Sincerely, Red

Chapter Twenty Four

He looked as though he was about to reply, with his mouth opening just a fraction and his hands were moving for emphasis. Somehow, his voice caught in his throat and he took a sharp intake of breath instead, because the jurors had left their room. Lucas looked green, as though he was about to be sick, and gripped both sides of his chair. When that didn't work, he took my hand and then David's even though his eyes remained on the jurors.

Everyone held their breath for a few seconds, as the foreperson for the jurors stood up. She swiftly whispered the decision to a man standing close to them, who passed it on to the judge. The judge then sat upright and looked over at Tim, who had been brought back up for the verdict. There was not a single way in which I could tell what the decision could be; both the jurors and the judge looked completely emotionless and still. No one was going to give it away.

"Mr Carter, please rise," the judge said clearly.

Tim shakily stood up, turning his head from the gallery to the jurors and back again. In that moment, he looked completely human and afraid. His jaw was shaking slightly, so I presumed his teeth were chattering. Seconds later, a few tears slipped out of his eyes and slid down his face, which led to him swearing loudly. Someone scolded him and he stilled, almost robotically.

When the word guilty hit the room, he fell to his knees and began to sob uncontrollably. From all around me, I could hear the people in the gallery cheering and members of the prosecution making snide comments. Claire remained impassive and David was completely still, whilst Lucas was in the middle of an awkward hug with both Claire and I. He too was crying and shaking, as everyone continued to cheer.

The judge banged his gavel and continued when the noise had reduced. "Laney Carter was a joy to her parents, her brother - who is in the gallery today - and to her friends," he said. "She was a lovely, ambitious young girl who had an incredible amount to offer the world, as did her father and her mother. You snatched away all of those possibilities and showed no remorse for your actions. You repeatedly let the same demons that led you to kill your very own brother resurface for your own selfish needs. You have caused unhappiness and depression amongst those who cared for the Carters, and I hope that they will take from this verdict today a conclusion to their pain and suffering."

The reporters greedily wrote everything down on to their tablets, before stepping out of the room. I was sure that they were going out to send off the information to their managers. There was no doubt in my mind that the verdict, and the judge's words, would be online within the next hour. The papers would probably publish it within the week as well.

"Calm down, sweetheart," Claire soothed a crying Lucas. "It's all over now. It's all over. He's gone forever and he won't come back. You won't see him again, I promise. It's all over."

"The judge was nice," David said, uselessly.

The laughter and cheering could still be heard around the room, and it hurt my ears. It was too much and I wondered how these people could be so open about their joy. I hated Tim as much as the next person, but Claire had told me beforehand to possess a quiet dignity. Their loudness came as a shock to me.

"Don't be so sure about that, David," Claire muttered. "The law is only here to convince the public that the government is doing something, anything. In this case, Tim really was guilty and the judge said what he said so the press would report it back to the public and the prosecution would be praised." She shook her head when he opened his mouth to protest. "I've seen cases like this, where innocent people have been made guilty, and the judges have done exactly what this one did today. The crimes Tim committed don't matter to them." She continued angrily. "It's the fact that they won again, and they can say they've put away another dangerous person. It's a matter of gaining power through trust. It's nothing more and it's nothing else." She took another breath. "Please don't blindly believe them."

"But you're a lawyer too," he muttered, like a little child. "Does that mean we shouldn't trust you either?"

"You know that saying, lawyers are liars?" she questioned. "Sometimes there's truth in those things. I'll lie if I have to. The only difference here is that I kind of have a conscious, because I'm surrounded by almost stupidly emotional people. Sorry Lucas. Anyway, it's kind of hard to avoid being what I suppose you could call a good person with you lot around."

"You make it sound like being a good person is a bad thing," David said.

She didn't reply, only motioning for us to get out before the press went crazy and the prosecution tried to get a few words in. I felt David's elbow pushing into my back and Lucas' hand holding on to my own. Claire was gripping my shoulders and we were all pushing, trying to get through the door and outside fast enough.

When we finally did, it was a race to the car. Cameras were flashing like crazy and microphones were being shoved into our faces, whilst voices were shouting out questions. Claire swore loudly but smiled when it began to pour with rain and a clap of thunder sounded. I realised that she was happy because we were losing them.

"I really need to go to the gym," she said, getting into the driver's seat. "That was quite a run."