1.8 - Falsely Accused

After Joey and Grizella had moved in with Gary, life went on as it normally should have. The fall settled in, making the fiery-colored leaves fall all around us in the colder weather. I was taking off of work again, as I found out I was pregnant a second time. It came as a surprise to me, as I was so focused on everything else that by the time I realized I was pregnant, I was five months along. "I just figured you put on weight." Grant said before I slapped him on the back of his head. 

      Grant, in the meantime, had sold the laptop I had bought him and bought a new one. When he wasn't spending time with me, he was on the internet or writing poetry on his laptop. I didn't mind much, The old one was getting trashed anyway.

      Grant was always a thinker, and he tended to write these deep poems about life and everything else. He even wrote some of them for me. I was kind of surprised how good he was at it.

      When he wasn't spending time with me, writing poetry, or reading up on gardening or tinkering on things around the house, he was helping me out with the twins, who were getting bigger and bigger every day.

      Soon enough, it was time for me to give birth. Grant drove me to the hospital as fast as possible and got George and my mother to babysit the twins. I gave birth to a healthy baby boy who we named Gavin, after Grant's favorite musician Gavin Degraw.

      Gavin's birth meant I was able to get back to being a Lifeguard. I worked out on the treadmill every day for multiple hours so I could get back in shape. Having three kids usually had a tendency to ruin that.

     One night, a couple months after Gavin was born, I was writing a post on my blog when I heard Grant's voice from downstairs. "Meredith! Come down here, you need to see this."
     Grant had the news channel turned on. His eyes seemed to be blinded from everything else but what was going on. I sat down next to him and watched. A fairly attractive female reporter held her hands crossed in front of her as she spoke.
     "About an hour ago, an explosion was reported from the town of Starlight Shores. Firefighters were able to contain the blast, but much too late as the residents of the house were killed in the explosion. Investigators are struggling to identify the bodies and contact their families, and trying to decide whether or not the explosion was really an accident."

 "Oh my god..." I gasped.
     "I called my dad already, they're okay." Grant informed me. "Just...how can the world be like this? Two unsuspecting people just died tonight..."
     I put my head in my hands. Grant put his arm around me and kissed my head. We stayed like that for maybe a half hour or so, listening to what was going on elsewhere.

     I jumped up when my phone rang. It was a number I didn't recognize. I walked into the bathroom and answered the call. "Hello?"
     "Hello, may I please speak to Meredith Villiers?"
     "Yes, this is she." I said, voice shaking a little.
      "I'm detective Turner with the FBI, in regards to the deaths of Courtney and Kristy Rein."
     I froze, dumbfounded. "What?"
     "This may come as a shock to you ma'am, but we have the investigation well underway. I'm afraid that you are one of our prime suspects in the case."
     I could barely speak as the agent continued talking. when he was finished, I thanked him and ended the call. I walked outside of the bathroom, horribly shaking.

      Grant saw me shaking and his expression changed completely. "What's wrong?" He asked.
      I held up my phone. "The FBI called. Courtney and Kristy were the ones in the explosion. And they think I did it."

     The next week was terrible. I was preparing myself for the court hearing the entire week. Grant told George about what was going on, and he was so outraged that he volunteered to be my lawyer, free of charge. "I'll fight to the death to keep you out of jail, I know you didn't do this."
     It made me cry to think of how kind he was being to me. He worked with me all week on what I was going to say to the judge and the detective in the courtroom. The next day was when the hearing was taking place, and I couldn't sleep that entire night.

