Being in the back of a police car was strangely a calming experience. Ben didn't talk to me and I didn't bother trying to talk to him.
Once we got to the precinct, I got interrogated for a few hours, droning on and on and answering questions. I told nothing but the truth and didn't spare any details. There was no point in trying to hide anything and I knew that, so I didn't.
The following weeks consisted of questions, being in a holding cell, trial set up dates, and interviews with lawyers and defense officers.
Today is the day I go to trial. I'm getting clean, dressed, and transported over to the courthouse. In the car, I tune out my attorney, already knowing what I'm going to say, knowing how today is going to go. When the car pulls up to the front of the courthouse, I climb out and am immediately swarmed by people with cameras, microphones, notepads, and questions. I tune all of them out, taking purposeful strides up the steps. Entering my assigned case room, I take my seat, my head held high and my eyes focused on the judges' podium.
Nobody told me how long it takes to get these things fully started and going. I've been sitting in my seat for about an hour, basically twiddling my thumbs.
"Miss Scarlet Ash..." Judge McKinnon begins.
Finally. I suppress an eye roll.
"You've been accused of murdering your friend, Amelia Rose Brown. How does the defendant plead?"
"Guilty." I reply, my voice strong and clear. Murmurs erupt all around the room, the jury and spectators shocked by my response.
"Miss Ash, you do realize that by pleading guilty, you're admitting to the crime and will be punished severely."
"I fully understand." Locking eyes with Ben, who was next to the witness stand, I simply say, "I killed her. And officer Williams over here was the responding officer who found the incriminating evidence firsthand. Benjamin, would you care to show the honorable judge and the court what it is you found?" I ask him, a subtle challenge in my tone of voice.
Ben looks over to Judge McKinnon and he motions his approval. Ben looks at another officer and nods his head. The man disappears for a moment and returns with a bag labeled EVIDENCE in bold red letters, handing it to Ben. Ben takes it and clears his throat, looking around the room. Opening the bag, he takes out the black box I had in the safe. "I suggest that those with a weak stomach avert their gaze at this time, for what is in this box is very disturbing and stomach turning."
I glance around the court and find that a good portion actually turn their heads away. I bite the inside of my cheek to stifle my laugh. I see Ben looking at me, pain in his eyes.
He pauses before opening the box and taking out its' contents; a jar filled with a clear liquid and a fleshy red lump of a small organ. Gasps fill the room and I hear sobbing from somewhere behind me. I turn around and notice Debbie sitting there, crying.
"Miss Ash." the stern voice of the judge draws my attention back to the front. "Would you care to tell the court what that is?"
"That is the larynx of Amelia Brown in a jar of formaldehyde liquid to preserve it."
"Why do you have her larynx in a jar?" the judge asks, appalled.
"Because I cut it out of her throat so she couldn't scream." Even with his years as a judge, I could tell he was taken aback by how easily I said that. "Would you like me to tell you exactly how I did it? What all I did?"
"If you would, I'd prefer that you come to the witness stand and be put under oath."
We go through that process and I face the court, seeing everybody in there.
"If you would, please start."
"Of course, your honor. Well, I'd like to start off by saying that killing her was an act of revenge. Amelia had done many awful things to me in the past, several of which caused me to be hospitalized. By staying friends with her, I believed that she would never suspect anything like me trying to harm her; she thought I wasn't capable. And I was right. Up until the fire, she thought that I was her loyal little pet. I completely believe that what I did was an act of passion and that by doing it, I got retribution. I started by getting her drunk, like I normally do on Saturday nights. When she was completely hammered, I took her to her room and laid her down on the bed. Moving quickly, I grabbed an exacto blade, one used for art, and sliced her throat open, cutting out her larynx. Now, keeping in mind, the average human adult can survive anywhere between forty minutes to two hours after their throat is slit. I told her how much I loathed her for everything she's done to me."
Taking a breath, I look around to see that everybody is listening intently, especially Ben.
Continuing, I explain, "Amelia always had an assortment of perfume bottles next to her bed, very flammable. So... I took a good five bottles and poured them out all over her and the bed. I took the remaining bottles and poured them out on the floor, the furniture, and walls. And then, I lit a match, caught one of the bottles of vodka on fire, and threw it on the bed. The fire spread so quickly. And I waited. I waited in the burning house for the foundation to get weak and I let a beam fall on top of me. Nobody expects one of the people affected by the incident to be the person who started it. Nobody suspects a victim. I let myself be trapped because I knew that if I was a victim too, I could get away with it. The thing is, I'm a sucker for souvenirs. That's why I got caught. Because I set aside her larynx in a safe spot for me to keep. But I don't really care that I got caught, the bitch is dead." I finish with a shrug.
"We'll have a quick recess so that the jury can have a deliberation to come up with a verdict." Judge McKinnon announces, the sound of his gavel slamming down echoing through the room.
After the recess, everybody comes back into the room.
"Has the jury reached a verdict?"
There is a chorus of nodding heads and 'yes', one man standing up and looking at the judge. He pauses before announcing, "In the case of Amelia Rose Brown, we find the defendant, Scarlet Crystal Ash, guilty of murder in the first degree."
"Miss Ash, you have been found guilty and are hereby sentenced to life in prison. Dismissed." Judge McKinnon announces, banging his gavel again.
As I'm being escorted out of the courtroom, Ben runs up, stopping me. "Scarlet! I realize you lied to me and used my feelings for you against me, but I just want to know one thing; why did you do it? I mean, really."
Looking at him, bored, I shake my head with a smile.
"She was always so cold... I just wanted to warm her up."
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