Red Tiles

chapter 27

   It seemed as if time just skipped ahead because I soon found myself up in the witness chair, looking over the courtroom. My eyes soon met the dark, beautiful eyes of Jinx. In searching her face, I found myself fazed by her seemingly magnetic attraction. Even in a second hand dress suit, Jinx still had the power to draw me in with her beauty and luster.

Suddenly I was snapped out of my trance, and called back into reality by the prosecutor asking me a question.

"Jasper," he asked, concerned. "Jasper, are you with us?" I quickly nodded, blinking a couple times to focus myself.

"Yes?" He nodded. "Thought we lost you there. I asked you, how did you meet the defendant?" I was about to say the truth, but Instead, I decided to just use bits and pieces of the truth.

"Miss. Darker was assigned to take me home." The prosecutor nodded.

"And did she take you straight home or did you guys make any pit stops?" He asked curiously, looking up from his notes. I swallowed slowly and leaned into the microphone a little bit.

"We stopped at a restaurant to eat. I had a couple glasses of wine and decided that I wanted to go back to her house with her because I didn't want to be alone." He stared at me for a moment, bewildered by my lie.

"Okay...did the defendant force you to go with her or did you go by will?" I smiled a little bit.

"I asked if we could go back to her place because I was lonely and she seemed very nice. Mind you, I'd had a few glasses of wine so I wasn't in the right mind to go home alone, anyway." The prosecutor looked totally pissed off now.

"Let me remind you, Miss. Kyle, that you're under oath, and that lying in a federal court room is against the law. So I'll ask you again," he warned, slightly annoyed. "Did the defendant force you to go with her, or did you go by will?" He asked. His question came out like a statement.

"I'm not lying. I asked to go back to her place. She didn't do anything to me that I didn't want her to. We went back to her place because I asked, and that's it." I was getting irritated quickly.

As the trial went on and I was questioned by both the defense prosecutor and Jinx's lawyer, I made sure to be honest about most things but was careful to say nothing that could potentially incriminate Jinx. Towards the end of the trial, I could tell that they had nothing substantial against Jinx. It was all just circumstantial evidence. Nothing that would stick.

As the prosecutor finished his concluding statement, small whispers and murmurs could be heard.

I was startled by the loud echo of the judges gavel as she banged it on her podium.

"Order in the courtroom," she said in a booming, deliberate voice.

All whispers and conversations came to a halt and the court was silent.

"There will be a short recess as we wait for the jury to come back." She banged her gavel once more, and the court began to empty as the jury went into the judges chambers.