for another crack of light to appear, but none did. She was almost disappointed. She’d hoped that she had at least figured out the pattern of it.
The judge motioned to the bailiff beside the bench, and the mountain of a man moved forward, picked up what Graham had already set aside, and returned to place it into Judge Hatcher’s hands.
“Continue,” he said, looking down at what he now had in his possession.
“We have pictures of a cleaned-up crime scene inside of the sheriff’s home, taken with the assistance of luminol. Whether or not someone was killed there is impossible to say, but there definitely looks to have been a good amount of blood spread around.”
The judge was starting to look angry now. “While this is all wonderfully circumstantial, how does this help Miss Luna?”
Graham smirked as he answered. “Do you have solid evidence against her? Because I have evidence that your sheriff was stalking her and others, and had a possible reason to want this crime pinned on her quickly. If my information can be refuted, please, do so.”
The judge’s eyes moved back to Wesley’s and Graham turned along with him, waiting.
“I may have botched a murder scene, but I didn’t kill anyone. We don’t have murders around here. I-I just forgot protocol,” Wesley sta
mmered.
“Judge, if you don’t mind?” Graham asked, holding up his cell phone. “My boss has something to add.”
Judge Hatcher nodded his permission, and Graham put the call on speaker.
“Your Honor, my name is Agent Honey Walters. I am the superior to the exceptional agent standing before you, and I believe I have some information that may help tie a bit more of this situation together,” the voice on the phone said.
“Please, continue.”
“Sheriff Wesley Jay has a connection to the man that was found dead in your town. You see, while his wife’s family is from Calidity, his family is from a small county in Maryland. One that Luna’s family has ties to.”
Luna shifted nervously. Nothing that started with that piece of information ever ended well.
“Luna’s family was attempting to develop an area of land, and needed to get the homeowners to sign away legal rights and move out of their homes. Those who weren’t initially intimidated had their lives terrorized and ruined until they gave in. One of these homeowners was your sheriff’s parents.”
Luna glanced over at Wesley, his face now turning an angry shade of red that she’d never seen before. She was alarmingly uncomfortable with her past, even this part that didn’t involve her directly, being put out into the world the way that it was. Especially since just a few days ago, she oddly hadn’t been able to recall most of it when Wesley had seemingly asked. Back before all of this had begun.
“Sheriff Jay’s parents were put through hell on earth before they finally agreed to sign and move, just to make everything stop. It seems that the member of the family that was in charge of getting them to move out is the man who was found dead in Miss Luna’s entryway.”
“Your family… does what?” Asher asked softly.
“Later,” Luna whispered. That was entirely too long of a story to tell just then. Not that she wanted to tell it at all. She was in witness protection, and she was in it for a reason.
