THE VERDICT

chapter 2 :Lies

Travis walked through the prison corridors looking at the pathetic state of the rooms. He wondered why the government couldn't afford to build better rooms for inmates. They were there to right their wrongs not be punished more.

He had met Dr Brian who is Josie's friend and doctor since she was put in jail. He had written to the judge and his wish was granted. After receiving the letter from the court he decided to meet Brian before seeing Josie. He held the same thoughts as the doctor on the murder case. Someone out there committed the murder and josie was to carry the blame. There's more than meets the eye.

The events of the murder were unclear,there were no other finger prints in the murder weapons apart from Josie's. There were no witnesses apart from Jemima who gave her statement and said that she saw Anderson and Josie fighting before hearing the screams from the sitting room.

The fights weren't something new in their house. Being a secondary school teacher and a staunch believer of the Catholic church,she believed in the institution of marriage. To her,it was for better and for worse. She received blows and kicks from her husband who was a bank manager daily and would still stay. She had never reported any of the assaults to the authorities.

On one of the occasions,Travis who is not only her lawyer but her best friend received a call from Josie in the middle of the night. She asked for his help to take her to the hospital. Upon reaching her house,he found her seated outside in the cold in only her pyjamas that were filled with blood. She was bleeding from her nose. She was 3 months pregnant by then and couldn't even move. The kids were locked in the house and Anderson had left the house after beating her.

She lost the pregnancy and her womb due to the severe beatings she got,she had a broken nose and ribs. This forced her to remain in the hospital for 2 weeks. Travis tried persuading her to report the incident but she was reluctant to do so. She totally refused and said that her husband would change one day. After a few days in the hospital,Anderson came to the hospital with flowers and chocolates and apologised to her. He even shed tears and begged her for forgiveness. He swore to never touch her again. She forgave him due to her naivety. And that was the genesis of her problems.

Series of beatings followed and Travis was all there to help her out by taking her to hospital. This led to Maggie, Travis wife to cause trouble for him since he concentrated more on Josie and forget his family duties.
"Why would you always help her out when she has refused to help herself? Maybe she's enjoying the beatings" she complained.
    No amount of persuasion from the church member,the parish father or her own parents made her leave her marriage.

Anderson came from a well off family,his father was a senator and mother owned her own chain of restaurants in the country. Anderson was the first born of the two children in his home. Reporting him to the authorities meant a death sentence for her. His mother had brushed her off when she complained of Anderson's beatings and cheating. She had boldly asked her to learn to keep her marriage safe from people. She wasn't allowed to tell anyone what she was going through.
"We're it not for us,would you have been where you are? The job you got was because of mheshimiwa who got connections for you,so stay there and help my son " Sandra told her.

    Since then she has been keeping her problems to herself. She was tied to him forever. There was no way out.
Travis understood her very well. You couldn't possibly fight Anderson and his family.
  Things had happened fast and Eve and Lance were takens by their paternal grandparents after the burial of their father.
The senator was pushing for Josie's sentence. He wanted her gone and justice for his son.
It was going to be a tough case but Travis was determined to bring the real murderer in the open.
   It was a puzzle he was going to solve even if it cost him his life....

There were alot of secrets and lies in this case. A mute suspect couldn't be sentenced without giving her a chance to explain herself. She has her reasons for being mute. She might be forced to zip her mouth or even refuse to talk because of fear or threats by someone. He had to find out who is threatening her. And why is she being threatened.