SEVEN-THE TRIAL OF JUSTICE

POV- EVANGELINE HOPES

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Officer, I am telling you the truth, I don't know what you are talking about," I shouted at him.

"Take your time, Miss Hopes. After all, you can't deny the fact that you are the mastermind," Officer Harry smiled at me and walked away from the prison. I kicked the table in front of me.

"Damn, what the hell is this?"

A few hours ago, I was surprised to see Officer Harry Milton in front of the house.

"You didn't expect we would meet so soon, right? Evangeline, or should I call you the mastermind?" he told me.

My eyes widened at what I heard.

"I don't get you," I told him.

"Miss Evangeline Hopes, you are under arrest in the murder case of the mastermind," he placed his cuffs on me.

I was shocked at his actions.

"No, you are mistaken. I am not," I shouted at him.

"We can discuss those in the interrogation," I saw the media in front of our house. The cops took me into custody, and here I am.

I don't understand, how the hell did they end up with this conclusion? How can I become the mastermind?

My head began to hurt a lot. The blood began to come out from my nose. I wiped it in frustration.

Footsteps approached the interrogation room. I looked up in wonder to see who was there.

It was my colleagues, Odin, Tiara, and Bill.

"Guys... My face is sticky," I said.

"Black witch, this face doesn't suit you," Odin commented on me. I stared at him blankly.

"Eva..." Tiara hugged me, calming me down.

"Now, I know you are innocent. However, we want to know the truth. So explain everything you know, Eva," my boss, Bill, became serious about the matter. I explained everything to them.

"Don't worry, tomorrow you will be free. 'Bill said.

"Yes," I told them.

"There is one person who wants to see you really badly. We are giving you some space," Odin told me, and then both of them left.

"Ange..." I heard that alluring voice again. He hugged me tightly. I hugged him too. He began to kiss all over my face.

"Calm down, you are making me emotional," I scolded him mischievously.

"You idiot," he smiled at me.

"I will be fine by tomorrow," I held his hands.

"Yeah, I know. Dad will come today. A lot of people want to help you, Ange," he told me.

"Time is up," some random officer told us.

"See you soon," I told him.

That night I spent in a cold prison. I took the polygraph test, which was issued by the court. I knew I had been hot news for the media for a few days.

The trial day had come. The court started when the honorable judge arrived. He smiled at me. He was a famous judge I had only seen once. He was Mr. Albino's senior, Mr. Abel Harrison.

"I didn't expect to see you like this, black devil," he commented on me.

"Your honor, lately I have been having unfortunate things in my life, that's why I am here," I replied.

"Let's hope you will win for the truth," he commented. I saw Zeraf, Tiara, Bill, and Odin sitting near the advocates. Compared to yesterday, they all stared at me in a different way. Then the prosecutor started the case. It was none other than Albino. He was a criminal lawyer and a prosecutor. He smirked at me, and I smiled back.

The trial started with an explanation of the mastermind case.

"My lord, this case was justified as a revenge story. Before that, let's examine the murders. The criminal sketched them in the beginning, then stalked the victims' daily lives, and then the criminal came up with an extremely brilliant plan for the execution of the victims," the prosecutor explained.

According to the autopsy report, these people were discovered dead in their apartment. Both were found in the bathtub with their throats slashed. According to the autopsy report, everyone died between 12 and 3 a.m. There were no fingerprints or other evidence. However, the police discovered that the criminal had engraved his name on the victims' bodies. Another important detail is that all of the victims lived in the same apartment building. Each victim died on consecutive days. According to the autopsy report, the victims died as follows:

- Former Mayor Peterson died on Monday.

- Famous CEO Percy died on Tuesday.

- News reporter Steve died on Wednesday.

- Retired officer Gary, the recent Chief of Police Department, died on Thursday.

- Advocate Melvin, a well-known criminal lawyer, died on Friday.

- Doctor Firoze, a well-known forensic expert, died on Saturday.

It's a shocking pattern. When Peterson died, the next day the mastermind killed his son Percy, and then the next day Mr. Steve. This continued for another week, with each victim dying on a consecutive day. The mastermind took an entire week to kill them and then set it up so that no one noticed for another week. When the bodies began to decay, the mastermind purposely let others know.

The next fact is that the mastermind used his intelligence to portray these murders as psychopathic actions. He used his own name and carved it on the victims' bodies. He used the same weapon, a surgical blade measuring 10 inches, to slash their throats. The depth of the slashes indicated that it could have been done by a surgical blade.

The next clue is the most important one that triggers this case. The seventh victim, Miss Miranda Colin, died a few days ago. She died in the same method, and unfortunately, we didn't find any carvings of the mastermind. But the weapon was the same, a surgical blade measuring 10 inches. Her death investigation triggered this case and revealed that she was the seventh victim of the mastermind.

"Your honor, there are some witnesses to the crime. Let us interrogate them," the prosecutor said.

The witnesses turned out to be the watchman and a neighbor woman. They identified Miss Hopes as the mastermind because she bought an apartment on the same floor. They saw her acting suspiciously, and her flat was near the victims' apartments. It doesn't justify Miss Hopes' actions as a coincidence.

"In the cases of the six victims, it was perfect. But the mastermind made a mistake with the seventh victim by leaving behind the murder weapon and fingerprints. And in the same hospital, Miss Hopes was admitted for treatment," the prosecutor continued.

"Your honor, we found some evidence in Miss Hopes' house during the interrogation. It was the lost footage of a CCTV camera and the six surgical blades she used to murder the victims. The bloodstains match the victims' blood groups," the prosecutor presented his evidence.

Next, the motive for these murders was made clear. Miss Hopes was taking revenge on the victims who were involved in the 1977/23 Myla rape case. Her mother had handled the case but died in a cruel way. Miss Hopes believed that these people were involved in her mother's death, although it was a mere assumption without proof. This belief led her to become the mastermind.

"My lord, I have submitted all the evidence along with the police investigation report, which was written by Mr. Harry Milton, the special investigator. I request you to consider all the facts that lead to Miss Evangeline as the mastermind. For the justice of the victims, I hope the court will ensure a suitable punishment for Miss Evangeline for her crimes," the prosecutor concluded and walked back to his seat.

I was frozen throughout the entire explanation. All the evidence he presented to the court was pointing at me as the killer. I didn't have any clue about these. I denied it, but it turned out to be futile.

"I didn't do it... I am not the mastermind... trust me!" I shouted. My head began to hurt again, and blood started coming out from my nose.

"It's time for you to prove yourself, Evangeline. After all, your lawyers didn't deny anything proposed by the prosecution," Odin entered the court.

"What is this?" With a swallowing darkness, I patiently waited for Odin's defense.

#To be continued