The next morning found Rei sitting on her balcony in her crimson bathrobe with a cup of steaming coffee, emanating its warmth. The crisp morning air gave Rei the awareness she needed to begin her second day in court. Rei smiled into her cup remembering yesterday. It had been a good day, not only was she able to formulate a game plan, but she had made some new friends as well. Everything was going well.
She went back inside, checking on Serena, who slept in her guestroom. It had been an unfamiliar gesture for Rei to invite her client to stay, but she could sense the girl’s reluctance to leave. Rei knew she didn’t want to be alone and spewed out the words before she could think, but hadn’t regretted it.
Rei and Serena had shared a deep and meaningful that had given her plenty of ideas for how to tackle the case. Rei admired the girl, understanding what she had gone through. Perhaps this divorce was a good idea after all…not that Rei was giving up or anything.
Rei woke Serena and then mentally prepped for court. J.D. was no laughing matter, he was trying to pass off his client’s lies as truth to the court and almost succeeding -- the despicable snake! Rei ignored the fact that if her client were guilty, she would be doing much the same thing. She began to hope the plan they’d set out on the whiteboard yesterday would be sufficient.
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“All rise for Judge Thromberg,” the bailiff shouted. The court rose, as Rei ignored the lewd, confident look J.D. kept casting on her. She reviewed the case in her head piecing together everything Serena had told her the night before. She would be ready.
The judge entered the courtroom and cast J. D. a look of indifference. “Are you ready for your next witness, J.D.?”
“We are, Your Honor,” he replied, his bright eyes moving towards the judge. “We call Charles Zoicite to the stand.”
Rei looked on as a man walk along the aisle with wavy blonde hair barely contained in a ponytail, but found herself immediately distracted by the pair of handsome blue eyes and dark hair -- Darien had come! She smiled and gave a little wave. He waved back, but there was something a little odd about his smile. Rei dismissed her reaction and turned her attention back to the court. She always performed better when he was there to support her.
“Mr. Zoicite, I was wondering if you could state your relationship to the Alexanders for the court,” J.D. stated confidently, leaning against the rail of the podium in his sharp striped suit.
“I am a family friend. I’ve known them both since they moved in across the street about two years ago,” he stated.
“Thank you, so what can you tell us about the Alexanders.”
“Well, they were good neighbors. Seiya was a great football, drinking buddy and Serena really seemed to like him, at first.”
“At first -- what can you tell us about their relationship?”
“Just that it seemed to get worse. Everyone started seeing a lot less of Serena and a lot more of Seiya and his friends. I still saw her from time to time. They had fights more frequently and she was always the one to run out of the house.”
“Where would she go?”
“I think I saw her in the neighborhood playground once, I don’t really follow her,” Zoicite said coolly, leaning back in his chair. “I have my own stuff to worry about, you know?”
“Of course. Mr. Zoicite, did Serena have any visitors?” J.D. asked, looking at his fingernails.
“A few, she had several really cute girls who came to visit her. They were all babes! Oh, there was this one girl who was angelic with perfect blue hair and…”
“Ahem,” J.D. looked at the man with stern eyes.
Wait a minute! Rei thought, that looks suspicious, have they been practicing this? Rei paid more attention, there was something weird going on here.
“Sorry,” Zoicite rubbed the back of his head and blushed. “Anyway, she had girlfriends and two men. One, a blonde guy who owns the arcade downtown, Andrew I think his name is. The other one I didn’t recognize.”
“Thank you, that is all,” J.D. winked at Rei and sat down.
Rei brushed off his arrogant gesture with a look of contempt and allowed her determination to shine through. Deciding to have a little fun with this witness for Darien’s benefit, Rei applied a little extra lipstick, readjusted her hair, and assumed a more coquettish disposition.
Rei took her sweet time walking to the podium, that’s right, look at me, and don’t concentrate on what you discussed with J.D.
“Can you remind me one more time how long you’ve known the Alexanders,” Rei asked sweetly.
“Uh…” Zoicite’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, as he stared at the hot, raven-haired lawyer in her stylish grey suit, paying particular attention to her short, tight-fitting skirt.
“Do you not remember, Mr. Zoicite?” Rei asked appealingly.
