Back in her cell, she paced from the bed to the bars. Her right hand was in prime position to begin chewing on her fingernails, as her left arm was held securely under the right, trying to keep the shaking under control. Going back and forth, she tried to steady her breathing as she knew an anxiety attack was about to begin.
Laura didn’t know it was possible to feel even more hopeless. But sure enough, what she felt now was even lower than when she had first been brought in. It was due to believing she’d never see Connor again. He said he would when she got out. But what if she didn’t get out? Then what? Or even if she did, who’s to say he’d want to keep his word? Her mind spun in circles, planting a bleak future.
Chapter 5
U
sing his leg, he forced her thighs to separate. He pinned her down, covering her mouth so her screams couldn’t be heard. Each move she made was counteracted with brute force.
She closed her eyes so she didn’t have to see her assailant. But she already knew who it was. It was him. Always him. The corner of her eyes began to pool with tears that, at any minute, would flow down her cheeks. She just wanted him to stop. Why her?
And as he broke her again and again and again, the room began to spin. She felt sick. Her heart beat erratically and breathing simply became a task that required more labor. When would it be over? When would he leave?
Things grew dark. Very dark. It felt like she was floating in air that was black and heavy. Suddenly, there was no more thrusting. She was free! She could get help!
She began to move off the bed but came to an abrupt halt. There was a voice. His voice! He pressed his lips right up to her ear so she could hear loud and clear.
“I’m going to seal this with a kiss,” came his guttural, chilling hiss.
The word ‘kiss’ repeated like a broken record, gradually fading as Laura came to. Her eyes opened, staring toward the blank ceiling. At first, she didn’t remember where she was. But little by little, memories started flooding back into her mind, and the realization of what today was hit her like a freight train.
Laura sat up, gasping for air. Her heart pounded in its cage, wanting to run wild. What time was it? She had to get ready. Today was the day! Her trial was finally here. It seemed like it took forever to arrive. While she had been in this cell, nothing new under the sun had occurred. The monotonous day ins and outs were driving her to the brink of insanity, and like this morning, often caused her to break out in panic attacks. How she longed to be free!
Today brought some hope. Everything boiled down to this trial and the outcome it would provide. With any luck, her lawyer found something to prove her innocence. Or at the very least, the jury would realize a tiny bit of uncertainty and declare her not guilty. Either way, she wanted to walk out a winner and get back to living her life the way it had been. Or at least close to it.
Instinctively, she ran fingers through her hair and fluffed it up. She didn’t want to look completely like trash when she walked into the courtroom. Next up was wiping her eyes. She could feel her hand shaking as she did so. To say she was nervous would be far too lacking. It took all she had to remain positive, but her anxiety constantly threatened to drag her down.
“Ms. Keaton, your lawyer is here.”
The guard’s voice startled her. She turned her head to face him, her lawyer right beside him. She smiled. “Oh, hi, Mr. Miller.”
“Laura.” He nodded. He was a man of average height and a little extra padding, but his face was that of a Ken doll.
The guard opened the cell door and let Mr. Miller in. He walked off, leaving the two of them alone in her cage.
“I didn’t realize it was that time already. I must have overslept,” Laura stated.
A hint of her lawyer’s cinnamon mint scent reached her nose. It had become a familiar, friendly smell. The only kind that she really got to be around lately because he was the only one allowed to get that close to her. Not that anyone else visited anyway. Cassie listened and stayed away. Connor kept true to his word and never showed up. Whether he actually talked with her lawyer or not, she didn’t know. She just knew he never came back. Marissa visited a few times, but not near as often as she hoped. Even during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, no one had come to see her.
Were they really the only ones she cared about seeing? How pathetic had her life become! She had to grow her social circle! She had to allow more people in. That was really her true problem.
But even if she did have more visitors, they would never be allowed to get near her. There was always a glass wall between them these days. Her fingers were crossed that this trial would change that.
Jonathan Miller checked the time on his watch, then looked back up at Laura. “We’ve got a little bit of time yet. I just wanted to speak with you first before we head over to the courthouse.”
“Oh, okay.” She tried to sound cheery, but her eyes were downcast. “What are your thoughts? I mean, do I have a chance?”
Her lawyer switched his stance, pursing his lips. “Look, we’ve been over this before.”
Laura’s shoulders fell.
“There’s a lot of evidence against you. You’ve seen and heard everything.”
“Yeah.” She slowly nodded, looking down at her feet.
“But, thankfully, most of the evidence is circumstantial. That’s a good thing. If the jury sees that, as well as any and all possible doubt we give them, we’ll win them over.”
Laura took a deep breath. She looked up at her lawyer and offered a half-smile. “Okay. Good.”
Mr. Miller took a moment to go over what Laura could expect of the day. When he finished, he asked if she was ready. It was a silly question; the trial would happen whether she was ready or not. But if was still a welcomed question to hear.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Great. Let’s do this!” Her lawyer’s fist pounded the air in excitement.
“Thank you, by the way, for everything.”
The guard came to the door and handcuffed her.
