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Chapter One Hundred-Ninety
Point of View: Nick


Nobody knew where Amelia was or when she'd left. Nobody even noticed until Dirk had let me off the stand a few moments later and turned to call Amelia back up now that he'd proven she'd received calls from Leon - who officially we were referring to as "the mysterious house guest", because the Nashville Police hadn't called back confirming that they'd caught him yet. He sat down, frustrated.

"Now what?" I asked, glancing at Peggy Armaletto, who looked just as lost as I felt. She frowned at the spot where her daughter had been sitting just moments before.

"Now I just have to hope the phone number on her bill is enough for the jury," Dirk answered, "I really think it will be though. Besides, we already have our spike through the vampire's heart..." he muttered the words.

"Defense," called Judge Heath, "Do you have any further witnesses to call?"

Dirk looked at me and winked, then stood up. "No, your honor, rather, we would like to present formally our key piece of evidence."

Judge Heath nodded and waved Dirk onward.

"We would have had a witness," Dirk continued, "But our witness was killed. Our witness would have been Desi Hernandez, Krystal's last boyfriend. However, Mr. Hernandez did not leave us completely without record of his testimony. We have received Desi's cell phone, which contained a message from Krystal in the moments leading up to the crash."

Walter's face paled. He looked panic-stricken.

Dirk approached the bench, Desi's cell phone in a plastic bag, and rested it gently on Heath's stand. "What you're about to hear," he announced, "Was ripped from the audio recording off of Desi's voice mail box. The date of the message is the same as the accident, and stretches the last three minutes before Krystal's death." Dirk closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Other than that... the tape really speaks for itself."

I could feel my skin crawling over my bones and goose pimples appeared all along my forearm. Legitimate fear filled me. I had not yet heard the tape. I didn't know what I was about to witness.

Dirk motioned for the sound to begin, and suddenly Krystal's voice - a sound once so playful and lovely, but now deep and raspy and pain-filled - echoed throughout the courtroom.

"Of all the fucking times for you not to pick up... Desi, I needed you..." Her voice was slightly foggy, the remains of the substances she'd taken sneaking into her voice. "Desi, I'm sorry... I love you... as a friend. I can't do this anymore. It's always been about Nick... always, from the first time I met him until - well, until - until today..." And she started crying.

My blood ran cold.

"I wish that I could - could change... things... could change everything. I made so may mistakes." A car horn blared in the background. I recognized that horn. It was mine. It was my car.

Suddenly, the phone filled with a rushing air - her car window was open.

"Krystal! You need to stop! We need to talk!" My voice was faded, quiet, riding low under the air.

"No, Nick, YOU need to stop! Leave me alone, go home!" Krystal's voice lowered, "God, please Nick, please... You don't want me..."

"Krystal!"

"Desi, I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." she was sobbing. "You know how unhappy I've been lately, how bad everything's been without... without him... I just... He was so much better, and now he's- he took something, I dunno what... I feel like, like I've ruined him. He was doing better... and... Over me. Why? God, can't he see I'm not worth it?"

"Krystal! You're going to kill yourself!"

"DAMN STRAIGHT!" she screamed, agony and pain filled her voice. She choked out a sob.

"Don't! Please talk to me!" The desperation of understanding, of times passed was thick in my voice by now.

"Nick I don't want to BE here anymore!" And then, whispered, "I can't take anymore.. I can't do this anymore."

"PLEASE!"

"Nick, I WANT to die!" It was the most anguished cry I'd ever heard. A chill ran the length of my spine. I grabbed hold of the table, tears springing out of my eyes. I focused on the wood grain. "In fact... Why don't we just end this now?"

The sounds were so disjointed, so random, so loud... There were screeching tires... and crashes and bangs, and then, suddenly, the noise simply cut out.

It was eerily still.

I thought the tape had ended. But Dirk held up one finger and we waited.

And then, faintly, as though from far away, another crash. "Krystal! Krystal. Krystal, please.... KRYSTAL?"

I felt sick.

"Krystal? No. No, Krystal... Please.. Jesus... Jesus, somebody, please. Krystal, no. C'mon, wake up.. Wake up, baby.. Please..."

I stared down at the table, I could feel my face growing hot, feel my features contorting, feel the swelling pain coming up from somewhere deep in my gut.
"Krys, I love you, please..."

And then the sound went dead.

I couldn't see, tears were streaming out of my eyes too fluidly, everything in the courtroom was blurry and under water to me. I covered my eyes with my palms and felt my entire body shuddering.

Until I'd heard my own shock-filled, pleading voice... I hadn't realized, fully, with all of my body and soul, that she was gone. But now, it slammed me like a ton of bricks, and I was falling apart, right there in the courtroom.

"I rest my case, your honor," Dirk announced.