“No.. I do. It was..uh, about two,” Zoicite swallowed, “years ago.”
“And you said Serena had visitors right?”
“Yeah,” he gulped.
“Can you tell me about those visitors?” Rei asked, pacing back and forth slowly, grateful she decided on pumps today. It gave her some semblance of self-possession.
“Which…which ones?” Zoicite stuttered.
“Tell me about the men,” Rei asked, missing the looks exchanged by J.D. and Zoicite.
“Andrew, he’s a great guy, loves kids, only talked to him twice though. The other one had short white hair, you would know him when he walked into a room. His visits started for Seiya, I think. He was, like, his boss or something.”
“What about his visits?” Rei suddenly became more serious, pondering the mystery man’s identity. “How often did he come?”
“He started visiting more often and I wouldn’t have dreamed of anything suspicious until I started noticing he would visit when Seiya was at work or on trips. I even saw his car there in the middle of the night. It looked like she was having an affair to me,” Rei looked up sharply at J.D. and back to Zoicite each sharing the same cocky smile. Her heart thudded in her chest. He had uttered the dreaded ‘affair’ word and she had caused it! Had she been set up? She wondered enraged.
“Do you know what happened during those visits?” Rei winced, dumb question!
“No, but they were pretty shady to me.” Zoicite smiled. Oh you dumb girl, Rei chided herself. Get out of this hole!
“Did you ever have any cause to believe Serena was cheating on Mr. Alexander other than these visits? Like, did you ever see her with this man outside the house?”
“Well… no. But like I said, I’m not a very nosey neighbor.”
“Yes,” Rei said softly, remaining silent for several moments, trying to process the information and connect the loose ends.
“Are there any further questions?” the Judge looked expectantly at Rei.
“Just one, did you ever meet this mysterious visitor?”
“Huh?” Zoicite looked taken aback. “Well…yes, once.”
“When?”
“At dinner. Serena made lasagna for several of Seiya’s friends, I was there and so was he.”
“What did you think of this stranger?” J.D. frowned at this question, but knew better than to oppose it.
“Why I don’t know. He seemed laid back, but very determined. He seemed to be very much in control and always the center of attention. But…” Zoicite quickly shut his mouth.
“But what?” Rei studied the man as he tried to remember. He looked sincere, but Rei wasn’t so sure.
“I always thought something was off about the guy, you know? Like he was hiding something,”
Rei considered this for a moment, “Yeah…” She sighed. It wasn’t enough of an answer to sway the jury in her favor, but it was a lead.
“That’s all,” Rei said dismissively, sitting down. It would be hard to recover from that trap! Rei looked at Serena beside her, her head bowed -- eyes shut. The girl looked troubled, as if she was remembering something painful. Rei put her hand on her wrist.
“Should I ask for a recess?” she whispered. Serena looked up at Rei with tear-filled eyes and shook her head. Rei softened immediately, remembering the horrible things Serena and her friends had told her. She couldn’t wait to pull her ace out of her sleeve.
“Next witness,” Judge Thromberg demanded.
J.D. stood silently a moment, then with his god-like smile said confidently, “We call Thomas Diamond to the stand.” Rei held her breath, this was J.D.’s ace, if she could survive this; she might win this case.
The doors opened dramatically at the back of the courtroom and out stepped a strong, confident, attractive white-haired man. He wore a white jacket with beautiful silver embroidery, which made his white hair stand out. He had chiseled features that even Michelangelo would have trouble reproducing, with a pair of shocking electric blue eyes that made Rei’s heart skip a beat. His presence rivaled that of Setsuna’s, which was no small feat. He had a regal manner, which made everything he did seem important. All eyes were fixed on him as he sauntered along the isle and gracefully through the gate.
J.D. shook hands with the man as he took the stand and exchanged a few polite greetings. The contrast between the two men was startling and gave Rei an excuse to stare. Serena shuddered quietly by her side. Rei now understood why she would be coupled with this man. It was only someone of her unique combination of beauty, strength and fragility that could match him.
Diamond took his oath, as a king would accept his crown. Rei did not envy J.D. the task of questioning the man, nor did she look forward to her own cross-examination.
“Could you please state your name, profession, and relation to my client for the court?” J.D. began loudly.
