Now we had made some headway! Nick had confessed to us that he’s the one who killed Maven. And he had been coerced by Alabaster to do it! The police could protect him for a few days before the trial and we might be able to pin the coercion on Creole with Nick’s testimony. Nick, of course, would get a plea bargain for his crime had been committed under duress.

After wrapping things up at the precinct, Emily and I went back to the casino for the remainder of the day and used our time to scope it out for unusual behavior. We walked the casino floor, the restaurants, outside the grounds, and other nearby businesses owned by Creole to see if we saw any shady individuals. But that was mostly Emily because half the people in this world looked shady to me. So, I didn’t know what to look for. Nothing stuck out to her but at least we had Nick.

That night we returned to our hotel rooms. I was getting nervous about all these warnings everyone had about Alabaster retaliating for interference and here we were sleeping in his hotel! It made sense that Emily wanted to stick close by and almost use herself as bait even.

But I was still uneasy, so I slept in my clothes with the pistol on me.

Deep into the night, at least after 1AM, the hotel fire alarms started going off. Seemed odd but who knows anymore what was genuine. I was about to go out into the hallway when I heard Emily tapping on our adjoining doors and whispering to me, “Eric, let me in. The door to my room is locked from the outside.”

I opened my side up and saw her standing there in a solid black nightgown with her hair up in barrettes. Just as I opened it, she said, “quickly, someone’s trying to get in here.”

As I let her in, I heard someone coming through the front door to her room. I quickly shuffled in and closed the adjoining doors behind me. We didn’t waste any time sticking around waiting to see who was after her. We immediately left out the front door to my room. The hallway at this point had sprinklers spraying everywhere. The entire hallway was misty. A few other guests had already left their rooms and went down the first escape stairwell so we followed soon after. Just as we reached the door.

*POW* *POW* *POW*

Three shots came out from an assailant obscured by the sprinklers and mist. He was coming from my room so clearly he was looking for Emily. I pulled out my pistol and returned fire as she descended the stairwell. I went quickly after her when I saw the unknown attacker duck for cover. We were over a dozen flights up, so we were out of breath when we got to the lobby, but it appeared we had evaded the guy. Just to be certain, we blended into the crowd outside anyway.

Hours later, in the morning at the D.A.’s Office, we got an earful from Ralph.

“Are you nuts, Emily? What were you thinking? Alabaster Creole is as close to untouchable as anyone could be in this city and until this case is over, no one is safe from him covering his tracks.”

“If we don’t win this case, it will only get worse and be harder for the next people who try to take him down,” she defended.

“I warned you. This is exactly what I was worried about. Getting Nick to testify is helpful but not if you get killed over it.”

The phone rang and Ralph answered it in the middle of his berating, “Hello…yeah…you gotta be fuckin kidding me!”

He hung up and then continued, “you know who that was Emily? A bomb just went off uptown. No one was injured but the target was the office of Emily Grimwood, Private Eye. You’ve really gone too far this time.”

“It was a risk I was willing to take. Put me on the stand too and I’ll testify that I’m under attack by his people.”

“If you live long enough to make it to the trial, sure!” He added.

Everyone got quiet for a moment. I could tell Ralph was really concerned about her at this point. Things got real, fast!

“Look,” he continued, “The trial is in two days. I can post some officers outside your apartment and keep you in a safehouse until it’s finished. But after that, there’s nothing I can do. Even if he gets convicted, he’ll still have his people on the outside come after you.”

“That’s fine. I’ve got a place I can go when the time comes where he’ll never find me,” she said as she glanced in my direction. She was talking about jumping ship and coming to my world after the trial, regardless of the outcome.

“I sure hope so,” he remarked.

That night and for the next day, we stayed at the safehouse Ralph provided. We only left once, the day before the trial to get a suit for me to wear in court. We had a police escort, and it was during the day so it felt safe. Whether or not it was, was another matter.

“There, you look great,” Emily said, as she complimented the suit she picked out for me.

“Did you really have to pick the Gomez Addams black and white pinstripe?” She laughed, but I felt uncomfortable.

* * *

The next day was the first day of the trial. We were taken down to the courthouse by police escort and saw Creole and his lawyer enter just before us. He was wearing his signature white suit and his lawyer wore a bright red one. I was in my new pinstripe while Emily wore the most ‘conservative’ thing I’d seen her wear since I got here. It was a long black dress with no frills. She never showed much skin anyway, but this outfit had long sleeves so even less. Atop her head she wore a tiny black hat with a mesh veil.

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We sat one row behind Ralph and the Prosecution team on the right side of the courtroom. Nick was to the far right of them in the front row. Creole, Vander, and their entourage sat in the front of the left side. Without much ado, the bailiff announced, “Please rise for the honorable Judge Euronymous Hobgoblin.”

I leaned over to Emily as we stood up and whispered, “he’s not actually a hobgoblin, is he?”

She whispered back, “it’s a common surname.”

The Judge came in and had an imposingly long black robe with a ridiculously long white curled wig. In the face he looked like Judge Wapner from the old People’s Court show.

“Please be seated,” he stated, “we’re here in regards to the criminal case of Creole Vs the State. The charges are criminal conspiracy to commit fraud, extortion, intimidation, murder, and a slew of other infractions. Mr. Vander, your client pleaded Not Guilty to all counts at his hearing last month. Is that plea still accurate?”

“Yes, your honor,” the red suited man confirmed.