“It’s been my pleasure.” Mr. Miller patted Laura’s shoulder as he walked out beside her, making their way to the courtroom.
* * *
Before Laura was brought into the courtroom, she could hear the quiet humming of various voices conversing. It sounded like a rather full room. Opposite of what she had thought would be the case.
“Time to go in,” her lawyer said, offering her a smile that seemed to say, “Don’t break a leg!”
Laura walked in beside him, hands still cuffed in front of her. The room fell deathly silent. All eyes were on her. Some angry. Others surprised, maybe because she didn’t appear as big and bad as the news made her seem. A few onlookers had an evil glare, as if they were ready to kill her themselves. She couldn’t take much of it. She had to look away. Her head hung in shame.
There was one set of eyes she did find out of the crowd before looking away. They were Cassie’s. And somehow, they calmed her. But only slightly. Her heart still fluttered knowing all of this was because of her.
Before taking a seat behind the counsel table, she was allowed freedom from her chains. She thanked the guard, and immediately started to rub her wrists.
A few voices started up again. Laura didn’t dare look. She kept her eyes on her hands in front of her, trying to ground herself in order to avoid a full-blown panic attack.
As she practiced breathing in and out, counting to five on each one, a tall, built man walking toward the front caught her attention. With his deep voice, he called out, “All rise!”
Everyone’s focus shifted to the bailiff, each person complying to his orders. It was showtime.
* * *
Jonathan Miller threw open the glass door, stomped passed his assistant and into his office, slamming the door behind him. He hurled his briefcase onto one of the padded leather chairs in front of his desk and plumped into his own seat. His right arm whisked through his dirty blonde hair and began to rub his head as he let o
ut a defeated sigh.
It didn’t go well for him in court today. Laura was butchered left and right. And he saw the faces in the jury box. They had their minds already made up. What was the point of even trying?
This wasn’t what he signed up for when he decided to become a lawyer. He pictured himself winning and making a difference, not getting assigned to a hopeless case with no chance of helping anyone. Not even the defendant.
And what made the whole situation worse was a possible promotion could be his if he won. Fat chance of that now.
He looked out the only window his small office space provided. Though there was plenty to see, he missed it all. His focus wasn’t shifting to anything other than what his mind played repeatedly.
A quick tap on the door caught his attention. His assistant, Brenda, partially opened it, peeking her head in. “I just wanted to check to see if you needed anything before I go home.”
Looking over at her, he replied sternly. “No.”
Brenda’s eyebrows lowered and her lips tightened. “I take it you had a bad day in court?”
Mr. Miller’s hand fell to the desk. Shaking his head, he blurted out, “I don’t have a chance, Brenda! There’s nothing that’ll help her. I just don’t understand why she didn’t plead guilty like I advised her to!”
She sighed. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
There was a moment of silence before his assistant spoke up again. It was gentle and sympathetic. “Well, you know where to find me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Brenda.”
When the door was shut behind her, Jonathan picked up one of his pens and threw it as hard as he could toward it. He’d probably regret that later, but the little outburst helped. It saved him from doing a whole lot worse. Everything inside him wanted to throw a chair out the window, his papers in the trash, and burn the whole place down.
He stood up and paced. When his veins were no longer boiling, he reorganized his desk to prepare for tomorrow. When he noticed the red flashing light on his desk phone, he took a seat to listen to the messages. There were four of them.
The first two messages were people inquiring about prices. That’s something his assistant could handle tomorrow. The third message was from a client that had a question. He found another pen and jotted it down so he’d remember to call them back. The fourth message caught his breath. After listening to it once, he replayed it, making sure he heard it right.
It came in right after court had adjourned for the day. No name was given. No number. All he had was a tip from a female voice. She said to check any security cameras along Ferris Street between downtown and Jefferson Avenue. The mystery woman said Laura was jogging at the time one of the murders took place, thereby ruling her out as the killer. The message was about over when the caller quickly added that, as a backup, Laura’s phone should be checked. Laura had an app that kept track of heart rate and activity levels, which might still have data from that time.
What?! Jonathan couldn’t believe this message. If any of it were true, the police would have surely known about it, wouldn’t they? He listened a third time after pinching himself to ensure he wasn’t dreaming. But it was still the same. He wrote down all the details. Maybe I might actually have something here!
“Brenda! Are you still here?” he shouted. He walked to the door and opened it, looking everywhere for his assistant. She was just getting out of the bathroom.
“You can’t go anywhere just yet,” he charged.
“What’s going on?”
“You’re not going to believe this, but I might finally have an answer to the Margaret case.”
Brenda’s eyebrows raised. “Yeah? What is it?” She finished rubbing lotion on her hands.
“I got a tip to check cameras along Ferris Street between downtown and Jefferson Avenue. I’ll need you to take half while I get the rest.”
His assistant put her coat on. “Sure. Whatever you need!”
“Good. Let’s go!”
Jonathan got on the phone to his wife, letting her know he’d be home late, as he and his assistant rushed out the door and to their respective vehicles.