“Thomas Diamond, CEO of the Hiatoki Goods and Trade Corporation. I am Seiya Alexander’s boss and I have an intimate relationship with Ms. Serena Alexander.”
“Thank you. Your Honor, I would like to submit these three photos as evidence of the affair.” J.D. switched on a projection screen where he showed the jury several black and white grainy photos of a laughing couple seated at a table in a restaurant as well as one where the man’s arm rested on the woman’s delicate shoulders, walking out of a Café. The woman was unmistakably Serena, as her characteristic hairstyle was hard to duplicate.
“Mr. Diamond, Is this you in these photographs?”
“Yes,” he replied confidently.
“What were you doing with Serena Alexander?”
“It was a Café we frequented on one of our many excursions,” he said casually.
“Excursions?”
“Yes, we met at several rendezvous points to discuss and conduct our relationship.”
“Can you tell us how long your relationship lasted?”
“I BEG your pardon?” Diamond declared, appalled. “As soon as this nasty court affair is done, Serena will be moving to my private estate,” he looked over J.D.’s head at Serena and she began to squirm, obviously feeling uncomfortable. Rei leaned back in her seat, intentionally giving the jury a full view of Serena’s expression. With any luck, they would recognize Serena’s body language. She obviously didn’t like the guy.
J.D. cleared his throat a little awkwardly, “My apologies. How long ago did your relationship start?” J.D. amended.
“Almost a month ago,” Diamond stated simply.
“When did you and Serena meet?”
“We met almost a month ago, at the Alexander’s dinner party. She was serving the meal and she was such a beautiful girl. I’d never seen the like.”
“When did the relationship begin?”
“It took me several days to try to clear her out of my head, but she didn’t go away. So I visited her when I knew her… Seiya would be at work and when she would be off work.”
“Where did Serena work?”
“She started working at a local strip club about a week after I met her.”
“A strip club? That doesn’t seem very innocent or responsible.”
“Was that a question?” Diamond’s eyebrow lifted and J.D. blushed.
“I apologize. Did you ever watch her at work?”
“Are you kidding? She was the star of the place,” Diamond said, disgusted. “I did go, though, I couldn’t help myself. Who wouldn’t?”
“Did you consummate the relationship?”
“It’s a shame really. I didn’t want to go too fast. So at first, Seiya would not allow it, regardless of the various offers I made them both,”
“You made them offers?” J.D. asked in disbelief.
“Not illegal, of course -- was just wondering, many couples are into threesomes.”
The courtroom plunged into silence, J.D. was the first to recover, “Yes, so they both refused a threesome from you. Why did you continue to pursue Serena?”
“Pursue her? Because she was interested,” Diamond looked at J.D. like he was an idiot.
“Yes,” J.D.’s voice squeaked a little. “Well, yes, anyway. Can you tell me how Seiya discovered your relationship?”
“Gladly. He walked in on us trying to complete our relationship.” Diamond’s upper lip curled slightly, in a haughty expression aimed at Seiya.
“Please be specific, Mr. Diamond.”
“He came home early from work and caught me with my hand under Serena’s shirt and my pants off. Is that specific enough?”
J.D. nodded and sat back down, looking a little relieved.
Rei couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t all-bad if he could do that to J.D. She approached the stand, enjoying the sound of her heels clacking on the courtroom floor. She didn’t pull any tricks with him, he was too dangerous, too volatile.
“Mr. Diamond, why Serena? Why choose my married client over all the other women in this city?”
Diamond’s lips curled up to reveal a genuine, charming smile. “That is an excellent question. I chose her because from the moment I saw her, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. She is as beautiful as an angel is. But more than that, she is beautiful inside. She put up with her chump of a husband, who never deserved her. She was always kind and giving, even with those who don’t deserve it. She is my equal, and the only one I want,” he finished his statement and the courtroom fell silent once again. Diamond smiled again..
Rei knew Diamond had melted the hearts of almost every woman present, bar two. Rei exchanged sarcastic glances with Serena. What a load of bull!
“But she was married,” Rei pointed out.
“Indeed, but she shouldn’t have been. Any idiot could have seen how badly he treated her. He didn’t know what he had! It was quite easy to sneak past him.”
“Sneak past him?”
