61. Anderson
61
ANDERSON
T his morning, Dana tried to get me not to take the stand. She said it was foolish at this point, but I refused. However, she did talk me out of going with the truth. She said it’s a bullshit Hail Mary play that only works in movies. “… refute his claims. Make him sound like a punch-drunk thug who is making up grandiose stories to get immunity for hauling a body away.”
On the long walk to the witness stand, I take stock of everything I’ve done in my life. I’ve lied and cheated—of course, I have. I’m a lawyer. It comes with the territory. I know how to talk my way into and out of trouble. That’s what I’ve always done.
I can do it now, too.
Tanner gets his chance after I’m sworn in. “Mr. West, you face very serious charges. Brave of you to show up since you could flee the country easily enough.”
Dana starts to speak, but I wave her off. “Justice wouldn’t be served that way.” Suddenly, everything clicks. Why my family is almost exclusively lawyers? Why men like Neil get away with things? Why has Moss been backed into a corner?
Justice is broken. Someone has to fix it.
“Do I have it right that on the night in question, you stated that you?—"
“I did it.”
Every person in the room has a reaction, but it’s June I can’t look away from. I’d thought she might cry, but she stared back at me, utterly confused. Judge Ackerman pounds the gavel until people shut up. Tanner laughs, delighted he’s going to win. “Mr. West, can you say that again?”
“You’re looking for a murderer, but you won’t find one. You’re trying to paint me as the jealous ex or say that June was cheating on me. Neither is the case. I’ll tell you want you want to hear, but I will tell it my way.”
He smirks. “Go ahead.”
“The night in question, I went to check up on June at her new job. But I saw another man walking her home. I thought once he left, I might get a chance to talk to her, so I followed along, call that what you will. Her apartment building’s lobby has glass doors, so I saw them standing at the elevator. And that’s when I saw Neil get out of hand with her. She pushed him back … ” My throat goes dry at the memory. “He started to choke her. She tried to fight him off … but he was stronger. I ran in, pulled him off of her. She fell to the floor … ” The words make me sick to my stomach.
The judge says, “Please continue.”
“I fought Neil Johnson. She wouldn’t be safe until he was neutralized—I knew that much. He gave almost as good as he got. A couple of times, I was on the ropes. When I shoved him back, I had no idea there was a stud in the wall behind him. He whacked his head on it … what Moss said was right. It was an accident that happened during self-defense. I never wanted to kill anyone. But I will never let anything happen to the woman I love. Not if I can help it.”
Tanner clenches his jaw. “And then you hid the body.”
“I shouldn’t have, but at that point, all I could think of was June.”
“How’s that?”
“I didn’t want her name to be tied to that bastard every time someone looked her up. I didn’t want her to have to go through any of this because some guy tried to kill her. When he strangled her, he threatened to have sex with her body, Mr. Walsh. She should not have to be reminded of that each time she meets someone new. She deserves a clean slate.” I sigh at myself. “I thought by hiding the body, I was giving that to her. It was foolish of me, but I did it for love.”
Tanner glares at me. “Convenient excuse.”
“No part of this trial could be described as convenient, Mr. Walsh.”
“Your little story sounds romantic enough, but the problem I’m having with it is the part when you said you were stalking your ex because, to me, that sounds more like a man who lost control when he saw his ex with another man.”
“Neil Johnson is the one who lost control. Moss told you about the bruises on her neck?—"
“The word of an admitted murderer is what you want to hang your freedom on?”
I laugh. “You’re hanging your entire case on him, so which is it? He’s trustworthy or not?”
Tanner grunts, “No further questions.”
June is silent when I return to the defendant table. It’s a good thing because closing arguments are up next, and I should pay attention to that. But it’s hard.
I told the truth. Let the chips fall where they may.
I tune out Tanner’s closing. It’s a bunch of lies, making me sound unhinged and June sound slutty. But when Dana speaks, I try to listen. Still, I’m in and out, too shellshocked that it’s all out there. I made the choice to tell and I don’t regret that, but now I have to face the judgement of the jury. I hope it wasn’t too little too late. Even if it was, Dana’s one of the best. If anyone can turn things around, it’s her.
“… newlyweds. And so I ask you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, to fully grasp the concept of reasonable doubt. My client is here on first-degree murder. But the facts of the case do not warrant a first-degree murder charge. In fact, they warrant no charges. Mr. West acted in self-defense of Ms. Devlin, and even if you don’t want to believe that in spite of Mr. Kravchenko’s testimony, you must ask yourself this, can I, beyond all reasonable doubt, say this was first-degree murder? Can I separate two people who clearly love each other for the rest of their lives on a hunch?”
My body goes sick at the thought.
“The answer should be no. The law does not operate on hunches. It operates on facts, and the fact is that even the key witness for the prosecution brought up the bruises on Ms. Devlin’s neck. He told you what happened was not murder. My client told you it was not murder. The only person in this room who thinks it was murder is Mr. Walsh, a man who needs a high-profile conviction for his re-election campaign. The prosecution could not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that my client intended to murder Mr. Johnson.”
She pauses and falls quiet. Somber. “There was a fight. Mr. Johnson lost that fight after he tried to strangle Ms. Devlin. The loss of life is always tragic. I won’t deny that. But a loss of life does not equal a murder. Justice means Mr. West goes free. The prosecution failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. That is the standard you must uphold. The standard of the law is reasonable doubt.”
With that, she sits next to us. I don’t know how her words affect the jury. They’re inscrutable. The judge sends them out for deliberation, and court is adjourned. But when it gets late, the judge sends everyone home for the night.
June closes the door behind us and says, “I cannot believe you did that.”
