Insufferable Proximity 2 (17 page)

They had been good friends and golf buddies for over a decade. They had also gone to college together and had more than their fair share of fast times. Stanley was a loyal friend, and one of the few people that Ayden trusted.

“I assure you that this murder case will be over in record time. You see how quickly it’s progressed thus far. It’s an open-and-shut case, Ayden. Mr. Grant committed this crime in front of several witnesses—he has no case. Even his attorney knows that. I think that’s part of the reason they dropped that ridiculous insanity plea. I’ve seen Mr. Grant practice law, and I know that he’s competent to stand trial,” Stanley Kube said as he straightened out his robes.

“Wait a minute, they withdrew their insanity plea?” Ayden wasn’t aware of that fact.

“Yes.”

“When?”

“This morning. Grant’s lawyer was pissed; you should have seen him. His lawyer is an obvious snake, but he tried hard; he even had his own psychiatrist ready to testify. However, Mr. Grant told both psychiatrists that he wasn’t crazy.”

“You’re joking?”

“No, he also told them that everything was premeditated. He said that he would go after Julian and Heaven again if given the chance.”

“Why doesn’t he just plead guilty and save us the trial?”

“My guess is that he wants to prolong his last bit of freedom.”

“Or he’s planning something.” Ayden didn’t trust Gavin. He knew how Gavin’s mother was. May was the master of taking things to the extreme. She was devious and deadly when she wanted something, and she wouldn’t stop until she got it.

“That’s why we’ve doubled our security. The guards have also been briefed. He’d be a fool to try anything in my courtroom,” Stanley said with confidence.

“Tell your guards there is a bonus at the end of the day if they watch Heaven and Julian very carefully. I don’t want Gavin to make a move without them seeing.”

“Julian already paid them to do that; besides, I have them under strict orders.”

“Then they will be rich at the end of the trial. Tell them I will double what Julian gave them.”

“Consider it done.” Judge Kube looked at his watch. “Now it’s time to get this circus started.”

“And finished,” Ayden said with hope.

“Don’t fret, dear friend, it will be over before the week is out,” Stanley assured him.

***

The trial had lasted a week before it was time for Julian and Heaven to make their grand appearance. Julian refused to step into the courtroom until the day that he and Heaven had to testify. He didn’t want Heaven spending any more time around Gavin than absolutely necessary.

Julian’s nerves were on edge the morning that they were due in court. He called his cousins to reconfirm that they would be there. He wanted as many eyes on Gavin as possible.

“Are you ready for this?” Heaven asked as she grabbed Julian’s hand.

“Yes,” he nodded as he helped her into the limousine.

“Good luck in there today and remember, I’ll be right outside waiting if you need me.” Alice was obviously nervous. She knew how sneaky Gavin was.

***

“Julian and Ms. Deville take the stand today,” Adele said with excitement.

“I have been waiting all week to see this.” Reese sat down next to Adele. She opened her large purse and dumped the snacks on the table.

Gloria grinned. “Sevigne is going to eat Gavin alive.”

“I know, and I can’t wait to see her rip into him.” Adele agreed with a smile.

“That defense attorney is a prick,” Reese said before she stuffed a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

“He picked the wrong chick to try and bully,” Gloria said and laughed.

Adele chuckled. “Sevigne Deville will verbally slaughter him.”

“I can’t wait to see.” Reese also giggled.

***

As if Mother Nature understood the seriousness of the situation, she let a flood of fresh rain pour down from the sky. Julian held a large black umbrella above Heaven as they headed to the courtroom. They were both dressed in all-black suits with white shirts. Heaven wore a formfitting blazer and matching pencil skirt that accented her curves. She wore her black-framed glasses and had slicked her hair back into a bun.

Julian was secretly wishing for one of her old suits. He didn’t want Gavin to look at her. He was already half-tempted to attack Gavin, but this would only heighten his anger.

“Remember what I told you,” Julian whispered after they sat down.

Julian had no fear when it came to himself. He would love to grab the guard’s gun and put a bullet in Gavin’s head, but he was worried about Heaven. He didn’t trust Gavin, and he didn’t want Heaven in the same room with him. He didn’t even want Gavin to have the privilege of looking at her again, let alone sitting in the same room with her.

Julian knew the officers in the courtroom well. He had worked with them on numerous occasions over the years. They had also worked with Gavin Grant. He didn’t want anyone to overlook Gavin’s capabilities, and he didn’t want the guards to be swayed by Gavin’s previous behavior. Julian had gotten in touch with them a few days before court, and offered them a large sum of money to keep a close eye on Heaven. He also wanted one of them to keep their eyes on Gavin at all times. They readily agreed, but it still didn’t bring Julian any comfort.

She smiled and grabbed his hand. “I remember, but don’t worry.”

Heaven wasn’t the least bit fearful. In fact, she was eager to confront Gavin. She would walk over to the defense table and slap him across the face if the judge would allow it. She couldn’t wait to help send him to prison for the rest of his life.

“I want you by my side at all times,” Julian reminded her for the three-hundredth time that day.

“I will be.”

“When you walk over to sit on that stand, you keep Gavin in your sight. When I’m on the stand, I want you to stay on the opposite side of the room from him. Stay close to your mother and her guards. While I’m up there, I don’t want you leaving the room under any circumstances. You keep your eye on Gavin. If he makes any sudden moves, I want you out of the room,” Julian instructed her.

“Do you think he’s dumb enough to try to attack me in court? He’s trying hard to get a not guilty verdict.”

“Yeah, by reason of insanity. If he’s going for insanity, what would make him look more insane than jumping over the defense table and attacking a witness in the middle of court?”

“Don’t worry, Julian, I’ll be fine. I’ve been in the courtroom many, many times. I know how to handle myself.”

