Ah Friday, and soon it will be the fourth and cause for celebration. Admittedly my neighbors have been celebrating for a week at this point. So the fireworks and dog howls are pretty much a nightly constant. But tomorrow will be filled with the scent of barbeques and fireworks so hopefully that will be the crescendo. For now, we have the writing prompt. Timers set and off we go.
No clue where this is going, but I do like the idea of the person who always gets away with everything finally getting caught in a forgery because he didn’t realize the law actually applied to him as well. Or that someone might not take his word over evidence. Could be the beginning of the great unraveling of lies, or the end to something, not sure.
Friday, July 3rd: The judge looked surprised.
The judge looked surprised. He stared down at the page and then back at the smug looking man sitting at the desk. He kept darting victorious looks at the defendant.
“Mr. Peters,” the judge said slowly. “Are you certain you don’t want to consult a lawyer?”
“I am representing myself,” Peters said. He smiled winningly. “I am more than competent.”
The judge looked back down at the papers and doubted the competency. “And these are the papers you are submitting?”
“They are, your honor,” Peters said. He shot another smug look at the defendant who looked tired and somewhat annoyed for being there. He brought a lawyer and his lawyer looked competent.
“I am certain this will prove that I am rightful owner of the property,” Peters continued.
“Mr. Peters, these documents are forgeries. Bad ones,” the judge said.
“They most certainly are not,” Peters declared. “With all due respect your honor, you are mistaken.”
He had the confidence of someone who expected to be believed. The judge looked out over the room and saw that his side of the courtroom was packed. Many looked incensed that he was even associated with any sort of wrongdoing. Others had more thoughtful looks and he suspected they were reevaluating their support.
Slowly and for the record, the judge went through the details. He suspected every line would be challenged at some point and he liked to be thorough. Questions were asked, by both him and the lawyer the defendant brought in. Details were exposed.
The judge let the recorder put it all into the record before calling an end to the farce. Finally he pronounced judgement, which was to charge the plaintiff with presenting falsified evidence and declaring officially in favor of the defendant. It was clear the defendant owned the property. He made certain that all fines and costs were paid by the plaintiff as well as levying a fine for the documents. If he could prove Peters created the documents the fine would be heavier, but Peters was smart enough not to provide that evidence.
Peters did not take the verdict well. The defendant merely looked relieved and exhausted. Peters protested loudly. There was a contingency of those watching who protested loudly. There were more who left before the final verdict. Even more now sneaking out so that they wouldn’t be seen to be standing behind Peters when the defendant turned around.
The judge thought that was a lost cause. He saw the defendant take note of faces when he arrived and doubted the support would have gone unremarked. He had to bang his gavel a number of times and send the bailiff to escort Peters out. His yells could still be heard in the hall.
Ten til Midnight 