CHAPTER THREE ‘Congratulations’

Amanda and I drove to Phoenix, both of us dressed in expensive black suit. The courtroom was packed when I entered and I wasn't quite astonished by the crowd.

Alfredo, the youngest brother of the deceased Drake Alabaster, sat at the front bench, directly behind the prosecutor's table. 

He was with his support group and he looked astonished to see me when our eyes met. Obviously he didn't expect me at court today. He really thought he could scare me.. he choosed the wrong person to mess with and I intended to show him that.

I glanced briefly at Juror number 4, Anna Swift. She seemed energetic and her body language showed she was interested in the case. 

My client looked troubled as I approached him, “I heard what happened last night and I'm truly sorry for—”

“—We can talk about that later. I hope you remember everything you're supposed to say, like we practiced.”

Jacob nodded, his eyes avoiding mine. He looked as though he were guilty.

“Look Jacob, you need to be confident. Winning this case is all in your hands.” I told. Just then the judge walked in.

The court stood in respect as the judge took his seat and I bowed in greeting.

Afterwards, we were allowed to sit.

“Call your first witness.” Judge Oliver grumbled. Without letting him ruin my confidence, I called out my first witness.

Her last name was Maggots, she was a red head who wore a lot of makeup and a feathery coat. She and my client have a on and off relationship.

Drake Alabaster was found dead at four in the morning. Jacob saw him by 7pm the day before his death and Drake's man reported they had an argument. Afterwards, Jacob left the house but Drake's man claimed not have seen him leave the house.

In Drake's autopsy, he was perfectly alright. No underlying illnesses or stab marks of the sort. The only clue was red marks on his neck. This brought about the consideration that he was strangled to death.

This had nothing to do with my client. By the time Drake was in an uncomfortable position or dying, Jacob was at an hotel with Maggots, having fun.

     Asides from Maggots, I had three more witnesses that could testify to where Jacob was by the time of the incident.

By the time Maggots took the stand and is sworn in, the jurors looked irritated. I didn't understand why. Even though she had a dramatic hairstyle on and loads of makeup, her words should be trusted, afterall, her father was a politician in the white house.

The prosecutor, Frank instantly shot at Maggots, “Well well well, at what time exactly did you meet with Jacob the night before the accident.”

“I—”

“—You were at the hotel, dead drunk weren't you? How could you be so sure of the time Jacob arrived and while you passed out due to alcohol, how are you so sure he didn't leave the hotel.”

Maggots snorted, “That's because Jacob and I went more than six rounds. Even though he was tired at some point I didn't let him sleep because I wasn't satisfied. By the time I was done with the loser, it was five am and my pussy was starting to—”

“Language!” The judge roared, “Attorney Alvah, please warn your witness.”

“Yes, your honor.” I walked to Maggots and explained to her the situation. I told her beforehand that she needed to refrain from cuss words but apparently, it was too hard for her.

So she apologized and rephrased her statement.

I was about to invite my second witness when the prosecutor told the judge that my witness had less credibility because Susan, the housekeeper of the deceased, happened to be in the manor the time murder took place.

The people in the courtroom mumbled amongst themselves as an elderly woman in her fifties, was escorted into the courtroom by security. 

“Attorney..” I heard my client whisper behind me in panic. I nodded at him, reassuring him it was okay. 

Susan took the stand and was sworn in. Afterwards, the prosecutor began to ask questions a bit mildly than he did when he questioned Maggots.

“So what time exactly did you see Mr Jacob in his deceased brother manor?”

“Objection your honor, the question asked to the witness is misleading.” I yelled.

“Objection sustained.”

The prosecutor glared at me but continued, “Let me rephrase that question.  When Mr Jacob was at your boss's manor, did you hear what the both of them were arguing about?”

The housekeeper nodded, her neck stiff.

“They were talking about the properties their late father left them.”

“A-and did they result to fist fight?”

“No. But Mr Drake sent his brother out of the house but I didn't see him leave.”

“You didn't see him leave?”

“No.”

“You see, your honor, the housekeeper that managed the deceased home saw the argument between the two brothers and she didn't see Mr Jacob leave after the argument. It wasn't untill past four am that he left the house. There's a footage that proves my point.”

After the judge allowed it. The footage was shown for everyone to see.

When it was still dark, a man with a black jacket and face cap walked out of the deceased manor quickly, quite suspiciously. 

