We had found and recognized the key piece of evidence that we believed would prove without a doubt our client's innocence. Regardless of how well we present the case, though the final determination would come from the jury.
The prosecution had Darius on the stand when they made a fatal mistake in their questioning. The other lawyer paced the courtroom as he asked questions, his hands locked behind his back in an almost military pose.
"Mr. Shaw," he began. "Can you tell the jury where you were the night of your wife's murder?"
"Of course," he said. I watched our client with some nervousness. We had already discovered that he was a soft spoken man. I only worried that his natural nervousness would be perceived as having something to hide. "I was at home watching television."
"Can you explain to the courtroom how you came to be at your wife's home standing over her dead body?"
"Objection!" Aiden said.
"Sustained," the judge muttered. "Rephrase the question please."
"Very well." The lawyer adjusted his pacing to make a pass by our table, giving Aiden a plaintive glance. "Mr. Shaw, can you explain to the court under what manner you arrived at her home."
Darius Shaw glanced towards us before answering, his eyes wide and trembling. I nodded and smiled in encouragement. We had tried to keep him in the loop, but naturally had only given him the information that he needed. For the case to move forward in the correct fashion we needed him to speak as much from memory as possible.
He began, "Well I was watching T.V. when Rita called me. I almost didn't answer when I saw it was her."
"Please," the judge interjected. "Just try to stick to the events as they happened."
"Yes sir,” he said, glancing over at him. "I answered the phone, and she said she needed me to come over."
"Did she give a reason for calling? For wanting you to come over?" The lawyer asked.
"Yes, sir. She did."
"And what was that reason?"
"Well..." I could tell that Darius was reluctant to say. The lawyer gestured for him to continue.
"I understand that it may be sensitive information," the judge interjected. "But for the purposes of the case, you do need to answer the questions."
"We had been separated for a while, and she wanted me to come over to see her. She told me she was lonely, that it didn't change anything but that she was lonely."
"So," the lawyer said. "Are you insinuating that she wanted to have sexual relations? Is that correct?"
"That is correct,” Darius said.
"What happened when you arrived at her home?"
"I found her there. I let myself in through the front door as I still had a key, and there she was.” Darius voice trembled as he spoke of finding her body.
The lawyer turned to the jury and raised his eyebrow as if expressing doubt, and inviting them to do so as well. Aiden and I exchanged a glance, but as he hadn’t made a definitive statement we had nothing to verbally object.
"How much time had passed between your phone call and you finding her dead in her home?"
"I think about fifteen minutes,” Darius said.
"Thank you. No further questions." The lawyer sat down.
“We have no questions at this time,” Mr. Mahoney said.
"You may step down,” the judge instructed Darius, who then returned back to our table. Both of the senior partners looked in my direction. I stood and picked up the documents I had prepared.
"I'd like to call to the stand Detective Roger Ingram."
He had been the lead investigator to the crime scene and had been largely responsible for the evidence gathered at the scene. While working with the evidence as we had built our case, I had seen his name on various documents and on the identifying labels on the photographs.
The man I called, entered from the audience area. He wore a white shirt and black sports jacket and came across as quite professional. I would have my work cut out for me with what I was about to do. As the detective was being sworn in, I glanced over at Ms. Klein who gave me a confident nod. At last the detective sat down at the stand ready for my questions.
"Detective Ingram,” I began with a smile as I moved around to the other side of the table into the center of the courtroom. "How are you today?"
"I'm just fine thanks,” he answered with some bewilderment. "How are you?"
"Very good. Thanks for asking,” I said keeping the smile upon my face. "Would you care to share with the jury your role in the investigation?"
"I was the lead investigator,” he said.
"So you were in charge of finding Mrs. Shaw's killer,” I clarified.
"I believe we have successfully done that." Hhe smirked while glancing towards our client.
"That is yet to be determined,” I said, concentrating on the coolness of my tone. "Everyone deserves their day in court."
"Please, just answer the question,” the judge said with a glare.
"That's correct,” Detective Ingram said, still unsure where I might be going with my questions.
"Can you explain to the jury why you suppressed evidence that might exonerate my client?" I stood in the center of the court room, no more than three or four feet from the detective.
"I didn’t such a thing!" he said, as a sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead. His lawyer stood about to object.
"Get to the point, Ms. Michaels,” the judge ordered in a stern tone.
"If the court will bear with me just a few moments longer,” I said. "Detective, during your casing of the crime scene did you collect any evidence from Mrs. Shaw's body directly?"
"Yes, we did,” he stammered.
"From underneath her nails, I presume?" I said.
"Yes," he said with a shamed face.
"And was it determined who's DNA that was?"
"No we didn’t,” he said.
"And why not?" I asked. "Isn't it routine to check that information? To have it tested?"
"The DNA was filed,” he mumbled.
"But as of today, it hasn’t been tested against that of my client. Is that correct?"
"That is correct."
