“Make yourself comfortable because you not going anywhere soon.”
Five hours later I am led into a courtroom by my cuffs. My father, Cameron, Adrian and Ben are seated at the back of the room and I nod gratefully at them for coming.
“All rise.” We stand as the judge enters the room. He nods and then sits down and starts to read the file notes. He looks over his glasses and studies me.
“We are after bail, yes?” he asks.
“Yes, your honour,” Arthur replies. “The accused poses no risk and a substantial bail will be met.”
“I object, your honour,” the police prosecutor demands. “The accused is a cocaine addict with a criminal record of assault, aggravated assault and a history of aggression including cage fighting. He is currently under investigation for the murder of a prostitute in Australia who he was having sex with while he was in a relationship with the victim Miss Natasha Marx. We have photographic evidence of the level of abuse she suffered at his hands and video footage of him threatening to kill her bodyguard only hours before she went missing. The drug found in her system was found at one of his properties with his fingerprints on the vials. He has unlimited funds, his own private plane and is a huge flight risk.”
I start to hear my pulse in my ears and my eyes flick to Cameron who drops his head. Adrian gives me a weak smile to try and calm me and my father and Ben stay stone-faced.
I can’t stay in jail.
“Objection, your honour. You cannot discriminate against him because he is a wealthy man,” Arthur argues.
“And nor can we let him get away with murder for the same reason,” the prosecutor argues. “His victim has lost her life. Who is going to argue for her if we don’t?”
“Miss Marx’s body has not been recovered. She may be alive and being held hostage. Natasha Marx’s family themselves are staying with Mr Stanton. He is not a risk. He wants justice bought to the criminal who did this,” Arthur argues.
“The sharks have eaten the body,” the prosecutor yells. “She was dead before she hit the water-nobody can live through that blood loss.”
“Enough,” I scream as I stand. “Don’t you fucking talk about her like she’s nothing!” The guards push me back down in my seat. “Don’t you dare!” I scream across the room through my tears.
The room falls silent and the judge studies me over his glasses.
I drop my head as I inhale deeply to try and calm myself and my racing heart.
The hammer sounds on the desk. “Bail is denied,” the judge orders.
“You honour, please,” Arthur argues.
“Decision made,” the judge announces.
“You honour, I ask that we be given a quick trial. My client cannot be in jail for months before this is heard. All evidence is circumstantial. He is an innocent man.”
“Very well,” the judge answers. “Court dates to be set within a month.” He slams his hammer again and stands and leaves the room.
I sit still, stunned to silence. I’m not going home. I’m in jail.
Cameron and Adrian run to the front of the courtroom to see me. “It’s going to be ok,” Cameron whispers as he puts his hand on my arm reassuringly. “It’s ok, stay calm.”
“It’s ok, Joshua, we will get you out. You just be strong, ok,” Adrian whispers. “We will get you out.”
My eyes flick to Ben as the guards pull me to a standing position. He’s the only one who can help me now. “Find him,” I mouth.
He nods. “I will. I promise.”
I am dragged by my cuffs out of the room and into my own private hell.
Natasha
I sit on the floor in the semi-dark room lit only by the lamp. I have a black eye from being hit earlier today and I think my rib may be broken, but I’m not sure. I have turned the televisions back on silent. If only I could turn them off completely. I’m unable to watch my sister and best friends cry at the water’s edge as the police look for my body. Joshua is in hospital. Who is with him? Who is taking care of him? I can’t stand the thought of him going through this.
The door slowly opens and I cringe, expecting that huge mean man, but instead I see something unexpected. A young sandy blond man smiles gently at me while carrying a tray of food.
“Hello, Natasha,” he says softly. “I brought you something to eat.” He places it nervously on the table and lifts the lid to show me pasta and dessert.
I frown and stay silent as I try to sum up this situation. What the hell is this guy doing here being nice? Am I in the fucking twilight zone?
He wrings his hands in front of him nervously and produces some Advil from his pocket. “I brought you some pain medication.”
I frown in response. I’m so confused.
He stands nervously as I sit on the floor. “Are you going to eat?” he asks as he gestures to the plate.
I bring my knees up to my chest in defence and shake my head.
“Natasha, I have to stay in here until you eat and if you don’t I have to call Carl back in,” he replies gently.
I frown.
“He will hurt you. Please eat,” he urges.
I swallow my fear of the animal who was in here earlier. I have no doubt that he is the one who has been assigned to kill me when they are ready.
“What am I doing here?” I whisper.
He looks down at the food and puts the lid back over it. “Don’t ask me questions.” He holds my arm up, undoes my bandage, looks at the stitches and then wraps it back up.
“Please I beg you. Please help me. Let me use your phone to ring the police,” I whisper.
“Stop it,” he snaps.
I shake my head nervously and stand quickly. “Please, please. My family are looking for me. They are frantic.”
He shakes his head nervously and leaves the room and I hear the click of the lock.
I close my eyes in frustration and slowly sit at the table and look at the food in front of me. I can think of nothing worse than eating right now. I put my hand on my chest. Joshua would not be eating. What pain is he going through?
I need to get out of here. I need to get to him.
Who is doing this?