Is Camille guilty or not? Here is Part 2 to Thursday’s post,For Camille
Tony was drinking his fourth cup of black coffee. He was a nervous wreck. Tiday they would meet with the lawyer that had been highly reccomended to him by his good friend, Arthur.
Arthur, was residing at the Golden Oaks retirement home now, but Tony had visited him last week. That was the one day, since all this drama began that Tony had been able to laugh. One couldn’t be around crazy Arthur and not laugh!
For a moment in time, when with his friend, Tony was able to forget the looming trial. The one that hung over them like a ticking time bomb. But for a moment Tony felt his stress lighten. A priceless feeling in this cesspool of worry and fear, trying to suck him under.
Camille barely spoke on the drive to see the lawyer. It was all becoming too real. Here she sat. Sitting in a lawyer’s office. She looked around, pulling nervously at her hair. The rich tones of the hardwood floor had a glossy shine to them, Monet’s paintings hung on the wall. Everything looked perfect, compared to her life which was falling apart.
Camille enjoyed painting, she wanted to be an artist. Was working hard on some pieces for a portfolio. Were all her efforts in vain now? Would she have to say goodbye to the chance of a job at New York’s Museum of Art?
Say goodbye to her dreams because of one horrible night? Tears threatened but she drew in a deep breath and sat up straight. She would not break down in front of the lawyer. The door opened. “Let the show begin.” Camille thought, she could do this. She had to do this.
“Good Afternoon! My name is Ronald Diber.’ He shook Tony and Camille’s hands and then sat back in his chair. “I read the police report but now I want to hear it from you directly. What happened Camille?”
His piercing eyes made Camille want to disappear. She gulped, and took a deep breath. Her hands were already sweaty as she kept clasping and unclasping them.
Ronald handed her a stress ball. “This may help give you something to do. Squeeze it as hard as you want.”
After a few squeezes she apoke. “I was at a party with my best friend Gina. A guy named Carl introduced himself to Gina, and she danced some with him and then was done. But Carl wasn’t. He tightened his grip on Gina and was hurting her. All I did was give him a strong kick that made him bend over in pain. Then Gina and I left the party. The End”
Camille held her gaze as the lawyer stared “So, you are telling me thats all there is to the story? Seems to me that you forgot a critical detail, for how did Carl end up dead in the woods? Some people said they heard you threaten Carl at the party. Is that true?”
“I may have said some things, I was upset.”
Ronald tapped his pen against the table, not saying anything.
She squeezed tue stress ball hard. Her heart hammering. Her mouth was dry. It felt like the lawyer could see right through her.
There were more visits with the lawyer. Camille’s stomach was in a perpetual knot. Finally the day they had anxiously been waiting for came. The judge’s decision about whether there was enough evidence to go to trial.
Camille froze when the phone rang. Her dad answered it. They had been waiting all morning for the call.
He gripped the phone hard, “Hello..”
“Thank you sir. Yes, I will tell her. Goodbye.”
Tony’s hand trembled, letting the phone drop to the floor. He pulled Camille into a big hug, tears running down his cheeks. They clung to each other.
“Due to insufficient evidence they aren’t proceeding with the trial. You are cleared!”
Never had Camille known such relief! It was over. Her nightmare was over. No one would ever know the full details of what happened that horrible night. The night she had to walk through the woods to go home.
Many years passed. Camille had ended up moving to New York and selling her artwork. Tony beamed with pride.
Her painting, “Hidden Secrets” was the most expensive painting yet that she had sold.
Nuggets of Gold 