Dark Passions

Chapter Thirty-Four

Drake was sent back the following day. Black had overheard Garrison tell me Drake lent a photo to our side, and so Black let it slip Drake was an escaped convict from the insane asylum. The police came into the courthouse and thanked Black for apprehending Drake, to which Black stated it was his duty as a keeper of justice. Drake was strapped into a strait jacket and hauled off. Pain stabbed my heart from watching him go. Garrison had arranged it to where I would be able to see him leave. He flashed me one last smile before disappearing into the back of a truck. To me, it wasn't fair. Black could walk free and Drake had to take all the heat, especially with Black saying Drake was the one who did all of those awful things to me. It infuriated me to an extreme. But I knew in order to help out Drake as well, I needed to take down Black first.

Garrison and I were back in our room, wondering what our next move should be. I paced the floor, straining my brain to think of something else to bring for the trial. It was obvious Black had given the order to one of his men to murder Justin. According to Garrison, Justin was found on the floor of his cell with a gun in his hand. Black had staged it to where it would look like a suicide, but I knew better than that. Even though Justin was a creep, he was too much of a coward to take his own life. Garrison even admitted he felt guilty about what he had done to Ally. With Justin gone, I knew my defense was going to crack, and Black would walk out free. And then he would come back for me. I bit my nails nervously, my pacing increasing. Garrison sat at the table with his hands folded in front of him, twiddling his thumbs as he racked his own brains. Suddenly I stopped, an idea coming to mind.

"Garrison," I asked as I slowly looked over to him. He tilted his head to face me as I broke out into a smile. "What if I can give evidence Black did kill someone?" Garrison sat up straight, and the twinkle reappeared in his eyes.

"Who?"

"He was a classmate of mine in college. His name was Dustin. Black killed him when he tried to investigate Ally's murder. He cut out his tongue and threw his body into the bottom of the lake."

"I can see if I can get an investigation team to search the lake for the body," said Garrison as he stood up, sending out a mass text.

"I have his tongue." Garrison froze and looked at me, horror filling his eyes.

"You have his...what?"

"His tongue," I repeated with patience. "Black gave it to me as a present to help me remember to hold my own tongue. The tongue is still in the box he handed me, and it's in the deep freezer in the back at Black's house, stuffed behind frozen asparagus." Garrison smiled.

"You, young lady, would make a very dangerous opponent."

"I know," I said with a shrug, chuckling at the idea. "This is why I'm perfect to take down Black."

"I will see if I can present this new evidence to the jury," said Garrison as he began to leave the room. He cast a stern expression over his shoulder. "Don't wander off."

"I won't," I called out as he left the room. I smiled sadly to myself. Even with this evidence, Black already had concrete witnesses. We were still losing, despite what my story led. It gave the jury some doubts, but they were still convinced Black was an 'okay' guy. I shook my head, getting up and walking out of the room. I was going to go buy a water bottle, hoping the walk and the cold drink would help refresh my memory. Perhaps I'd be able to think of something that could give us the edge on Black. I trudged over to the vending machine and inserted my $1.25 for a bottle of water, and picked it up as it came clanking down. I unscrewed the top and turned, running straight into Black. Water splashed down onto my hands, and I silently cursed before glaring up at him. "Thanks a lot," I growled as I put the lid back on and shook out my hands.