After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 64

February 15, 1993. 4:29 PM.

Everytime Ralph Langley was certain he was about to experience his worst day in court, that day was outdone by another. Presently, Monday the 15th of February took the lead for Ralph's worst day in court thus far. It was the first of many days that Dana Barnes would be presenting evidence against Sam and Eric. The thing about today was that Ralph knew this would be the best day he'd see in awhile in the courtroom. Today, Barnes presented her first exhibits of physical evidence against the twins, and it wasn't exactly a shock.

Today was all about DNA evidence, and placing Sam and Eric at the scene of Simon's death. Barnes introduced two DNA reports conducted in the days after the rescue, each of which revealed that Sam's and Eric's fingerprints were on two of the sticks that were used to kill Simon. The sticks themselves were already admitted into evidence, so they weren't brought back out for the show. They were identified as two of the sticks within Exhibit H1-21, which all had Simon's blood on them. The twins' fingerprints were scientifically matched to two of the twenty-one sticks, and their case wasn't looking very good. Ralph had been expecting that though, because Barnes started her case against Luke the exact same way.

Barnes began the day in court by questioning more of the Marine officers from the initial rescue efforts to set the scene of Simon's death upon its discovery. After the noon recess, she brought out the DNA evidence like an expensive handbag she was eager to show off. Sam and Eric's fingerprinting reports, the ones conducted at the hospital in Virginia when the boys were rescued, were admitted into evidence. Reynolds didn't try to object this time. When Barnes introduced Luke's fingerprinting report, Reynolds tried to argue that the boy's medical records were confidential, but Judge Eldeson overruled on the grounds that they were relevant to the case.

There was no chance the twins', Ralph's, or any of the other boys' medical records would still be confidential at the end of all this.

By the time court was adjourned for the evening, Barnes had introduced her first character witness from the twins' inner circle, a teacher of theirs from their days at the academy. By now, Ralph was catching onto the fact that Barnes' goal wasn't to ask the people who knew each of them best if they were capable of murder, or even to suggest that their early behavior may have been a warning sign for such a thing. Barnes painted Larry, and now Luke, Sam, and Eric all in different lights. She didn't just clump them all together as cadets turned killers. Dana Barnes studied each and every one of them, used their witnesses and their files to get to know them on a personal level. Her case against each one of them was personalized and specific. Her questions for their character witnesses were too. She spoke as if she knew them better than their loved ones did, and confidently at that.

It was starting to scare the pants off Ralph.

After the first day of building her case against Sam and Eric, Barnes finally rested just before five o'clock to relieve the members of the court from the sting of her voice. Or at least, that's what it felt like to Ralph.

It had now been a good two weeks since Jack and Roger's brawl that left them both with a decent level of severe bruising and other injuries that were arguably not minor. Most of their bruising was starting to fade, and was only somewhat noticeable if you weren't looking directly at them. The red cut in Jack's eye was a delicate shade of pink now, compared to the aggressive dark red it was the first time Ralph saw it. Roger was still wearing that damn white patch on his neck, making Ralph wonder what sort of injury Roger was sporting underneath. He hadn't witnessed Jack and Roger talking to one another after or before court since their fight, but that wasn't all that telling given that they weren't supposed to be conversing anyway. Still, Ralph had an inkling that whatever put a wedge between the two former best friends had yet to be resolved.