Vanished || l.h. au

thirty three

A/N: I know hearings typically take place like 3 months after the conviction but we aint got time for that. Also, I don't really know the format of hearings since I don't really care for political stuff so let's just pretend this is how it goes. Reinventing law right here.

 

Beth.

 

“All rise.” This was it.  I watched as the sea of strangers in the courtroom stood to their feet, my own following suit. The nerves started kicking in as I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that this was my own hearing, and not just me looking in on someone else’s.

I looked behind me into the audience, catching my parents’ gaze. They gave me soft, reassuring smiles which helped ease the anxiety I was feeling within.

My parents’ reaction to me being in jail wasn’t the one you would typically expect. They didn’t yell at me, or ask me “what the hell was I thinking?” or “what are you doing with your life?”. They visited like normal visitors and sat me down, asking me what happened. I told them I was being framed, and they believed me which I am grateful for since no one else seems to. For that, they hired me a well-known attorney in hopes he could get me out of this mess. I turned to him, watching as he gazed at the judge with an expression that just illustrated how used to this process he was. It gave me confidence.

My mind tuned out the rest of the formal lines that were being said, instead focusing on not having a panic attack in the middle of the courtroom.

“Your Honor, my client is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the evidence supplied is allegedly false. Miss Laude was a victim of this case, not the perpetrator.” My attorney announced, keeping his eyes trained on the judge.

“And what evidence do you have to support this claim?” the judge replied.

“My client was with the murdered victim, Luke Hemmings, the night he went missing. The pair were seen at the local diner together, and leaving as well, both unharmed. Looking at the security footage from that night, a man is spotted following the pair for an unusual amount of time, even following the pair on routes that are not of popular course.” He looked down at his file, containing the evidence that he was proclaiming. “At 19:54, the pair were captured looking back at the man before breaking off into a sprint, the man following closely after before the footage is cut off.” He concluded, looking over to the sheriff, who was representing the town.

“Do you have any objections to this evidence, Sheriff Brooks?” the judge asked, directing her gaze towards the sheriff. He straightened out his white business shirt, the only part of his uniform with him being the sheriff badge.

“There was a glitch in the system that night due to updates. The security footage across the town was cut off temporarily at 20:00.” He responded, hand coursing through his black, dyed hair. “We have no evidence to show that Miss Laude did not murder Mr. Hemmings shortly afterwards.”

The judge turned her gaze to me, catching me off guard as I had expected most of the hearing to be between the attorney, the judge, and Sheriff Brooks.

“Miss Laude, you claim that it was this man who was following you and Mr. Hemmings that committed the crime?” she questioned, looking down at the report that laid before her.

“Yes, Your Honor.” I responded, remembering to attach the title to the end of my sentence. Now would not be the time to be informal.

“And you also stated that you are aware of the identity of this man, correct?”