“Yeah, I visited Serena early in the relationship when Seiya was still home. He was too easy to slip by when he was drunk and watching porn…”
“WHAT?” Seiya exclaimed and jumped to his feet, momentarily forgetting his sad guise.
“Quiet! Order in the court,” the green-haired judge slammed her gavel loudly. “Resume your seat, Mr. Alexander.”
Seiya sat down discontentedly and the courtroom slowly calmed.
“Mr. Diamond,” Rei began, “Please continue.”
“Thank you. As I was saying, Seiya was too drunk and distracted, watching porn that he wasn’t a problem. It was that dratted butler of hers.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Diamond, but why would someone, who was married to a star stripper need to watch porn?” Rei inquired.
“That’s the question isn’t it? I wish I knew, but all I can say is that Seiya obviously never appreciated her.” Seiya cast daggers at Diamond, but Diamond ignored him.
“Can you tell me a bit more about the compromising situation and how it elevated to that? After all, didn’t you say that you hadn’t consummated your relationship?”
“We hadn’t. But I wanted to, and things led on from there.”
“Things?”
“For goodness sake, woman, do I have to spell it out for you, are you people really that innocent?” Diamond put his hand over his chest delicately.
“I think we understand, Mr. Diamond,” Thromberg interrupted Rei, glaring at her.
Rei ignored her, determined to press on. “One more question, have you seen any bruises or injuries on Serena’s body?”
“Not really,” Diamond said, unconcerned. “But I didn’t really get a chance to look.”
“That will be all,” Rei said, wishing she could throw both he and his ego through the wall. He stepped down and walked with poise past her and out of the courtroom wall.
“I think that is enough for now. I grant a fifteen minute recess,” Setsuna Thromberg pounded her gavel and retreated to her quarters, and the jury proceeded out through a separate door.
Rei looked at J.D. with fire in her eyes, sure somehow he had set that whole situation up. “Just try that again!” Rei challenged when she stopped by J.D.’s desk on her way to her own.
“Sorry,” J.D. shrugged, staring at her through his long blonde lashes. “He’s a difficult witness? I…”
Rei cut him off with a toss of her hair and proceeded to her table, to discover Serena and Darien deep in conversation. They quieted as she approached, but Rei was too agitated to notice.
“What a piece of work,” Rei commented silently to the two people standing at her table. Serena nodded. Rei prepared some of her notes. She was glad Darien was supportive enough to handle her fragile client while she prepared for the most important cross-examination of the day -- Seiya.
Rei flipped through his personal file, something both lawyers had on each witness. The manila folder contained a grossly overdone photo of Seiya sitting on a stool looking out with those haughty eyes in a pair of expensive designer trousers and diamond jewelry that he had so obviously bought with his wife’s money.
His police record revealed nothing much of note, a DUI, a month in juvie hall when he was 16 and caught in possession of marijuana, several speeding tickets, nothing she could use to incriminate him. Under the police record were several bank accounts and cell phone bills, but nothing useful. She happened to glance at Seiya, who was mentally preparing himself for his performance. He was crying and slapping his face and pulling his shirt down. It was really too bad the jury couldn’t see this. Disgusted, Rei shut the folder and waited until the judge returned.
“All rise!” boomed the bailiff, pulling Rei from her musings.
Rei rose. She looked strong and ready as a pitiful looking Seiya raised his right hand. There was she knew, some way to use him to her advantage, she just had to expose him at the right moment.
J.D. began self-assuredly, knowing this was his primary means of winning, “Seiya, can you tell the court about your wife?”
“That’s her, sitting there,” Seiya pointed tearfully. “Isn’t she beautiful?” he said, wistfully.
“She is. You were a lucky man to have married her,” J.D. commented kindly.
“I thought so too, but don’t be deceived, sir. She is a heartbreaker,” Seiya sobbed pathetically.
“Why would you say that?”
Seiya simply shook his head, his eyes already red and bloodshot.
“You must have loved her very much.”
“I did. I really did. She was my whole world. When I first met her, I couldn’t think of anything else. She was a goddess. Until that night…”
“What night?”
“The night I caught my beautiful precious wife with HIM!” Seiya stood and pointed at Diamond sitting in the crowd. The white-haired man showed no remorse and the jury gasped at the accusation.
