Voice of Truth (Sequel to Voice of Reason)

Chapter Two: Not Guilty

We got inside and I pulled my elbow out of his grasp.

"You know, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to drag me into this and not tell me what I'm being dragged into." I pointed out.

"I'll tell you later, now will you stop arguing with me?!"

"Probably not. I think I deserve an argument." I put my bag in the bucket and walked through the metal detector. I waited until Alec's bucket came through and grabbed my phone out of it, shoving it in my bag. We walked forward, coming up behind the Latimers, who were getting debriefed by their solicitor.

"You didn't have to be here today." Alec stated, stepping up beside Beth.

"Oh, we did." Mark replied.

"I need to hear him say it." I rubbed Beth's arm.

"All parties in Miller to Court One. All parties in Miller to Court one." They walked passed us, both Beth and Mark leading Chloe with a hand on her back.

After looking around, I also spotted Nigel, Paul and Becca, Maggie, Ollie, and Lucy, who was Ellie's sister. They all watched as the Latimers passed. Alec glanced at his watch, looking towards the door. It wasn't difficult to figure out who he was looking for.

"Do you think she'll come?" I asked, tucking my hair behind my ear. He sighed.

"I don't know." He answered, putting a hand on my back and lightly pushing me towards the stairs. We filed into the courtroom and sat down, and I began to feel a bit sick at the thought of seeing Joe again. The man who was my friend...the man who admitted to being attracted to my little brother...the man who murdered an eleven year old boy. Alec put a hand down on the knee that I didn't realize I was bouncing. "You alright?"

"It's like we told Ollie and Maggie...it doesn't really matter if I'm alright because this isn't about us."

"This also isn't an interview." He said, his lips brushing against my ear. "It's just me, asking if you're alright."

"Honestly?" I asked. He nodded. "I haven't been alright for a long time." He moved his thumb over my knee. I looked up as the door opened, and Ellie came in. I almost smiled. She stopped, looking at the Latimers.

"Miller." Alec called. She looked up, spotting us before coming and sitting down beside me. She looked at them again."How's Devon?" 

"Awful." The door opened again and I saw a woman with black hair come in. She looked at Alec like she knew him. He stood up.

"Hiya." She said quietly.

"Alec?" I asked,

"Stay here." She started over to us, but the Baliff stopped her.

"Members of the public this way, madam. Thank you." He directed her into the box, but Alec stopped her, grabbing her arm.

"Da-da-da-da-da, Out, Now, come on."

"Who's that?" Ellie asked.

"Wild guess? Claire." I got up, following them out of the courtroom. I walked over to them.

"What the heck are you doing here? You know how important today is for me."

"I'm sorry. I was worried, you turned your phone off and you weren't getting my texts."

"You cannot be here. And you knew Diana got the text, so why would you come here?" I walked over, standing beside them. 'I thought I told you to stay in there."

"Since when do I take orders from you?" I asked.  He shook his head, frustrated.

"I'm really sorry, I'm panicking, I didn't know what to do."

"Claire, you need to go."

 "I think he's back, and I think he's looking for me."

"No he's not, he can't be. I'd know...why do you think of that?"

"This morning, nine missed calls on my phone. All number withheld. "

"That doesn't mean-"

"It's him."

"It's not, you need to calm down."

"Sorry, who are you?" She asked, turning to me.

"Diana. We texted a minute ago." I explained. She nodded, shaking my hand.

"Claire, nice to meet you." I nodded.

"I know where he is. I've had a trace on him. He's not even in the country."

"You better be sure Alec, because I feel like I can't breathe."

"Everything is fine. Stay calm. Stop worrying. Soon as I'm done here, I'll come over."

"We both will, because someone needs to explain to me what in the crap is going on." I added.

"Now go home, please. It's all fine." He put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it with his thumb before grabbing my hand and pulling me back towards the courtroom. "You should have stayed put."

"You literally dragged me into whatever this is, and now you're trying  to hide it from me? Sorry, but it doesn't work like that."

"No, I told you to stay put, because now you've heard what's happening out of context and you're going to have a lot of questions when we have a trial to focus on." He said. I paused.

"Alright, for the first time, I think you might actually be right." He grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the door, but I took it back.

"Seriously, stop dragging me around like I'm a puppy or something." He opened the door for me and we both went back in, sitting down again.

"Who was that?" Ellie asked. Neither of us answered.

"All rise." The judge entered his box and nodded at us, allowing us to sit down. "All parties in the case of Joseph Miller." We watched as the bailiff led Joe into a large glass-covered box. This was the third time I had sat in a courtroom with a personal connection to the case. It was also the third time I had felt sick to my stomach at the sight of the man behind the glass. I reached over and grabbed Ellie's hand, half expecting her to pull it away. She didn't.

Joe looked at the Latimers, and Chloe burst into tears, then he looked in our direction, or more specifically, at Ellie.

"Don't you look at me." She said, tears in her eyes.

"Are you Joseph Michael Miller?"

"Yes."

"Joseph Michael Miller, you are charged with murder contrary to common law. The particulars of the offense are that on the eighteenth day of July 2013, you murdered Daniel Latimer of 4 Spring Close, Broadchurch, Dorset. How do you plead? Guilty or not guilty?"

"Not guilty."

"No!' Ellie exclaimed. I covered my mouth with my hand.

"No, he can't. He can't." Beth said, sobbing. Alec looked shocked as well.

"Uh, Your Honor, Can I just ask for the indictment to be put again?" Joe's solicitor asked.

"BE A MAN, JOE! YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!" Mark screamed, his fist coming down on the railing. Ellie jumped, squeezing my hand.

"Sit down!" The judge commanded. Joe's eyes were cast down at the ground, and I didn't see a the scary, evil man that people would suspect would murder an eleven year old. I saw the weak, pathetic man that all of us know murdered an eleven year old. "I said sit down." Nigel stood up, lowering Mark back into his chair."I take it from your reacting, Ms. Thompson that the Queen's Counsel have not been instructed."

"Very much not, your honor." She turned to Joe, giving him a 'what are you doing?' look.

"Could you confirm your plea, Mr. Miller? Not least, it seems, for the benefit of your own counsel."

"Not guilty." He said, emotionless. 

This case is far from over.