     "The Plantiff calls Meredith Villiers to the stand." Turner said.
     I silently arose and took my place at the stand. I looked to George, who silently nodded at me. Grant was in the audience. He gave me a soft smile, which made me feel a lot easier. My mother was babysitting the kids while we were gone.
     Turner walked in front of the stand. "Mrs. Villiers," He began. "How would you describe your relationship with Courtney Rein?"
     "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
     He took a few seconds to rephrase the question. "How did the two of you meet?" he asked.
     "Courtney got married to my father when I was a teenager." I told him.
     "Were the two of you on good terms?" Turner asked.
     George immediately stood up. "OBJECTION. Irrelevant."
     The judge looked at him. "Overruled." He turned back to me. "Answer the question, Mrs. Villiers."
     I looked down at the ground, then back at the detective. "No, we were not on good terms."
     "And why not?" He asked.
     "I don't know, she just never liked me."
     Turner nodded, then continued. "What age were you when you moved to Starlight Shores?"
     "19."
     "And who were you with?"
     "Courtney and her two daughters."
     "And how would you describe your life at home?"
     I looked at George, who nodded. "It was awful. They made me do all of the cooking and the cleaning, they made me wear the most terrible clothes, and they kept me as a shut-in until I moved out."
     "You seem to be harboring quite a grudge against a woman who just made you do a few simple chores." Turner said with a sneer. "What about your two stepsisters, Kristy and Josephine? How did they treat you?"
     "They played pranks on me, and they jumped me one night as I was going to a dance."
     "And I understand that Courtney forbid you from going to that dance because you didn't finish your chores?"
     I hesitated for a moment and nodded. "Yes."
     Turner turned to the jury. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a prime example of an over-rebellious teen revenge murder. Courtney and Kristy Rein were murdered by this woman because she felt that she was treated unfairly as a girl. That is all." Turner said, returning to his seat.

      The case continued on, and the jury seemed to be unwavering. I held my head in my hands as I silently panicked. I can't go to jail. I can't go to jail.
      George picked up his papers and set them down. "Defense calls Josephine Rein to the stand."

     "Ms. Rein, how would you describe your relationship between Ms. Villiers and yourself before she was able to move out?"
     Joey hesitated for a second, then answered. "I was awful to her, me and my sister both were."
     "Yet, when you needed a place to stay, Ms. Villiers was the only one to offer you a home?"
     "Yes." Joey said simply.
     "Why?" George asked.
     "She's just a kind person, I guess."
     George paced back and forth. "If I recall correctly, you just recently had a baby, is that correct?"
     "Yes." Joey said.
     "Kindly tell the jury what happened when you told your family that you were pregnant."
     "I told my sister first, and she yelled at me and told my mom, who kicked me out. that was when I went to live with Meredith." Joey said.
     Geroge sighed. "Can I tell you something, Ms. Rein? I think Mr. Turner is right. I think it is a revenge case, but I don't believe Ms. Villiers did it. I think it was you."
     Turner arose. "Objection, he's badgering her."
     "Mr. Davidson, he's right." The judge said.
     George ignored her. "I think you rigged the house to explode by taking your boyfriend Gary's experimental explosives that he made himself, and rigged the house to explode so you could finally get your revenge on the only family that you've ever known, am I right?"
   
 

  Joey looked down at her hands and a tear rolled down her cheek. She looked straight into George's eyes and confessed. "You're right. It was me. I won't let Meredith take the fall for this."
     Turner stood up. "Shut up, Joey."
     Joey stood up as well. "No!"
     The entire courtroom fell silent. "Let me tell you why I did it. My mother and my sister were the only two people I ever loved in this world, before my fiancee Gary. I loved them so much, I did whatever they did. I treated Meredith like crap ever since I met her, just because it was fun. Then, when it was me that needed help, they kicked me out on the street without a second thought. They didn't love me like I loved them." Joey was screaming now. "So, you see, I HATE them. I hate them so much that I wanted them to burn in hell for what they did to me." Joey finished.

The police took Joey to prison not long after the hearing. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison. I just watched them cuff her and take off, thinking about her fiancee and her baby, and what was going to happen to them. Tears were running down her face as they carted her off. "Tell Grizella I love her." She whispered to me on the way down the aisle.

"Oh, Joey..."