“Objection your honor, there's no proof that the person in the video is my client. I have a footage of when my client left the deceased house at 7pm.”

I showed the video to the judge. In the video, Jacob was wearing a yellow suit and his face could clearly be seen. He

Entered his car and I paused the video at his car plate number. 

I wrote it down for the judge to see, then I showed the footage of the car driving into the hotel, where Maggots was. And the video of him walking into the hotel, taking the elevator. And when he finally left the hotel at 6am in a silver robe.

The judge could not resist so the footage was shown to everyone. 

My client's location at the time could be vouched for. Couldn't it?

The prosecutor's evidence was cancelled and I finally showed the judge proof that the housekeeper was brought in to give a fake testimony.

“After the deceased was found dead and the police started investigating the case, Susan was the first to flee from the manor, could it be she saw something that made her terrified? In a murder case like this, the housekeeper should be among the first batch of people to be questioned but in Drake's men testimony neither of them mentioned the housekeeper, they all pointed fingers at my client. We need to get down to the bottom of this. Permission to question the housekeeper, your honour?”

The judge sighed and scratched his neck before waving me off. “Granted.”

I walked over to the witness and asked while looking her dead in the eye, “How did you find out Mr Drake was dead?”

“I-i heard screaming.”

“Did you go to the crime scene afterwards?”

While breaking eye contact she said, “No.”

“Where did you go afterwards?”

“I-i got a call that my grandson was sick so i hurried out of the house first.”

“What time did you get a call?”

“Four in the morning.”

“By four in the morning, you were the first to arrive Mr Drake's bedroom after his death. A picture was taken by one of Drake's buddies when he entered the room. He took a photo and your legs were in the background, hiding behind a curtain. And today, you're wearing the same slippers.”

The crowd gasps and whispered amongst themselves.

I showed the house keeper the photo and the judge as well. Then I continued, “What were you doing at the deceased room after he died. Did you kill him?”

Suddenly, the housekeeper bursted into tears. I smirked. 

“Objection your honor! My witness is being tricked to say what she has no clue about.” The prosecutor yelled.

“Objection overruled.”

“Susan, you have to tell the truth. Else you could be charged for murder right here and you wouldn't be able to care for your grandson.” I whispered to Susan, “You have to tell the truth not only your sake but your grandson's.”

Susan carried on crying but then she wiped her tears.

“Fine.. I'll tell the truth!”

“When it was around three am in the morning, I had a bad stomach ache so I used the bathroom in my room but then I-i heard a noise while I was dropping a number two. So I quickly finished up and went outside to see maybe the boss hurt himself again while drinking, he tends to hurt himself when he's drunk so I went to check. When I got there, I saw a man with dark clothes and a cap on leaving the room. I was in shock so I didn't say anything, I entered the boss's room and found him lying on his bed peacefully. I didn't think he was dead at the time, so I-i hid behind the curtain when I heard someone say that a thief broke into the house. Then one of boss's helper entered the room and called boss's name a few times but after he didn't get a response he panicked and called the others.”

“Is it true you received a call that your grandson was sick?”

“I-i was actually threatened with my grandson's life to leave the house. The person who broke in thought I saw his face so..”

The housekeeper's words is taken into account and my other witnesses were allowed to give their statements regarding my client's location.

Afterwards, the judge gives an hour break, promising to be back with a verdict. 

Meanwhile, I eat random courtfood consisting of two sandwiches and a juice box. If not for hunger, i wouldn't have ate. My client is posh, he only sipped from his juice box and said he'll eat once the trial is over.

An hour later, Judge Oliver walks in to give his verdict.

“Jacob Santiago Alabaster..”

At that moment..

My heart raced,

The clock stopped ticking.

But I kept as still as possible.

“You're not guilty.”

That was all it took for me to calm down. Jacob and his support group cheered while the antagonists sneered.

After the paperwork was signed, I left the court with Amanda who was waiting for me at the side door. We passed the journalists and media who tried to get us answer questions. Thankfully, Amanda is strong so we easily get them to stay away from us. 

As we approached Amanda's car, I heard a familiar voice.

“Attorney Alvah, if you could just wait for a little while I'm sorry about what you had to go through because of my brother I'll make sure to reward you really handsomely—”

“—You can discuss about the payment with my secretary, Mr Jacob Santiago. Congratulations on being a free man.”