Suspense Stories

Homicide: Part 1

*An original story.*

".....I swear."

The last witness removed his hand from the Bible, and quickly reseated himself. Looking around at the cold, expansive courtroom, he swallowed stiffly and tried to expel the nervousness from his features. Today was a big day! At last, that beast of a man would be long gone. His eyes slid to his left, toward the accused.

The massive, menacing figure gave off quite the intimidating air. Aaron Black had proved, again, that he was not the person with which to trifle. Even the guard standing next to him was trying to keep as much distance between himself and Aaron as possible, uncomfortably shifting his weight from side to side.

The witness jumped in surprise, as the large, bearded convict had caught his eye. Some sort of growling noise began to emanate from his throat, and the witness knew that was his cue to take his curious gaze elsewhere.

Jerking back to the matter at hand, the witness listened to the defendant's attorney finish his case. With a solid alibi, a reliable witness, and a good lawyer, it looked as though Black would get off scot-free yet again! But the witness knew that was not the case this time. You can only ignore the evidence for so long. The witness watched, with sweaty hands, as the prosecutor stood to present the opposing counsel.

"Your Honor, here I have some evidence the jury might find quite condemning. This was taken from the scene." He held up a small plastic bag, and even though the witness knew what was inside, he could feel himself leaning forward with anticipation.

"It is a single hair, matching Black's perfectly. Several DNA tests were run on this object, and all came back positive." The lawyer took a few seconds for a dramatic pause, and then placed the bag back onto the table.

"To further aid my case, I have a photograph here of the victim's body. Now, just like all the other cases, an earring is missing from her left ear.  Thinking back to the numerous, cold-blooded homicides that have rocked this town for the past six months, you'll see that it's another one of the same." Holding up more photographs of similar crimes, the lawyer cleared his throat.

"Notice that in each case with these unique circumstances, Aaron Black has been a suspect in each one."

The witness could feel the change in the air, the hope that this would be the day that Aaron Black was finally caught! He waited on the edge of his seat, anxious to deliver the killing blow. The prosecutor turned and gestured toward the eager man.

"I call my witness, Rodney Blake, to the stand."

The man stood, and shakily walked to the front of the room. Promising yet again to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, he faced his audience.

"Mr. Blake, did you or did you not see the defendant breaking into the victim's home on the night of Wednesday, June fifth?"

The witness swallowed.

"Yes, I did."

"And would you mind telling us, in detail, exactly what you saw?"

The witness fought to control his racing heart. Finally, finally he was going to put this monster in prison for good!

"I will. I was sitting by my window in my living room, on the east side of my house. That window faces the side of the victim's home, as I live across the street from her. It was around, say, eleven o'clock at night when I heard what sounded like glass shattering, but rather muffled." The witness paused, ensuring the jury was hanging onto his words. The room remained silent.

"I looked up from my book, and saw Black-- er, the defendant, turn his head toward me. I saw his face clearly, and then he turned and pushed himself through the window he broke." The lawyer, pleased with his account, walks toward the stand.

"And you have proof of these events?"

The witness smirked.

"Proof more than an incriminating fingerprint, a stray hair and my eyewitness account? Yes sir, I have all the proof you need in my home security footage. It captured everything."

A grainy recording began to play on the small screen mounted on the wall. Attendees watched, transfixed, as the clear figure of Aaron Black smashed his way into his girlfriend's home. The lawyer turned to the judge and said, with a smile on his face,

"I rest my case."