Mr.Connelly, I have not been to church in well over a month, it is a matter of urgency that I see a priest, my immortal soul is at stake!’ He wondered if she was joking but he could tell by her anxiety that she was being quite earnest.
‘Well then, I will see if I can set that up for you, Mrs. White.’
‘Please, call me Brandy. It just doesn’t feel right being called Mrs. White.’
‘Very well, Brandy, I am here to represent your case at your upcoming trial. I will need to go over details of the event with you, verify your statement with the one you gave to the police. If you have any questions at all…’
‘Are you from Avalon?’ she interrupted.
‘Yes, I am.’
She furrowed her brow.
‘I do not mean to be rude, Mr. Connelly, but I don’t recall ever seeing you around and Avalon is a mighty small place.’
‘I’m new, moved there less than a week ago.’ He felt uncomfortable that the conversation was moving towards him; it was important to never reveal personal information to clients.
‘Must be different from living in a big city.’
‘City?’ He nervously wondered how she could possibly know where he was from.
‘Relax,’ she smiled, noticing his tense expression. ‘Your suit gave you away. You can’t buy smart suits like that in Avalon, and if you did you would find little occasion to wear them. In all honesty I’m mighty touched that you made such an effort to come and see little old me!’
He searched for the cynicism in her comment, but saw only a warm smile and kind, yet frightened eyes.
‘Well, let us get down to it.’ Aiden leant and retrieved a file from his briefcase and switched on the Dictaphone. ‘Can you please just state your name and age, for the recording?’
‘Brandy White. I’m twenty-four.’
‘Thank you. So on April 6th of this year, you were charged with the murder of your husband, Brandon White.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Records state that you yourself made the distress call to 911 at approximately 11.23pm.’
Brandy nodded. ‘Can you please answer vocally for the recording?’
‘Oh, yes, I made the call.’
‘Did you call because you regretted what had just happened?’
‘Oh no, sir. I waited until he was dead, then called.’
‘So, you admit that you deliberately stabbed your husband,’ he checked his notes, ‘six times in the back and chest?’
‘Yes.’
‘Waiting until he was dead and then called 911?’
‘Yes.’
‘Would you say that you were of sound mind when the incident occurred?’
‘Oh yes, for the first time in my life I saw things clearly.’ Aiden found her responses puzzling and was beginning to question the young woman’s sanity. She did not appear to be the least bit remorseful and was quick to admit her guilt. On all accounts she should come across as callous and cold, but there was a warmth in her eyes and in her smile that suggested that deliberate murder was something she could never have committed, even in her wildest dreams.
‘Was the murder pre-meditated?’
Brandy flushed with embarrassment and Aiden realised that she had not fully understood his question. ‘Was it planned out?’
‘Yes and no.’
‘Can you be more clear, please.’
‘Well, I knew it had to be done, I just didn’t know when until the opportunity arose. So I guess that it was sort of planned.’
‘OK.’ Aiden jotted down a few notes. ‘So that you understand, Brandy, you have pleaded guilty to the murder of Brandon White and say that you did this of your own free will whilst of sound mind.’
‘Uh huh.’
‘This means that at your trial, if the Judge is satisfied that you are guilty of first degree murder, under state law, you will receive the death penalty.’ Aiden felt sick to his stomach as he said it. Brandy nodded in understanding and tears pricked her eyes but they did not wash down upon her cheeks. She took a deep breath, quickly composing herself.
‘I am happy to accept the consequences of my actions.’ There was something bizarrely noble about her attitude.
‘Very well, then. As your attorney you can address any questions you have to me.’
‘Oh good, since no one talks to me in here. I’ve been getting kind of lonely.’ A sadness seemed to envelope her tiny frame. Aiden wondered if the reality of what she had done was beginning to set in.
‘Well, I’ll come back in a few days so that we can discuss things further.’
‘I’d like that,’ she smiled. The guards moved forward as their time together came to an end.
‘Will you be attending church this Sunday, Mr Connelly?’ Her question caught him off guard.
‘Why yes, I believe I will be.’
‘Well then be sure to send Father West my regards.’ With that she left the room and the atmosphere suddenly grew much more oppressive. She was a light and Aiden felt a pang of guilt that he would be assisting in helping to extinguish it.
As Aiden passed through the security gates and started his journey back to Avalon he reflected upon his first meeting with Brandy. During his career in law he had encountered many men and women accused of murder, some guilty, some not so guilty. They varied in age, ethnic background, financial status, but one trait that they all had in common was that when you were with them, no matter what they were saying, be it professing their innocence or describing the murder in gruesome detail, there was always an element of anger and, dare Aiden say, evil, lurking behind their eyes. Whilst these people may seem perfectly normal on the outside, he could always sense that malignant rage and malice which would drive them to do something as terrible as taking another life. What puzzled him about Brandy was that in her eyes all he saw was sadness. Something about the case just wasn’t adding up.
Besides the fact that she did not seem in any way monstrous, which was a silly conclusion anyway, she was more than likely putting on a show for Aiden, hiding her true self. But even if that were the case, there were the simple physics of it all. Brandy White was tiny; she could not weigh more than a hundred and ten pounds. How had she managed to overpower her husband? It was hard to imagine that her husband could have been of even slighter build than she. It was possible but still, he couldn’t make a sound judgement whilst Brandon remained an enigma. Aiden noted that he needed to do more background research on Brandon White. He needed to know why a seemingly sweet and innocent woman would murder her own husband in cold blood and then so freely admit to it.
His mind had been racing so much that Aiden had failed to realise that he was already back in Avalon. The sky had now clouded over with the threat of rain. A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that this was tornado country but he dismissed it. He parked up outside Cope and May; he was quickly getting to know his way around town.
‘Well, hello, Mr. Connelly,’ Betty greeted him warmly as his arrival was declared through the gentle jingle at the door.
‘Hello, Betty, how are you today?’
‘Very well, thank you, dear. And yourself? Did you find Eastham all right?’
‘Oh yes, no trouble at all.’ He was about to walk into the office when he added, ‘Your directions really helped.’
Betty beamed at this, and, maybe he imagined it, seemed to blush slightly. Isla was always teasing Aiden about