𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝐾𝑛𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔

𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏

Charlie Henderson(caras father)

13 years ago....

"You're honor? Move to strike, witness is refusing to answer the question-"

"Granted, witness may answer the question. Need I remind you, your under an oath Travis Crashaw, refuse to tell the truth and there will be serious consequences".

Monday, may 18th, around eight pm was the day I stood in court, facing off with one of my biggest cases yet. This case had taken such a toll on me I was barely holding it together in the courtroom, barely containing the emotions that desperately wanted to spill out of my mouth. Ten cups of coffee couldn't even keep me awake, I was running on barely any hours of sleep but I was here, determined to set this case to rest.

"Okay...well...I came home, and Anna was waiting for me to come home so she could tell me the good news she texted about while I was at work. She had told me she was pregnant" Travis Crashaw stood in the witness chair, a sly smirk on his lips as he spoke. This case had taken weeks to take to court, the judge finally granting us permission to even get it finalized. These two were known as the murderous twins, murders piling on from the both of them. It was sickening and cruel how they left them for dead, luckily I knew the right words and the right things to say to put these two away for good.

Just needed to convince the judge and the jury.

"And how did you react to this?" I stepped forward, tapping my pen against my thigh. It's what I did when I was nervous, constantly tapping my pen against whatever I could to ease how I felt.

Sort of therapeutic.

"I was confused...me and Anna didn't have sex whatsoever because I wasn't ready, I wanted to marry her to have sex not.." he stopped speaking and I motion for him to continue, but when he doesn't I nod my head.

"Was there a reason you didn't have sex mister Crashaw?-"

"Objection, this question has no reason of being asked, unrelated to the situation".

"Withdrawn, Travis. Did you and Anna have relationship problems?" I needed to bring this home, needed to convince the jury and the judge this man isn't as innocent as he seemed.

"I didn't think so, what does this have to do with what happened?" He hurried me, his eyes beaming towards mine. Beneath those green snake eyes, was hatred, envy, burning through the surface. His face was hardened, cold and unmoved by what I had said. He had put on an act of compassion and love but deep down he wasn't capable of it, neither was his brother.

"Well, I think...maybe Anna wasn't happy when she found out you were waiting till marriage that's when she found..pleasure in someone else does this sound..correct Crashaw?" I folded my hands, waiting for his answer.

He ran his hands through his hair and there, for a split second I saw his hands shaking, twitching slightly. He was nervous, he was on edge, and I took that as an opportunity to move in for the kill.

"I don't understand-"

"That's why you reacted the way you did isn't it? That's why you took that knife from your kitchen counter -"

"That's not what happened -"

"And stabbed her multiple times isn't it? That's why you murdered her isn't it?" The words tumble out suddenly and his eyes flash, hatred burning through them directly into my eyes and I know it's over, his true skin shedding.

"I didn't mean to okay?! My fucking girlfriend was pregnant by another man and I flipped and..."

"Stabbed her...twelve times".

He doesn't say anything, the courtroom goes silent and Im worried I took it a step too far, worried the truth spilled out too roughly.

"May I call for a recess your honor? My client is clearly rattled" his lawyer spoke, glaring daggers into my eyes.

"Fifteen minute recess".

The air was crisp and smooth against my skin, breathing the air in heavily, the air outside was much more easier to breath in than that stuffy courtroom. This whole case had been such a disaster, it's such a crazy story to even think about and yet it was all I thought about. Travis Crashaw, a murderer. Killed his girlfriend and his brother came home, witnessed it, and tried to cover it up. Didn't even find out until about a week later when the body was discovered in the ocean by a jogger. Everything only made them look bad and it didn't exactly help their cases.

"Nice air isn't it?" Britney, travis's attorney stood next to me, breathing in the air as well.

"Better than a stuffy courtroom" I sighed and from the corner of my eye I see her smile softly, chuckling a bit before sighing deeply.

Sometimes it was awkward when you run into the other lawyers but this felt...cozy, and it didn't feel like much of a competition seeing as how I already won.

"This was...a rollercoaster, wasn't it?"

I nod, because hell yeah it was and I did not want to go back on it ever.

"Your honor, this man Travis is a murderer who brutally stabbed his girlfriend for sleeping with someone else. Rather than tell the police his brother tried to dump the body into the ocean as if it wouldn't have been found and it was. This case is gruesome and tragically horrible for her family and her baby and I hope you see it too, as well as the jury" I spoke confidently, reading off everything I had taken notes on from my clipboard. The jury nods along with my words and I know that I've brought this case home.

The courtroom goes silent as the jury takes their time to decide what happens to them, chattering anxiously amongst each other.

"We find the defendant..guilty of murder, both of them."

I sigh a breath of relief as the courtroom bursts into cheers, tears dwelling in my eyes. The restless nights of sleep were over, and I didn't have to worry about it anymore...