Trials (Rock Bottom) (5 page)

“Dylan, wow,” Theresa says again. I smile at her in the mirror.

“Thank you, Theresa.”

She puts her hands on my shoulders and turns me towards her. She looks into my eyes. “You can do this. You’ll probably see him questioned and then you’ll just be working on the files. I doubt you’ll have to see him again. Don’t let
anything he says upset you. This is your dream and he’s just some asshole. Okay?”

I nod. “Okay.”

She hugs me around the neck, the long sleeves of her baggy sweater wrapping around my face. “Theresa, it’s not that cold. Take this thing off.”

She shrugs. “Shut up, I like it.”

I show Scott my hair and he’s rendered speechless. A sexy smile spreads across his face. When he’s able to speak again he guarantees me no one will be able to recognize me. I’m flattered by his reaction. Who knew that hair could make that much difference?

That night I’m
barely able to sleep. I dream of Jeremy all night and wake up each time in cold, horrible sweats. I haven’t dreamt of him in a long time and the pain the dreams cause my heart is almost unbearable. How am I supposed to handle seeing him tomorrow?

I can’t believe how many people are here already as I pull up outside of my office. When I see all the reporters lining the stone stairway leading to the front door
s of the building, my hands shake. There’s no real way for me to totally avoid them. Luckily I can go in a side entrance instead of heading up the steps and into the main door where they are all congregating, but I’ll still have to walk past them.

I
’m wearing a very plain, black pant suit today with a white blouse underneath. It looks professional, especially with my new, brown hair. I decided to leave my hair down and flowing because I like the new color so much. I thought that wearing a plain suit would help me blend in more. I hope this will let me slide under the radar with the press, but I know damn well Jeremy will recognize me. Maybe they’ll have me behind a two way mirror or something. I chuckle nervously to myself. If only it were that simple.

I throw on a pair of sunglasses even though it’s an overcast day. I need to be able to hide my eyes from the press. Getting out of my car, I grab my bag from the seat and walk with my head down towards the front of the building.

As I pass the first few press members, they all but look right through me. Their attention is focused on the street. I assume they’re looking for a black car that would bring Jeremy. I walk by the bigger group of press but I’m too scared to look up at them to see if they are looking at me instead of the street. When I finally round the side of the building, I realize I’m home free. No one recognized or bothered me.

I hope th
e rest of the day goes this easily.

I walk t
hrough the glass doors and begin to walk through the metal detector. “Excuse me, ma’am…do you have a badge?”

I take my sunglasses off and turn to face the security guard. I look at him and he stares back at me for a silent moment. “Mark, it’s me, Dylan…” They stopped asking for my badge a few days after I started here.

His eyes bulge. “Oh wow, Dylan. Nice hair. I didn’t even recognize you! Please, go on through.”

Score!

“Thanks!” I say happily. I walk down the hallway towards my office, anxious to test my disguise again. I am able to walk through the front doors, down the hallway, and into the homicide unit without anyone recognizing me. I see a few people I’ve known since I started look directly at me and look away again. Every time someone I know doesn’t recognize me, my anxiety fades a little bit more.

I throw my stuff down on a vacant desk and walk to Mr. Current’s door. I greet his secretary, who tells me to go in.
I knock on the heavy wood until I hear him yell, “Come in!”

I open the door and close it behind me. When I turn to face him, Mr. Current looks up at me, “Can I help….Dylan?” he says in surprise.

“Hello Mr. Current,” I say, smiling.

“Wow, you look so different.
Very nice. Well, take a seat.”

I sit in the chair in front of his desk. I cross my hands in m
y lap and try not to wring them. My anxiety is starting again knowing my meeting with Jeremy is a short time away.

“So let m
e give you a rundown on the basics of this case, and then I’ll give you the case file to look through, okay?”

I nod. “Okay,” I half-whisper.

“Seventeen-year-old Evangeline Carter was found in Mr. Mason’s house unresponsive at approximately five in the morning. There had been about fifty to seventy-five people at his house the night prior for a party. She was pronounced dead upon arrival of the EMTs.”

