I didn’t see Riley or Genevieve the whole next week, which was a relief because I didn’t want to feel like a prisoner anymore, trapped inside my house, avoiding them at all costs. I spent most of the week with Elle, because August 17, the date of Oliver’s trial, was rapidly approaching. Elle’s parents had refused to file charges against him after he took her from their house. Her parents knew he didn’t intend to harm her, but the new district attorney, James Caldwell, was trying him for kidnapping anyway, despite the protests from Elle’s parents and most of the town. James Caldwell was on the news every night leading up to the trial, talking about how Oliver was going to be tried as an adult, not as a juvenile.
No matter what TV station I turned on, he was there, talking about the trial. “Oliver Rails needs to understand that there are consequences for his actions. Even though he did not make the dock collapse during the party—the illegal little party that was on privately-owned property—he knew what he was doing when he took Ms. Canan from her house and put her in that perilous position.”
“D.A. Caldwell, one more question?” asked the reporter, with his microphone right out in front to get every word he said.
“Just one more.”
“Is it true that you are seeking the maximum sentence for Oliver Rails?”
He looked right into the camera and said, “I will be seeking the maximum sentence allowed by Illinois law for committing such a heinous act. This type of recklessness toward innocent individuals will not be tolerated while I am around.” I turned off the TV. I couldn’t believe he was trying to get the maximum sentence. As much as I despised Oliver for what he did to Elle, he shouldn’t be charged with this. He had already paid heavily. His extensive injuries and being expelled from school were bad, but the worst thing for him must have been getting kicked off the football team. All of that was punishment enough in my mind. Being tried as an adult for kidnapping was way too harsh. Elle and I were going to be James Caldwell’s star witnesses, and she was beginning to crack. She tried hard to act like everything was fine, but I could tell it wasn’t.
Xavier, not Oliver, was the real reason the car went into the quarry lake, sending Elle and Oliver plummeting into the depths. I still remembered Xavier saying he didn’t care how Elle and I died, just as long as we did.
Oliver’s recovery from last spring’s injuries had been a slow one. He remained in a coma for a month after the accident. Without Chase, Oliver probably would never have awoken. On one side of Oliver’s face was a scar from his neck to his forehead, right along his eye. The scar was the result of hitting the windshield when the car went into the icy water. His good looks were now marred. He was a bully and a jerk, but Oliver didn’t deserve what Xavier did to him and what James Caldwell was about to do next. Xavier and the Seekers almost killed him and James Caldwell was about to ruin what was left of his life.
The day before the trial, Elle cried most of the night. All I could do was hold her once I got to her house.
“I don’t want to go. It was bad enough that I had to live through it. They can’t make me go,” she sobbed. She didn’t want to relive those horrible memories. I couldn’t blame her. I wanted to march down to the D.A.’s office and set him straight.
I, too, had strong emotions about testifying, but mine were different. I was upset at Oliver for taking Elle, but most of my anger was toward Xavier for almost killing her. I was afraid that the anger I felt would somehow come out in the courtroom and hurt Oliver’s chances.
The August heat reared its ugly head the day of the trial with the sun beating down on Winsor. The grey suit Cora got for me was made out of a lighter material so that I wouldn’t get overheated during the trial. I had gone through a pack of Tic Tacs that morning just in anticipation of what was about to happen. I hadn’t been able to talk to Elle yet, which made me even tenser.
The old stone courthouse in downtown Winsor was not air-conditioned, so an already stressful situation was magnified by the heat. Inside the courtroom was a large fan that oscillated back and forth, pushing around the hot stagnant air with little relief. The courtroom’s balcony was full of people who wanted to watch the drama unfold. The first floor was equally as crowded. The wooden benches were very uncomfortable, making it difficult to sit still. The courtroom hadn’t seen much maintenance or attention over the years. Parts of the ceiling looked like they had been patched hundreds of times; cracks and water spots covered it. The bluish paint on the walls was chipping off in long columns.
Cora and I got there early, but not early enough to get a seat in the front. We settled for a seat in the back of the courtroom on the first floor, close enough to hear what was going on, but that was it. I could only see about four rows in front of where we were. I didn’t really care to know what was happening up on the stand. I just wanted to get this over with.
