North Oak, Book 1 - BORN TO RUN

Chapter 11: Her Saving Grace

She shook her head, pushing it away. The words came faster now, like she couldn't stop them. Like water no longer dammed. "And there was DeGelder. And she said she had four more bullets. One for each of us." Alex's grip tightened on the arms of the chair. "I couldn't let her use them. Not on my friends. So I laid Ashley aside and ran at her."

Mr. Michaels glanced at the clock again, fingers drumming on his own chair's arms.

Alex tried to swallow, but her throat was so dry it felt stuck. "She fired at me, but she missed. I took her down in the storage room. We fought. I had to get the gun away from her. Another shot went off, and finally I wrenched her wrist and pointed the barrel at her head." Alex looked down. "She dared me to pull the trigger. Said life's not worth living. Told me..." 

Mr. Michaels leaned forward in his seat. "Told you what?"

Alex raised her eyes to his. "Told me no one would ever want me or love me."

"And did you pull the trigger?"

"No. What she said changed my heart. I didn't want to be like her. Unwanted. Unloved."

"So what happened?"

"I knocked her out and stole her phone. Called nine-one-one."

"Why was the end of that call so quiet? Why was there a gunshot?"

Alex sat straight up. "She woke up. Came at me. There was one bullet left. I knew she'd hurt me. I knew she'd hurt my friends. So I shot her."

Mr. Michaels cupped his mouth, but it did nothing to hide the grin that smothered his face, like Alex's confession was the most delicious thing he'd ever heard. He rose quickly and moved to the door, pausing only briefly to point at her. "Stay there. Don't move. I'll be right back."

When he returned, he was a stupid kind of excited. He pressed his back against the door with a wild look in his eyes. "I asked for another hour to look into a last-minute witness. You should have seen the judge. He was pissed." Mr. Michaels eyes rolled back and he laughed, then he focused on Alex. She felt like she was under a laser ray. 

"What witness?"

"You have to take the stand," he said. "You have to tell them what you just told me. You're no killer, kid." He raced to her and dropped to one knee before her. He took her hand in his, and she yanked it away, turning sideways in the seat. He hung his head with a chuckle, shaking it in amusement, then looked at her again. "You're a hero."

"It was hard enough just now."

He nodded. "I know, I know. And legally, I cannot compel you to take the stand, buuuuuut... you're the only one who can save your ass right now.  You acted in self defense." He rose and brushed his hands against one another. "Your call. Ball's in your court."

Alex stood on the stand, laid her hand on the Bible, and took the oath the other witnesses had taken. The truth. All of it. So help her God, although he seemed about as real as the tooth fairy right now. 

She repeated everything she'd told Mr. Michaels, and did not sway under pressure. Although she didn't expect one of the last questions he asked.

"Tell me, Alexandra, if you are innocent, why did you run?"

Alex's brow furrowed. Wasn't he supposed to be making her look innocent? 

"Running from the scene of a murder isn't something an innocent person would do, is it?"

Alex gripped her chair and swallowed. She looked to Judge Parker who glared at her over his half-moon glasses. 

"Answer the question."

So Alex told the truth. "I was scared."

"What did you have to be scared of if you were innocent?" asked Mr. Michaels.

She looked at him. "Scared of what would happen. Scared I'd end up..." she glanced at the judge. "Here."

Mr. Michaels turned to the jury. "Isn't it funny how we often end up damning ourselves when we try to avoid the one thing that might damn us?" He looked back to Alex with a smirk. "So you ran away... out of? Fear?"

Alex caught on. She looked at Mr. North sitting behind the bar. "Like a fast Thoroughbred," she said, "I was born to run." She looked back to Mr. Michaels. "It seems I'm always running somewhere. I feared for my friends' lives, feared what would happen if I didn't stop that woman. She was going to kill us. I couldn't let her do that. Not to them. Not to anyone."

Mr. Michaels folded his hands behind his back and paced. "Fear often gets the best of us, doesn't it? It forces us to do things we're not always prepared for. Or it can freeze us to the spot. What about you, Miss Anderson? What did fear do to you that morning?" He paused and squinted at her. "What did you fear?"

Alex stared at the jury. "I feared for my life."

Mr. Michaels turned to the jury as well. "You feared for your life, and that of your friends'. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

Mr. Michaels looked to the judge. "Your Honor, I have no further questions for Alexandra. The defense rests." He moved to take his seat, but paused to gaze over his shoulder at the judge. "In light of Alexandra's testimony, my client clearly acted in self defense, and in the defense of others. She's not guilty of murder."

After the prosecutor restated to the jury why he thought Alex was a murderer, Judge Parker removed his glasses and rubbed the hollow above the bridge of his nose. "The jury will now adjourn to discuss the case." He rose and faced them. "Please remember that the jury must reach a unanimous decision beyond a reasonable doubt."

The jury filed out like a cloud of specters, silent and unflinching. They called for more time. Twice. Finally they re-entered the courtroom, and a woman among them stood as their foreman.

"Has the jury reached a decision?" asked Judge Parker.

"Yes, Your Honor. We the jury of the court find the defendant..."