Saving Jasper | ✓ [COMPLETE]

Chapter 29 - It's Angel's Turn (Part 3 of Trial)

I rose steadily from my seat, and faced the judge. I could see the public viewers and the jury from the corner of my eye. Though I didn't plan on lying--because I had nothing to lie about--I had to be careful with my choice of words. Two men entered the courtroom, each carrying a big, black box. They placed them on a nearby table. Wordlessly, they both turned and walked, very robotically, back out of the room. The judge lifted his hands, ordering for silence.



This time, he spoke. "Charlotte, you have been with Jasper Beck for the past four months. Is that correct?"



I nodded, "Yes, your Honor that is correct.



"How would you describe Jasper's actions and overall personality?" I noticed that he wasn't going to ease into the questions. Right away, he asked me openly about Jasper as if it was just he and I discussing what had happened to Jasper.



I searched the floor for a moment, looking for the proper answers. "In the beginning, he was very skittish-like. It was hard to get a natural conversation out of him. Given his circumstances," I looked accusingly at Nora, "I can understand that." The judge nodded slowly, encouraging me to move forward. "I tried talking to him about simple things, like what his life was like in the basement, you know, a casual conversation? I couldn't get the conversation going. He was...lifeless."



"Is he still that way now?" the judge asked, looking at me thoughtfully.



I shook my head. "No, sir. Gradually, over time, I noticed changes. I had to take a two-week vacation to Maine to visit my family, and when I got back, I noticed he was different. Shortly after I returned, my parents, Jasper and I went to Hawaii to get away for a bit. But, that was when I noticed he wasn't quite there yet. He was still cut-off, very held-in. When we arrived home, my parents aranged for him to start going to out-patient therapy. I think that has helped a lot, but generally being around more people has improved his use of vocabulary and speech greatly."



Nora lurched to her feet, smashing her clutched hands down onto the table. The glass tumbler shuddered and threatened to topple over. "She's lying! Jasper was never that way!" she shrieked, her voice scraping against my eardrums. I winced slightly and watched as the judge rose to his feet and slammed his gavel down. It echoed through the courtroom and no one said anything.



"Miss Helson," he boomed, his voice sounding very loud and authoratively. "You had your chance to speak. Please, Charlotte, continue." He looked at me apologetically and returned to his seat. Swallowing, I nodded.



"Your Honor," I started, wishing I could leave the witness' stand. I needed to pace back and forth, or at least do something. I didn't like the fact that I wasn't even in trouble--yet I felt trapped. "Jasper wasn't okay. You could tell just by looking in his eyes. A person cannot live in one room, for their entire life. They simply cannot grow, flourish, or breathe even. We all get antsy, sitting in school, work...wherever. But, your Honor, can you just for a second, imagine sitting in one place for seventeen years? Right, you cannot. Because it isn't something you can fathom so easily. It's inhumane, it's wrong." My voice had hardened with each word, and slowly, my fear melted away.



This was no longer something I had to be fearful of. It was my opportunity to get Jasper his justice, and I was going to do it.



The judge coughed a little, and looked over a piece of paper sitting before him. "Charlotte, would you say that you are certain Jasper was in that room all of those years? Do you have direct proof?"



My mouth dried up and my heart began to hammer a little. While I didn't have solid proof, it was simply the truth. Just looking at Nora could tell anyone she was messed up in the head. Thankfully, my dad rose to his feet.



"Your Honor," he said, waiting for permission to speak. The judge looked pointedly at me and I nodded slightly. The judge then nodded to my father, giving him permission to speak. "I can account for that proof. When myself, Mr. Mathers and a select few others went into the basement on the twenty-eighth of May, the living conditions clearly showed Jasper had not once left that room."



"Mr. Chandler, how can you account for this proof?" the judge asked, sounding genuinely interested.



Dad gestured to the black boxes, "May I?" When the judge nodded again, Dad got up and went over to them, gingerly removing each lid. As he did so, John set up a white screen and flicked on a projector. Dad carried a folder over to the projector and placed a transparent picture on the projector.