“Your Honor, I would like to take this moment to submit exhibit B, a picture taken by my client of Serena and Diamond caught in the act!” J.D. handed the picture over to the judge and passed a separate copy to the jury.
Rei had seen this picture before she had taken the case. It featured Diamond’s back, leaning over a very scared-looking Serena without her shirt on. She was wearing a gold bra with glitter all over it, she had one hand crumpling Diamond’s jacket while the other was supporting her weight. But the look in Serena’s eyes had caught Rei’s attention. She looked pained, almost pleading. She hadn’t wanted to be in this situation, but she didn’t know how to get herself out. This had been the deciding factor in taking the case. Girls shouldn’t be forced into these types of situations. Rei turned her attention to Serena, who already knew what was in the picture, her face pale. Rei knew the anguish the picture conveyed held the key, but she also knew it could be interpreted as an admission of guilt.
“Calm down,” Rei held the shaking girl’s hand under the table and whispered in her ear. “It will be okay. We’ll get him tomorrow.”
“What was your reaction when you found your wife this way?” J.D. asked sympathetically.
“I was…horrified!” Seiya began to cry crocodile tears, it looked ridiculous and obviously over acted. “My beautiful wife…”
“I understand this is a difficult time for you, Mr. Alexander, but we need you to go on,” J.D. paused to pat him on the shoulder. “Can you tell us what happened that night in your own words?”
“Well, “ Seiya began, still whimpering, “I had gotten off work early. We fought the night before and I felt guilty about it. I thought I could make it up to her if I brought home a take-away dinner. I had so much fun looking for silver candles to put on our table and other decorations,” Seiya paused to make sure the jury got a good look at his glistening tears and wistful smile. “I got home and noticed she wasn’t anywhere to be found on the first floor. I didn’t think anything of it, because I heard footsteps upstairs. I took about five minutes to set up our beautiful candlelight dinner, when I heard some moans coming from the next floor . I went upstairs wondering what was happening when… when… I saw that!” Seiya’s voice cracked and he pointed to the picture in the judge’s hand and began to sob once again.
The jury along with the entire courtroom began to murmur and Serena turned red. “He’s such a liar!” she said looking angrily at her husband. “He never had a dinner planned! He came home drunk! He…”
Rei squeezed her hand, “Shh… we still have tomorrow.”
“I know its tough going, but can you explain the scene?”
“No, I just can’t bare to describe it. I think the picture does enough,” Seiya sobbed into J.D.’s expensive suit. J.D. looked a little disgusted and Rei stifled a laugh.
“Oh… Okay – Hey, can you get off my suit, this was expensive!” J.D. shoved the man back into the witness seat. That was a mistake, Rei thought smugly. The jury heard that and now they all know you’re a jerk!
“I didn’t know, I didn’t know she was having an affair with him. I hadn’t a clue. She is such a minx, a beautiful lying minx.” Seiya sobbed.
Rei brushed her bangs out of her eyes. This was getting ridiculous. She rose, “Is it my turn, J.D. or are you not done yet?”
“What?” J.D. looked blankly at her, but quickly recovered. “Of course, Miss Hino. Go ahead, I am finished, your witness.” He swaggered back to his chair.
She snubbed him and directly approached the sobbing Seiya. “What happened after you found them?”
“I just ran out, out of the house and directly to my lawyer. He can tell you, I can tell you I told him all about it. I checked into a hotel, I just couldn’t bear to stay.”
Rei looked annoyed. “How did you not know your wife was having an affair?”
“How could I have? You heard, she did it all while I was at work, with my boss, no less!”
“What if he was raping her, or attacking her, did you ever think to ask? Did you ever stop and look?”
“Don’t be preposterous. Diamond himself admitted it. Just look at her!” Seiya stood pointing at Serena with an accusing finger and tearstained cheeks.
All attention turned to the girl sitting beside Rei’s empty chair, she looked small, and frightened. She was pale and weak, but was beautiful nonetheless. Serena was also sweating, overall she looked quite guilty.
