Proposition (AlwaysLoveMe2)

Chapter 6.... In A Matter Of Hours

Noah's POV

I love the nitty gritty, morally bankrupt, backyard game of criminal law. It's my drug of choice, my reason for getting out of bed, the only time I truly feel alive. Call me shameless or corrupt and I'd tell you that being unscrupulous is only where I begin. Ask me how I slept at night and I'd tell you peacefully in my high rise apartment with everything I ever wanted looking down upon the city below. The truth of the matter is money buys you passage and principals don't win court cases.

Bring on the scandal, let the media circus eat their cake, I'm all in. My latest client Joseph Welch  had set centre stage not only capturing New Yorkers but the nations attention in the brutal way he murdered his pregnant girlfriend. This case was going straight to the top of my resume, a true hail marry.

Seven days past his twenty third birthday a bloody and incoherent Joseph Welch appeared on his parents doorstep. Coming down from a volatile mixture of narcotics Joseph claimed to have no recollection of the previous thirty six hours. The end result was a combative Joseph Welch being restrained in protective custody at the hospital while New Yorks finest preformed a safety check on his girlfriend.

Melissa Edwards was found deceased on the bathroom floor of the couples home. Blood spatter and forensic evidence mapped out a violent struggle begging at the front door, moving through both the kitchen and living room as it ended in the bathroom. The autopsy would list the official cause of death as blunt force trauma when her skull was smashed in by a yet to be determined object. The list of injuries to the victim were numerous including twenty three deep stab wounds, several of these determined to be post mortem. The final details of the autopsy would reveal that a rape, strangulation and other bodily indignities had been performed post mortem.

It was Joseph Welches yelping cries of innocence that brought his parents and their deeply lined pockets to our firm. Notoriety and nation exposure had landed in our laps and my father couldn't have been more pleased. For me this was another feather in my cap and a notch on my professional scale.

All prisoners when transferred to the New York Court House to appear before a judge are held within the concrete belly of the building. Far removed from the grand archways of the floors above this area resembles very much that of a maximum prison. It served as a stark reminder for those kept within the holding cells what their future was most likely going to look like.

Taking my seat across from Joseph I asked out of habit and not any real care or real concern, "How are you doing?"

"How do you think I'm doing?" Raising his hands so I could see the crossbar shackles Joseph's looked as if he might cry. "It's like waking up to fresh hell every day."

"The last few times I saw you we discussed what was going to occur today. This is the preliminary phase where the judge will decide if the district attorneys office has enough evidence to go to trial." Pushing forward with the formalities of the conversation I had no interest in pandering to Joseph's feel bad for me subscription. "When we stand before the judge all you are to say is your name and that you are pleading not guilty. No more no less."

"The other prisoners...." Joseph's voice trailed off as he looked from me to the corner of the room. Taking a shuttered deep breath he sat perfectly still and unwavering. "The other prisoners say their going to do me like I did Melissa. I didn't do this."

"Your in prison charged with murder not eating lunch at the Westchester Country Club. There are no five star chiefs, tennis or golf pros, no staff willing to wipe your ass for a generous tip. The other men in there don't call prison home because of their civic duty, charity and vast volunteer work. Your not imprisoned in some minimum state facility for tax evasion. This is the big league." Sitting forward in my chair looking Joseph straight in the eyes I had hoped to impress the importance of this conversation. "Now you need to listen to me and do exactly as I say. If not I will guarantee that you will spend the rest of what could only be described as a miserable life in prison as the next Elizabeth."