To Kill a Ghost

Linox couldn’t take his eyes off the man sitting across the aisle from him. His sandy hair was combed back, looking slightly darker than before when the sun shone on him, and his eyes gleamed with mischief. At Kirkland’s office, Linox would have described the man’s eyes as dead, but from this distance, they looked more playful. Why in the hell is this guy following me now?

He took deep, shuttering breaths as he turned his head to face the courtroom again. His fingers moved over his phone. Sarah wasn’t supposed to be here, so why? Linox’s thought was cut short by two people entering the room. The judge and the late defense attorney.

“Ms. Wilson, it’s about time.” The judge scoffed.

“Forgive me, I had a family matter,” Sarah threw the excuse at him as if it were nothing more than a bad taste in her mouth.

“Let’s get this over with.” The judge retorted. He flipped open a file before he looked at Malcom Barnes and the persecutors. “Barnes has been sentenced to twenty years in federal prison for attempted murder with a deadly weapon.”

“My client thinks he has found religion, Your Honor.” Sarah stood as she spoke.

“Who gave you permission to speak in my court, Ms. Wilson?” The judge’s icy glare filled the room with rage as Sarah took her seat.

Linox ventured a glance at Eli. He sat with a smirk on his lips and his arms crossed. There couldn’t be any weapons on him. Security would have found them. He would be in a cage if he tried to bring a gun in this place.

“Now you may speak,” the judge said, banging his gavel. Everyone jumped in startled excitement and a bit of fear.

“He has been an exemplary inmate, gotten an associate’s degree, and has found religion. I think he has learned his lesson.” Sarah answered. Her voice quivered, but her eyes remained locked on the fearsome man in the pulpit of the room. Linox rose to his feet, arms crossed over his chest, and scoffed loudly.

“Should I threaten you, or have you gotten the bigger picture yet?” The judge glared at him.

“I was brought here to speak against this man. Now is as good a time as any, right?” Linox’s voice didn’t shake nor did his hands. For once, the anger settled in and left him feeling revived. “So what, the sack of shit got a degree. Did you see the crime scene photos yet?” His eyes locked onto the back of his father’s head.

“No,” Sarah said as she turned toward him. Her mouth dropped open slightly before she returned her eyes to the judge. “I wasn’t given any information about the crime scene.”

“Were you giving any information about the crime, itself, Ms. Wilson?” The judge questioned.

She shook her head reluctantly as she answered, “No, Sir.”

“And what could you know that the lawyer doesn’t Mr.?” The judge turned to him.

“Reeves, Your Honor. Linox Reeves. I’m the one who found his wife lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood.” Linox glared forward now. Not worrying about the judge’s angry thoughts. He wanted his father to burst into flames.

“Why were you at their house, Mr. Reeves?” The judge looked down at him with a raised eyebrow before glancing at the file before him. Linox noticed the realization in his eyes.

“I am her son.” Linox stated. “He was never more than a sperm donor who thought he could rule a house with his drunken iron fists.”

“My client has been attending onsite AA meetings, Sir.” Sarah interjected.

“I don’t care if he claimed Jesus Christ is his councilor in those meetings, Lady. The first chance he gets, that man will take a drink. He’ll take as much as he can hold before the anger hits him. When it does, he’ll be right back here in this courtroom.” Linox moved his arms as they began to tingle. “Those idiots calling themselves prosecutors don’t need to argue. Let him out, fine, Judge. Remember it’s on you when the next woman ends up in a coma while her family wonders if there was any way in hell to keep this man locked behind bars for the rest of eternity.”

Linox grabbed his coat off the chair beside him and threw it around his shoulders, shoving his arms through the sleeves violently. “I should have been back at work twenty minutes ago. So, I don’t care what happens to him as long as the restraining orders hold.”

“What restraining orders?” His father’s deep voice sounded like a plea.

“The two I got the day you got arrested. If you get out, don’t you dare come crawling back to her. You don’t deserve the family we tried to be. She was good to you, and now I’m stuck waiting for the phone call saying she’s never going to open her eyes again.”

Linox turned away from him and walked toward the door. His hands knotted into fists inside his coat pockets. Fingernails bit into his palms leaving a stinging sensation that stopped most of his bloody thoughts, but he couldn’t help harboring a few ill willed fantasies about his father falling on a sharp knife repeatedly.

“Mr. Reeves,” the judge started.

Linox shook his head and turned toward the front of the room. “You want me to say more or you want me to sit back down, right? I’m done being in the same room as a man who only has a matter of time before he’s called a murderer instead of an abuser. Why should I care what anyone wants when I shouldn’t even be here?” He shoved the door open and stepped over the threshold.

No one spoke again before the door banged shut behind him. The thunderous sound knocked all the evil from his mind as he walked as fast as his feet would carry him to the outside. His lungs craved air and he craved distance. Thoughts struggled to form in his mind, but he couldn’t help see two faces in his minds. Linox could clearly see the playful eyes of a maniac and the false remorse of his father. He was left wondering two things now.

Are they going to let Malcom go? What is the sandy haired man inside the courtroom going to do next?