Rei cursed cross examination for the moment. She wished she could bring up other topics, but she was only allowed to ask for clarification of what he had already said. Rei studied the picture in front of her, when she got an idea. “You know what I’m wondering, Mr. Alexander?” Rei continued, bringing everyone’s attention back to the matter at hand, trying to spare Serena. “What kind of camera did you take this picture with?”
“Huh?”
“Because it’s strange that you knew nothing about your wife’s alleged affair, yet you walked up the stairs with a camera ready to catch them in the act?”
“Well.. I,” Seiya stuttered, a panicked look came over his face. He looked to his lawyer for help, but J.D. shrugged, pointing at his wet suit vest.
“It seems a little odd to me that…” Rei began, feeling better, she had finally caught him off guard.
“Cell phone,” Seiya blurted out.
“What?”
“I took the picture on my cell phone. It was in my pocket at the time. You can see it if you like,” Seiya quickly whipped out a small pink razor phone and began to scroll through the pictures. “Here it is!” he shouted triumphantly and handed the phone to Rei, but she was not deterred.
“So, you’re telling me that you walked up the stairs and saw the alleged love of your life supposedly cheating with another man and your first instinct was to pull out your cell phone and take a picture?”
“Well, no, I mean yes,”
“Mr. Alexander?” Rei crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t really remember to be honest. I just saw them together, and it just hurt so much. I can’t remember much until I got to my lawyer’s house. I was just so upset.”
“Indeed,” Rei said, coolly and walked back to her seat, giving J.D. Seiya’s cell phone. Your client is a slime ball, Rei thought to him.
As she returned to her seat, J.D.’s voice came from behind her, “We have no more witnesses, Your Honor.”
Rei turned to face Judge Setsuna. “Very well, Court is now dismissed until noon on Thursday.” The green haired beauty pounded the gavel on the desk very solemnly and walked out the door, Thursday? That gave Rei an extra day to get her witnesses together! Thank you, ma’am, Rei thought.
Swarms of people were trying to talk to each other about what happened as she gathered her belongings. She had to push her way to where Darien was speaking to Serena again.
“Tomorrow,” he promised the blonde as Rei approached.
“You mean Thursday don’t you?” Rei asked, wondering if he hadn’t heard the judge.
Darien immediately turned red, but regained his composure. “Right, I meant Thursday.”
Before he could finish, J.D. interrupted, “I just wanted to say how stunning and fiery you looked today. Would you be interested in dinner tonight?” he purred in her ear.
Rei’s eyes connected with Darien’s as she forcefully pushed J.D. away in disgust. “Darien!” she cried in relief, as he appeared in front of her. She threw her arms about his neck, and kissed him deeply. Darien held her tight and returned the kiss a little half-heartedly, leaving both J.D. and Serena staring awkwardly.
Darien was the first to back away guiltily. “Oh, where are my manners? Darien, this is J.D., J.D. This is my long-time boyfriend, Darien,” Rei affirmed prettily, knowing she just dealt a blow to his pride. It was important to her for some reason that he be impressed.
“Long time boyfriend?” J.D. stood in shock.
“What?” Rei asked, anger sizzling. “Do you think I can’t get a boyfriend?”
“Well, I….” J.D. stammered trying to avoid the menacing look Darien was giving him.
“Come on, Serena, let’s go home,” Rei said collecting her items and putting her arm over the girl’s thin shoulders. Then turned back, “Thank you for coming today, Darien, are you coming over too?”
“Huh? Oh, what did you say?”
“Are you coming?” Rei asked impatiently.
“Nah, I have to go. You girls have a good time. Good job too-- both of you!” Darien said quickly and practically vanished amongst the crowd.
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After leaving Serena in the care of her therapist, Rei went out to have her weekly meeting with her best friend, Dr. Ami Martin at the deli on 29th street. It was her favorite restaurant, because it was the only place she remembered going to with her mother, who had died when she was very young.
The door chimed, announcing the exhausted lawyer’s entrance. The clerk at the counter looked up, recognized her, the young girl waved, and went back to her task of restocking.
Rei headed toward a small outcropping where a quiet, demure woman with short blue hair sat, fiddling with her glasses and biting her lip.
“Ami,” Rei said quietly, not wanting to startle her friend. The blue-haired woman looked up, a serious expression on her face, and then she smiled.
