Upon entering the courtroom, the judge who would be replacing Blind's grandmother was nowhere to be found. Ashley Ryan in another pants suit of emerald plaid, however, was.
"Punctual as always," Mina muttered and when her rival's equally green eyes met hers, the lioness gave an indomitable sneer.
Ashley's reason for mirth was quite obvious, if still a bit surprising. Janie Lila Stabs was there to testify against Dustin. That made sense, but flanking her was none other than Dustin's ex manager Penny. No doubt, Ms. Cilan had been coerced by the shrewd Ashley into providing testimony against her employer.
He had indeed framed her and now she could get her justice if Ashley could prove her innocence.
"Drat rats," Mina thought. "She's got a stacked line-up while I have to defend a handsome pile of puke."
She balled up her fists, her eyes shimmering with fiery determination. "But I'm doing this for Divine. And if that means defending a murderer, so be it."
When they approached the bench for the defense, Blind hugged her and pulled her close. She looked up at his shiny metallic visor and saw herself in his "eyes."
"You can do this," he said calmly. "You were tenacious enough to win my heart. You can win this case too."
"Hehe…" Mina grinned sheepishly, turning her eyes away. "Some noble hearts are worth winning. Some heart throbs are not."
"Forget about him," Blind remarked. "Just focus on justice."
"Divine Justice…" she said softly. A smile formed on her face as she looked into the mirror over Blind's eyes. He would be here for her during this most arduous trial.
Everyone had gotten seated except for Dustin. His entire entourage of fangirls had gathered and taken up several rows of seating. Mina wasn't afraid of a bunch of diminutive teeny boppers, but the thing that scared her was their signs. "Free Dustin!" some said with his badly drawn foppish mug plastered on them, but others added pictures of her head in a guillotine with x's for eyes. "Or else." the signs read below it.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Mina gulped. She envisioned a gang beating from Taylor Switch fans if she didn't manage to pull this off. Seemed he didn't even need to kidnap Divine as his fans would carry out his dirty work regardless.
They cheered for him as Dustin struck a confident pose for them. He acted like he was grandstanding at Madison Rectangle Garden, not on trial for murdering a beloved pop star.
As Dustin sat, everyone lowered themselves down too. Now the only person in the room who hadn't arrived was the judge.
Mina wondered who this judge was. Were they a man or a woman? Tall or small? She hoped it might be a bald, near senile old man with a beard who would be easy to sway. Sort of like the Judge in Eagle Attorney. But she knew better than to expect life to be a video game. Especially when the judge finally arrived.
The bailiff heaved two large doors open, and inside walked an older gentleman, but he was hardly docile at all.
"I say!" he wheezed like an angry exhaust pipe. "Whoever left their sedan in the judges parking space will meet a swift judgment from me! I will make sure that they receive every penalty under the sun. Especially because it's beige. The worst color ever. Blech! There must be a law against that too!"
The man in the black judges robe had an oddly angular face. He was balding but had spiky grey wisps of hair in the back that stood up like a hawk. His nose hung forward like a beak or a hook. And his eyes bulged like a bird ready to squawk and throw up its dinner.
"People these days…" he rambled on as he stomped down the aisle. "They always get off way too easily. You never learn your lesson, I say, until you get 37 years to life!"
Mina's chestnut eyes followed the judge as he made his way up to Himbolake and saw him sitting with his hands behind his head. "Sup' judge," he said, trying to live up to his cornrows.
The judges eyes bulged and he frothed at the mouth. "A pop star?! I HATE POPSTARS!"
Mina wondered. Did this old guy have a bad experience with a pop star in his court or…?
Her question was soon answered as the old man shoved his fist into his hand.
"Bastards like you killed rock music! My favorite genre ever! No more guitar solos or hard rock riffs. Just a bunch of limp wristed wimps singing in high voices to techno beats. Like you."
"Lawd…" Mina whispered to Blind. "This boomer is really booming here. Who is he?"
Her boyfriend shook his head. "Perhaps the harshest, most granular judge on the California circuit, Judge Jude Mentle."
"Wowee…" Mina muttered. "He really lives up to his name." She spun her finger around her ear and made a silly face. "I'm ready to go mental just listening to him."