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Staying home from school helped me a few ways. One, it have me a break from all the crap I have to deal with. Two, I could relax for once. And three, I an write more fanfiction for my willing audience.
Comments, reactions, you know the drill.
The Death of Manfred Von KarmaChapter Nine
Miles and Franziska just sat motionless in their seats. Manfred’s words rang loudly within the silent hospital room. The story chilled their spines, not only because of the gruesome fate of Victoria, but the two could only imagine how the nightmare plagued Manfred for so many years. Miles, once again knowing what had to be said, asked in a shaky tone, “What happened next, Manfred?” The elder Von Karma sighed heavily, recalling the painful memory. “The next day, he was arrested. After reporting his description to the police, they caught the thug that murdered my sister. I identified him in a line up. After that, a trail was set.” Franziska made an interruption out of nerves and terror. “Did something happen at the trial, Papa?” Manfred turned to his daughter, and responded gravely, “Oh Yes. Something happened at that trial.”
“The trial went on for only one day.”
Manfred was in the prosecution’s waiting room. It was a few minutes before the trial, and Manfred was extremely nervous. Angelica was not allowed in the room, something Manfred wasn’t too keen about, but he knew how procedure should be. In the room, a tall, plainly dressed man paced back and forth, reading the case file one more time. His name was Jerry McCoy, the prosecuting attorney in this case. He was an honest man, simply trying to make a living serving the lay. Although he was short in stature and nearly 50 years old, he had an impressive record and a sharp mind. He looked up from his file and looked at his client. In a reassuring tone, he stated, “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” Manfred looked towards the grayed attorney, and questioned, “How do you know?” McCoy thought for a moment, and turned to Manfred. “I don’t. But if I worried, it would only make things worse, right?” He sat down next to his nervous client. “Listen, you’re not the only witness. There were some pedestrians who saw the men, doing exactly what you said they were doing. There is evidence of your kidnapping, and other details.” Jerry smiled some.
“Everything is perfect.”
Manfred took security in that word. Perfect. As long as he told the truth, everything would work out perfectly. Manfred was less nervous, and finally smiled. McCoy got up, and opened the door. It was time.
The judge banged his gavel to quiet the crowd. With a powerful voice, he announced, “This court will now come to order for the trail of State vs. Malloy. Is the defense prepared, Mr. Damon?” The defense attorney was Larry Damon, notorious for many reasons. A genius of the courtroom, he could convince a jury that night was day and the sky was green. “The defense is prepared, your honor.” He said in a low, but confident tone.” The judge acknowledged, and asked, “Is the prosecution prepared, Mr. McCoy?” Jerry nodded and responded, “Yes, your honor.” The judge, always happy to see things are moving swimmingly, followed up. “Alright, then. The prosecution will give their opening statement to this court.” McCoy straightened up, and projected for the whole courtroom to hear. Years of being an actor helped in this. “Ladies and gentlemen of the court, the prosecution will prove today that, beyond all reasonable doubt, that Mr. Malloy is guilty of the heinous crimes against my client’s sister, Victoria Von Karma.” McCoy nodded to the judge with his right hand underneath his chin, a simple, yet signature move of his. “Clear and to the point, as always, Mr. McCoy.” The judge banged his gavel. “The prosecution will call their first witness.”
The deliberations took hours. Three witnesses came up, telling the same tale of a man that looked like the defendant laughing his way out of an alley, bragging about what he did to Victoria. Finally, Manfred took the stand, and delivered his terrible story. Everyone in that courtroom wanted Malloy to be found guilty. But, during the whole trial, Damon rarely said a word. He simply verified details. McCoy was cocky, and thought that the trial was his. Manfred, however, had a bad feeling about Damon’s actions. It was almost if it was… intentional. It was almost as if he was waiting to do something. Finally, after Manfred stepped down, the judge was wide eyed. “Well now… I believe everything is clear to us. The testimonies are solid, and it appears that there is no room for doubt.” Manfred was somewhat relieved. It would be all over now. The judge raised his gavel. “The court finds Mr. Malloy…”
“OBJECTION!”
The whole courtroom turned to the defense’s stand, to see Mr. Damon extending his right arm towards the judge. “Wait one moment, your honor.” Mr. Damon said in a maleficent tone. Manfred thought, “Oh no.” Larry stood, hands on hips, extremely pleased with himself, and announced, “I think Mr. Malloy has something to say.” The judge sat wide-eyed and answered, “Well… I don’t see why we can’t.” Jerry, desperate, shouted, “Objection!” Sweating bullets, he stood his ground. “Mr. Damon was supposed to speak for Mr. Malloy!” “Objection!” Larry responded, in which he almost chuckled, highly amused with himself. “There are some things only the defendant can attest to.” The judge nodded in agreement. “I see. The court will allow a statement from Mr. Malloy.” McCoy grinded his teeth a bit beneath his lips. He did not see this move coming.
