The Trial - part 3 (finale)

Suddenly, the large doors slam open. The crowd gasped and jumped at the sudden intrusion. A caramel man, wearing a deep blue suit, jogged down the aisle. His gray hair bounced and swayed with each step the stranger took. He waved a small disk in his hands.

“Stop the trial!!” He exclaimed. “There is new evidence exonerating Mr. Shay!” The intruder claimed. Mr. Shay perked up, confused by the announcement.

Voices rose with shock, questioning the disk, the person, and the circumstances of revealing this evidence. The man finally reached the high bench. The judge looked down at the man with contempt. She hesitated to address the man or even acknowledge this “evidence” that has appeared. She just stared at the man.

He looked up. “Please Your Honor. You don’t want to send an innocent man to his death.” The stranger whispered.

The judge shifted her eyes from left to right and then faced the room. “In the light of this new evidence, I will allow the disk to play its content.” The audience shifted in their chairs. Their excitement was nothing if not apparent. Mr. Shay looked at the intruder in astonishment and confusion. He had never seen this man in his whole life. The man turned around and gave a slight wink at Mr. Shay. Gale further frowned at his newly found savior.

A monitor was rolled out to the front of the courtroom. The stranger inserted the disk and the whole room awaited for whatever was stored.

The video started out with a male teenager setting up the camera. He pointed the camera right at the river bank. The camera stabilized on a girl standing next to the river, tossing rocks into the moving water. Each stone doesn’t last more than two skips before sinking into the wet unknown. The boy joined the girl and told her the camera was ready. She jogged off screen and music started to play. She repositioned herself next to the boy. They counted off and started some synchronized dance.

“Let me just move forward towards the part of interest.” The stranger suggested.

Both figures speedily rehearsed their performance. No sound could be heard, but movements could clearly be seen. The sky transitioned from a bright shine to a muted balck. Suddenly, they looked over their shoulders with piqued interest. The stranger hurriedly resumed the disk at normal speed. The timing on the clock stated 10:32 pm. A loud pop could be heard off screen. Instantly, the girl ducked down in response. Both figures yelped in unison. Without thinking, the boy held her hand and dragged her away from the river bank, leaving the camera behind. Now, only darkness covered the screen with some light peeking through from behind the camera. Once the time changed to 10:33 pm, a large body floated into the screen. He was cloaked from head to toe and carried something in his arms. The figure could not be discerned, but the contents in his arms were. It was Odette’s body. Her long black hair hung over the sides of his arms. Her pink dress contrasted dramatically against the dark figure. Blood stains can already be seen from the film. The figure lowered himself and delicately placed Odette at the edge of the river bank. He smoothed out her hair out of her eyes. He briefly laid his hand on top of her head and seemed to murmur something to her. However, whatever he said was lost among the sounds of waves and trees bustling around. He shifted and reached into his long coat. He pulled out a knife and placed it neatly next to the child. He patted the knife and raised himself. He took one long look at his display and drifted off.

Odette’s body laid there, unmoved and untouched as the hours passed by. The couple did not yet return to retrieve the camera. No animals traversed about, as if they knew what laid on the ground. The stranger picked up the remote and sped through the last hour of the night. He stopped when the screen displayed 12:01 am. Twigs start to break in the background and soon enough we see a man approach the body. From the dark curls along, anyone could recognize this figure to be Mr. Gale Shay. The audience saw him approach the body and stare for a few moments. Gale breathed heavily and frequently as he looked over the body. He positioned himself over her and attempted to take her pulse. He shifted his hand from her neck to her wrist in hopes to find some faint heartbeat. His breaths started to stagger as he traced her outline with his eyes. He found the knife and grabbed it. He held it up to his eyes as if to understand what this foreign object was doing there. A scream pierced Gale’s trance as the couple approached him. The guy yelled at Gale to remain where he was. Gale looked at the boy with a blank stare, but followed his orders. The girl frantically called the police to come and apprehend Gale. Gale started to defend himself, but the disk abruptly stopped before any noise came out of Gale’s mouth.

The stranger turned off the screen and retrieved the disk. He turned back to the judge with a look of triumph splattered across his face. The judge creased her eyebrows at what she saw. “I request with the decision you make that Mr. Shay be released into my custody,” he snobbishly states as he confidently stares up at her.

Eyes shifted back onto the judge. Silence landed into the courtroom like an anvil onto an unsuspecting coyote. Confused couldn’t even describe the judge. She was dazed, divided, and unsure. Three emotions that could lead to a hasty and unpopular decision. However, what could she do? The video was solid evidence. She could delay the trial. Give herself some time to think. However, that could backfire. Headlines would question how a judge can be so incompetent on making an easy decision. No argument or debate could change the events played on the screen. The intruder crossed his arms and started to tap with his finger. She cleared her throat. There was only one thing she could do. She stood up once again. The camera flashes blinded the room seconds at a time. She prayed for strength as the words left her mouth.

“In light of this new evidence, I decided to exonerate Mr. Shay from the charges of the trial.” A cacophony of gasps, clicks, and murmurs deafened the room. “I order that he is immediately released into the custody of this man right here.” Her voice bellowed out above the noise.

She struck her gavel hard against the wood. Protests started abruptly, spilling anger out into the room. Demands of a retrial were all lost on Mr. Shay, who only heard a strong ringing in his ears. The guards released the cuffs from his hands. The stranger approached Gale and reached out his hand. Dazed and distracted, Gale took his hand and stood up. He followed his savior out of the courtroom. Fists, lenses, spit, and insults all landed onto Gale’s face as he strolled to his freedom. However, nothing fazed Gale. His mind was running amuck. Nothing made sense to Gale: the stranger, the video, or even the verdict.

The only thing Gale knew was that he was guilty. He killed Odette Bonilla. He remembered it all clearly. Her blood beautifully spilled out her body. His amazement at the slow draining of life depicted by her eyes. He smiled softly at the memories. A profanity snapped him out. He frowned at his predicament. He didn’t think he was going to get away with it, even with his innocent plea. He was caught red handed. But, here he is. A free man. A man who deserved nothing more than to be rotting in a prison cell. He stared at the back of his savior's head. Instead, something or, at least, someone has prevented such a fate. The questions here now lie: how and why?