In Sunshine or In Shadow ✔ [Completed]

Chapter 24 - To Ease the Gnawing Vulture of Thy Mind

I am Revenge: sent from the infernal kingdom,

To ease the gnawing vulture of thy mind,

By working wreakful vengeance on thy foes.

Come down, and welcome me to this world's light;

Confer with me of murder and of death:

There's not a hollow cave or lurking-place,

No vast obscurity or misty vale,

Where bloody murder or detested rape

Can couch for fear, but I will find them out;

And in their ears tell them my dreadful name,

Revenge, which makes the foul offender quake

~ Titus Andronics Act V Scene 2 Lines 30-40

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The body was found dumped behind a rundown bar and an old convenience shop, the bartender had gone around back with bags full of empty beer bottles and found the surprise of his life. The bags were where he'd dropped them; a couple of bottles had rolled out and were now strewn across the alley. The frightened bartender was being questioned by a SACPD officer when the team showed up, notably absent of their team leader.

"Agent Kabir," one officer said stepping up, "You taking the lead on this one?"

"For now," Kabir replied, "Riddhima is at an arraignment."

"Which case?"

"Hers."

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Riddhima had gotten the call at the same time as the rest of the team but she wasn't about to leave the courtroom to go to the crime scene. She did send Vansh though he fought bitterly. In some ways she was relieved he wasn't there, she needed his strength but also felt a little less self-conscious since no one she truly cared about was going to have to watch the proceedings now.

She doubted she would ever get over seeing Rohan Sinha calmly sitting at the table on the defendant's side of the room. He was wearing the same blue prison jumpsuit as any inmate and somehow that made him seem even colder. It didn't matter how he looked though, he would always be a monster to her.

Rohan looked behind him and immediately found her, she was sitting on the other side of the room in the back row. She wasn't supposed to testify today but she still wanted to watch. He looked away quickly, not out of fear or shame, more likely it was him dismissing her entirely. That split second of eye contact was more then enough for her.

It was easy now for Riddhima to conjure up his face, that face twisted with rage and hatred as he beat and then violated her. The truth was she had never gotten a clear image of him that night, the darkness and then her own shock meant she never saw who her attacker was. She'd retreated inside of herself when the attack had taken place, not even coming out of the fog until she was in the hospital. Even now the events weren't quite clear, images and feelings was what she remembered most. The pain of him slamming her head against the concrete, the shame of knowing that terror of being forced upon…Vansh's horrified face when he found her stumbling in the parking lot. Those were the things she remembered most and what she knew would always stay fresh in her mind as the terrible night that created them.

Riddhima hadn't even noticed that the judge had walked into the room; she'd remained seated the entire time. Looks like she'd forgotten her court decorum in the middle of her thoughts. Her heart pounded while the judge called the room to order and the prosecution presented its case. District Attorney Carol Smith was the one who had taken Riddhima's case since she was one of the few DA's that didn't know Rohan very well.