Dear Readers,
Dhurke was summoned to testify. Ga'ran said she'd give him a chance to plead his case, which seemed uncharacteristically fair of her. However, if he wasn't convincing, we would all immediately be found guilty!
Dhurke smiled, saying it was Ga'ran's court with Ga'ran's rules as usual. He explained what he said to me, that he got dizzy and had no recollection of anything after that until he stood there with a bloody knife in his hand and Inga's dead body lying before him. That was it.
Ga'ran mentioned his fingerprints and how no one could've interfered since he was immediately caught. The judge said that certainly looked like it pointed the finger at Dhurke. Dhurke laughed, saying as a lawyer he'd have to agree! He did say he didn't think he killed Inga though, as it would go against everything he believed in. Phoenix turned to me and said this was exactly what Ga'ran wanted, to have Dhurke plead his case without being able to explain what happened. He told me we needed to turn his non-explanation into an explanation and fast.
I pressed Dhurke on his dizziness and wondered to myself if it was because of his illness. I asked him if it happened to him before and he said it didn't. Ga'ran said he must've been trying to seek a lesser sentence. He objected, saying he was merely stating his innocence and had no intention of offering excuses. He called her "Your Malevolence" and called her baseless speculation foolish! He called her a deceitful witch as well! She threatened to take his head right here in the hall and he laughed, saying it would speed things along. As impressed as I was, I asked him to make an objection through me!
I pressed him on the knife appearing in his hand and the discussion of a third party came up. Ga'ran summoned her royal guard and they loudly recalled their barricade and thorough search of the tomb, eliminating that possibility. She asked Dhurke if he believed there was a third party and he said the chances were probably nonexistent.
I continued pressing and we talked about making what seemed non existent, existent. Dhurke asked Phoenix about it and he said he'd seen his fair share of cases like that. Dhurke said he and Phoenix were kindred spirits with a hearty laugh! I said it must shave years off your life and Phoenix said if that were true he'd be long dead!
I asked him if he was sure if Inga was dead. He said it was easy to tell the difference between a body without a soul and a person who was a soulless shell. Ga'ran told him to watch himself or he'd be soulless himself, bowing in the afterlife to Inga for forgiveness, though he may not have a head with which to bow. He called her a bloodthirsty spider! Nice! He asked her what happened to her and she used to have a little bit of love, even once seeing him as like a brother! She was not impressed. I begged him to spare the lip, as impressed as I was!
I asked him if he really didn't remember anything? He said he really didn't and it was like that part of his brain had been scooped up. Ga'ran piped up again, saying there was nothing to debate and he was guilty without question. He said he had no motive and she said his revolution was motive enough to kill the minister of justice. He objected strongly, saying that he had declared countless times that he led a bloodless revolution, that he forbade violence and murder. I asked him to add this to his testimony.
I asked Dhurke to be more specific about his bloodless revolution. He said he was specifically talking about dragging this pompous prosecutor off her bloody throne, telling Ga'ran to act all high and mighty now as it was going to be the last chance she'd get. She kept threatening him with execution and he laughed, saying he was going to continue being like this in the afterlife!
I asked Dhurke to state more definitively about not killing Inga or at least, say he wasn't a murderer. He was able to do that least and said loudly and proudly that he wasn't a murderer and would never kill anyone, no matter the circumstances. Ga'ran objected and asked for evidence. Dhurke said he didn't have any. She then wanted his statement about not killing Inga stricken!
I said she couldn't just do that! I was the one doing the cross-examination! She told me to hold my prattling tongue, calling me a foreign devil. She declared that as queen of this kingdom, that she WAS the law! She said she didn't need to follow the laws in place and she could make or break them at will! What the actual heck....
The judge actually sided with this! He told Dhurke to refrain from saying he didn't kill Inga! I couldn't believe it. Dhurke said whatever, that it was "The Ga'ran Show" after all.
This was nuts. It was like Dracula having the grim reaper working for him in Castlevania.
I pressed Dhurke on his statement about there being no evidence to prove he didn't do it and asked him to please not keep agreeing with the prosecution. He said he'd stop, but to remember if I truly believed in him I'd be able to prove his innocence and he knew I could do it. Phoenix said Dhurke was on to something, that even the most disadvantageous facts may point the way to the truth. He advised me not to ignore them and to think of them as food for thought.
Phoenix also said we had to raise the possibility of a third party. Hmm...
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