Jack sat in the front row with Brad to his left and his parents, dressed in their Sunday best, to his right. Brenda, Andrew, and Donna’s sister, Sherri, sat in the row behind Jack. Sherri was already dabbing the tears away with tissue. They all waited impatiently for the hearing to begin. Ron Baxter, the crown prosecutor, sat at the table in front shuffling through a thick stack of documents.
Fred and Tracey sat at the other end of the courtroom with their lawyer, Brian Barry, and waited for their son Josh to be brought in by the officers. Fred wore his finest business suit. Tracey wore dark clothes that made her look like she was in mourning. She stared straight ahead. Neither Fred nor Tracey acknowledged Jack or his family members. There were a number of younger spectators sitting at the back of the gallery whom Jack didn’t recognized. He assumed they were Josh’s friends from the University.
Jack stole glances at Fred and Tracey when he could. He watched them with mixed emotions. He wasn’t sure if he should show them sympathy or shout at them in anger. They hadn’t spoken a word to each other since Donna’s death, and though he really wanted to say something, Jack knew he would not be able to find the right words.
Officers ushered Josh into the gallery. He wore the Remand Center's orange inmate clothing, carried his head low and his eyes cast towards the floor, as he shuffled over to the single table centered below the judge. He wore chains on his ankles and wrists; he kept his hands folded. Jack was confused at the sight of Josh in chains, but he suspected it was just for show.
The session was short and quick. Judge Rumpoldt read the charges and asked Josh how he was pleading. Brian Barry stood beside Josh and prompted Josh in whispers. Josh pleaded innocent on all charges through an abundance of tears and broken voice. The judge asked Josh to repeat himself multiple times as he could not understand Josh through his trembles and tears. The repetition brought a flurry of mumbles and chatter from the gallery and forced Judge Rumpoldt to demand order each time.
Both sides pled their case on the matter of bail; Josh's lawyer insisted that Josh should be allowed to go home and remain under house arrest.
“Josh is a good kid with no record, and he is not a risk to the general population,” Brian Barry said.
The prosecution explained the brutality of the murder.
“This boy is pleading not guilty to this heinous crime, but that simply shows that he feels no remorse and takes no responsibility for the crime he is being charged with. Those tears are an act!” Ron Baxter insisted. "Would any young housewife in Bluffington feel safe in their own neighborhood knowing this monster was free to walk up and down the streets at night?"
None of the evidence could be presented from either side at this point, so the decision fell to the judge to make his decision based solely on the assessments and risks presented before him.
“Mr. Anderson will be remanded without bail until the trial,” the judge said.
Jack suspected the judge made this decision because if Josh were allowed return home, Jack would be right next door to the suspect charged with his wife's murder once he got his house back. Who knew what horrors could occur in that situation.
As Josh broke down in audible tears and was barely able to stand, Tracey shuddered and fell to her seat. Fred said nothing and only stared at the back of Josh’s head.
Jack hugged his parents and showed little emotion about the decision.
As everyone began to clear out of the courtroom, Jack looked around to see if Dean was in attendance, but he was nowhere to be seen.