“I don’t want you to have to handle yourself. I want you to run to me…I’ll take care of you.”

“I promise if Gavin jumps over the defense table and tries to attack me, I will run directly to you.” She grinned.

“It’s not funny, Heaven. Stop taking this so lightly, and stop underestimating Gavin Grant. I’m not taking any chances; I know what he’s capable of.”

“I know.” She kissed his lips and saw her mother out of the corner of her eye. “Oh, no.”

Sybille walked into the courtroom accompanied by five of her guards. They weren’t armed, but they were menacing despite their tight, white, spandex mini-dresses. They also wore white boleros and white, designer combat boots with six-inch stiletto heels.

Julian was happy to see Sybille and her guards. He knew that Sybille had demanded that her guards protect her daughter with their lives. Those women would do it.

***

Gavin smiled as he was led into the courtroom. He could have pled guilty and saved himself the trouble of the trial. But he wanted to see Heaven and Julian. Most importantly, he was excited to hear them retell the story of what he’d done to them. It was like picking off a scab that was beginning to heal. Gavin relished the thought of watching them relive the horror of what they’d suffered through.

He already knew that Julian would react with hostility; it was in his nature. Julian’s anger had always made Gavin uneasy, but it was different now. Julian was different where Heaven was concerned. It was the only time that Gavin had ever seen Julian concerned. Heaven was Julian’s only weakness. Gavin finally had an advantage over the man he despised, and he relished it. If only he were in a position to do something about it.

Soon
, he mentally reassured himself.

He was also excited to see Heaven’s reaction. He prayed he saw fear in her eyes, anything but her trademark poker face. He couldn’t take her lack of emotion for too long. He needed to see the fear. She was a calculated bitch who controlled her emotions like a card shark, but she didn’t fool him. He knew all about that fiery hellcat hidden below that robotic disposition.

***

By mid-afternoon, it was Heaven’s turn to take the stand.

Julian sat in the courtroom, more alert than he had ever been. The whole time that Heaven was on the stand, Julian never took his eyes off Gavin. If Gavin even shifted in his seat, Julian was ready to tackle him. 

Although his eye was trained on Gavin, Julian couldn’t prevent himself from watching Heaven. She was a professional. She sat on the stand with her poker face fully in place. Julian could see the look of rage spreading across Gavin’s face. Julian could tell that Gavin had expected Heaven to show fear.

What a fool.

Julian was so proud of her; she even outsmarted the defense attorney. Within ten minutes of the cross-examination, the lawyer had been fumbling and stuttering. It was obvious to everyone that he couldn’t handle her on the stand, but it was most obvious to him.

When it was Julian’s turn to go to the witness stand, he again kept his eyes trained on Gavin.

Gavin in return glared at him. Julian wasn’t surprised. He knew that Gavin wouldn’t be able to keep up the ‘nice-guy’ persona he presented to the world. The whole courtroom was silent as they watched Julian step down from the stand when he was finished. He and Gavin were exchanging a look of hatred so intense that everyone was nervous.

Julian walked over to sit beside Heaven. He held her hand tightly while still glaring at Gavin. Gavin turned around to look at them so many times, the judge finally demanded that he stop.

***

It was the end of the trial, and the employees of the King Law Firm were waiting with bated breath as they watched the television. They’d hoped that Gavin would be brave enough, or foolish enough, to take the stand, but he didn’t.

Gavin was no fool; he knew that taking the stand rarely worked, especially if the defendant were guilty. So, after presenting their short closing argument, the defense rested.

When the jury came back to the room, Julian and Heaven were on pins and needles. Julian feared that if Gavin received a guilty verdict with life in prison, he might be tempted to do something foolish before being whisked away. When the juror read the guilty verdict, Julian wrapped his arm around Heaven tightly and quickly whisked her out of the courtroom. Sybille and her entourage followed close behind.

Julian rushed her to the car and wasted no time driving away from the courthouse.

“It’s over now; he’s going to prison for the rest of his life,” Heaven said once they were driving. She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.

Julian wasn’t as happy or as confident. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t over.

***

Sybille had planned a huge festival in her backyard. Since everyone was positive Gavin would be found guilty, she had planned it a week in advance.

She’d invited all of Julian’s family, Petal and her husband, Alex, as well. She even flew Jade in for the night.

Sybille had decorated the backyard in red. She even purchased red bulbs for the pool lights to make the water appear red. When she first started planning the party, she asked Julian what his favorite color was. He said it was black, but it didn’t matter; he preferred she decorated in Heaven’s favorite color. Sybille had smiled to herself and decided to use black in the décor anyway. Sybille noticed that even though Julian had originally started calling Heaven a princess in a negative context, he was beginning to treat her as if she really were a princess. That suited Sybille just fine.

The large tent was red, as were the chairs and tables. The silverware was platinum with red crystals inlaid in the handles. The plates were red, and the clear glasses had red gems inside the stems. Sybille would have spray-painted the ground red if she thought it wouldn’t hurt the earth. For the menu, she chose all of Heaven and Julian’s favorite foods. 

About a month ago, a few of the girls from the brothel formed a pop band. They called themselves The Pink Kitties and had been practicing in the house ever since. They begged Sybille to be allowed to perform at the festival; they wanted to help celebrate Heaven’s well-being. Although reluctant at first, their concern for Heaven won Sybille over. Sybille wanted to help the girls out in any way that she could. However, their off-key performances were painful and made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Sybille was currently trying not to wince as she listened to them botch a classic hit from the ’90s. She watched the girls perform on the small stage and was thankful the crowd was too happy to notice their mistakes. Sybille then looked across the rowdy, dancing crowd to see Heaven and Julian dancing to the beat of their own song.