"Your honor," I said turning to the judge. "I would like to ask that the court order the DNA be tested. Our client has already agreed to submit to compliance to give a comparative sample. Until the time that the test results are submitted into evidence, I have no further questions."
"Test is so ordered,” The judge said. "You may step down, Detective Ingram."
The man returned to the audience area giving me a pointed glare as he passed by our table. I didn’t know the consequences he might face for not processing all of the information correctly, but finding that loophole had been a huge break in our case.
Aiden turned and gave me a wink.
I averted my eyes as I still felt a little bit hurt by out exchange from the other night, but once more I felt the strange rush of my involvement with the courtroom.
The looks from the senior partners indicated nothing but being impressed. The remainder of the day consisted of finding more and more holes in the prosecution's arguments. By the end of the day I felt more than confident that we would win. Still in the back of my mind I knew we relied wholly on the jury for that decision. The day came to a close, and Aiden and I gathered our things to go.
"You did great today, as always,” he said as he sauntered up next to me. We both spoke softly as to not gather the attention of the senior partners.
"Thanks," I said. "You were no slouch either."
I had remained distant with him all day. I still wasn’t sure what response I would get from him.
"Hey, I wondered if we could go somewhere and talk... about what happened the other night."
“I don't know. I think you have said everything that needs to be said." I picked up my bag and brushed past him, headed towards the door to the outside.
"Blair wait,” he called after me. I didn’t slow my pace until I stepped outside into the evening sunlight. "Blair, please."
I turned to face him. I had to admit his tone sounded sincere, He raked his hands through his hair and cast his eyes to the ground.
"Look, I don't deserve to have you listen to an apology. I know that. But..."
I stood and watched him stammer for a bit. The presence of him acting like this offered me some small comfort, very small, but I had missed the playful banter between us.
"Can we walk for a minute?" Aiden said. "Just... there's a park over there. It's a nice evening, and I don't expect you to come out with me or anything, but I wanted to explain at least."
I eyed him suspiciously, watching him shuffle his feet and glancing towards me as I thought it over. He looked a bit cowed, more so than I had seen in a while. The fresh air did feel good, and if he had more to say I was curious to hear it. Of course, I didn’t want him to know that.
Not remotely.
"Okay, fine,” I said. "A walk in the park. Sounds great."
We headed to my car to drop off my brief case. I kept my body language distant as we walked along, a solid two feet between us. We crossed the street to the park. I had always wanted to go to it since I had first learned about the park, but it had remained just another luxury that I had put off to focus on work.
The place had large expanses of green slopes, dotted with dogwood trees and maples for shade. Here and there were benches along the edges of the walking paths. Some patches of flower beds decorated the areas. It was easy to get lost in this place, charming and a welcome change from the busy roads outside the courthouse.
"I've been tearing myself apart about how I spoke to you the other night,” he began. "I can't tell you how sorry I’m for the things that I said. I don't blame you at all for being upset with me. But I wanted to tell you that I've decided to go through an outpatient rehabilitation program after the case is over."
"Do you mean it?" I said, still unsure.
"Yeah," he said. "When I realized that you had found out about it, I was embarrassed. I didn't want to lose you, and now I think I fucking have. At first I thought about quitting to get you back, but after what happened the other night I finally came to the conclusion that I need to do this for myself."
The lampposts began to wink their lights on as the evening fell, casting a golden glow over the pedestrians. I felt as if Aiden were telling the truth, but I still didn’t feel ready to forgive him just yet. I couldn’t condemn him completely though.
His intentions seemed honest at least.
I felt badly for how we had left things and I didn’t want him to think that I judged him. I hadn’t thought about it in a long time, but I had my own story to tell as well. I only had to think about it for a few moments.
"Aiden, I want to tell you something,” I began. "Do you remember the boyfriend I mentioned that I had in college?"
"Yeah. I think so," he said. "Didn't you break up with him because he claimed you never spent enough time with him?"
"Well, that's what I told you,” I said. "But that's not exactly what happened."
"Oh?" he asked.
"When I was in school, I felt like I was under a great deal of pressure,” I began. "I had always been an honor roll student, and when I couldn't keep up I started to crumble a little bit. Then I met Alex, and he kind of pulled me out of it."
"Your college boyfriend?" he asked.
"Yes," I said. "He was a lot of fun at first. He really helped me to let go. To ease up and not take things so seriously all the time. I guess that was one good thing I got from that relationship."
"You mean the Blair that we know today is 'relaxed Blair'?" he said with a smirk.
"Actually yes," I said with a challenging glare. "But the point is, Aiden that I have some idea of what you’re going through. One of the things that happened during that time is that I started smoking marijuana. Alex got me started on it, saying that not only would it help me focus, but it would bring us closer."
He didn’t answer right away but just looked at me as if seeing something new. I continued.
