Saving Maggy Grace

Prologue

"David Worley, you have been accused of the murder of Margaret Grace Spieling."

The Judge sits behind his podium with a smug look on his face. If I were closer I would spit right in his hateful eyes.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" He looks down on me. How dare he? I am the most respected man in this county. Ha! I own half this town. I own his house and the bed he sleeps in. Hell, I own the powdered wig that sits on his pompous head!

"I've been framed." I state simply.

The Judge laughs. His laugh is grotesque. As he squeals, saliva spews from his mouth. The Bishop, who sits next to him, pulls such an awful face and I can't help but grin.

"You say you were framed?" The Judge laughs again, "Sir, this is not the first crime that you have been accused of. May I remind you?" He holds an old and crumpled piece of paper to his face. "You were jailed for six months for stealing," he begins

"I was ten. I stole food for my younger sister who was starving." I interrupt.

He continues, "You were accused of kidnapping and rape. The victim was-" he looks up from the paper to make sure that I can see the victory in his eyes, "One Ms. Margaret Grace Spieling."

The people in the small crowd that gathered in the court room begin to gasp and murmur amongst themselves. The Judge slams his mallet, "Silence!" He bellows.

I spoke up, "Both accusations. Both cases were dismissed because of total lack of evidence." I am becoming very frustrated. I slam my fist on the table that I stand behind. "Bloody-!..." I take a deep breath. "Margaret testified at those hearings. I never once touched her in a perverted way."

"And the kidnapping? That was an accusation too?" Judge Davis asks sarcastically.

"Yes, made by her father. He lost custody of her and hated me for taking her in."

"That's funny, Mr. Worley, there are no documents of adoption to be found concerning your case. Are you sure that you aren't lying? Are you sure that you didn't threaten Margaret into lying? You couldn't risk having your reputation ruined, could you?"

"Lies! You lie where you stand!" I shout, slamming my fist on the table again. "I loved Maggy, bloody hell!" I lean over the table, suddenly exhausted, and hang my head. "I loved her." I repeat.

"Mr. Worley," the judge smiles, "You admit to loving a girl that was almost twenty years younger than yourself?"

"I loved her like she was own daughter." I say, standing again. "Judge, I knew how it looked when I, a single man, took her, a young girl, into my home. I knew that people would talk and that people would start rumors. But, you see, I didn't care. I took one look into those sad eyes of hers, and I knew that she had been hurt many times by many people. I knew that she did not know what it was to love and be loved. I could see the loneliness that overwhelmed her soul and I could see her scars. In that moment, I decided that I would not be able to live if I did not help her. She needed me, and in a way deeper than I could understand at the time, I needed her."

The Bishop leans over to whisper something to the Judge. After considering what he said, the Judge speaks,

"The Bishop and I," he says reluctantly, "Agree that in order to conduct a fair trial, under God," he adds for the Bishop, "the jury needs to hear the complete side of your story." He pauses, giving an unsure look to the Bishop. Bishop Jonathan nods and the judge looks to me once again.

"Continue."

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Hey, guys! So this is a sneak preview of my new story, Saving Maggy Grace. It's really different from anything I've done before. Please give me some feedback and let me know if you would like to see more!