“And Mr. Leon, has the Prosecution found the selected Jury to be sound?” “Yes, your honor,” said Ralph.

“Very well, Mr. Creole, please approach the bench.

Alabaster was brought up and sworn in to be questioned by Ralph.

“Mr. Creole,” began Ralph, “is it true that your business empire is a prominent feature of this city?”

“It’s my life's work, so yes,” he replied.

“And would you call your business practices…unsavory?”

“Shrewd maybe…but not unsavory.”

“How would you describe your relationship to the recently felled criminal organization known as The Black Hand?”

“Objection your honor, he’s prodding my client. Alabaster, you don’t have to answer that.” Vander said.

“Sustained,” said the Judge.

Ralph continued, “Mr. Creole, did you have Mr. Maven killed?”

“Objection!”

“Overruled. Go ahead and answer.”

Alabaster looked directly out to the crowd. First to Nick, then to me and Emily before answering, “No,” with a sly look on his face.

“No further questions at this time,” Ralph concluded.

“Mr. Leon. Your first witness,” the judge said.

For the next hour, witness after witness took the bench. Many looked confident, others looked scared. None of them dared to make Alabaster look bad. The drivers of the stolen goods trucks even stated they acted on their own and not under their boss’s direction. They knew they’d be killed if they said otherwise but rewarded when they finished their sentences for covering him.

Each testimony and accusation from the prosecution was deemed plausible deniability by Vander. Nothing yet was reaching the jury in the prosecution's favor. Then finally… “Your honor I call Detective Emily Grimwood to the stand.” Emily approached the bench and was sworn in.

“Miss Grimwood, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

“I do.”

“Miss Grimwood, is it true that you were attacked the other day in Mr. Creole’s hotel?” “I was.”

“And was your place of business also attacked the following morning?”

“It was.”

“Do you feel you were attacked by agents acting upon instructions by Mr. Creole?”

“Yes.”

“For what reason?”

“It was in retaliation for investigating his alleged criminal activity.”

“No more questions Miss Grimwood. Thank you.” “Your witness Mr. Vander,” the judge stated.

The bright red suited slick lawyer approached the bench with his hands in his pocket and said, “Miss Grimwood. Is it true that a few days before the attack on your life, you went to my client's office and questioned him?”

“It is. I did so on authority from the D.A. 's Office.”

“And is it true that you questioned him in an exceptionally aggressive and threatening manner.”

“No, I did not!”

“Oh, you didn’t? Because my client has office surveillance footage of you that says otherwise. You had quite the tone when you were there. We’ll have that tape for the Jury to watch later when we present evidence.”

Emily’s mouth hung open, but she didn’t say anything else.

Vander continued, “in your line of work, you’ve become known for collecting enemies around the city. Is that true?”

“Yes but…”

“Then it would stand to reason that many criminals, both behind bars and outside, would have motivation for attacking you and your business. Is that correct?”

“...well…I…” she murmured.

“Yes or no, Miss Grimwood?”

“Yes, however…”

“No further questions, your honor.”

“Very well. Miss Grimwood, you may step down, thank you,” said the judge.

Emily returned to her seat beside me in an ill temper. Ralph turned around and put his hand on hers to comfort her before the judge called him again.

“Your next witness, Mr. Leon.”

“Don’t worry, this is the one that will get him,” I whispered to her. It was time for our Boy Band star to shine for us.

“Your honor, I call Mr. Nick Bastion to the witness stand.”

Nick went up, extremely nervous, and avoided looking over at Alabaster. He was sworn in and Ralph began his questioning.

“Mr. Bastion, what was your relation to Mr. Maven?”

Nick gulped and replied, “He was my band's manager. But he also booked us at the club he ran.”

“And Mr. Bastion, who owned the club that Mr. Maven ran?” “It belongs to Mr. Creole,” he answered, reluctantly.

“And Mr. Bastion, is it true that you turned yourself into authorities a few days ago and confessed to killing Mr. Maven on Mr. Creole’s orders?”

Nick let out a sigh, looked down, and said, “Yes. That’s true.”

“No further questions.”

“Defense’s witness,” the judge motioned.

Vander approached the bench much like he did with Emily and asked, “Mr. Bastion, was the relationship between you and Mr. Maven more than business related.”

“Huh?!” Nick responded in surprise.

“I’m asking if your relationship was at all sexual in nature?”

Nick looked like he’d seen a ghost but nodded and replied, “Yes. I didn’t think anyone else knew but it was.”

This was bad. This was really bad. Somehow Creole had information we hadn’t put together yet. But now that I thought about it, I remember that other Boy Band guy, Chris, did say that Nick spent time with Maven away from the band and the club scene.

Vander continued, “then it stands within reason that you committed a crime of passion because of a disagreement about the future of your band and Mr. Maven’s working relationship. Pinning the motive on coercion from my client was a convenient way for you to get a plea bargain.”

Dammit. He had us on this one. This was supposed to be our Ace card.

“You see, ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, the Prosecution has been grasping at straws to hit my client with anything and everything including the kitchen sink. Their entire case amounts to little more than the baseless lies of media slander against Mr. Creole’s enterprise.”

This son of a bitch!

“No further questions you honor.”

“Very good, Mr. Vander. Mr. Leon. Does the Prosecution have any more witnesses?”

Ralph, looking stunned, stood up and replied, “No, your honor.”

“Very well then. Court is adjourned until tomorrow,” the judge slammed his gavel down and left the room.