InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Closing the Case ❯ Chapter 18 ( Chapter 18 )

Closing the Case

Chapter 18

 

The courtroom buzzed as people chatted in loud whispers, trying to be polite and heard at the same time. The gallery was roughly half full. Some of the patrons were simply there to watch the justice system in action; while others had a more personal reason for being there. Miroku sat on the prosecuting side in the back row. The aisle was to his left and Inuyasha and Kagome to his right. Sango sat in front of him with Shippou, and Kirara; the little girl happily coloring in a book with the `help' of her stuffed cat. On the other side of the aisle, Mrs. Hillard sat with a large man who was most likely her husband. Kagura sat behind the prosecutor's table with Rin at her side. Myouga sat by himself on the far side of the room.

 

Kagome leaned against Inuyasha, lacing her fingers with his nervously. He pulled his hand away in favor of wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close to his side.

 

“I'm right here, Kagome.” She nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder.

 

The doors to the courtroom groaned open and Sesshoumaru swept in. His tailored suit clung perfectly to the lines of his body. His long silvery hair swayed back and forth as he moved, almost bushing the ground with each swing. The young lawyer commanded the attention of the room without a word or even a glance. His walk was unhurried as he moved to the front of the room. He set his briefcase on the table, opened it, and took out a stack of papers. Inuyasha was not sure about the laws concerning whether or not Sesshoumaru could try this case. However, he was sure that he did not want to be the one to tell his brother otherwise.

 

A moment later, the doors opened again and in walked Hakudoushi with Naraku, whose hands were bound with handcuffs in front of him. Naraku looked at them, a cool smile gracing his lips. Miroku glared, Sango met Naraku's gaze with a glower of her own, and Inuyasha and Shippou both moved to block his view of their respective girls. The lawyer and his client passed through the little gate and moved to the defendant's table. After he was seated, Naraku leaned back and smiled across the room at Rin. The girl squeaked and ducked out of sight behind Kagura. Sesshoumaru raised his head and glowered.

 

“All rise for the Honorable Judge Toutousai,” the bailiff called. Everyone rose to their feet as the elderly judge tottered out of his chamber and up to his chair.

 

“You may be seated,” Toutousai instructed, and the room sat. “This court is called to order in the case of The State vs. Naraku Arachna. Gentlemen, your opening statements.” Sesshoumaru rose from his chair in one smooth motion and crossed to the jury box. He took his time making eye contact with each of the twelve people, resting his hand delicately on the railing, but did not lean against it. When he finally did speak, his voice rolled out in a smooth, deep, commanding manner.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we are here today for one simple reason. That man you see sitting in that defendant's chair and his lawyer would have you believe that he is a respectable citizen of the community. They want you to believe that it is impossible for him to do the things he has done. But such a thought would be a travesty of justice. That man has committed a number of crimes against not only the State, but against the very people who put their lives on the line every day to protect you.

 

“He believes that he has the right to take justice into his own hands and exact vengeance on those whom he believes failed him. But he did not sue the department, nor was his attack on the people involved. No, he took his vigilante tactics out on those who are blameless, innocent in every sense of the word. He took his depraved justice out on children. Not only did he take their lives, but he took their innocence. I will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man is a danger to society as a whole as well as to himself.” Sesshoumaru let his eyes sweep over the jury again, before he turned and walked back to his chair.

 

Hakudoushi rose from his seat as Sesshoumaru sat down. He moved towards the jury, his stride confidant to the point of almost being a swagger. His manner was casual as he leaned heavily on the railing separating him from the jury.

 

“'A travesty of justice, vengeance, depraved justice, a danger to society'. These are the things my opponent used to describe my client. I was under the impression that this country believes in innocent until proven guilty. My opponent wishes to lead you to believe that Mr. Arachna is some horrible monster, who seeks out children for his own sick pleasure. I will show how the truth is that Mr. Arachna is, in fact the victim. He is the victim of this very system that he trusted to protect him, to bring him justice when a true madman saw fit to take his fiancé and crush his entire world. By the time you must make your decision, you will see that the only travesty of justice is the suffering this poor soul has had to endure at the hands of this system.” Hakudoushi moved back to his seat, casting a smirk at Sesshoumaru as he did. The other lawyer narrowed his eyes a fraction, but showed no other sign that he had noticed.

 

&&&

 

“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” The bailiff asked seriously. Inuyasha had his right hand raised as he looked out over the courtroom from the witness stand. He looked out over the courtroom from the witness stand. It was not an unfamiliar position for him, he had testified dozens of times before. Out in the gallery he could see Kagome, a pensive look on her face. Miroku sat next to her, doing his best to keep her calm.

 

“I do.” He took his hand from the book and sat down as the bailiff moved away. Sesshoumaru rose from his chair and took several measured steps across the room before stopping. The lawyer seemed to take a moment to think about his angle of attack.

 

“Please state your full name and rank for the record.”

 

“Lieutenant Inuyasha West.”

 

“Tell me, Detective West, where were you when the first body was found?” Sesshoumaru asked casually, keeping his tone calm and almost friendly.

 

“I was at my girlfriend's apartment enjoying some quality time,” Inuyasha replied.

 

“Quality time?” Sesshoumaru prompted.

 

“We shared dinner and were going to have sex,” Inuyasha replied flatly and without blushing, ignoring Kagome's embarrassed squeak. He knew from experience that using euphemisms in court made it easier for the defense to discredit his statement. “But I was called away before we got to the second part.”

