by: MacSas

“Quiet please. This pre trial hearing is simply to decide if there is sufficient evidence to charge one Lucas. K. Duke retired Admiral of the United States Naval and Marine Corps, with attempted murder. The charge pertains to the shooting of one Alessandro Conelli, commonly known as Lex Conelli. The alleged incident took place in Room 18 on floor 4 of the Tri County Hospital, a room that was occupied by Daisy Amanda Duke. When witnesses are called to the stand, they are to answer all questions directed to them, to the best of their ability. There will be no jury at this time. It’s just me”

The Judge gave a small smile as he added the last words. He finished his instructions with a warning against outburst in the courtroom. He then looked over at the attorneys expectantly. “When your ready, Mr Richard’s”

The older of Lex’s attorneys stepped forward. He took a moment to button the jacket of his silk suit. He looked well paid and exuded confidence. Pacing in front of the Judge, occasionally looking down his nose at the Duke’s, Richard’s laid out the base of their suit. Daisy listened to his opening gambit, mentally replacing his figure with that of a proud peacock strutting to and fro. There was no doubt Mr Richard’s enjoyed hearing is own voice. Daisy rolled her eyes as he wrapt up his speech some ten minutes later. If he thought the Duke’s and their friends were impressed he was wrong. “And all he really said was, Luke did it” Bo stage whispered to his row. A smattering of giggles caused Mr Richard’s to glance down his nose, once again, at the opposition. “So, your Honour” he concluded. “We intend to prove that Mr. Duke took his military regulation weapon to the hospital that day, with the sole intention of killing our client. We will also show that the alleged attack on Miss Duke was the result of a lover’s argument that ended tragically. At the end of this hearing, we feel confident that you will find in our favour, that there is ample evidence against Mr. Duke and that a jury should judge him on that evidence. Thank you”

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by: MacSas

Luke stood in the doorway of Daisy’s room and allowed the feeling of relief at being back at the farm to warm him. As he entered her room and looked at the little knick knacks she’d collected over the years, he realised it hadn’t been that long ago that he’d sat in this room and waiting. Waiting to hear if his cousin was alive or dead. He’d had a lot of time to think while he’d been sitting on her bed waiting. And one thing he had decided was that Lex had to die. He wasn’t ashamed to admit it, to himself at least, but he would have preferred to have made his one shot a kill shot. The only thing that stopped him was Daisy being in the room. She had already seen too much violence, lived through too much anger. Killing a man in front of her had seemed too brutal. It would have been so easy though, he acknowledged now, and it would have solved a lot of problems. Least of all being the one he now faced. Luke had been told that the lawyers working for Lex were screaming premeditation. They believed that Luke had every intention of killing their client; that he had used his vast knowledge of the justice system in order to maybe get away with attempted murder. Luke wasn’t an egotistical kind of guy, but he knew that there was no way that he would be found guilty. Lex’s high priced lawyers were right. He had operated inside the law, just enough, to be a free man at the end of any trial. He frowned. There was no way he was stupid enough to tell anyone that though. Bret had told him to talk to no one. That suited Luke fine. He had nothing to say anyhow. As far as he was concerned, what had to be done was now done.

As he sat on Daisy’s bed he wondered at how things had turned bad so quick. Luke knew that Daisy had been devastated when she and Jeff had parted ways. He had taken many early morning calls from his teary cousin, needing his assurance that life would go on. She still kept a photo of her and Jeff in happy times on her bedroom cabinet. As Luke gazed at the amateur shot, he felt a small burst of anger at Daisy. How could she have let Lex fool her? She was smarter than that. At least Luke had thought so. Now he wasn’t so sure. Look at all the damage that had been caused by one silly mistake!

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by: MacSas

“This looks cosy” Martin said, as Daisy and Bret turned to face him.

“Marty” Daisy smiled, still holding Bret’s forearms for support.

“Didn’t hear you knock” Bret said, by way of greeting.

“I didn’t” Martin said, looking pointedly at Daisy’s hands on Bret’s arms; Bret’s hands on Daisy’s waist.

Bret fought the urge to launch into a ‘this isn’t what it seems’ speech. Let Martin be jealous. And he was jealous. Bret could tell by the look in the other man’s eyes that he didn’t care for how close the lawyer and his lady were. Bret sighed inwardly. If only Martin knew how bad Daisy had tunnel vision when it came the Mountie. She truly saw no one else. And Bret could honestly say that he himself had tried just about everything to catch her eye, and on many occasions. No luck though. For her, it was all about Martin. Bret knew it wasn’t worth him wasting his time looking for a sign that would never be there for him. He knew it had been pointless the first time he’d seen Daisy and Martin together in Calgary. They interacted like an old married couple, in tune with each other so finely they made it seem like they’d been together forever. They were so comfortable in each other’s presence they didn’t need to fill silence with talk. They enjoyed companionable silences. That was rare, and Bret could only envy them their bond.

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by: MacSas

“Knock, knock”

Daisy opened her eyes at the sound of the deep male voice.

“Bret!” she laughed, sitting up.

The 6 foot 2 shadow walked into the light of the room and revealed a wide smile.

Bret Hart was a top criminal lawyer with his own practise in San Antonio. He’d taken Daisy’s first case against Lex after researching the man’s background. He was less than impressed by both the man and his business dealings. Lex dealt with high rollers and liked to have people believe that he himself was just as important. Anything that threatened that illusion was promptly dealt with. Hence, the predicament Daisy now found herself in. Along the way, Bret had gotten to know Daisy well, so that by the time the trial had concluded they’d developed a deep friendship. When they’d parted, Bret had feared that Lex wouldn’t be silenced, that he’d have another hand to play. He’d hoped he’d be wrong. But his instincts were rarely off the mark. It was what made him so good at what he did.

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