50 Words For Murder

chapter 19

"I would like to call Detective Brooks to the stand." said Avery.

"What is he doing?" whispered Eleanor.
"Exposing the affair, of course," said Harry. "I really hope he's got something good."

"Detective," said Avery. "According to my clients here, Ms. Cowell had her phone present with her at the time of murder."

Zayn raised his eyebrows. What was he getting at?

"But on the official report given by your detectives, there isn't even the slightest mention of her cellphone," said Avery. "Did you find it?"

Detective Brooks twitched. She looked calm but Zayn noticed beads of sweat on her forehead and hands.

"We searched the entire area for all the evidence we could find," explained Brooks. "And then we cleared the area."

"But my question was regarding the cellphone," said Avery. "It is confirmed that Ms. Cowell had her phone with her but it was never found. Or at least that's what the report says. My question is whether you found it or not."

Liam whispered into Eleanor's ear. "You told him about the phone, didn't you? The same thing you told me at the cafe."
Liam had a small flashback of what she said to him during their encounter.
"Oh and one more thing," said Eleanor. "CC called me the night she was murdered. The time was close to the time she died. But the police didn't find her phone on the crime scene."
Eleanor just smirked.

"I'm going to need an answer, Detective," said Avery.

"Yes," said Detective Brooks. "I found it on the crime scene but I disposed it because I didn't find any evidence on it."

The crowd gasped.

"So you not only withheld evidence but also disposed it without mentioning it in the report," said Avery. "Detective, did you know that the average population of the youth spends most of the time on their phones and it is believed that almost all of their lifestyle can be recorded on it?"

Detective Brooks remained silent. Zayn grinned. Good one, Stark. he thought.

"Withholding of evidence is a serious crime, especially for a detective," said Judge Wally. "Any more questions, Mr. Stark?"

"None, Your Honour."

"Ms. Perkins?"

"Detective, I believe you came to me a few days ago with a particular video of Mr.Horan the other day," said Perkins. "And you said his behavior disturbed you deeply. Can the video be shown to us?"

"What video?" muttered Harry. An assistant stepped forward and played a CD.

The video zoomed in on Niall, laughing with a drink in his hand. Another hand had a stick.
"Go on, Niall!" said a voice, clearly Liam's.

"This is from Liam's birthday," said Harry in realization.

Zayn watched the video and closed his eyes. He knew what was coming next.

"Alright!" slurred Niall in the video. "I'm gonna beat'chu up, ya little pig!"
He picked up the stick and began beating the piñata, a stuffed pig, with all his might. He didn't stop until the inner contents spilled out and he kept laughing manically.
The video paused.

"Where the hell did she get the video from?" demanded Liam.

"Facebook," muttered Harry. "Louis uploaded it, remember?"

"If Mr. Horan can be this insensitive to a stuffed pig which was non-living, you can only imagine the tendencies he would have towards other people," said Perkins. "I know a piñata is a toy but what interests me is Mr. Horan's behavior."

Harry noticed Niall's head in his hands. He wondered if things would really end well.