December 8, 1992. 8:51AM.
Ralph Langley's hand was sweating profusely in that of his mother, who he was hoping didn't notice. They sat in roughly the same spot in Courtroom 4 as they did yesterday, and he noticed that several other families did the same. A few who entered the room on the later side were forced to sit on the opposite side of the aisle than they did yesterday, the Merridew family included. This time, Jack was sitting two rows in front of Ralph, forcing the brunette to stare nervously at the back of his beautiful blond head when the proceedings began.
"All rise, the honorable Judge Eldeson presiding" the bailiff announced to the courtroom just as he did yesterday. Verbatim, Ralph noticed, ensuring that he'd certainly be hearing the words of the court on a loop in his sleep for years to come.
The formal proceedings for the beginning of the day began, and it was a painfully slow ten or so minutes before EFR Officer Lukas Hoffman returned to the stand so that Jeremy Reynolds could begin the cross-examination questioning.
"Officer Hoffman," Reynolds began, "during yesterday's proceedings you stated that your job as an EFR Officer in relation to the 1991 rescue mission of the Bainbridge Military Academy cadets was to aid in containing and distinguishing the flames on the island, is that correct?"
"Yes, it is" Hoffman agreed.
"Just to recap for the members of the courtroom today, what was it you and your team discovered in the cave behind the forest?" Reynolds prompted.
"The deceased body of the pilot and captain, Johnathan Benson" Lukas Hoffman stated.
"Did you discover his remains yourself, inside the cave?" Reynolds continued.
"Myself and my partner, Manuel Hernandez, were the two who entered the cave and came across the remains at the same time" Hoffman clarified.
"At what time of day was this, Officer Hoffman?"
"About 0930 hours AST or so, if I correctly recall" the EFR Officer determined.
"So it was sunny and bright outside, yes?" Reynolds assumed.
"Objection! Relevance" Dana Barnes shot up from her seat at the prosecution bench to declare.
"Is there a point to all this, Councilor?" Judge Eldeson addressed the defense attorney.
"I am establishing the scene for the death of the victim, Your Honor" Reynolds confidently claimed.
"Objection overruled, Councilor Barnes. But Reynolds, I suggest you move it along" Judge Eldeson interjected.
"Of course, Your Honor."
"Officer Hoffman, you can answer Councilor Reynolds' question" Judge Eldeson insisted.
"It was sunny outside, yes" the EFR Officer confirmed.
"When you entered the cave, could you see well inside it from the light of the sun alone?" Reynolds asked.
"Only about five or ten feet in. Once we ventured further, we had to turn on our headlamps to see clearly" the man confirmed, earning a satisfied smile from the defense attorney who turned to the courtroom with the grin still on his face.
"So even during broad daylight, it was dark inside the cave, dark enough to require headlamps to see right in front of you" Reynolds established. It sounded like less of a question and more like an insinuation he was trying to make stick.
"Yes" Hoffman confirmed anyway.
"How far into the cave did you discover Captain Johnathan Benson's body?" Reynolds asked.
YOU ARE READING
After Before and After
Fanfiction"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫?" Sequel to my original story "LOTF: Before and After." After two years of working towards recovery, the twenty-two former cadets and survi...
