Chapter 98 #2
The spectators immediately looked at each other in astonishment, including the detective I was certain Arnold had bribed.
“Where is the murder weapon now?”
“Objection, relevance,” Miss DeLoughrey interjected.
“Overruled.”
“The gun is in the sea,” I replied, without moving a facial muscle.
A murmur broke out in the courtroom, but it died down immediately when the judge reached for his gavel.
“Are you implying that you helped the defendant destroy evidence?”
“Objection…”
“No. I threw that gun into the sea because I couldn’t stand the sight of it any longer.”
Another murmur broke out, and Monica’s gaze was unbearable.
We hadn’t spoken much over the past few months because she still believed it had been irresponsible to get involved with my student. And I had grown used to her silent judgment.
She was the only one who could function for Lara right now. And even though Lara would turn nineteen in two months, I wouldn’t forgive myself if my little girl, after everything she’d been through, didn’t have someone watching over her around the clock.
She had always had Monica. Tony. And slowly I realized that she had never fully had me. Not because I hadn’t been there or hadn’t done my best. No… The fact that I had acted on my doubts about being a good father had led me to make numerous bad decisions.
Not a single one of them, however, involved Quill.
“Do you know how the defendant came into possession of a firearm?”
“It was the gun of her brother, Anthony Richter.”
Something in Tony’s tense expression shifted, and he seemed thrown off balance as everyone suddenly looked at him, even Joseph.
“Your Honor, I’d like to confront the witness with prior sworn testimony of Mr. Richter.”
“You may proceed.”
“Mr. Richter has clearly stated that he kept all his firearms safely out of reach of family members,” said Kutolsky, and the judge was about to say something, but I was quicker.
“But not out of my reach.”
All eyes were on me again.
Tony was turning paler and paler.
“I stole the gun from him years ago and kept it in my private possession. Quill found it.”
Arnold raised both eyebrows, which only fueled my inner aggression.
He sat there as if all of this bored him.
For now.
“What was Miss Richter doing near your personal belongings? According to the records, you were her professor.”
“I was her debate mentor and therefore a trusted advisor.”
Someone in the audience gave a dry laugh. Joseph.
He could count himself lucky that there were security guards here.
I would never forgive him.
“Furthermore, Mr. Richter was my mentor for years, and I had to learn at a family dinner that Miss Veritas is not only his daughter but has also suffered domestic violence – both emotionally and physically – as well as neglect at his hands, which was why I offered her a place to live with me and my daughter.”
Joseph jumped to his feet.
“How dare you!”
“Mr. Richter…,” the judge tried to interrupt him, but Joseph raised his index finger in his direction.
“That’s a lie!”
“Mr. Richter. Please sit down.”
But I wasn’t done with him yet.
The world needed to know who Joseph Richter was. Who had pushed my feather into the abyss.
She would still be here, damn it! With me!
A tear slipped from my eye, and the silence in the courtroom was deadly.
“For years, he harassed Quill, tyrannized her, threatened her, neglected her, created situations of dependency for her and exploited them, terrorized her and her mother, choked his daughter, leaving bruises on her wrists and neck from his tight grip, and rammed a letter opener through her hand.”
Monica covered her mouth with her hand, and others let out surprised gasps.
A vein – I could see it from where I sat – pulsed on Joseph’s forehead.
And in that moment, I was certain he regretted ever taking me under his wing.
Good.
“Objection, relevance!” Kutolski blurted out.
“Overruled.”
Kutolski looked at me, visibly dissatisfied.
“Do you have any evidence to support such accusations?”
“Quill’s right hand has a scar that is visible on both the front and back,” I explained, and Monica and Tony both looked at Joseph with ashen faces, while Lara tried to give me an encouraging smile but failed.
Miss DeLoughrey stood up and handed the autopsy photos – which I hadn’t been able to bring myself to look at until today – to the judge, who reviewed them while I glared at Joseph.
Oh yes. He regretted every second he had spent training me.
“Furthermore, there are other witnesses in this room who can testify to the traces Quill brought with her from home to campus.”
My gaze shifted to Zachary Faber and Lucas McMillan, as well as to Brittany, who immediately looked down at her clasped hands while the boys looked away.
“Objection, relevance. Joseph Richter is neither the defendant nor the subject of this trial.”
Not yet…
“Sustained. The jury will disregard the statements concerning Joseph Richter.”
I leaned back, dissatisfied.
How could this world be so ignorant?
“Mr. Rydell.” Kutolski eyed me the way a bird of prey eyed defenseless small game on a vast meadow before its next attack. “The defendant watched a video of her crime and subsequently took her own life. How do you explain this behavior?”
That lousy little rat.
“Objection, assumes facts not in evidence.”
“Sustained.”
Kutolski smiled to hide his frustration, just as he had done all these years.
Only now did I spot Lily in the back row.
Normally, her appearance would have thrown me off balance. But nothing was normal anymore.
Let her give me a disappointed look and use my weakness to further suck up to Lara. As long as Monica was watching over my baby girl, Lily wouldn’t get very far.
She was here to steer me back on track after a testimony not going as expected. To take advantage of my emotional low to get me into bed tonight.
The mere thought disgusted me.
Never again would I sleep with a woman.
Let’s see if Lily’s plans would change once I played the ace up my sleeve.
“Mr. Rydell. What makes you believe the defendant wasn’t lying to protect herself?”
“I knew Troy well. He was my classmate in college.”
Monica pressed her lips together, but I ignored it.
“According to the other witnesses, the two of you were rivals. He made life difficult for you because you outperformed him. Someone killing your rival would suit you just fine, wouldn’t it?”
“Objection, leading.”
“Sustained.”
Nevertheless, I answered, because one thing had to be made clear.
“Troy and I didn’t get along, which doesn’t mean I wished for his death.”
Lie. Quill would be proud of me.
However, this was about something other than my preferences regarding Troy’s heart activity.
“I’ve had many colleagues throughout my career who were my competitors. Just like every lawyer present in this courtroom. That’s just everyday life and part of the legal profession.”
“If Troy was a rival like any other, what reason do you think he had to attack Miss Richter?”
Once again, everyone looked at me. They all expected me to say that the two of them hadn’t been able to stand each other.