After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 48

January 8, 1993. 4:38 PM.

Three days spent listening to hours of forced testimony from all Larry Evans' close and distantly acquainted relatives would've been enough to shake even the most innocent of the other twenty-one boys standing trial with him. Ralph Langley surely fit that bill, and it was starting to feel like he might not be able to stand trial at all.

At the end of what felt like a forty hour day in a twelve day week, Ralph was exhausted. Not physically exhausted (although he was experiencing a surprising degree of that too), but Ralph was emotionally exhausted. With each relative that took to the witness stand to talk about Larry, Ralph couldn't help but picture them as his own family. Larry's father was Ralph's father, his cousins Ralph's cousins, his grandmother Ralph's grandmother. He imagined what his own loved ones would look like all dressed up in the hot seat, trying so hard to combat Dana's goal of incriminating him.

Currently, Ralph's brown eyes were set on the final witness of the day, and of the week. Larry's grandmother was a character of an older lady who spent most of her free time at the local pool swimming laps. She was vibrant for a woman of fifty something. Each word she spoke exposed her personality, and how effortlessly she owned any room she walked into. She was a character, and a loveable one at that. Surely, she would be perceived as a credible and relatable witness in the eyes of the jury, which Ralph knew would in no way benefit the prosecution's case. The older woman took no crap from Dana Barnes. She called Dana out herself when the prosecutor was trying to force a particular answer out of her. If Ralph wasn't so stricken by the testimony of Larry's family as a whole, he might've been able to find the humor in watching the grandmother go head-to-head with Barnes.

"Well young lady, I've already answered that same question. You're just wording it differently in hopes that I change my answer, but I that's not about to happen" Dorothy Evans retorted in a voice that was larger than life.

"Mrs. Evans, I assure you that I'm not trying to combat anything you've said" Barnes frustratedly insisted with a sigh. It'd been at least fifteen minutes of her and Dorothy practically arguing over the validity of Dana's questions. "I'm simply asking if any of the valuables in your home you mentioned having to replace earlier were broken by Larry. A simple yes or no will suffice, and we can move on."

Ralph subtly glanced over at Jack sitting with his own family on the other side of the aisle. If he knew Jack (and he was sure he still did), the latter was surely enjoying watching Dana Barnes' head come close to exploding. And sure enough, Jack was smirking in an effort to suppress the laughter he was holding hostage in his chest. It made Ralph smile to see Jack smile, but as soon as the witness finished answering and the grilling continued, Ralph's heart fell back down into the pit of his stomach.

"I already told you I never saw 'im break anything. He's got fourteen cousins within a decade of his age, Mrs. Barnes, I never had any reason to believe it was all Larry's doing" the witness responded.

"But you did say earlier that his other cousins often claimed that Larry was responsible when a valuable or two broke or went missing" Barnes sought to establish.

"Well if you woulda let me explain before cuttin' me off, I would've told you that all my grandchildren have a nasty habit of blaming things on each other. Especially when the consequence for being reckless is none of Grandma's homemade cinnamon rolls."

Dorothy Evans was making Jeremy Reynolds' job rather easy. She tended to strike Barnes back with answers that eliminated the need for Reynolds to object himself.

"Did your grandchildren tend to blame a specific one of their cousins for mishaps like this more often than they blamed others?" Barnes prompted.

"Not that I recall. I'm fifty-six years old, my dear, and I've got over a dozen of those kids running around my house each and every holiday and long weekend. I couldn't tell ya for sure, but what I can tell you is that Larry is a good boy. My son and daughter-in-law both already told you about his loving relationships with his family, and the heart he had for the people he cared about. He's just a kid. Never one I've ever been especially concerned about."