Hunter (Sample)

Chapter 12 - Courtroom

Present

Sarah

“All rise,” Bailiff shouted, and everyone stood up in unison. After a moment, the Judge entered the courtroom and sat in front of us. “Be seated,” he ordered, and everyone followed. 

“Where is the defendant?” Judge asked. “Please bring him in.” 

After a moment, four deputies brought Jack, and he was hand handcuffed. 

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is a preliminary hearing, not a trial. The purpose of a preliminary hearing is to determine if there is sufficient evidence to bind the defendant over to stand trial,” Judge explained in his croaky voice. 

I looked across the courtroom. People were gathered and were murmuring about the incident that happened three days ago. Some of them were known, and some were unknown. My dad was sitting next to me and my mom beside him. They had arrived early in the morning. I insisted to them they didn’t have to bother, but dad wanted to follow Jack’s case closely as he was a lawyer and he wanted to help me. 

“The prosecution may call its first witness,” Judge ordered in the direction of the district attorney.  

A black man stood up and said in his heavy voice, “The State calls the arresting officer.”

A man in uniform presented and was sworn before he sat in the witness chair. I guess he was the man who arrested Jack in Valentino. 

“Please state your name?” Clerk said,

“Rudolf Bark.”

 The judge looked disinterested as he was flipping through the file. The district had started questioning the officer. I had never been in court before. This was my first time. Maybe that’s why my hands were shaking and my throat was dry. 

“Don’t worry, darling,” dad whispered and put his warm hand on mine. Breathing out, I gave him a nod. 

“Have you received a call from a woman begging for help?” the attorney asked. 

“Yes,” Officer said.

“What time?”

“Around one in the morning.”

“When did you arrive there?”

“Within fifteen minutes.”

“Where?”

“Valentino.”

“What did you find there?”

Officer glanced at Jack briefly. “When our team arrived there, we found a car parked in front of the house. We moved inside and listened to the gasping of people. The patches of blood following the stairs, hallway, and room. And when we entered the second floor, we found a man had a knife and blood splashed all over his shoes and shirt.”

“Who was that man?”

He nodded to Jack. “Mr. Jack Robbins.”

“What was he doing?”

Officer sighed. “Holding a knife and staring at two corpses blankly?”

“Whose corpses were those?”

“One of them was Senator Jeremy Robbins and second was his secretary Analia Joanna.”

“Were they dead?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you, I have no further questions.” the attorney said.

“You may cross-examine, Mr. Cruz.” the judge said, nodding to Roberto Cruz who couldn’t stop fidgeting and sweating.