Chapter 6
“T
hat’s not me!” Laura shouted, pointing in the direction of the video. She rose so fast her blood drained from her face, a bit of lightheadedness presenting itself.
Many people in the courtroom started to protest. Eventually, her one outburst caused the entire room to be in an uproar.
“Laura, sit down,” her lawyer sternly ordered. “It’s okay. Just relax.” He tugged at her arm, hoping she would comply.
Judge Kirk Robertson banged his gavel. “Quiet!”
All fell silent. Everyone’s attention went to the front of the room.
“If that happens again, Ms. Keaton, I’ll hold you for contempt of court,” the judge stated. “Now take a seat.”
Laura stared at the man behind the bench. He looked to be in his sixties. His face was square and housed glasses and thick lips. He didn’t look happy with her. She could see the way his jaw clenched, and his eyes were burning holes through her skin. His conduct and appearance commanded obedience that she had every intention of listening to. Even if he wasn’t the judge, she’d obey him.
“Sorry, Your Honor. It won’t happen again.” She slowly took a seat.
It was completely unlike her to flare up, but she had enough. Yesterday didn’t go well, and from the looks of it, today wasn’t either. Everything seemed to drag out. Everyone seemed to pin her as guilty already. She simply didn’t know how much more she could take. If only she could take things in her own hands!
After the room was quiet and back in order, Judge Robertson looked over at the prosecutor. Nodding, he said, “You may proceed, Mr. Salinas.”
“Thank you.” He gave Laura a glare before continuing with his case, which consisted of ending the video of the supposed murderer dancing with Trey Cooper at Tommygun Tavern.
When the screen had been put away, out came seven metal stands and seven large canvas prints. Laura watched as the prosecutor displayed each picture on the stand. He was short, but cute. He had a goatee much like her boyfriend, Connor. His personality, on the other hand, was not as attractive. But anyone that was against her was automatically written off in her books.
Joseph Salinas flipped the first picture around for the jury to see. With a stick, he slapped it against the canvas. “This is what Trey Cooper looked like.” He went on to share when, where, and how he died.
The next picture was revealed, Mr. Salinas explaining who it was, and then going through the death details. Then the third picture. The fourth. All the way until the last two: Mr. and Mrs. Hilton. Each picture had been struck by the stick the prosecutor held. Each picture had a name. A face. A story.
Laura’s heart wrenched, mostly because she had to see them all again, as well as hear their stories. None of them deserved to die. But a part of her was downhearted because she saw the way the jury reacted to each new face. There was wincing. There was gasping. There was the slight shaking of the head. Though these were all small gestures, Laura didn’t miss one. And she knew what that spelled for her. She didn’t have a chance. They might as well end the case now and throw her behind bars the rest of her life.
“Before I close, there’s one more fact I want to bring to your attention.” Joseph Salinas let that hang in the air before delivering his final words. He put one hand in his pocket, and the other scratched one side of his goatee. “Since Ms. Keaton has been imprisoned, there have been no more murders.” He raised his eyebrows for effect.
Some of the men and women on the jury did so as well.
“After listening to the facts that were shared yesterday and the things you’ve seen today, there’s no possible doubt that Laura Keaton,” he started, turning to point at her, “Is The Margaret Killer.” He kept his hand steady on her and looked at her blankly. Coldly.
Not just him. Everyone did. Laur
a could feel the temperature drop below freezing as their eyes turned to ice daggers, piercing her very soul.
* * *
It was now Jonathan Miller’s turn. And he was ready. More than ready to deliver a blow to this whole case. After yesterday, he about threw in the towel. He had nothing. He had marked the case a loss.
But the anonymous tip from last night saved him and this case. At least it should. He couldn’t wait to see everyone’s faces when he shared what he found.
Standing up, he addressed the jury. “Ladies and gentlemen, I want to start off by saying that the prosecution brings a compelling case. After all, my client, Laura Keaton, does have ties with each person killed. Some of the items used, such as the lipstick and potassium chloride, were found in her duplex. And there was even some of her hair found in one of the victim’s home.” He raised his pointer finger to emphasize the next point. “On top of that, interestingly enough, she has no credible alibi for any of them.” He stopped talking for a moment, crossed his arms over his chest, and started pacing back and forth in front of the jury box. And then he turned to face them once again. “But, and it’s an important ‘but’,” he said, wagging his finger. “None of that actually proves anything.”
Some of the jurymen and women furrowed their eyebrows. Others remained nonchalant. Either way, Mr. Miller knew he had their attention.
He placed his arms on the jury box and leaned in. “You see, just because no one can back up Ms. Keaton’s alibi, it doesn’t mean she’s guilty. Just because she has ties to each person, doesn’t mean she killed them. And just because certain things were found in her duplex, doesn’t mean she’s the murderer! Everything the prosecution shared with you is circumstantial evidence at best! That’s it! Even the lip print test and signature test taken the day she was arrested barely proves anything because, as you saw yesterday, a close enough match is still not an exact match!”
A Kiss Revealed Page 4