A wide, clear image was cast over the white screen and a small gasp travelled through the public viewers.



"Your Honor," Dad said, gesturing to the picture. "As you can see by the date up in the righthand corner, this picture was taken the day Jasper was removed from Nora's home. Also, as you can see by the picture, this is the very door leading into Nora's basement. Your Honor, could you tell me what is on that very door?" My father turned to the judge expectantly, who had removed his glasses in awe.



Nora was glaring at the screen, her mouth pressed into a taught line. Melanie's facial expression showed sheer anger, as she, too, stared at the screen in shock.



"Locks," the judge murmured. "That door is locked." My father wisked the picture away and replaced it with another one.



"You see here, this lighting is courtesy of our investigators. Your Honor, there were no sources of lighting past the door leading into the basement. We had to provide lighting for ourselves so we could see." Once more, he replaced the photo. "And this, this is the door leading into Jasper's room." I looked over at Jasper to see him staring at the screen. His eyes were widened slightly, his face paled. I wanted to comfort him, but I wasn't allowed to move.



"Those doors are locked as well," the judge said. He sounded amazed, even. "Miss Helson, those pictures are that of the doors in your home, correct?"



Her voice was small, "Correct."



"Could you please explain why the doors were locked?" The judge replaced his glasses, and Dad fell silent. The pleased look on his face told me he knew he had hit a nerve. I chewed on the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling for my father. I was always grateful of the position he held in his job.



"I had to protect him," she squeaked out, her eyes glued on Jasper's face.



"Protect him from what?" the judge pressed, peering down at her. He looked angered as well. I could just barely see the beads of sweat building up on Nora's hairline, and those trickling down the side of her face.



"From...the dangers...of the world--" she stuttered. The judge lifted his hand for a moment, silencing her.



"Mr. Chandler, please continue." He looked expectantly at my father, who peered back inside the black box.



"This here was Jasper's room. As you can see, he has a bed, a dresser, a desk and nothing more. Your Honor, do you see a window in this room?"



The judge shook his head as he looked at the picture, his lips parted slightly. He placed his chin into his hand, studying the picture closely. I risked a glance at the jury. It pleased me to see that they were also eagerly looking at the photo. Dad took the picture away and reached into another file.



The next picture sent a wave of shock mixed with fright down my spine. My whole body trembled slightly.



"This here is of the side of Jasper's neck, crossed with his ribs," Dad explained. Purplish bruises dotted the side of Jasper's neck, as if she had laid her hands on him roughly. I swallowed back my anger and quickly looked at Jasper. He had his eyes away from the screen, down at his hands. "Your Honor, our doctor specialist can account for Jasper's visit to the hospital on May twenty-ninth. As we do with every case, he was sent there for a check-over. I have the records here," he held them up for the judge to see. "It says here that Jasper was lacking nutrition, and he was slightly underweight. Miss Helson, could that be because you had neglected Jasper for months on end?" Dad turned towards Nora and eyed her.



"That's not true, I would never--I mean...I had to go to the store to get--"



"Miss Helson," Dad said, his voice overstepping hers. "We visited every store within two hours and closer of your home. They were able to tell me you had not been there in weeks."



"I went--" she started, her hands and voice shaking in sync.



"Silence," the judge told her. She shut her mouth and turned away, facing Melanie. Dad turned away, a smug look on his face. He rooted through the boxes again and brought forth another file. He placed a new picture down, stepping back to look up at it.



"This here are several shots of the contents our investigators found within Miss Helson's home. Your Honor, Mr. Beck was found dead two weeks after Jasper was brought home, correct? We checked with the gun shop twenty minutes from Nora's home. They were able to tell me that Nora had made several trips there, and purchased several weapons, on week before Jasper's arrival. Miss Helson," he turned to Nora, folding his hands together. "Could you list the reasons you would need not one, but several weapons for?"



She met my father's eyes. "I keep them around because I don't trust people."



