Teach me to trust

59. Verdict

"And you called the police informing them you heard some concerning noises from next door. Is that correct?"

"Yes sir"

"And what exactly was it you thought you heard coming from next door on the aforementioned evening?"

"Um, well" I watch my neighbour, Mark clear his throat before sitting up straighter in his seat, "I heard shouting, a man shouting, and I heard what sounded like something breaking and then a loud thudding sound"

"Okay. Then you called the police to inform them of your concerns?"

"Yes sir. Emily has always been a quiet neighbour, never any issues so I knew that something was wrong"

"Thank you" I watch the prosecutor nod his head and pace in front of Mark for a few seconds before stopping to look at him again.

"If I may ask, when the police arrived, did they immediately approach next door?"

"No sir. I saw them pull up outside and I went to the front door when they approached to ask what the issue was. I told them what I heard, and they were about to head over when the front door opened"

"And when the front door opened, what exactly was it that you saw Mr Young?"

Mark grimaces on the stand at the memory and I feel Nate tense up beside me,

"Well, I saw my neighbour – Emily, run out of the front door. She was stumbling and when she turned to look behind her, I saw she had blood over the side of her face and down her arm also"

Nate reaches out to grip my knee, squeezing gently and pulling me closer to him, as though to remind himself I'm right here next to him and I'm okay.

"And then what happened?"

"Well, when she was looking behind her, I saw another man approach and he grabbed her – not in an aggressive way just like he was trying to get her attention. She seemed startled at first but relaxed when she realised who it was"

The prosecutor nods again and gestures for Mark to continue,

"And then another man followed out of the house, limping a little bit and he looked like he was running straight for her, for Emily, but the police grabbed him first and cuffed him. Thank God"

"I see, thank you. I have one more question if I may – is the man you saw following your bleeding neighbour out of her home here in the courtroom today?"

"Yes sir" Mark lifts his hand and points towards where Alistair sits, cuffed to the table and an indignant look on his face "That's him sitting right there"

"Thank you. No further questions your honour"

The rest of the day went pretty much the same way, with Alistair's defence attorney trying to paint that I had attacked him, and my injuries were from Alistair protecting himself. Something that had my friends around me itching to climb from their seats and hurl abuse at Alistair's entire defence team.