Masked Ally

CHAPTER TWO

'Order!'

The judge shouted striking the gavel on the desk.

'Order!'

Silence slowly creeped back in, but their silence spoke volumes, and spewed out toxic gas. Nevertheless, I thrived at the sight of Rex, I felt safe sitting beside him and the only face that mattered to me was his.

'Your honour, we have a case between Miss Cassy Brown and the state for the murder of the deceased Mr Mark Jones.' A guy in a black shirt said handing a file over to the judge.

The judge took a quick but intense look at me through her spectacles, before looking back at the file. Rex squeezed my hand tightly and smiled at me; that smile meant a lot to me, it reminded me that I wasn't alone. It reassured me of his undying love for me, which he would profess to me soon. It assured me of the little house we were going to live in together as a couple, I had a perfect image of my relationship with Rex and I wasn't going to let a murdering coward get in the way of it's materialisation. Life had given me a second shot at happiness and I was willing to get rid of any obstacle, regardless of the cost ... which in this case was jail.

'Let the prosecutor present his evidence please,' The judge said, having a face that was nearly impossible to read. A tall man in an expensive looking suit, whom I guessed was the lawyer of the dead guy stepped forward. At that moment, I noticed a woman who sat at the other side of the room, she wept so intensely that I assumed she was a relative of the dead guy. I was immediately filled with both pity and anger towards her. I felt sorry for her loss, at the same time I was furious at the fact that I was in that situation because of her relative — or whoever he was to her.

'If he hadn't died, I wouldn't be sitting here right now,' I thought, 'on the other hand I'm grateful because, I wouldn't have met my darling Rex, who I'm deeply in love with,' I sighed. The guy cleared his throat before speaking:

'Your honour, I would like to present to this honourable court, the fact that this young lady here murdered my client, Mr Mark Jones, on the 20th of October 2016. She stabbed him in the left rib and watched him bleed to death.'

The audience chanted: 'Murderer! murderer!'

I felt sick to my stomach, I slid down in my chair trying to hide from the prying eyes of the people watching to devour me. Rex tapped my hand and whispered:

'Sit upright.'

I longed so badly to curl up in his strong arms, where I was sure I would feel safe.

'Order! order!' The judge yelled angrily hitting the gavel against the desk yet again. 'I asked for evidence not meagre words!'

'I'm sorry your honour,' he bowed slightly, 'may I call on my first witness: Miss Dorris Ash.'

A young lady came forward and walked into the witness box.

'Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?' The same guy who handed the file over to the judge asked her.

'I do.' The lady said, holding up her right hand. The guy, who I later understood to be the court clerk, took his seat after gesturing to the man in the suit to proceed.

'Miss Dorris,' he said pacing slowly in front of her, 'where were you on the 20th of October 2016?'

'I was on my way home from work.'

'And what route did you take home?' He asked further.

'Banred street, leading to the river Conred,' she replied.