“Rei!” the two women shared a quick embrace before taking their seats. “How are you? How has the case been?” Ami set aside the files she had been pouring over and put down her glasses.
“I am fine, the case is a little more challenging than I first thought it would be,” Rei explained. “Thank you,” she called out, waving to the waitress. The cheery woman stopped by their table with their usual drinks in hand and their orders tallied up. They were quite the regulars.
Rei felt at ease here, and sank into her chair. The smell of freshly baked bread filled the little deli. It wasn’t a busy day for them today, Rei sighed contentedly.
“Oh Ami,” Rei began, “I don’t know where you dug up that case, but boy is that prosecution lawyer good.”
“Not to mention, cute,” Ami smiled, lifting the steaming drink to her lips.
“Seriously, Ami,” Rei said with a deadpan stare, “and the witnesses aren’t very much fun either. I can’t believe that girl went through all that!”
“She is a pretty strong woman,” Ami agreed.
“I would never put up with my husband hitting me, watching porn, or lying to everyone like that,” Rei growled, folding her arms across her chest.
“I’m sure you wouldn’t, but I’m also sure Serena didn’t want to either. After all, those kinds of guys are slimy. They start out nice and dreamy and then manipulate you so much you don’t know which way you’re going,” Ami sounded off chidingly, having watched Rei date many such guys before she met Darien.
“True,” Rei amended, “and poor Serena does look really worried about the whole thing. I keep hoping it’s not because she’s still in love with him. And meeting that Thomas Diamond, man! I think I understand her story a little better now.”
“Thomas Diamond?”
“Oh, you would know him if you saw him, Ami. Too bad his brother Sapphire wasn’t allowed to testify. He’s had proof of almost ten reported cases of rape, stalking and court restraints, all against Diamond. According to his brother, Diamond’s last girlfriend, Prisma, ended up kidnapped for awhile before Diamond decided she wasn’t ‘the one’. Whatever that means. Talk about creepy, huh? That would have shot down his testimony in a hurry.”
“Why couldn’t he testify?” Ami prodded, readjusting her glasses.
“I guess he already has a court case pending against Diamond, not that I blame him. The conflict of interest really makes it hard to accept his testimony,” Rei thought aloud.
Ami put Rei at ease, the cool, sharp demeanor of her best and only friend always made her worries slowly melt away. “Some guys want an already submissive woman, that’s probably why Diamond forces himself on the likes of Serena.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I heard on the news that Seiya testified today.”
“News?”
“She is one of the richest people in this town you know, besides Darien Shields. Why wouldn’t the press cover it?” Ami nudged her friend and Rei smiled.
“I guess. I sorta forgot all that,” Rei slumped visibly in her chair. “My humiliation was witnessed by reporters.”
“Don’t worry, Rei. I’m sure you did fine. You have yet to take your turn tomorrow, remember?”
“I’d rather not,” Rei groaned. “I don’t have anything very solid. Somehow, J.D. dug up actual pictures.”
“So?”
“Ami, it’s hard evidence! It’s near impossible to beat cold concrete evidence. Besides, who thinks to take a picture when you find your wife in that kind of situation with another man? It doesn’t make sense. There has to be something else going on.”
“I’m sure there is,” Ami retorted, sipping her coffee. “Did you get to ask him about Serena’s bruises?”
“Not yet. J.D. didn’t bring it up, so I guess I will have to call him to the stand,” Rei simmered.
“Well, I hope he has a darn good explanation,” Ami hissed furiously. “We have pictures in the ER of Serena’s broken ribs and those huge bruises. I just don’t get guys like him.”
“Me either!” Rei went back to sucking down her Jasmine tea. “So let’s talk about something else, how’s work going?"
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Later that night, after a quiet evening of fun watching Miss Congeniality with Serena and a quick conversation with Darien for a date on Thursday night, Rei went to bed exhausted. She was glad she had given everyone the night off. Rei fell asleep to the sound of Serena snoring in the guest bedroom.
Rei woke instantly as the clock flashed 4:00am. She immediately reached for the phone and dialed Ami’s number.
“Hello?” a voice asked, sounding a little groggy.
“Ami! It’s me. Didn’t you say you had pictures of Serena’s bruises at the ER?” Rei asked excitedly.
