“I’m glad to be wearing my own clothes again,” Debbie grumbled the next morning. When Mel picked out her clothes and told her not to wear her make up or wig, she about lost it. Then she asked if she wanted Brian to go away for life. She would do anything for Brian, even if it meant toning herself down. The boy didn’t kill anyone, any fool could see.

She was happy that she could sit in the courtroom now. She had made sure that she would be able to by switching shifts with Kenny, the waiter. Her, Emmett and Ted were going to stay in the courtroom and be there for Brian. He needed them, even though the little shit would never admit it.

After she sat Vic’s food in front of him, she smiled. Dammit, it was hard not talking about the case. Vic was due to take the stand today as was Lindsay, Melanie and Michael.

“I thought you looked very demure yesterday, sis,” Vic said. She just glared at him.

By that time Brian was coming down the stairs. He was already dressed for court.

“Bye,” he said, opening the front door.

“Aren’t you going to have breakfast?” she yelled.

“No,” was heard before the door slammed.

It was Emmett’s testimony. She knew it, she wasn’t in the courtroom for that one but he had told her after they left. That damn fight. She hadn’t been there at the time either, she heard about it secondhand. The boys, were at Woody’s, drinking and having fun. Well, turned out some guy had a score to settle with Frank, the bartender. He pulled a knife on Frank and was about to stab him. Brian had intervened trying to defuse the situation. That was when the man turned the knife on Brian. The man lunged at Brian and he put him down…hard. The man ended up having a broken arm because it took Brian breaking it before he stopped trying to stab him. Because of the injury the police questioned Brian and the boys. The police agreed, Brian was a hero not an offender. She wondered why the lawyer hadn’t asked Ted the violence question, he was there that night. Something was fishy, very fishy.

Brian sat in the courtroom waiting for the judge and jury to enter. He heard a noise from behind him and turned around. Debbie, Emmett and Ted were sitting directly behind him. They smiled but it didn’t reach their eyes. How could it? There was nothing to smile about. All he wanted to do is go back in time and slam his office door in Kip’s face before all this began.

He didn’t feel guilty about the weasel’s death, no, because it wasn’t his fault. That little fucker should have never been in his loft, Brian still wanted to know how he got in there. After he had got robbed months before he put in a whole new security system. He was still pissed off that the fuckers broke through his old one. Apparently, the fuckers who broke into his loft were fucking pros. He had been so pissed he thought Michael had come in and left it unlocked. Michael’s only saving grace was he was two hundred miles away with his fucking boyfriend. Brian had been so sure that his system was impenetrable that if he hadn’t seen the return ticket Michael used he would have flipped the fuck out on him.

All too soon the trial continued. Vic was the first witness called. Brian didn’t like what he saw when Vic came in, it was a bad day. Vic looked tired, most likely forcing himself by shear will to come to court. After Vic was sworn in, it was time to get to business.

“What’s your occupation, Mr. Grassi?” Brian’s lawyer, Greg, asked.

“Retired pastry chef.”

“You’re still a relatively young, why retired?”

“I got too sick to keep working.”

“How do you know the defendant?”

“He’s my nephew’s best friend.”

“How long have you known Mr. Kinney?”

“Since he was seventeen.”

“What was Brian like at seventeen?”

“Smart, dedicated, driven.”

“All good traits. Any not so good traits?”

“Same as any other seventeen-year-old. Thinking more with his lower half than his brain sometimes.”

“Mr. Kinney is accused of planning out Kip Thomas’ murder, carrying it out and leaving the body in his loft while he went on a trip. Do you think it’s possible that he is capable of this?”

“No.” The answer was fast and clear.

“Why not?”

“First, Brian isn’t a killer. Second, if he was he’s not stupid enough to leave the body in his loft while he goes off to Australia. Thirdly and most importantly, there was no reason for him to kill Kip Thomas.”

“Thank you, no further questions, your honor,” the lawyer said addressing the judge.

“Mr. Grassi, you’re a homosexual, right?”

“I don’t see what’s that got to do with anything but yes.”

“You said you met Mr. Kinney when he was seventeen, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Did you have a sexual relationship with him at the time?”

Brian sat there stunned. He couldn’t believe the fucking gall of the fucking prosecutor.

“That asshole!” Debbie yelled.

“Ma’am, I’m going to have to have you excused if you speak again,” the judge said. He looked at Vic sadly. “Answer the question.”

“Never,” Vic said. Brian could hear his teeth grinding together from where he sat.

“What the hell is he doing?” Brian whispered to Greg.

“Trying to discredit the witness. Vic’s a good one, he’s not going to be easily shook. That’s why the prosecutor is going for the jugular,” Greg whispered back.

“You told the court earlier you took early retirement because of illness. What illness would that be?”

Brian could feel Debbie steaming. He didn’t have to look at her to know she was going to go off…soon.

“Objection, relevance,” Greg said calmly.

“Sustained. Start asking relevant questions, counselor.”

The rest of the questions were rather tame. It made Brian worried about Michael and Lindsay, both who were ruled by their emotions.

Michael was next, and Brian held his breath.

“What’s your occupation, Mr. Novotny?”

“Assistant Manager at the Big-Q.”

“How long have you known, Brian Kinney?”

“Sixteen years, we met first day of freshman year.”

“How would you describe the defendant?”

“The best person I have ever known,” Michael said, Brian could see the hearts in the other man’s eyes. This was not good.

“Did you see Mr. Kinney December 24th, 2000?”

“Yes, we had breakfast together and we hung out at his loft until he left.”

