Tainted Love | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Six

she yearns to know him

beneath his surface,

he yearns to know her

beneath her clothes

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　-: ✧ :-゜・．

"HAVE A SEAT, MISS RYAN."

With trembling legs, I made my way over to the empty chair and sat down. The room was dark, like before, with the blinds pulled - only allowing a sliver of light to shine in.

"Now, I do want to say that we have had. . . an alarming number of victims come forward, claiming they were also assaulted by Mister Tyler Jones," Inspector Nathaniel coughed, looking a little uncomfortable, "You won't be the only person standing in court on the day."

A sinking feeling sat on my chest - had Nicole been right after all? Were there more girls, and now they felt confident enough to step forward?

Continuing when I remained silent, he spoke in a rasp voice, "Your father dropped by this morning as well - Tyler left you a letter today?"

"Yes Sir," I nodded, "I woke up to see it left outside my front door."

"Well, we can submit as evidence for your case," he noted, "It was a foolish move of him to make, but I want to get an analyst to write us a report on the handwriting, and how much of a match it is with his normal writing. It'll strengthen the validity of the letter, too."

"Do you. . . Do you think we'll win?" I asked, hesitation filling my voice.

Inspector Nathaniel's face softened, and he offered me a comforting smile, "I can promise you we will try our very best. However, I'm confident in that he will be faced with justice - one way or another."

I nodded, but didn't feel reassured. The increasing fear of losing this case was beginning to take a toll on me - I couldn't get a proper nights sleep without seeing him being let free from here, unscathed. Just the thought had a violent shiver ripping through me and I didn't even want to begin to think of what he would do to me, if he was released.

But, no matter how much I wanted to not think about it, Tyler would be on the other side of the court and I would be forced to look at his twisted, dark eyes once again. I would have to listen to his lies while he convinced everyone he was a great man, who had done no wrong.

"With the date coming closer, I just want to run through what a hypothetical cross examination might look like," Inspector Nathaniel explained as he took the seat across from me, "Tyler and his team will be doing anything they can to twist your story and confuse you. You need to have your story straight and keep your head screwed on right. Do not let them play you."

"Yes, Sir," I murmured, my voice quiet.

"Right. Let's get to it then," he cleared his throat and clasped his hands together as he looked up at me, "Miss Ryan, let's start with a brief account of your relationship with Mister Jones."

Sucking in a sharp breath, I rolled my shoulders back and answered with a quiet, "Okay."

His dark eyes were glued onto mine, unmoving, "So, you and the defendant were dating for a period of about two months, is that correct?"

I gave a firm nod of my head, trying my hardest to appear composed, "Yes, Sir."

"Now, I understand that you two weren't in the same year of school - could you tell me how often you would see Tyler then? An approximate guess is fine."