Cruel Trust

Forty-Nine

At 3:45, we were back in the courtroom, sitting in our respective seats, except Andrew and Aunt Rose had moved to sit in the front row with us. We had spent the entire recess discussing what the defense was possibly going to say to make the jury believe Liam hadn't killed Julia in cold blood.

"Did Julia have a gun?" Andrew had whispered, leaning over his burger and fries so I could hear him.

"No! I mean, not that I know of," I conceded. "She had never mentioned having a gun, and that would be the kind of thing she'd have told me." Then again, there was a lot she had never told me. 

Now as we sat in the courtroom, just minutes before the defense was set to start its case, I was again second guessing myself. I spent the next fifteen minutes lost in thought. I didn't even notice when they brought Liam back into the room.

The back doors opened, and we all rose as Judge Bradley and the bailiff entered. When he took his seat, we all followed suit. He banged his gavel on the bench one time and spoke. "Court is back in session. I want to mention that the defendant has the right not to testify, and the jury will not hold it against the defendant if he does not. Now, is the defense ready with its case?"

Mr. Robbins stood. "Yes, sir. I call the defendant, Liam Covington." Andrew felt my body tense and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to him.

Liam stood and walked confidently to the witness stand, and I felt my stomach lurch. He put his hand on the Bible, and he swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and I snorted. I didn't believe he'd tell any part of the truth.

"Mr. Covington, will you state your occupation for the jury?"

He smirked. "Until the last few months, I was a psychiatrist."

"I see. And please state your relationship to Julia Stone," Mr. Robbins asked, perching on the edge of his table.

"She was one of my patients," Liam answered, and I waited for him to reveal the rest of his relationship with Julia.

He didn't.

Mr. Robbins cocked his head. "Did you have a relationship with Ms. Stone?"

Liam's eyes flickered to the right, then back to Mr. Robbins. "No. I absolutely did not."

My jaw dropped so far, I thought it was going to hit the floor. I started to stand, but Andrew pulled me back down and shook his head. "Shh."

"But he's lying," I hissed into his ear.

"I know. And DA Murphy knows that too. Just hang on, Char."

I clenched my teeth and fumed.

Mr. Robbins was speaking again. "Did Ms. Stone have romantic feelings for you?"

"Yes, she did."

"Did you reciprocate those feelings?"

"I did not."

I glared at him, not believing what I was hearing.

"Did Julia Stone ever threaten you?"

"Yes, she did."

"How so?"

"She sent me threatening text messages on several occasions, and the last one I received was on May 17th."

I rolled my eyes and leaned forward, poking DA Murphy on the elbow. She turned around.

"They have no idea what he did to us on Thanksgiving!" I hissed. She put a finger to her lips.