Vex and Vengeance

There had been a series of cases regarding horrific accidents that seemed all too coincidental. Every single inmate that had been released, had faced an extraordinary death. A hand stuck in a garbage disposal, getting crushed by loose pipes at a construction site, a slipped knife in a restaurant. All of which were entirely different from one another regarding their death, but all victims had the same profile. A white male middle-aged sex offender. All having been tried and sentenced to the minimum amount of jail time, not merely enough for the emotional damage they caused.

 

Maybe “victim” was the wrong term for them, but it’s safe to say they weren’t entirely innocent. Though the way they were killed was most certainly the farthest thing from innocence. The crime scene photos were nearly painted red, and the method of which they died was one straight out of some awfully directed horror film. 

 

The woman on trial was Rue Baker, the small town psychic who was well known by her peers for being the outcast of the small community, yet she had a very supportive following, one that included many lawyers, including her current one, Laurie Strouse. 

 

James Rowland was her prosecutor, who not to mention had a past conflict with Rue regarding her neighboring shop driving away any potential clients. The two had many arguments, if one could call Rowland shouting crude things while Rue leaned innocently making snarky comments an argument. It never phased her, she was used to backlash from other people, and they always ended with Rowland red in the face and a smirk plastered on hers. 

    

He claimed Rue was conspiring with the victims of the sex offenders, making the murders look like accidents. His proof was footage from his nearby office that captured the women leaving her shop days before the accidents occurred. 

    

Laurie argued it was a mere coincidence and the witnesses from the accidents proved none of the women were present at the scene and that everything happened naturally, as gruesome as it was. 

    

It wasn’t until everything was efficiently dismissed with logical explanations, mainly being that these women had been regular customers, attending her shop for guidance after their assaults. Rue showed them a new perspective, allowing them to find comfort in spirituality. This was an effective way to paint Rue in a positive light. 

    

However, Rowland was countering these claims by suggesting  she could have influenced these women to commit vengeful crimes with her being a witch and all. This was where Laurie drew the line.

    

“Your Honor, I would like to point out that freedom of religion should not be used in a court of law. Pinning these accidents on my client as a method of magic like Rowland is implying is like saying a man has murdered because God told him to. It’s simply invalid.” 

    

“Objection!” Rowland shouted. “The suspect's business is committed to practicing witchcraft. When I went I even saw bad luck charms and candles, intending to cause harm to others. It’s not too much to say these crimes are beyond her, or that this motive doesn’t suit her.”     

    

“These practices you are mentioning are harmless and Rue is dedicated to helping her clients rather than harming them. You can ask all of her customers. Some are even here today in support of her. Her dedication to her beliefs is no different than a Christian going to Church on a Sunday or praying every night before bed.”

    

It’s true there were some of Rue’s clients in the stands, all of which she had helped in some way to encourage them to be better and aid them in recovery. She noted that they were all wearing some sort of clear crystal, whether it be a bracelet or woven necklace. 

    

“And these ‘bad luck’ charms Ms. Baker?” the judge asked. 

  

“In my practices, they are just supposed to bring inconvenience to people who have wronged my clients, like forgetting their keys or stepping on gum. That is if they work.”

    

The judge sighed. Even she was beginning to realize this was a waste of time. 

    

“Mr. Rowland, you lack any sort of evidence aside from the connection of the victims past offenses visiting her shop, which I assume they did because of their traumatic experiences. There is no proof to show that Ms. Baker had an accomplice in these fatal accidents, and as I recall, you had a personal fall out with her, which is not helping your case.”

    

“Your Honor, my past relationship with Ms. Baker has nothing to do with this case,” he said strictly. 

    

“Well, what I am getting from your argument is that magic is real and these victims were cursed to die.” 

    

Rowland pursed his lips, huffing in defeat. 

    

“You do realize how ridiculous you sound right, Mr. Rowland?” She stared at him with wide eyes and a raised brow. 

    

Laurie could see Rue attempting to hide a smile from the post. She knew she had messed with Rowland in one way or another and his embarrassment was just the cherry on top. 

    

Once the jury came back with their supportive verdict, and the judge issued the “not guilty” finalization, they were free to go. 

  

The people began to pile into the hallway and in the midst of it all, Laurie could see Rue maneuvering her way through the crowd to her target. His back was facing her and she leaned subtly to whisper in his ear. 

    

“I’d say better luck next time, but I don’t think you have much of that now do you?” She grinned before walking away from his tight lipped and clenched jaw expression. 

 

---

    

They left the courthouse pleased with the verdict, not that they expected it to go any other way. Rue hopped in the passenger side while Laurie threw her briefcase in the back on top of other filled envelopes. As Rue glanced out the window, resting her chin in her hand, she saw Rowland walking to his car before stuffing his hands in his pockets and then patting frantically before running back inside. 

 

They began to drive, satisfied the both of them were able to go home with a sense of ease. The two lived relatively far from one another but Rue insisted they drive together. She grabbed the cylinder of clear quartz from the dashboard she had placed when she first got into the car. 

    

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Laurie said, breaking the comfortable silence. Rue hummed in response, not shifting her gaze from the window. 

​

“Why not Cory Galuchi or Matthew Diaz?” she questioned. “You showed no mercy to the other ones, except those two.”

​

She only smiled in response. 

    

“I mean I even looked into it and saw you have no personal connection with them, no reason to protect them, so why?”

    

“Why?” she cocked her head to the side, lowering her cat eye glasses to reveal her brownish-red eyes. “The jury system is good at covering for the real offenders, but they also do their fair share of wrong convictions.” 

    

Laurie furrowed her brows in response. 

    

“They were innocent,” she said simply, pushing her sunglasses back to the bridge of her nose. 

    

“And how could you know that?” she challenged. Their cases had been looked over by the jury and served their time in full without complaints. Though there was also the racial issue at hand, god knows the jury loves to paint minorities in a dark light. It makes it so much easier to believe someone who doesn’t look like everyone in the court is guilty than to prove otherwise. 

    

Rue scoffed. Laurie could tell she had rolled her eyes at the jabbing question despite having her eyes covered. She glanced over her shoulder briefly to see that Rue was looking at her before she returned her attention back to the road in front of them, kicking her feet up on the dashboard and crossing her hands behind her head. 

  

“I just do,” she smiled proudly. 

    

They drove until she reached Rue’s apartment on the outskirts of town, a tidy small two story condo with a shade of white that seemed brighter than those around it. Rue exited the car and began walking to the front porch when Laurie stopped her. 

    

“Hey,” she called, throwing a sealed vanilla envelope in her direction. She caught it effortlessly. “Wait a bit until the case dies down before you start on those ones, and please,” she begged, “stop making it so over the top.” 

    

“Well where’s the fun in that?” She grinned, before disappearing from view.