Chapter 16 - The Trial
The trial began six months later.
I testified about the box.
Nothing more.
No theories.
No dramatic claims about Charlie knowing murder.
I told the jury exactly what happened.
An old cat cried.
He recognized his owner’s scent.
He led me to a box someone had intentionally placed where he could find it.
That was all.
The prosecutor did not need magic.
The evidence was human.
Laura buying the medication.
Laura replacing pills on camera.
Forged signatures.
Hidden finances.
The coffee cup.
The delay before calling for help.
Her lawyer argued Robert already had serious heart disease.
True.
Also true.
Argued Laura replaced his pills because she believed he was overmedicated and wanted him sleeping.
That explanation made little medical sense.
Still, juries do not decide emotion.
They decide proof.
Margaret testified for two days.
She did not exaggerate.
That made her powerful.
“Did you love your daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Do you still?”
Margaret looked at Laura.
“Yes.”
Laura began crying.
The defense attorney asked:
“Then why are you here?”
Margaret answered:
The courtroom went silent.
Charlie was not there.
Of course.
He spent trial days with me at Lakeside.
By then, he had become a quiet office cat.
He still went home with Margaret every night.
On the last day, the jury left to deliberate.
Margaret came to the shelter.
She sat on the floor beside Charlie.
“What if they say not guilty?”
I answered carefully.
“And Robert?”
I did not answer.
Some questions belong to courts.
Some never do.
Charlie climbed into her lap.
Two hours later, Harris called.
Verdict reached.
Margaret stood.
Her hands shook.
Before leaving, she looked at Charlie.
“Come on.”
She stopped.
Then smiled sadly.
“No.”
May you like
She left him with me.
“He’s done enough.”