“Who found her?” I asked.

“Mr. Mason was the one who called 911.”

Interesting.
That would help in this case.

Mr. Current continued. “She was found just outside Mr. Mason’s
bedroom. A number of witnesses at the party said that they saw her and Mr. Mason go up the stairs and she never came down.”

Oh crap.

Mr. Current clears his throat, turning to pull a file out of his cabinet behind his desk. “The autopsy report we got back a few days ago shows the cause of death as a hot dose of heroin. That’s a mixture of heroin and cocaine.”

He places
the file down in front of me on his desk. I look down at it and then back up at him. “She was also sexually assaulted. Traces of seamen were found around her pubic area.” He stares into my eyes, his expression serious.

“Okay,” I nod. “I
’ll look over the files.”

He smiles at me.
“Very good. I’ll let you know when he’s here and we’re ready for questioning.”

I pick up the file and turn, walking out of his office
. This doesn’t look good for Jeremy. At all.

I sit down at the empty desk where I had placed my things earlier. I’m almost happy that no one in this department knows me and seems too busy to try to introduce themselves. My mind is barely hanging on by a thread and I’m not sure how much longer I can
pretend to be just a normal intern.

I sigh as I look at the file in front of me. My hand shakes as
I reach to open it. I turn over the front cover, which reveals a general information sheet on the victim and a picture. She was an extremely beautiful girl: bright blonde hair, blue eyes, and a body that was beyond her seventeen years. I turn the page and see photos of the crime scene. The victim’s lips are blue and her face very pale, but otherwise it looks like she could be sleeping.

The next few pages contain autopsy reports, police reports, and crime scene investigation notes. I stop on the next page when I see Jeremy’s name at the top. It’s his
face sheet information, although some information is missing. I’m assuming we’re going to fill in the holes today.

The next page is a list of Jeremy’s arrests, starting from back when he was a teenager. Honestly, I’m a little shocked at his extensive record. The page after contains notes from his parole
officer. Apparently, Jeremy hasn’t missed or rescheduled an appointment since the month we broke up. That seems strange to me…I thought he had been using again.

I skip down to the notes from the time when he stopped speaking to me for good.
The notes show that at that time, Jeremy had requested that the parole officer stand in the room while he was giving a urine sample. Confused, I flipped through the next few pages of notes until I find his urine tests for the months he’s been on parole since he requested the supervision.

Negative…negative…negative…

Negative! Negative?

So he wasn’
t back on drugs? He had been clean this entire time? My mind is racing and I shake my head.
Then, why? Why stop talking to me?

The next page shows
his breathalyzer tests. He blew all zeros.

The file ended with
witness statements from the party that were all the same. Jeremy and the girl were seen talking to each other downstairs for a few minutes. They were seen walking hand in hand up the stairway. None of the witnesses saw her come down again. The next morning she was found dead outside of his bedroom. From a drug he knowingly has a problem with.

I moan and put my head down on the desk with a thump. Could this be any worse for him?

I hear someone clearing their throat above me. I sit up quickly, praying to God it isn’t Mr. Current.

“Hey there.
Homicide treating you well already?” Mr. Schuster asks me.

I smile at him. “It’s stressful.”
If he only knew.

He nods. “Well, it’s a great experience for you. Don’t be nervous. Just try to learn all you can. I doubt they’re going to push you to do much. You’re an intern after all.”

I try to let his words comfort me a little, even if he doesn’t know the whole story. “I’ll try.”

“He’s here!” I hear someone whispering across the room from us. Everyone turns to each other and begins
babbling excitedly. I see the people in the room across the hallway do the same. My heart stops beating in my chest and I have a hard time breathing.

Mr. Shuster pats my back. “It’s okay.”

No, actually. It’s very, VERY much not okay.

I look towards the hallway in anticipation, my face
more pale by the moment. I watch the doorway where I expect him to appear.