 

“What did you find when you arrived on the scene?” Sesshoumaru continued. Inuyasha focused his attention on his brother, anything not to have to look at Kagome at the moment.

 

“When I arrived, my partner, Miroku, was already there. The bodies had been pulled out of the river by the witness who called them in. Both were covered in a white cloth to preserve any physical evidence left on them. We assessed the initial cause of death on scene to be the numerous stab wounds to the chests of both victims.” Inuyasha ignored the pain-filled whimpers from the gallery. “We also recovered the barrels and rope that were used to tie the bodies and keep them afloat.”

 

“Keep the bodies afloat?” Sesshoumaru repeated. “Don't people usually deposit bodies in the river in hopes they will never be found?”

 

“Objection! Calls for speculation,” Hakudoushi interrupted.

 

“I am only asking about something that is common knowledge for any officer worthy of his badge,” Sesshoumaru retorted. Toutousai leaned back in his chair in thought for a moment, before adjusting his glasses.

 

“I will allow it, but watch your step, councilor. Continue, Detective.” Inuyasha nodded in acknowledgement.

 

“As a general rule, yes. We theorized that the perpetrator wanted the bodies found.” Sesshoumaru nodded and seemed to take this information in.

 

“Were there any notable differences in the other crime scenes?” Sesshoumaru pressed.

 

“The second scene only had one body as opposed to the first scene's two and, at the third scene, the victim was still alive.” He chanced a look at Naraku. The man's face gave no indication that the news affected him. But years of reading Sesshoumaru's constant poker face gave Inuyasha a keen eye, and he did not miss the slight twitch of annoyance.

 

“And what is the condition of the victim that was still alive?”

 

“She was moved from the ICU yesterday, but her condition is still listed as critical.” Sesshoumaru watched his brother give his well-practiced answers, not giving too much away while still answering the questions honestly. He walked back to his desk and flipped through some papers. Inuyasha knew it was for show, any lawyer worth his tailored suit had all his questions memorized weeks ahead of time.

 

“And what is her mental condition, how is she coping with this traumatic experience?”

 

“Objection!” Hakudoushi snapped as he rose smartly from his chair. Inuyasha shut his mouth with an audible click.

 

“On what grounds?” Toutousai prompted.

 

“The witness is a detective, not a psychologist and is therefore not qualified to testify on someone's mental state.”

 

“Agreed, sustained. Move on, Councilor.” Sesshoumaru's mouth turned down ever so slightly.

 

&&&

 

“No more questions,” Sesshoumaru said with a flip of his wrist. “Your witness.” As Sesshoumaru took his seat, Hakudoushi rose from his. Inuyasha noted that, unlike his brother, the defending council took a much more aggressive approach. The small lawyer walked all the way up to the witness stand so that Inuyasha had no choice but to look into his eyes or look less than confidant. Inuyasha straightened his shoulders, he would not be intimidated.

 

“Tell me Detective, how many years have you worked in homicide?” The lawyer's voice was smooth and confidante as he spoke.

 

“Just over four years,” Inuyasha answered simply.

 

“Four years, that's a long time. Especially in a job that could…” He paused as if searching for the right words, “try one's sanity.”

 

“I suppose…” Inuyasha answered slowly, unsure where this was going.

 

“You must have seen a lot of terrible things in your line of work.” Hakudoushi sounded almost sympathetic.

 

“Objection,” Sesshoumaru cut in. “Does this have a point?”

 

“Get on with it councilor,” Toutousai pressed. Hakudoushi nodded his acknowledgement and took a few steps away from the witness box.

 

“In all that time, have you ever seen anything like what my client did?”

 

“I'm not sure what you're asking.” Inuyasha leveled the lawyer with a calm glare. Hakudoushi smiled back slightly.

 

“In your time as a homicide investigator have you ever witnessed another case where the suspect was so focused on certain victims?” Hakudoushi asked. There was something in his voice that made Inuyasha's hackles rise, but he knew he still had to answer.

 

“Not to my recollection.”

 

“Would you say he was obsessed?”

 

“Perhaps.”

 

Hakudoushi nodded, “I'd like to present Exhibit B, previously introduced by the state.” Toutousai nodded to the bailiff, and the man ducked out of the court room. A few minutes later he returned with another man, both pulling rolling bulletin boards behind them. The boards were covered completely with the pictures from Naraku's apartment. The pictures were arranged from oldest to newest, with a side of a board dedicated to each of the adults involved - with Sango and Sesshoumaru's pictures sharing a side. “Do you recognize these pictures Detective West?”

 

“I do.” Inuyasha answered.

 

“Would you please tell the court in your own words where these were found and under what circumstances?”

 

“The pictures were found in the apartment of Naraku Arachna, by my partner Miroku Priest when we were serving the warrant. They were stapled to the wall in a single room and arranged from oldest to newest.”

 

“How far back do these pictures go?”

 

“The oldest we found was just under four years old.”

 

“And what are these pictures of, Detective?”

 

“The pictures depict myself, my partner Miroku, my brother Sesshoumaru, and two of my colleagues: Sango and Shippou.”

 

“I see,” Hakudoushi smiled. “No further questions.”

 

“The witness may step down.” The judge nodded to Inuyasha. The detective stood and moved back to his seat without a word. “This court is recessed for lunch, be back here at 1:30.” Toutousai banged his gavel.