“Nicholas, don’t worry about anything. Just answer truthfully and this will all be over soon,” Cora whispered to me, squeezing my hand.
I loosened my tie, hoping it would help cool me down and relieve some of my nerves, but it didn’t help. Elle walked by me with her family and sat down next to their lawyer up front. I think I was more nervous for her than for myself.
The trial began. I blocked out everything that was being said. I didn’t want to hear any of it. I closed my eyes and focused on my date with Elle on the golf course last year. The memory of such a perfect night blocked out what was happening in the courtroom.
Cora nudged me and whispered, “Elle.”
I didn’t realize that she was up on the stand. I sat straight up in my seat to get a better view. The fan was drowning out most of the dialogue between Elle and D.A. Caldwell, but I heard some of what they were saying.
“Ms. Canan, did you know that Oliver was going to drive off?” The D.A.’s voice boomed over the fans.
“No, but he wasn’t going—” Her fragile voice halted, interrupted by D.A. Caldwell.
“Thank you, Ms. Canan. I don’t need you to elaborate,” his smug voice rang.
The fire that had been dormant inside me ignited for the first time in a very long time. The acid welled up into my throat. I didn’t want to fight it. It felt good to feel hatred and anger toward James Caldwell.
“Ms. Canan, why did Oliver Rails come to your house in the first place? Was he looking for something?”
“Objection.” Oliver’s defense attorney stood.
But before he could say another word, James Caldwell said, “I will rephrase the question, Your Honor. Why did Oliver Rails come to your house, Ms. Canan?”
Oliver’s attorney sat down.
“He was looking for Nicholas,” Elle said quietly.
“I’m sorry. Can you repeat what you said a little bit louder for the courtroom?” James Caldwell said arrogantly, like he was having so much fun toying with her.
She took a big gulp, “Nicholas. He was looking for Nicholas.”
“Nicholas who?”
“Nicholas Keller,” Elle said, on the verge of tears.
“So why did he take you, then?” he asked.
I knew the D.A. was trying to trap her into admitting that Oliver took her against her will. My disgust for him for putting Elle through this was fueling the rage building in me.
“I guess he was trying to get back at Nicholas and that’s why he took me,” she answered in a very soft voice.
“Thank you. No further questions for this one, Your Honor,” he said like she didn’t matter, like she was nothing more to him than a means to an end.
The defense attorney then asked Elle a series of questions about how she knew Oliver and if they were friends. I couldn’t focus on what was being said. I was consumed by the way that the D.A. had treated Elle. I had to control myself from jumping up and knocking him out.
Cora nudged me again. “They just called your name,” she said.
I stood up. I could now see the entire courtroom. There wasn’t an empty seat in the place. I walked up and stood next to the judge, not looking into the crowd. A
fter being sworn in, I sat down. James Caldwell stood up with a couple of papers in his hand. He reminded me more of a used car salesman than a district attorney. His tight tan suit and thin blue leather tie looked like they were trying to escape off his body. It was not appropriate attire for an attorney at all; they were way too small for him. His comb-over didn’t make him look any younger. I could feel another wave of acid pushing up into my throat as my contempt for him grew. I had to control it. I looked out into the courtroom for Elle, hoping to gain some composure. It seemed like everyone from the school was there along with half the town. Coach Miller was near the front of the courtroom, flanked by Coach Hoff and Mrs. Kitchen, our sophomore principal. I saw Eric, Livi and also Matt farther back. Then I saw Elle and her parents. She was not looking up. She had her head buried in her dad’s chest. Seeing her that way intensified my disgust for the D.A., which didn’t help me control anything. It made it worse.
“Please state your name,” James Caldwell said.
“Nicholas Keller,” I spat out.
“Could you please state your real name?”
“That is my real name,” I answered shortly.
“No, I think your real name is Alexander Nicholas Taylor.”
He was trying to make me look like I was a liar so he could gain an advantage over me, but it wouldn’t work.
“That used to be my name, but it was legally changed to Nicholas Keller six years ago, so you may call me Nicholas or Mr. Keller if you’d like.”
