Sentencing Sapphire (Sapphire Dubois: Book 3)

Chapter 23

Shelly McCormick entered the courtroom. The True Serial Catcher cursed inside her, trying to claw her way to the surface.

"The Serial Catcher herself," Mr. Goldstein said.

Shelly took a breath as she moved up the aisle. She forced the True Serial Catcher down, trying to contain her. The drugs her doctor gave her helped, but weren't enough to obliterate her second personality.

"Is this true, Ms...?" The judge asked, pointing his gavel to Shelly.

"McCormick, and yes." Shelly nodded, and glanced at Sapphire.

"Come forward."

"As you all can see," Mr. Goldstein said loudly. "Ms. McCormick bears a striking resemblance to Ms. Dubois. Which would explain the footage Detective Capelli saw and how Richard Martin confused the two for the identity of the Serial Catcher." He turned. "No need to feel embarrassed, Detective. I would, but hey."

Shelly watched the man, Detective Capelli, blush as all eyes turned to him. He tried to sneak out of the room, but was stalked by a few reporters.

Mr. Goldstein opened his briefcase. "I will be representing Ms. McCormick. I also have the statement from a Detective Meadows in Modesto who has witnessed the Serial Catcher's activities worsen during the time Sapphire Dubois was abroad. This here..." he pointed to the doors where an ecstatic-looking woman in a cowboy hat entered, "is Colette Marmon, Ms. Dubois' former employer from Paris, who assures her alibi during various estimated times of the deceased serial killers."

"Ha-y, ya'll!" The woman in the cowboy hat shot fake bullets from her index fingers.

"Excuse me!" A pushy woman handed Shelly a card. "Nikki Pierce, L.A. Times. I'll make you a hero."

Shelly clenched the card, and felt the nerves build as she moved toward the judge. The people in the benches talked among themselves as Mr. Goldstein went through paperwork with the judge.

"Shelly," Sapphire whispered and grabbed her. "What the hell are you doing?"

Fear raged inside Shelly as she lowered her voice. "After the church, I remembered it all. Everything she... I did, who you really are, the men I killed. When Detective Ridder took me to a hospital, I asked him for this."

"You're going to go to prison, Shelly," Sapphire hissed.

Shelly's eyes filled with tears. "I'm not okay, Sapphire. I did those things because a part of me wanted to. It was me." She wiped her tears. "Mr. Goldstein told me my record of split personality is a shoe-in for mental illness. I'll be put in a psychiatric institution, not a prison. I need to be somewhere where I can't do those things anymore."

"I can't let you take on my charges. Had it not been for me, you never would've been in this position in the first place." Sapphire stood and looked at the judge. "Your Honor—"

"Shh." Shelly pushed her back down.

The judge glance at them, then went back to his conversation with Mr. Goldstein.

"Sapphire..." Shelly squeezed her eyes shut as the True Serial Catcher chanted vile things inside her. "I don't need you to feel bad for me. I need you to help me."

Sapphire studied her face, then nodded in reluctance.

"Ms. McCormick." The judge called in a gentle voice. "Please step forward."

Shelly stepped up next to the stenographer and looked back at the doors where her family entered. They nodded at her encouragingly behind tears.

She'd spent the last four days explaining to them what she'd done and what she had to do. They were the reason she took on Sapphire's cases too. She had to make sure she got locked away for a long time. She had to protect them from herself.