“Telling the truth is the only way out after Moss.”
“You’re being an idealist! I never?—"
“Why are we lawyers, June?”
She blinks at me. “What?”
“If not justice, then why? The world needs to know what happened! They need to know Neil was a piece of shit who should be dead! They need to know I did the right thing!”
“I perjured myself for you! I put my neck on the line for you first, and you gave that pissant DA all the ammunition he needs to come after me next! You think you were protecting me by telling the truth? You damned me!” The muscles in her neck strain. She’s pissed, and I get it, but she’s overreacting.
“No, I didn’t?—"
She grunts at me, then heads for a bottle of whiskey, swigging from the bottle. “I cannot believe you are this fucking na?ve!”
“He can’t prosecute you!”
“The fuck he can’t!”
But I almost smile. “If he prosecutes the woman who was attacked and nearly killed, he will tank his re-election chances straight into the toilet.”
She starts to speak, but stops herself.
“Besides, you lied to protect your husband after your husband killed to protect you. If anything, we seem like a couple in love.”
“As much as I’d love to believe anyone cares about that, I can’t. You fucked us. We’re both going to prison, so thanks for throwing yourself on your sword today. You’re a real hero.” She saunters to the bedroom, whiskey in hand, and slams the door.
If I chase after her, this is only going to get worse. She needs to cool off, which means, I am staying out here. I’ll give her an hour. She’ll come out and apologize soon. No big deal.
But the thing is, she doesn’t. I don’t hear a peep from her before bedtime.
Ah, well. Nothing like sleeping on the couch the night before you’re going to lose your freedom. When I wake up, joints crack that I didn’t know could crack. But I stretch and make coffee, seeing it’s four in the morning. No wonder it’s still dark out.
The machine beeps when it’s done—I’d forgotten it does that. I hope it didn’t wake June. But as I pour my cup, I hear the bedroom door open. “Sorry, I?—"
She wraps her arms around me from behind. “I’m sorry, too.”
I turn around to face her. She looks like she’s been up all night. “I was apologizing about the machine beeping, but I’m sorry about everything else, too. I really got it in my head that … well, what are we fighting for, if not justice? That’s the whole point, isn’t it?”
“I’m fighting for our freedom. Fuck justice.”
I snort a laugh. “Coffee?”
“That’s not a question.”
I bob my head and pour her a cup, too. We sit at the table, kind of quiet. “Justice is the only real way we’ll have any freedom, June. It’s a gamble, sure, but?—"
She laughs under her breath in response.
“But, it’s true. Think about it—if we lied and hung Moss out to dry, we’d be looking over our shoulders forever. Either because of the law or because of Moss, because you know he has scary friends. Point is, we wouldn’t actually be free. We’d be waiting for everything to fall apart.” I sigh. “And I need the world to make sense again.”
“What do you mean?”
“I need to believe there’s justice in the world. I don’t want to bring kids into a world where that’s a punchline.”
She murmurs, “Kids … with me?”
The odd question makes me laugh. “Who else? My other wife?”
“You’re not mad at me for last night?”
“June, it’s amazing we haven’t been at each other’s throats before all of this. I’m not happy with some of what you said, but I’m not mad, either. We’re under a shit ton of pressure right now. We’re going to say things we shouldn’t.”
She sips her coffee. “Thank you for not holding it over me.”
“If I get out of this, I look forward to some groveling.”
She giggles at me. Fuck, I have missed that. “Deal.”
“I hate to say anything that’ll take that smile off your face, but in case this goes south, I want a nice long shower. Okay?”
“Enjoy. I need more caffeine.”
I kiss her cheek on my way to the shower. In case this all goes sideways, I decide to spa things up. I light a few candles, turn on some relaxing music, and keep the lights low. Once the shower is nice and steamy, I close my eyes, letting the water run over me while I try not to think I’ve doomed us both.
A small hand snakes around my waist, and I almost jump. “What?—"
“Hey.”
Again, I turn to face her. She’s beautiful and naked, and I know she’s too sad for fun, but it’s hard not to let my body respond at the sight of her. “You’re very sneaky today.”
“Last chance for sneakiness. Thought I’d take advantage of it.” She presses her tits against my chest. “Thought I’d take advantage of you, too.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “You can take whatever you want.” I press a kiss to her lips, still willing my body to remain flaccid. She might take back what she just said at any moment and?—
But then she strokes me to life, and all uncertainty dies.
I take her wrists and pin her to the hot shower wall, kissing her soft lips, her determined chin, and her delicate throat. I want to devour this woman’s every inch. Her moans echo through the room. I nibble across her collarbone and to her tits, those glorious things. Licking up the valley between them, I take my time and enjoy the way she shudders from my touch. I love knowing the effect I have on June.
Come what may, this is what we’re fighting for. I’ll never stop.
I kneel in front of her, bringing a leg over my shoulder to open her up. Her gasps kick up when my tongue hits her clit. She’s already wet for me. Her sweetness is all I need, and I drink from the source as she digs her nails into my scalp. My name and curse words are on her lips as she rocks against me. I love bringing her to the precipice.
But I love sending her over it more.
Just as I feel her pulse on my fingers, I stand up, hoisting her until she’s stuck between me and the wall, her legs around my waist. I thrust home, and we both shake from the sensation. But then I am trapped in her stare. That dark intensity is all mine. I pump into her, and she rolls against me until we’re moving in sync, puffing breaths and gasping for more. Heat surges through me when she cries out. Her pussy milks me, crashing me into my climax as I kiss her fiercely, ravenously.
As we clumsily pry apart, I pray this isn’t the last morning that starts like this.