Accused (Ganzfield) by Kate Kaynak Read Free Book Online Page B

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    Someone told us to rise, and then Trevor and my mom took seats directly behind me. Trevor’s invisible hands came up to rest on my shoulders, still and gentle. It was as though I could feel his love coming through them.
    Coleman and the prosecutor approached the judge. I gathered that Coleman needed special permission to practice law in Massachusetts, since he was a member of the New York bar. No big deal—getting special permission wasnever a problem for Coleman.
    I tried—and failed—to follow the court proceedings. I was underwater, occasionally breaking the surface and hearing a few details, but then submerging again into a place where I heard only garbled, Charlie-Brown-teacher language that made no sense. I kept trying, though, since this discussion would pretty much define the course of my life. The prosecutor went on for a good bit about me being a “suspiciously wealthy” emancipated minor who’d killed three boys in New Jersey and who’d received the final email sent from the account of former Congressman Isaiah Lerner, who was now presumed dead.
    Coleman let the prosecutor talk for a little, and then slid his chair back as he stood. “I request a sidebar, Your Honor.” He and the prosecutor went up to talk off the record with the judge for a minute, and then Coleman came back to stand next to me. “Your Honor, I make a motion to dismiss all charges against this innocent, disabled teenager. She has clearly been the target of a delusional witch hunt.” He waxed eloquent for the record. “There is no evidence to support the allegations that Ms. Dunn had any means to commit the crimes for which she has been charged. Records indicate that Isaiah Lerner died years ago, not this past spring as the prosecution alleges. Furthermore, Ms. Dunn has been held at an undisclosed location since July without access to counsel, a clear and gross violation of habeas corpus.”
    Both the judge and the prosecutor nodded along.
    “Case dismissed, with the apologies of the court to Ms. Dunn.” The judge smacked his gavel down on a little round block.
    “No! You can’t do that! You don’t know what she is!” Everyone turned as an irate Colonel Hunter jumped up from the last row of the courtroom. I hadn’t noticed him come in. Now he bore down on us with eyes full of righteous indignation. The sight of him made my entire body feel weak and broken. The chair pressed up against me as gravity started to pull me underground.
    Trevor moved in, positioning himself between Hunter and me.
    “Stop. Right. There.” Coleman’s voice resonated.
    Colonel Hunter tripped to a sudden halt. He glared at Coleman with a hiss of cold hate. “You’re one of them.”
    Bailiffs grabbed Hunter and restrained him, not noticing that he’d stopped short at the sound of Coleman’s voice. The judge started throwing around stern words about “contempt of court.”
    “Your Honor, this man is clearly mentally unstable.” Coleman’s charm-voice was strong. “He should be committed for psychiatric observation and care.” He looked at the bailiffs and the other court officers as he added, “And you all think that is the proper course of action.”
    The officers nodded back.
    The judge gestured to the bailiffs and suddenly Hunter was restrained and on his way to a state mental hospital and I was being released. Huh. That seemed fair.
    Karmic or something.
    Trevor kept two sets of arms around me as we left the courthouse. My mom pulled out a cell phone and made a quick call. Greg Guchlu, Williamson’s driver, materialized at the curb less than a minute later. We were suddenly in Williamson’s town car, heading north to Ganzfield.
    Heading home.
    In the rearview mirror, Greg gave me a sympathetic look.
    I curled into Trevor’s embrace. A sense of peace wrapped around me.
    Safe.
    I unfolded one arm from my defensive fetal ball and clung to him. I didn’t even care if my mom saw us like this—I needed him right now.
    My mom kept