(no subject)

Bonnie finds herself feeling particularly nervous as she steps into the court. It isn't the first time John's been in the dock, but with a potential murder charge this time, it's somewhat more serious.

Lucy hadn't been able to face it, and Bonnie is feeling her absence. But since hearing from John that there may be drug dealers after them, Lucy has been all the more afraid of people watching the house. And frankly, Bonnie doesn't blame her for that.

She finds a seat ready to give her character witness statement. Because John doesn't remember the death of his cellmate, Daniel Stone, the more information, the better. A few minutes later, Alvin comes to sit next to her, squeezing her hand gently.

She looks across the court. There is a woman about her age, staring at the floor, silent tears dripping down her cheeks. There's a young lad next to her, in a black suit, whose expression is unreadable. Bonnie realises they must be Stone's family, his mum maybe, and a little brother? Maybe even a son.

The court is soon full, and John is led in, in his prison overalls. At least this time he's sober.

The first part of the trial is a blur, and continues as such for days. (For once, Bonnie is glad she doesn't live in the future, where apparently the amount of forensic evidence keeps trials going for weeks). Her eyes are constantly drawn to the silently crying woman. She'd been imagining Stone as a degenerate, a drug dealer, an evil criminal who threatened her family. Not as a son, a brother, a dad.

Finally her name is being called, and she rises and goes to take the stand. She takes her oath, then a deep breath.

"My name is Bonnie Murdock, and I am a foster carer. I brought John up from the age of thirteen, with his little brother Alvin. John did not have an easy childhood. He was born to parents that, for some reason, he felt never loved him. They did not beat him, or physically neglect him, but he never felt he belonged, and that was even worse once his little brother Alvin came along, who his parents adored. When his parents were killed in the war, he never resolved that, there was never any closure. He came to me a troubled young boy and remains a very troubled young man.

But I've helped raise sixteen boys, and if you asked me who I would be worried about killin' someone, it would never have been John. He's gambled, he's turned to drugs, he's done a lot of stupid things, and he's not been the best father by a long way, but I don't believe he's a killer."

As she sits down, the woman who has been crying looks at her, and it's heartbreaking. She swallows a lump in her throat.

John's time on the stand does not go well. The prosecution asks him to account for his fingerprints on the syringe of heroin that killed Stone, which he manages to account for by stating they shared it. But he stumbles over the details, until finally, the prosecuting lawyer pounces.

"Your story has never added up." he says. "You told us that on the night in question, you both took the drugs, and that you were asked to steal the syringes and needles beforehand. But we know that the deceased was blackmailing you, threatening to harm your brother and aunts. And we know from the post-mortem that there was evidence that the deceased suffocated, which you cannot explain by the position in which he was found. You smothered him, didn't you? You waited until he was intoxicated, and then you smothered him."

"No!" John protests.

The judge bangs the gavel for order. Bonnie watches John break down, wanting to get up and comfort him, but can't.

The jury goes out for deliberation. Bonnie excuses herself for a rest break. As she comes out of the bathroom, the crying woman is standing in front of the mirror, trying to straighten up her make-up. Bonnie offers her a tissue, and the woman looks at her.

"Is he... was he your son?" Bonnie asks.

The woman nods.

"I'm sorry fer your loss." Bonnie says.

Mrs Stone looks at the floor, then back at her.

"If it was the other way around, if it was your John that was dead, at the hands of my Daniel? What would you want to happen?"

Bonnie bites her lip. "I'd want justice. I wouldn't want to believe it had happened by accident." she says quietly.

She gently squeezes the other woman's shoulder, and then goes back out.


It doesn't take the jury long to deliberate, just a few hours, which Bonnie doesn't have a positive feeling about. As everyone files back in, John looks like a broken man, and won't meet her eye.

"Has the jury reached their verdict?" the judge asks.

"We find the defendant guilty of second degree murder."

Bonnie gasps. "On what grounds?!" she yells, standing up. "You got no evidence he did it, how can you know if he don't even know?!"

"Mrs Murdock if you don't quieten down you will be removed from this court and fined for contempt." the judge says. "John Murdock, I sentence you to fifteen years in prison."

As they lead John away, Bonnie finally catches his eye. He gives just a little nod. As he disappears, Bonnie sees someone else step up towards John, a tall man in a smart tailored suit. Another lawyer perhaps? In any case, the man misses his chance to speak to John, who is rapidly taken away.

As they leave, she glances at Alvin. The expression on his face says it all.

"You know, don't you? He's told you he did it, hasn't he?" she says.

Alvin grimaces.

"He did it to protect us, me." he says quietly. "He didn't plan it, it just happened. He said I wasn't to tell you before the trial, because it would have made it impossible for you to be a character witness." He shakes his head. "I always thought he hated me, but he wouldn't let Stone get me."

"That don't make it okay." Bonnie says.

"I know. None of this is okay." Alvin says, as she hugs him, then gets onto her motorbike and rides away. When she's gone, he turns and goes back into the court, and quietly approaches the man in the tailored suit.

"You shouldn't be here." he says, in his quiet, gentle voice. The man in the tailored suit turns around.

"Alvin! It's been a while." the man looks at him with a grim, sad expression. "Never thought I'd see John this way. I hadn't heard about your Mom and Dad passing..."

"Sir, with all due respect, the last person John needs to see right now is you." Alvin says. "I'm not stupid, I know what happened."

Not trusting himself to say any more, he turns and walks away. The man follows him.

"Alvin! Tell me where John's..."

Alvin breaks into a run, vicarly attire and all, and doesn't stop until he reaches his car.