Trials

"Mr. McLean, Let me show you what's been marked as Exhibit 1A. Can you see that on the screen there?" Mr. Owens asked. AJ shifted slightly in his chair and looked at the screen for an instant. He didn't want to see it. He never wanted to see one again. God, he was repulsed by a simple roll of gray tape.

"Yes, sir."

"After Mr. Crosby, the defendant, pinned you to the floor, what happened?"

"He uh... had this little bag with him. He took it off and he reached into it... and he uh, pulled out a roll of tape, of duct tape," AJ closed his eyes and struggled not to remember how he felt when he'd first pulled it out.

"Please go on."

"Oh, sorry... he um, he pulled it out and ripped a piece of tape off. I asked him what he was doing, but... he was just silent. He put it over my mouth," AJ began to breathe heavily. He removed his sunglasses and scanned the crowd, before looking back at Jonathan. "Then he pulled it out a little more and he um.. he started wrapping it around my hands. He kept looking at me like... I don't know. I was scared."

"Did you try, at any point while he was doing this, to get away?"

"Yes, yes I did. He was stronger than me."

"What happened next, Mr. McLean?"

"He told me to get on my knees. I thought.. I thought if I did what he told me, he wouldn't... kill me," AJ struggled to keep his compsure but couldn't do it. He sobbed. In front of everyone. He couldn't help it. "Can I... get a glass of water please," He said, quietly. Murmurs were heard amongst the crowd. Jonathan looked to the judge.

"Order! Please be silent everyone," Judge Roberts stated, slamming his gavel onto the bench. "Someone get Mr. McLean some water, please," Judge Roberts stated. Soon after, the court deputy returned, handing the water over to AJ. AJ jumped when he saw the deputy - he'd had his eyes closed. He wasn't sure he could keep doing this. Downing half the water, AJ took in a deep breath. This was going to be hard.

"Are you ready to go on, Mr. McLean?" Jon asked. He'd told him repeatedly last night, when they went over his line of questioning, that if he couldn't go on, it was fine. No one was going to be angry or upset with him.

"Yeah, I'm okay," AJ wondered if saying he was okay when he wasn't was perjury. He had to let his mind wander. He couldn't risk another flashback, especially in the courtroom.

"Once you were in the kneeling position, what occurred?"

"He reached into the bag again, and um... he pulled out a knife."

"I would like to present exhibit 2A, on the screen to the left. Mr. McLean, you do not need to look," Jonathan said, as he changed the slide on the projector. An image of a Bali-Song folding knife, unsheathed, appeared on the screen. "Ladies and gentlemen, the blade of this knife is four inches long. It is traditionally used as a pocket-knife. But in this case was used for an altogether different purpose. Mr. McLean, please, go on," Jonathan prodded.

"I saw it and I screamed. I had no idea what he was going to do with it. I thought, if there are people next door, they will hear me, so I kept screaming. He told me to shut up..." AJ took another deep breath. "I didn't. I couldn't! So he.. he cut my arm. From where the tape started at my wrist, up to the .. crook of my elbow."

"Did you stay silent after that?"

"Yes. At first I did."

"What happened next? Please continue."

"My arm felt like it was on fire. He asked me... he asked if I knew who he was. I knew he was the one who wrote the letter. I knew it. I nodded. He um.. he ran the knife over my throat, and around on my chest. He moved a little and he grabbed my hair. He said he told me he'd be watching. I nodded again... and I started to cry."

"Did he do anything to you when you started to cry?"

"He called me a... well... he called me a pussy and told me to stop. I couldn't. So he.. .he cut me again... on my other arm," AJ closed his eyes to blink out the tears. The crowd gasped and began whispering amongst themselves and the Judge demanded for order again. "I screamed when he cut me and he cut me again, right next to the first cut. It hurt," AJ paused to dry his face, "that was when he used the knife to slice my belt. My... my pants were about three sizes too big, so I had to wear one. He um.. he made me sit up a little by pulling on my hair... and he um, he... pulled them off me down to my knees."

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