Brian inwardly groaned. Stupid fucking Michael. They did have breakfast together but Michael didn’t come back to the loft. The stupid fucker just perjured himself. Brian saw Greg’s jaw clench. This wasn’t good, in fact this was as fucked up as it could get. The prosecutor was going to have him for dinner. Michael would be lucky to walk out without cuffs on.

“Do you know perjury is a felony, Mr. Novotny?”

Michael visibly gulped and whispered, “Yes.”

“I’ll ask you again. Did you see the defendant December 24th, 2000?”

Michael nodded. “Yes, that morning we had breakfast.”

“That’s the only time you saw him?”

“Yes.”

“No further questions.”

Brian saw the fury on his attorney’s face when he returned to the table.

“Your best friend just royally fucked us,” Greg muttered.

Brian just nodded. He knew now for a fact that the prosecutor was going to tear Michael a new one.

“Mr. Novotny, have you ever been in a sexual relationship with Mr. Kinney?”

“No, well, nothing more than kids fooling around.”

“If you’re not in love with him, why lie?” Straight for the throat.

“I-I panicked.”

“Understandable. Have you ever seen the defendant violent?”

“No, I’ve only seen him defend himself and others.”

“But he broke a man’s arm, did he not?”

“He was saving himself and others. The man was a knife-wielding lunatic.”

“Did you ever witness Brian Kinney be hit by his father?”

“What?”

“Did you ever witness your friend being hit by his father?”

Brian knew Michael wouldn’t dare try to lie again. “Yes.”

“What happened?”

“Brian was moving out of the house, getting ready to go to college. I was helping him pack. His dad came in, drunk and swearing. Told Brian he would never amount to anything and should have been medical waste.”

Brian heard several gasps from the jury. Looking over he saw the sad eyes of the little blonde, Juror number seven. He even spied a small tear falling down the perfect skin. It was irrational but it pissed him off. He didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him. Fuck the twink. A part of his brain said that was a good thing, he needed the jury to sympathize with him. But a bigger part of him wanted to look strong, beautiful and untouchable to the hot, blonde twink.

“Did you ever meet Kip Thomas?”

“Once. I was at Brian’s loft when he showed up.”

“Is that normal, co-workers showing up at Mr. Kinney’s loft?”

“Well, Brian’s assistant has been known to show up to give him something or work on something with him there.”

Clearly, the prosecutor wasn’t expecting that. The rest of testimony was pretty mellow…right until the last question.

“One last question. Do you have a key to Mr. Kinney’s loft?”

“Of course.”

Motherfucker! Brian knew that fucker was up to something. He’s going to make it look like he was going to have Michael get rid of the body or someone else. All he did was prove that Brian had someone willing to lie and possibly get rid of a body.

Lindsay was next, heaven help him. She looked picture perfect in her blue and black dress, her hair perfectly put together.

“Ms. Peterson, what’s your occupation?”

“I’m an art teacher.”

“How long have you known Mr. Kinney?”

“Little over ten years. We met at a party our freshman year. He’s been my best friend ever since.”

“You trusted the defendant so much you asked him to father your child, correct?”

“Yes, he’s the only one I ever wanted to be the father. He loves our son, he’s a wonderful father.” That was kind of pushing it, Brian thought.

“Did you see the defendant December 24th, 2000?”

“Yes, he came by my house and played with Gus for an hour.”

“What time was this?”

“A little past noon.”

“Do you think Brian Kinney is capable of the charges?”

Lindsay dapped her eyes with a handkerchief. “Never. He would never do the things he’s accused of. He’s rough around the edges yes, but never angry or violent.”

“Thank you.” Turning to the judge. “No further questions.”

“No questions, your honor.”

Brian shared a look with his attorney. “What the hell was that about?” he mouthed.

“She’s too good, those crocodile tears will work on all those jurors, she’ll have them eating out of her hand. He’s not stupid,” Greg whispered.

When Mel took the stand he truthfully expected her to throw him under the bus.

“Ms. Marcus, what’s your occupation?”

“I’m an attorney.”

“How long have you known the defendant?”

“Seven years.”

“What’s your opinion of the defendant?”

“I think he’s the most arrogant, narcissistic, materialistic man I’ve ever met.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Brian needs to have all the attention on him. He thinks he’s god’s gift to the gay population of the world. He’s never seen an Italian suit he didn’t want.”

Brian bit his lip not to laugh, she had him there.

“Do you think he’s capable of this crime?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Brian Kinney is a lot of things and for those reasons he wouldn’t do this. He’s a smart man, as much as I hate to say it. If Brian did this, we wouldn’t be here. It’s obvious to me he’s being set up.”

After a few more questions it was the prosecutions turn. And what a turn it was.  

“Ms. Marcus, have you ever met Kip Thomas?”

“Yes.”

Brian wondered where he was going with this, they already said he couldn’t use the sexual harassment claim.

“What was your impression of Mr. Thomas?”

Melanie looked at the young man’s parents before she continued. “I think he was desperate to get ahead in life. And he didn’t really care how he got there.”

“Meaning?”

“Like when he sued his college professor for sexual harassment after a semester long affair and still failing the class.”

Even Brian could see the prosecutor’s face blanch. “The victim is not on trial here,” he stammered.

“Sorry, I was just giving you my impression. I looked into his past when he was still alive, maybe you should have now.”

“No further questions.”

Brian just stared slack jawed at Melanie. He didn’t think what she did was totally legal but she stood up looking like the cat that ate the canary. Damn her, she really was good at this shit.

Closing arguments followed. Brian started to hyperventilate a little. It seemed to be happening too fast. After all the crime scene specialists and none of them could place him there at the time. But that didn’t make him feel any better, his life was in the hands of twelve strangers.

The jury left for deliberation. This was the beginning of the end, he just knew it.