The Bone Collector

16

I was no stranger to cross examinations by lawyers, however, this was the first time they would be defending me. I had been used regularly to give medical evidence for murder trials in the court room, so I knew how these proceedings would progress already.

"Miss Ivory." My head defence attorney, Mr Rosenberg, called for my attention. "What evidence could they have proving their allegations?"

I didn't want to implicate anyone, including myself, despite knowing about attorney - client privilege, so I asked for a moment alone with Miguel. The lawyer and his hoard of a team left the library and shut the door behind them.

"Do you know what Nestor did with the bodies? Or does any of the Mayans?" I asked Miguel quietly.

He shook his head, "They just helped load them into a lorry. Nestor was the only person who knew where they went, to protect you."

"I called Nestor from a burner that got crushed with my car when it got wrecked. There's only one piece of evidence that can be linked to me and the Mayans have it...Michael Ariza's body." I stated.

"Tell Mr Rosenberg what you told the security guards. You were knocked out the the 6 bodies were gone when you woke up. I'll take Marcus to meet with the Mayans. Stick to the story - the fuse blew and you cremated the body." He said sternly.

"But if Angel can produce Mr Ariza's body then my entire defence is ruined. They'll know I lied under oath." I protested but he gripped my hand tightly.

"I'll deal with the body. You just focus on this and trust me." He commanded and I nodded my head.

He rose from the chair, buttoned his suit jacket and left the room. The lawyers filtered back in to their seats before waiting for me to start.

"There is no evidence. I had no communications after meeting the FBI agents and then Potter. My phone records will confirm this. I was in a car accident on the way back from the crime scene. My insurance company can attest to this as they investigated the crash and removed the wreckage. I was then attacked in my office and left unconscious, as soon as I woke I called hospital security. It was then I noticed the six exhumed bodies, and their dental moulds, were stolen."

"The arrest is for 7 counts. What about the 7th count? They allege you destroyed the body as evidence in another murder investigation - Mr Michael Ariza."

"No, I had already completed his autopsy and sent my findings through the right channels. I was the one who discovered he was murdered, if I wanted to hide it I just would've used another cause of death. A fuse blew to the body chillers over night, raising the fridge temperature over the threshold. Our health and safety dictates that to prevent an outbreak in pathogens we must destroy the bodies. Michael Ariza was just one of four other people who were also destroyed because of the electrical fault." I explained and showed them the health and safety guidelines for the El Centro - Santo Padre district.

"What of your relationship with Miguel, he is well known to the police. It was not disclosed when you took the case from the FBI and DOJ."

"I had never even met Miguel when I met Potter. How could I disclose that?" I answered truthfully. "If they ask about Nestor, I never hid our shared parentage. Anyone how can access birth records, which is anyone with a computer, can see both of us share the same mother. There was nothing sordid to disclose, he was a respected lieutenant in the Navy before he moved into private security."

"So that just leaves failure to report a crime - child abduction." Mr Rosenberg said as he flicked through the pages the police had given him. "There is one witness lined up so I don't believe they have added this in the hopes that if they throw enough shit something sticks. They must have something good."