La Arquitecta

Chapter 65

The trial of David Hernandez didn't promise to be a particularly long affair. On the first day, the prosecution and defence councils had made their opening statements, and the police officer in charge of the case had presented the evidence that had been gathered during their investigation. It had entailed pictures from the crime scene at Zelina's house, pictures of a wall covered in printed out photographs of her in David's place, and records of his internet searches, showing step by step how he had managed to track down her home address.

Day two was the one Zelina had been dreading. It was the day of the witness testimonies, and she was going to be the first to take the stand. She had been briefed by the prosecution council on what to expect, both procedurally and in terms of what the defence council might ask her in cross examination. That was going to be the worst part of the whole thing.

After Zelina's testimony, Dan and Laura Morton would also take the stand, followed by David's chance to speak in his defence. That would round out day two.

Day three would be the closing statements by both councils, followed by the jury adjourning to consider their verdict. Assuming they reached one, and assuming the verdict was guilty, David would be handed his sentence. When Zelina had questioned the prosecution council, a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair who she knew as Mr Ryan, she had been stunned and horrified to learn that David only faced a maximum of eight years for what he had done to her.

"Eight fucking years?" Seth had exploded, before Ryan had managed to calm him down.

The explanation had been that none of the crimes that David had committed on that dreadful day carried much of a sentence, since he hadn't actually raped her or physically harmed her. He was up for breaching a restraining order; breaking and entering, for forcing his way into her house; false imprisonment, for tying her to the bed; aggravated assault, for holding the knife to her throat and threatening to kill her; and battery, for punching Dan in the face and breaking his nose.

"All of that only adds up to eight years?" Zelina had asked in disbelief.

"At most, if he's found guilty of all charges," had been the reply.

Now, having been summoned to enter the courtroom, Zelina found herself thinking that if eight years was the maximum he could get, then she wanted to make sure that he fucking well got eight years. Even with that determination, she felt her heart pounding in her chest, and nerves to the point where she thought she might throw up.

As she approached the door into the courtroom, which was being held open for her by an usher, things started to go in slow motion. When she walked through that door, she would see David again for the first time since that day. The very thought of it made her hands start shaking. No matter how much Seth had tried to convince her there was nothing to be scared of now, that man and what he had put her through terrified her to the core.

The usher gave her something resembling a reassuring smile, then she walked into the courtroom. It was smaller than she had expected, based on what she had seen on TV shows. This room had the judge's seat just to the right of the witness box she had just walked into, with seating areas for the prosecution and defence teams opposite the judge. The seating in both areas was mostly empty for this case.

And there he was. Zelina's blood ran cold when she made eye contact with David, and she quickly looked away. He was in the dock, which was behind the defence's seating area, with a police officer sitting either side of him.

To the right of the judge was the seating area for the jury. All of them were looking at her. She imagined they were trying to get a first impression of whether she looked like a victim or a liar. She hoped that she conveyed the right image in the black suit and white blouse that she had bought for the occasion. Suits were not usually her thing at all, but it felt like the correct thing to wear to court.