"We did that for several months, and at first I only did it every once in a while. Weekends mostly to wind down from school. Things like that. But then it slowly started to take over. Before I knew it I was getting high all the time. When I got my mid-year grades I realized I needed to stop. I had dropped a whole letter in nearly all my classes. I stopped immediately because I found that I no longer cared. I had worked hard for what I had and I didn't want it to slip away because I couldn't handle my stress. I tried time and time again to talk to Alex about it, but he kept pushing me. We spent less time together, which gave me time to devote to my studies. I knew I had to make a decision one way or another. I still cared about him so I decided to go over to his apartment and talk to him about how I was feeling. I wanted to see if we could work things out if he would stop the drugs also. But..." my voice trailed off wondering how much more I should tell Aiden.
"But what?" he pressed.
"When I arrived I noticed a car in the driveway that I had never seen before. I had been over enough times to know what his roommates drove, and I was pretty sure that none of them had a pair of purple fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. I opened the door and went in without knocking. No one else was home. But I found him in bed with another girl."
"Fuzzy dice girl?"
"Yep."
"Wow."
"I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in the fuzzy haze of getting high. Like I said, it really did make me feel better. But I pushed through and focused on my books. That was probably the hardest thing I ever had to do. My grades came back up almost instantly, and that's when I decided that I didn't want to pursue dating any more. I became the hardnosed, driven professional I am now."
"I see."
"My point is, Aiden, that you don't need them. You breezed through high school barely lifting a finger. You had to have been top of your class in school otherwise you would never have been selected for this position. I'm really proud of what you’re doing. I want to be there for you."
"So you forgive me?" he said, giving me a look that rival a puppy dog.
I gave him a side long glance and finally grinned. "Sure," I said, nudging his arm with my elbow.
He looked at me for a long moment with a look of speculation on his face.
"What?" I asked starting to feel self-conscious.
"I'm glad you told me that,” he said quietly.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah, I always had this image of you as this perfect role model type. I know in high school you were the most driven person I had ever met."
"You want to get something to eat?" I suggested, wanting to change the subject.
"If we can stay in,” he answered. "I'm not up for another night out."
"Yeah," I said. "That sounds fine. Let's go to my place since it's closer."
"That sounds great,” he said with a grin.
We walked slowly back to the car, still enjoying the last remnants of twilight. The Pacific breeze had cooled the evening, but the last few pockets of the day's heat still lingered. We picked up some burgers and fries at a nearby drive-though and headed back to my apartment. Kelsey was out, having left a note that she was over at Blake's for the evening. I had no idea if that meant she would be back tonight or in the morning.
"It seems we have the place to ourselves,” I said with a sly grin. He met my smile, but lowered his eyes rubbing the back of his head. "Maybe we could watch a movie or something,” I suggested sensing his hesitation.
I still felt a bit cowed in his presence, as if he were one of the cool kids just hanging out with me to be polite.
"A movie sounds great,” he said.
I flipped channels to find a good buddy comedy while he settled on the couch pulling his food out of the bag and laying it out in front of him on the table. I grabbed my burger and took a bite, washing it down with a swig from my soda. I liked that we didn’t have the expectation of having to go to a fancy restaurant every time we got together.
We ate in comfortable silence, back to our quiet dynamic, our default setting of Aiden and Blair, just like we always had been. I did feel a bit of an undercurrent that seemed different this time. We had both revealed something to the other that we had never known before. His behavior indicated that he felt a little bit vulnerable for it, but then again so did I. I wanted him to know that everything he had said would be safe with me. But the calm exercise of watching a movie had an air of domesticity to it, which was also different for the two of us.
After we ate and I paused the movie to clean up the bags, tossing them in the garbage in the kitchen, I returned to the couch. He had his arm resting casually on the back of the couch. I took the opportunity to curl up next to him, leaning into the crook of his arm, which seemed to cause him a bit of surprise.
I started the movie, which neither of us were watching, and smiled as he tentatively placed his arm around my shoulders. I felt as if my heart would burst. Despite everything that had happened, I still felt sometimes like that girl in the braces and glasses, wishing to catch his eye like the pretty mall girls that he once went after. In the long run.
I knew that this was better.
We had both grown into adults. I had a better idea of what I wanted out of life, and I knew that at least for now Aiden did fit into that plan. The idea of falling in love had become a possibility, and I had proven to myself at least that my work didn’t have to be compromised for that to happen.
As the movie continued I couldn’t help but notice his soft breath on my forehead as I had my head leaning on his shoulder. His fingers traced small circles against the fabric of my shirt and against my arm. I had my knees pulled up, leaned slightly over onto his lap with my feet tucked under me.
The credits rolled, and I turned to face him, no longer having the pretense of watching a movie. With his other hand he gently reached over and cupped my chin, drawing my face to his. The kiss felt different this time, more intimate somehow. I knew without a doubt that we had crossed a threshold.
I kissed him gently, relishing the warmth of his lips, the strength of his body. With his arms around me I felt safe. I knew that there wasn’t a thing that either of us could do that would harm what we had. I moved my hands to his chest to unbutton his shirt, but he stopped me clasping my hands with his.
Tempted (A Player Brother Romance Book) (A Standalone Novel) (Player Brothers Book 1) Page 16