Silent Evil

Part 1: Voices of Delilah

Chapter 42

In the boardroom, it was chaos. Each Jury member trying to get his or her own opinion out, raising their voices, trying to be heard over the roar, but only managing to make more noise in the process.

Linda Ashram, a hard working psychiatrist, managed to raise her voice above the other.

" I just think we need to think about the sake of Delilah!" she yelled. The room suddenly quieted and she continued. " Delilah is in need of obvious help, and ending her life won't do that."

" She wasn't even the one who killed those 36 woman!" another member shouted. " That was all Eric Winston. Why should she be sent to the chair if she wasn't the one to kill them? Basically, not even the real serial killer we were looking for."

" But what about all those people she destroyed?" another person argued. " They should all just wither and we let Delilah live? No! She should be put to death and that's that!"

" But she already paid for what she did to them, remember?" someone reasoned. " She was sent to a ward immediately and the doctors there said so themselves; they were helping her!"

" Killing her won't end her suffering." Linda said. " She'll die knowing and regretting what she's done to all of them. Didn't you all see her face at the mention of her mother?"

" Yeah, that's true."

" All I'm saying is that we should get her admitted into a hospital and taken care of." Linda concluded. " After she's healed enough, she can be punished for her crimes in jail."

" And what if this all backfires on us, Linda?" someone asked. " What if it turns out that she was just acting throughout this whole time?"

" Than she gets the death chair!" Linda exclaimed, and another uproar hit the room.

No one could be understood over the noise of the room, but eventually, people decided to calm down and build a system. One at a time, everyone stated their opinions. No one interrupted each other and everyone had finally gotten their worries and opinions out. It didn't take long before they had all reached a unanimous verdict. Some say that when they left the boardroom, there was no sound at all and a cold breeze was left hanging in their wake.

~~~~

It didn't take as long as Lauren thought it would, and by the time all Jury members were seated, her palms were sweaty. A noticeable hush and chill came in the air as everyone around tried guessing the verdict of the Jury, though everyone in the room remained silent. It was like someone had died in there and everyone was waiting for the minister to get up and deliver his final speech. The Judge walked into the room last and we stood up briefly. He gestured for all of us to sit down and glanced worriedly at the Jury. He was at a loss too.

" Has the Jury come to a proper verdict?" the Judge asked, wasting no time. One of the members stood up, her flyaway gray hair twisted in a tight bun on her head, raising her face, making the wrinkles look less noticeable. Her quick, sharp brown eyes surveyed everyone in the room before she nodded.

" We have, Your Honor." she said, her voice tight, like what she said displeased her very much. " We, the Jury, find the Defendant, Delilah Winston, not guilty but we, Your Honour, ask that you sentence her to the New York City Mental Hospital for the Criminally Insane." Lauren felt like all the air in her lungs had been punched out. On Taylor's desk, she saw him punch the wood and slam his head down onto the table. Harvey immediately left the room and everyone else was freaking out. The Judge could barely even be heard over the uproar, but finally, somehow, they all stopped talking and he was heard once more. His worn, weathered face was beet red from all the exertion that showed on his face.

" Now that the decision has been made, a declare this case over." he said, coughing into his hand lightly. " Delilah Winston will be brought to the NYCMHCI as soon as possible. Adjourned." The final hit of his gavel echoed straight away into her head. How had she won? Could they not see the evil that resided in Delilah as easily as Lauren could? Or was she just really that good? She felt sick to her stomach and could barely even stand looking at Delilah who's gaze ate up every inch of Lauren.

" Thank you very much for your help, Ms. Mogul." Delilah's quiet voice pierced her ears. " Very much obliged." Delilah was led off by two officers and Lauren slowly stood up to collect her things. A shadow hung over her and she glanced up at Taylor's furious green eyes.

" Nice job, Lauren." he snarled. " You've just succeded in sending a guilty woman straight to triumph. I'm sure you feel great about it." Lauren had had enough.

" You have no idea how horrible I feel right now." she whispered, her voice strained and deathly quiet. " I know exactly what kind of a girl Delilah is and it absolutely kills me to think I might have just sent away an evil person straight to a safe haven."

" Than why?" he asked sharply, his voice cutting like a knife. " Why the hell did you even bother to defend her?" She picked up her things and sent him one last look.

" I said that everyone deserves a defense," she explained. " What I didn't say was that not everyone deserves to win the battle."