"That is a lie," my father told her harshly. "Our investigators discovered that your weapons had been used in a time of struggle. Did you or did you not kill your husband?" he snapped. I could see his patience was waning, and I silently pleaded with him to cool down.



"Mr. Chandler," the judge started. I knew he could see as well that things were heating up. Dad turned to him and looked into his eyes apologetically.



"My apologies, your Honor. As I was saying, our investigators discovered the other weapons had been used as well." He reached into the box again and pulled out a sealed, plastic bag. "This here is Jasper's birth certificate. After much research, we found to biological connection between Miss Helson and Jasper Beck. He had his blood drawn the night of May twenty-eighth, and we paired it up with Miss Helson's when she was taken into custody. Your Honor, Miss Helson and Jasper Beck are not legally related in any way, whatsoever."



A silence fell over the room and more uncomfortable tingles dripped down my spine. I curled my fingers inwards, tugging on the hem of my shirt.



"He's mine!" Nora shrieked, once more lunging to her feet. Melanie grabbed her arm, but Nora pulled away, seething. She shot a glare at my father. "You."



"Miss Helson," the judge boomed, rising to his own feet. The policeman standing by hurried over to Nora and forced her back into her seat. She was trembling and shaking violently, her mouth twitching upwards in a crazy smile. Jasper met my eyes, and a fearful look was painted on his face.



"Your Honor," Dad said quietly. More silence followed. After a minute, the judge finally looked over his papers.



"I think we have seen and heard enough. This calls for a fifteen minute break, and the jury will now make their decision." People rose to their feet and began filtering out of the room. The policeman dragged Nora away and Dad and John ushered me over. I took Jasper's hand as we left the room. Instead of returning to the conference room, I gently tugged Jasper away from the flow of people. We went outside and slowly went around back.



In the distance, I could hear the waves curling in and smashing against the shore. Jasper still looked frightened, but he relaxed visibly as he took a deep breath. He gave my hand a squeeze and pulled me in against his side. I slid my arms around him and leaned up against him, inhaling gently.



"We're going to lose," he murmured. A light pressure pushed down on the side of my head, as I realized Jasper was gently stroking a strand of my hair. He tucked it behind my ear as I looked up at him.



"Don't say that. The jury have seen quite enough, I'm sure they will deem her guilty," I told him.



"And if they don't?" he asked in a small voice. I had no answers for him. The chance was small, but it was still there. I lifted my head and looked towards the ocean. His grip on me was strong, and I felt safe. But I knew we would have to go back inside soon, and face Nora for what I hoped was the last time.



I didn't want this for Jasper. He had dealt with enough. It was his turn to have justice, and be free.



"You just have to believe," I spoke softly, intertwining my hand with his. He smiled a little as he brought his hand up and pressed his lips against the back of my hand. He dropped my hand suddenly and placed both his hands on the sides of my face, gently. He was so careful, so gentle. I knew he could never be angry with me, not in the way he had been with Mason.



"I do believe," he told me, looking down into my eyes. "I believe in you, that you're real. I couldn't have done this without you, at all. I cannot thank you enough Charlie."



"You already have," I told him, smiling softly.


"How?" he seemed confused.



"Just by being here, not giving up on me. Even if the fight isn't over, I know you can do it." His smile widened as he pulled me in for another hug. We stood there for a moment, holding onto one another. Moments from now, we'd have to part and face Nora once more.



We would have to see whether or not Jasper, after all this time, had gained his freedom.



_



"Last time," Dad said reassuringly as we joined him in the hall and began filing back into the courtroom. We took our seats and watched as they brought Nora in and plunked her down into her seat.



The judge called for silence and placed his glasses on his face. "Nora Helson has plead innocent," he read from a paper. My heart sunk in my chest, pattering harshly against my ribs.



This was it.



"Have you made your decision?" he addressed the jury. A man rose and cleared his throat.



"Nora Helson has been charged with abduction, neglection, physical and emotional abuse, and first degree murder of Brian Beck. Nora Helson, you are guilty."



I closed my eyes slightly, silently thanking the jury. Nora was guilty.