Finally, I see Jeremy pass by the room. He passes quickly, surrounded by his legal team who are chattering at him. My whole spirit shakes within me the instant I see him. I feel like I’m being woken up from a coma. I didn’t realize how bleak my life had
become without him, unknowingly clawing my way through the darkness, until I saw the light again. His presence warms me inside. I resist clasping my chest and shedding tears. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do this.             

I’m able to get my breathing under control before Mr. Schuster can notice
something is wrong. Or if he does, he is nice enough to not say anything. “Okay, Mr. Schuster,” I say, grabbing a few things from my borrowed desk. “Looks like I’m ready.”

I look up at him and try to appear confident and strong. He looks as if he’s about to say something to me when Mr. Current walks up to us. “He’s here, Dylan. Are you ready to come in?” he says, patting me on the shoulder.

I smile at him and nod, waving to Mr. Shuster as Mr. Current drags me through the room and into the hallway. We walk towards a young man in an expensive suit, he has brown hair and hazel eyes. Mr. Current introduces him as Steven. After a brisk handshake we are on our way.  Too quickly we are standing in front of a door. I don’t even have enough time to get my thoughts in order before I’m being led into the room.

My focus is immediately drawn to his bright blue eyes, still as heartbreakingly beautiful as I remember. Jeremy’s concentration seems to be elsewhere, and he doesn’t look up at me right away. In the periphery, I see two men sitting on either side of him. They stand as we enter, and Jeremy stands after them, following suit.

I know it’s only moments before he recognizes me. My hands tremble harder and my breathing becomes more labored. I’m scared I’m going to pass out. But he looks so amazing, better than he did when I was with him. His skin is golden and tan, and his face clean-shaven. His hair is fair and messy. He’s put on more muscle; I can see it in his arms. He’s still the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. He’s the most beautiful man I’ll ever see. My heart swells at the thought that he’s here with me again. We’re breathing the same air, confined within the same walls.

“Hello, Gentlemen,” Mr. Current says to the room. “I want to introduce you to my co-counsel, Steven Brightman. We also have a very accomplished intern from Harvard Law, a third year, sitting in with us today if you don’t mind, Ms. Dylan Ackhart.”

I freeze, my body going rigid. Jeremy’s eyes shift immediately to me. A thousand emotions drift across them in a single moment, none of which I can easily identify. Finally, his face settles on a very heated look, violent and terrifying. “Oh, wonderful,” he spits, his voice somehow both lovely and ferocious. I tremble slightly at the sound.

He turns his body so that his back is facing us. “Just fucking great,” he mumbles.

Mr. Current and Steven look at me in curiosity, obviously confused, and then back at Jeremy. I keep my face stoic. I don’t know what I’m supposed to say or how I’m supposed to explain what’s going on. I only know that this opportunity is extremely important in my career, and I don’t want to lose it.

And, truth
be told… I want to be near him.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Mason?” Mr. Current says, stepping a bit in front of me. Jeremy turns around again, his eyes wild with panic. He glances at me fleetingly, and I shake my head at him, silently begging him for discretion.

Jeremy clears his throat. “No, let’s just get on with it.” He shoots me a glance full of hatred.

Ouch
. My eyes water instantly.

“Okay, then,” Mr. Current says, pulling a chair out for me and then sitting himself. The rest of the people in the room, including myself, sit in unison. I stare intently at Jeremy, but he see
ms to be looking anywhere but at me.

“Mr. Mason, I read the
statements you gave to the police at the station, and I’d like to ask you more questions about those, okay?” Mr. Current takes papers out of his briefcase and shuffles them around.

“I’ve told them everything I know,” Jeremy growls. “This is a waste of my time.” His lawyers whisper in his ear, obviously trying to get him to calm down.

“I understand Mr. Mason. However, I assure you this is no waste of time. In fact, I’d concentrate on giving us full and truthful answers.” Mr. Current looks friendly but his eyes convey the threat behind the words. Jeremy stares back at him silently.

Oh, wow.
I put my hands on my lap, concealing them underneath the wooden conference table to hide the shaking.

Mr. Current continues. “Mr. Mason, you
had a party in your home on the night of September 1
st
, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“And on that night, were you engaging in the party?”