Mr. Malloy took the stand. His head was slinking, acting like a depressed dog. Damon started questioning. “Mr. Malloy. In these proceedings, you have been accused of rape and murder. Are these charges accurate?” Malloy looked up towards the judge, and plainly said, “No. I go to that alleyway dump off my garbage. I didn’t even see Mr. Von Karma or the victim.” Damon looked across to McCoy. “The defense would like to ask the prosecution about Mr. Malloy’s motive.” Jerry was a little taken back, but answered powerfully, ”The motive for Mr. Malloy is that he is clearly a part of the gang that my client, Mr. Von Karma, had put their leader to a life sentence, and killed the victim as revenge.” Larry smirked. “Correction. WAS part of a gang. There is no evidence that currently links Mr. Malloy to the gang today.” The courtroom murmured, which the judge banged his gavel for order. Not waiting for the noise to die down, Jerry shouted, “Objection! The timeframe of the crime and the markings on Mr. Malloy’s face are too coincidental!” Damon snapped back. “Objection! That’s all it is! A coincidence!” The crowd got louder. The judge shouted powerfully, without the aid of his gavel “Order in my courtroom!” The crowd became dead silent. The judged closed his eyes in concentration. He opened them, and began to address the court. “The defense has a point, Mr. McCoy. All this time, there have been only coincidental circumstances. You have yet to present hard evidence.” Jerry answered, “But, your honor! My client saw the defendant face-to-face!” Before the judge could respond, Larry chimed in. “The crime happened in a dark alleyway. With no clear lights, there is no way he could positively identify my client.” McCoy shot back, “The moonlight was enough to get a clear look at the defendant!” to which Larry countered, “With the autopsy report messed up by the heavy rain that evening, there was no accurate time of death, THEREFORE, it could have been raining heavily at the time of the crime, thus obscuring Mr. Von Karma’s view!” Jerry retaliated hard. If he gave up on his attack, the case was over. “Are you implying that Mr. Von Karma’s testimony was inaccurate?” Larry, instead of shooting back, smiled ear to ear, and leaned back where he stood. Mr. McCoy fell right into his perfectly laid trap.
“He is clearly lying, and for a good reason too.” The crowd erupted in noise, but Manfred sat in silence, watching the “perfect” prosecution being per verbally shot down before them. Larry continued after the judge quite the court with his ringing gavel. “In the gang rings, my client was to be in command after their leader was nixed. But, shortly before Mr. Von Karma put the leader away, he left the gang to get a better life. Mr. Von Karma, fearing that the gang would retaliate, decided to use his sister’s murder as a vehicle to carry out final vengeance against the gang itself.” He looked at Manfred at the prosecution’s table, and said with a poison in his breath, “A noble cause, but to use your sister’s death? You should be ashamed.” Manfred stood in anger. “You monster! How dare you accuse me…” but before he could finish, the judge interrupted, “Mr. Von Karma! You will settle down, or I will hold you contempt of court! Do I make my self absolutely clear?!” Manfred sank back down, broken, defeated. “Crystal, your honor.” The judge turned back to McCoy. “Now, can the prosecution refute this claim, or is there a distinct possibility that Mr. Malloy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time?” McCoy, feeling the weight of his defeat, whimpered, “Yes, it is a possibility.” The crowd murmured once more. The judge banged his gavel.
“I will now express my thoughts on the matter at hand. The defense has adequately told the court the distinct possibility that the defendant, Mr. Malloy, did not commit the crime. The prosecution failed to present solid evidence, and there is the possibility of flawed testimony. Considering the circumstances, I do not see any reason for this trial to go on.” Manfred wanted to scream something, anything. Something to pin the blame on Mr. Malloy. But, it was the truth. There was no more evidence, no more testimony. There was nothing that could be done. Under his breath, he whispered, “Victoria… I’m so sorry…” he judge announced, “The court finds Mr. Malloy NOT GUILTY.” The judge raised his gavel high, and said, ‘Court is adjourned.”
“The ringing of the gavel striking the judge’s table was deafening to me. That sound would begin my decent into madness. In that moment, ‘Perfect’ was no longer a word. It became the virus that infected my very being.”