Chain Reaction 3.66: No Tears

Emily

     It's New Year's Eve, and we get an unwelcome surprise at our door.
     "No!" Alex yells and runs for the back door. I get up from the couch to hurry and see what's going on. The police are here. One of the officers comes after Alex, catching him quickly.
  

     "Alexander Goth, you are under arrest for the murder of Graham Taylor." He continues to tell him his rights.
     "No," I whine.
     "I didn't do it!" Alex's pleas fall on deaf ears. The officer doesn't care. He's just doing his job.

      Alaric runs down the stairs, turning to me and trying to ask what's going on. He doesn't have to. It's obvious, but he asks anyway, probably hoping he'll get a different response from me. All I can do is cry.

     "You're making a mistake," Alex growls, sounding his most dangerous. "Don't worry, Alaric. It'll be okay."

     Alaric curls up into a ball and cries. I'm scared. What if it isn't going to be okay? Alex was starting to be worried. And now this.
     "Emily, call my lawyer."
     I nod even though he can't see me. "Of course."

     When I call Mr. Furston, interrupting his New Year's celebration party, he sounds every bit as furious as my husband did. He tells me not to worry and that he'll see me tomorrow. He wants to get something from the house, something Alex had been working on, to help the case.

     The trial date for Dad's murder arrives. When Alex walked in, I had to hold Alaric in his seat. He misses his dad so much. It's hard for me to stay in my seat myself. Keeping my son in his reminded me to stay in mine. Alex quickly winked at me and smiled in what I hope was a confident way. We all stand; the judge walks in; and then we're seated.

     The DA is quite young. At first, I thought his assistant was the DA, but it's the younger one. And he's attractive. This does not bode well as there are more women in the jury than men. Even the judge is female. I refrain from going up to him and slapping the DA across the face as he stands and gives his opening argument, calling my husband a cold-hearted killer, listing everything he ever did against my father as a sinister backdrop. I could strangle him, and myself, because Alaric has never heard about this. I pray he thinks they're lies. He doesn't react in a visible way. He just watches his daddy.

     Mr. Furston gets up to say his opening statement, assuring everyone of the truth: that my husband did not kill my father. He claims to have evidence of a conspiracy to frame him, and I hope he does.

     The first witness called: my brother Ethan.

     It was a mistake bringing Alaric. I thought he'd be mature enough to handle the proceedings. So far, he acts fine, but listening to his uncle speak so horribly about his dad must be tearing him apart. Because it's tearing me apart.

     Ethan's big point to make is that he found Alex with the gun in his hand, and his hands bloody. When Furston cross-examines, he asks Ethan if he actually saw Alex shoot Dad. Ethan has to say no. The big thing Ethan had gets shot down by the simple principle that Alex could've picked up the gun that had been pointed at him.

     Next, the DA calls a police detective, and we get shown graphs of the trajectory of the bullet and how it doesn't matter whether or not Ethan saw the actual shot or not because there was only one gun found at the scene, and the angle matches where Alex was probably standing. One bullet was missing out of the clip.

     I want to object! It's all circumstantial! Someone could've been standing slightly behind Dad! He said he saw something in the woods!

     Next, they say the gun was registered in Alex's name. Lies!

     I have to use a tissue to wipe away the enraged tears. Drake leans across the back of Alaric's chair and gives my shoulder a squeeze, and I realize my crying probably looks like I'm convinced of Alex's guilt.

     Not another tear will be shed.

     Mr. Furston does a stellar job of pointing out Dad's location during the shooting and how the point where the bullet entered Dad worked better if one considers that someone was standing farther away.

     He calls up a very surprised police detective, the same one the DA used. He shows him documentation proving that the police records had been tampered with. I have no idea how that could even be possible, but I strongly suspect my genius husband found the trail. The DA stands up and objects, accusing Furston of fabricating the evidence. The judge says she'll take that into consideration.

     No!

     I can see it on Furston's face. He's shaken. That was their big ticket item. So, he talks once again about the possibility of someone else being present at the time of the murder, but his arguments don't sway the cop, the judge, and looking at them, the jury either.

     I bite my lip. No tears.

     The jury goes into deliberation. For a little while, I'm allowed to go up to my husband and hug him. I can feel my brother's glares, but I don't care. He doesn't understand.

     The jury returns after only being gone half an hour.

     The verdict: guilty.

     I don't know what exactly happens next. All I know is I start screaming it's not true. There's a banging noise, and police start coming towards me as they also cuff my husband. Drake dashes in front of me.

     "Emily! Stop!"

     Alaric is crying. Drake tells him everything will be okay.

     But it's a lie.

     Somehow Drake manages to convince the officers that he'll keep me under control. I want to slap him, but he has my wrists.

     "Emily, if you don't calm down, they're going to lock you up too."

     "I don't care!"

     "You have to! Alaric needs you!"

     That works, and I start crying again.

      From behind me, Mom offers to take Alaric. I tell her to plum off. No one is taking my son. I tell Ethan I never want to so much as look at him again. Then, I cry harder. How can my life be ruined in one solitary morning?

     "Leave me alone, Drake." I just need a minute. Then I'll regroup. Then I'll make everyone pay. 

     "No, I'm not going to. I gave my word to the officers I wouldn't." Do I detect smugness? Bastard! 

     "I'm FINE!" I jerk free of his grasp, take Alaric's hand, and walk out of the courtroom. Drake follows close behind me.

     Alaric gets his hand free. "Wait, Mommy!"
     "Emily!" Drake dashes down the stairs.
     No. I turn away, headed for the Audi. "Let's go home, Alaric."
     "But, Drake!" Alaric actually sounds like he's siding with his brother.
     "Emily, please." Drake catches my arm and turns me around.

     "Get in the car, Alaric."
     "Don't go driving off." Drake holds my head in his hands.
     "I told you to leave me alone."
     "No, I'm not going to. You're unstable. At least let me be the one to drive you home. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you because you're too distraught to drive."
     He's right. My voice sounds whiny when I say, "They took Alex away." I cry again, and Drake holds me. I finally let him convince me to let him drive me home.

------------------------------------------

This chapter was so irritating to shoot. Here's why we never saw Graham's trial:

Too much. I was trying for too much, and they'd randomly get up and leave or change seats, and of course, I try to reset one and all reset. So, I gave up on a full courtroom.

And I never got a good pic of the DA:

Furston doesn't cover him up in this one, but I didn't like how Drake and Emily were and how Alaric is behind them.