“What happened, Dad?” Ness sunk back into her pillows in a silent form of resignation.
“After you and your mom left the cinema to come home, you were hit by a drunk driver,” her father answered as he sat back down in his chair. Ness could see how ashen and defeated he looked.
“Who is he?” Ness asked with a hardening intensity in her eyes. “The police will come in soon now that you’re awake and talk over the details with you. But, fortunately, they have the guy, and they will prosecute him as harshly as they can,” he said as he sat in his chair, but his defeated look didn’t leave him.
“Dad, you’re the chief of police in our village; isn’t there something you can do to make this sack of shit rot for what he did?” Ness forced herself to sit up straighter in her bed.
“It’s out of my hands, Ness. There’s a lot more at stake here than just nailing a drunk driver. He’s the son of a politician or something, and I have been told not to approach this case,” Ness’ father rubbed his forehead.
“What?” Ness’ eyes were now flaming with rage. She had never seen her father act in such a pathetic way before.
Before her father could answer, the nurse walked in to check on her vitals and was astonished to find her awake.
“I wasn’t expecting you to be awake for a while, but I’m so glad that you’re doing alright, sweetheart,” the nurse answered in a southern accent as she quickly moved her large frame over to Ness’ bedside. She propped Ness up on her pillows, without too much concern of moving her because even though her back was severely bruised, there wasn’t any sign of damage to her spinal cord—she would make a complete recovery from her physical injuries. Nevertheless, she wasn’t overly impressed when the nurse moved her from her semi-comfortable position.
“Your vitals are doing well, but you are going to be spending a few weeks here because your spleen and liver were severely damaged by the force of the collision. The surgeons managed to repair your liver, but they had to remove your spleen. However, you will heal in time. That said, if you’re up to it, there are two police officers that would like to speak to you about what happened.”
“Was my mom killed instantly?” Ness asked, disregarding the nurse’s question.
The nurse looked at Ness’ father not feeling quite sure on how to answer Ness, and he just shrugged in his seat. “No, sweetheart, your mom was alive when she arrived here, but her injuries were too extensive, and she died in surgery.” Ness didn’t respond, but the nurse watched a darkness start to creep in behind Ness’ eyes. However, as a professional, she just chalked it up to the trauma of the incident. Little did she know that there was a much more sinister force welling up in her.
“You can send the police in,” Ness said flatly after a few moments. “I’ll get them for you.”
The nurse answered and left the room. A few moments later, the police officers walked in and greeted Ness’ father first. They were from the Chicago Police Department, and even though Ness’ father was the sheriff in North Utica, their paths had crossed a few times; they respected the type of man that he was. They walked over to Ness’ bedside and grabbed two chairs to sit down next to her.
“Hello, Ness. I’m Officer Chedwiggen, and this is my partner, officer Austin. We’d like to talk to you about what happened a few nights ago when you and your mom were involved in the accident. Are you alright to go through a few details with us?” Chedwiggen asked.
Ness nodded. The officers got into their questions, and every answer that Ness gave them produced more pain inside of her. Her physical injuries may be able to heal, but Ness wasn’t so sure about the emotional turmoil that was darkening her soul. She thirsted for the blood of the man that killed her mother.
2
6 months later . . .
Ness, along with the rest of the congregation in the courtroom, stood as the judge reentered and sat down in his seat. Ness was anxious of the verdict because the lawyer who Henry Martin hired—the man that managed to ruin the lives of the Elliott family in a single moment of a drunken stupor—was very expensive and very influential. He managed to cast a doubt over everything that was presented to the jury in the case revolving around Ness’ testimony and shoddy police work.
The judge sighed as he asked Henry Martin to stand while he presented him with his verdict: “Mr. Martin, there is no doubt in my mind that you are guilty of the crime that you committed, but, unfortunately, the evidence collected on the evening of the collision appears to be tampered with and is therefore inadmissible. Additionally, because your blood tests were only performed the next day when you were in hospital, it doesn’t give us a clear indication of your blood alcohol level at the time of the accident. It is, therefore, my duty to stop these proceedings. This means that this case is out of the jury’s and out of my hands. Mr. Martin, you’re free to go,” the judge said as he brought the gavel down onto his bench. “Court is adjourned.”
There was an exchanged and disgusted awe between the audience as Henry Martin smiled and thanked the judge before shaking the hand of his lawyer. All Ness could do was watch the man that killed her mother and destroyed her life walk away, completely unpunished.
She scratched a small scar on the back of her wrist where one of the exploding pieces of glass tore into her flesh during the impact. She made eye contact with Martin as he