He didn’t like that. By the look of some people in the courtroom, they were also stunned that I answered him so defiantly. Why shouldn’t I answer him that way? The fact that he thought he was a big shot didn’t mean anything to me.
“Mr. Keller, please stick to the questions that are asked of you,” Judge Barnhart said. “I will not have that type of behavior in my courtroom.”
“Yes, Your Honor,” I said.
“Thank you, Your Honor. So, Mr. Keller, was Oliver a friend?” James Caldwell asked.
As soon as he asked the question I knew where he was going with this. He was going to try to make Oliver out to be some sort of monster who was trying to seek revenge against me by kidnapping Elle.
“No, not a friend of mine,” I answered.
He followed quickly with the next question.
“He picked on you a lot?”
“No more than the other guys on the varsity team did.” That wasn’t exactly true, but he always had someone with him when he harassed me, so the answer wasn’t actually a lie either. The D.A.’s face twisted with frustration, obviously not expecting that answer.
“But wasn’t Oliver always picking on you in school and at football?”
“No,” I said. He wasn’t always picking on me because he wasn’t always around me. The D.A. really should have phrased his question better. A glint of anger appeared in his eye.
“Did you see Oliver punch you the night of Homecoming?”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t see what he did.” I knew he punched me, but I never actually saw him hit me. Again, James Caldwell should have phrased his question better.
The look on his face was priceless. He was fuming. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. I was enjoying putting him through this, embarrassing him for what he did to Elle. The courtroom was no longer silent. There was a lot of commotion. He walked up to the microphone and put his hand on it and whispered to me.
“I know what you’re doing, you little punk. But it’s not wise to mess with me. I know what happened that night and how you were able to save your little girlfriend. So you better start answering my questions, or I’ll start to question you about how you were able to save them both. Or maybe I will call your little girlfriend back on the stand to put her through some more. You don’t want that, do you?”
He leaned away. The judge didn’t hear anything. She was preoccupied with the crowd. I grabbed hold of the seat, fighting back the urge to jump off the witness stand.
D.A. Caldwell resumed his questioning. “Okay, Nicholas, who did Elle Canan go with to the Homecoming Dance last year?”
“Oliver.”
I didn’t want to answer him, but I had to now. How could he know about my talents? He had to be bluffing. He was looking for an advantage of some sort and was trying anything. I couldn’t see Elle’s face because she was still buried in her father’s chest. I was on the verge of losing it when I caught sight of Genevieve and Riley. Riley looked very calm and Genevieve looked so motherly, which caught me off-guard. Her eyes were full of compassion. I stared into them for a brief second. Just when I thought I couldn’t control myself any longer, the anger was gone, extinguished. Somehow Genevieve was able to tame the anger, just like Elle. I became focused once again.
“Mr. Keller, why did you go to the rock quarry that night?”
“I went because I knew that Oliver had taken Elle with him and I wanted to make sure she was okay.”
The D.A. smiled. “Why is that?”
He was leading me down a path and I knew what the outcome would be, but I had no choice. I had to say it.
“I was making sure she was okay because she would have never gone with him by choice.”
“No further questions, Your Honor.” He got what he wanted.
Oliver’s attorney asked me if I thought Oliver would hurt Elle. I answered no. He asked a bunch of other questions, hoping to portray Oliver as a bully, but not as a kidnapper. Finally, I was dismissed.
What did James Caldwell mean when he said that he knew about how I saved her? Maybe he was part of Xavier’s plan to get to me, or worse, was he one of the three Seekers? Regardless, I was more interested in getting to Elle so I could make sure she was all right and reassure her that everything was going to be okay.
The day’s proceedings ended hours later. Cora and I were walking to our truck when the image of Genevieve sitting in the courtroom appeared in my head. How was that self-absorbed person able to calm me like Elle could? She was nothing like Elle.
I had to face the fact that I needed to talk with Riley and Genevieve to figure out what the next step was in finding the 4th. The world was not going to stop so I could try to have a normal life, which fell out of reach for me a long time ago. Time would move on with or without me. Hopefully, working with them would eventually give Elle and me some sort of future together.