Chasing Innocence | ✓

23 | looming fates

Time moves by quickly. Almost a week out from the trial, Davina calls Braxton in for one final meeting. The meeting to flesh out his narrative and nitpick all the important details.

I look up as David enters through the clear glass door. I'm pouring myself a coffee, before filling one for Davina and Braxton. David doesn't acknowledge me, but I begrudgingly pour one for him too.

"Let's start from the beginning," Davina flips through a stack of files, shuffling them together and passing some to David.

I grab one of the trays next to the coffee machine, placing all four steaming cups on it as I turn around to place it on the expansive oak table.

I grab mine instantly, needing the energy to fight the early morning exhaustion. Yet another nightmare plagued my thoughts last night. I'd even woken this morning with a text from my therapist, Heather Blackwood. I hadn't seen her for a while and she was reminding me that it would be in my best interest to have a session with her soon. I'd left it unanswered.

"You arrived at Bill's Bar and Diner at 9:30pm. The CCTV footage from the night verified that," Davina begins, peering down at the sheet of paper in front of her. "You were having a late dinner, clearing your head after a fight with you eldest brother, Marco, about him "freeloading" in your mother's house."

I'd never heard that part. Not about Marco and the fight. It must have been information that Davina had sought when I'd faked being ill, too angry to face Brax after the words he'd spoken at that party.

I think about the strange conversation I'd had with Brax's mother. How she'd told me she didn't want 'him' staying in her house anymore. She must have been talking about Marco. I feel stupid not realising this sooner.

"He cooperated with that statement, even gave us bank statements about the rent he began to pay soon after. This helps verify your story that you weren't there to meet with Mr Bryor. That your altercation was purely coincidental. There was no malice behind it, no planning involved."

I'd missed so much. Suddenly, the case is laying out in front of me, every detail new and fresh. I feel a sense of sudden embarrassment, as though I'm intruding in on something I have never been apart of.

"You noticed a man, who you soon identified as your mother's dealer, Mr Bryor, hanging around your car. You paid for your meal and exited the diner at 10:01pm. The CCTV footage shows you walking towards Mr Bryor, where you've told us that you asked him to, quote; 'politely fuck off'."

Brax grunts, almost as though he's going to laugh. My stomach dips at the thought, wondering what it might be like to hear it. I realise suddenly how inappropriate that is right now and focus back on Davina.

"When he didn't leave, you grew angry. The shift in body language is picked up on the footage, as you stepped closer to Bryor. You asked him what he wanted and he tells you that he's after the money your mother owes him. You say that you told him he'd done enough damage, and that he should consider beating up your youngest brother, Casey Williams, a payment he didn't deserve. That he wouldn't be getting a single coin from your family now.

"Mr Bryor became enraged, telling you that he would come for all of you. The footage cuts out as you punch Mr Bryor across the face at 10:06pm."

I shift in my chair, grabbing my coffee cup and allowing the steam to warm my lips.

"At this stage, you say you walk away. You go back to your truck and get inside. It's then that you hear further arguing, followed by a loud crack, like something — or someone — hitting the pavement hard."

I shiver, imagining Dylan's skull striking the ground. His dead eyes staring at the pavement below him.

"You get out of your truck at some point around ten past ten. It is then that you find Mr Bryor lying face down on the pavement. You are seen standing over the body and the police are called at 10:15pm. They arrive at 10:20pm."

Brax's jaw is set; teeth clamped down on teeth. "What angle are you going with?" he asks suddenly.

Davina sighs, shuffling the papers. "Well, first of all, there were four customers inside, plus two waitstaff and Bill, the owner, in the kitchen. Not a single one of them heard or saw the altercation. No one saw the person who killed Bryor. Which means they never saw you until after the crime had been committed either.

"There is also no weapon. And your DNA could only be placed on Bryor's cheek, not anywhere on the back of his skull. He didn't die from the blow to his cheek. The coroner determined that with the indentations to the back of his head.

"The only evidence the prosecution truly have is mostly circumstantial. The witnesses from the diner have proven to be of no help to them, really. They only have Zara Phillips, who unfortunately did record a phone call where you hoped Bryor would be dead, but that too is circumstantial. You finding the body may be true, but they are concluding that you caused the crime, which again, is circumstantial."

"But what's your angle?" Brax states again, sternly.

"Well, Braxton, my angle, simply, is that you did not kill Mr Bryor. That you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. That you were provoked into an argument by Mr Bryor, but that did not lead to murder. You walked away. You did the right thing, whilst someone else, someone nearby, did not. Instead, Mr Bryor's step-brother, Matthew Daniels, was seen on CCTV footage. Someone who you allegedly owed Bryor a lot of money."

I feel a chill crawl up my spine. I imagine Brax walking away. I imagine him reaching for his keys, preparing to drive away when he heard a strange sound. Then the image flips. I imagine him punching Bryor. I imagine the anger coursing through his veins as he picks up a nearby object. Bryor goes to walk away and Brax slams the object into his skull, listening to the crack as it reverberates through his body.

My head swims and I rub at the growing frustration. Nothing truly makes sense.

What happened to the footage? Where could the weapon truly be? Is Xavier right about Matthew Daniels?

"You'd seen him earlier that night too; Matthew Daniels," Davina continues. "He'd left the diner just as you arrived. CCTV footage has proven this, as well as a transaction fee on his credit card. You weren't aware of the money he owed Bryor until your twin brother, Xavier, informed you. You didn't think anything of it until later on."

Brax nods, staring at his callused hands resting on the table before him. He hasn't taken a sip of his coffee as I finish mine. It must be cold now.

"That is the angle," Davina says, sternly. She points a finger at the pages and pages of the case. "That is how we will win this case."

Trying to pin it all on Matthew seems circumstantial in itself, but Davina is someone I do trust. More than anyone else in this room. If she believes that she can fight his case using that, then of course I will stick by her side.

I just hope it's enough to find justice. Whether that means saving Brax or allowing the world to know what he could be truly capable of.