text: “Your honor, I believe Daniel Jace murdered Andrew Wells.” Oliver Ford spoke softly. 36 years of age. For the past 15 years, Ford worked for the Greenbelle police department. Too short to let the horrors of the job kill him, just long enough to add color to his black and white world; to blur the lines of right and wrong. “And by Daniel Jace, are you referring to the husband of Mary Jace, Mr. Ford?” Jim Parker was the youngest lawyer in Kentucky, but he was smart enough to manipulate the Jury. “Yes sir.” “Mr. Ford, could you please summarize what you’ve already told the court?” “On October 7th, Andrew Wells was found in critical condition near 153 North Square Avenue. He, unfortunately, had passed due to his injuries in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. He was shot twice in the back. The bullet casings point to the gun being a Glock 19.” “And the Jace family had recently hired Andrew Wells, is that correct?” “Yes sir, he worked as a Private Investigator. Daniel and Mary lost their youngest daughter, Maggie, a few months ago. I didn’t believe he’d do the job better than us, but the Jaces did, and I’ve never experienced grief like the Jaces.” Oliver knew he had only a limited amount of time to convince the court of the truth. His truth. Mary’s truth. And make sure the secrets died with the deceased. In a small town like Greenbelle, everyone knew everyone and everything. Hell, when Maggie was first diagnosed, the whole town knew in an hour. She was the sweetest little girl. Maybe that’s why so many attended her funeral. However, one fact made the entire Greenbelle town a suspect of inhuman decency. Yes, Maggie had Leukemia, but that’s not what killed her. In a rural town where murder was scarce, every once in a while you’d get a case like Maggie Jace’s. “When first investigating the death of Maggie Jace, you interviewed her family, right? Is that when you first spoke to Daniel and Mary?” Jim’s cold, brown eyes had the effect of secreting a single bead of cold sweat above Oliver’s forehead. “While I did interview her family, it wasn’t the first time I ever spoke with the Jaces. Mary, Daniel, and I had all attended the same school since 6th grade. Mary was always quiet, I know she and Daniel both had a rough home life. It molded them, shaped them. I used to feel bad for them, especially Mary. She went through so much, and I befriended her.” First mistake, Oliver made it known he was Mary’s friend. He silently clenched his fist, realizing what he had done. “Mr. Ford, please tell the court how Daniel and Mary have changed since school. Could you see Daniel murdering someone back then?” “Change is relative. To everyone else, Mary became quieter and more timid. Daniel, on the other hand, let his anger against his own father and failures grow into violence. To me, neither changed. Mary was still as loving as she was in high school. I still believed she was brilliant, with her only mistake marrying the son of a bitch. He became more of the piece of shit person he always was, who his father was, who he was destined to become.” Everything in the room went silent; the lawyers, the judge, the normal citizens of attendance, Oliver, Oliver’s thoughts, Oliver’s own heartbeat. He hadn’t died, had he? No, he was alive, otherwise, he wouldn’t have felt the sudden urge to vomit. Finally, the judge broke the silence by asking for a recess. This gave Oliver the time he needed to rush to the bathroom, throw up this morning’s breakfast, and question whether he was going to go through with his plans. He couldn’t let Mary down, not after everyone else already had. He splashed some cold water on his face, hoping if it worked in the movies it would work for him. It felt nice and brought his pale corpse to the land of the living. Locking eyes with his reflection, a voice of a person he no longer recognized pierced his ears. “I’ve got this.” The trial soon resumed, and Oliver sat back down as a witness. He knew they couldn’t keep him for much longer, and all he had to do was wait it out. Jim Parker approached him, “Mr. Ford, could you please confirm details of the crime scene?” “When I pulled up, it was raining pretty hard. I got out of my cruiser and ducked under the yellow police tape to get to the curb. The paramedics were already loading Mr. Wells into the back of the ambulance, so I sent Officer Rogers to question him on the way to the hospital. We, unfortunately, didn’t get anything out of him before he died. I looked around, trying to find evidence. Of course, we found 9mm Luger bullet casings, but that was it. No D.N.A. or anything.” As Oliver spoke, he twisted a small gold coin in his hand. The same gold coin he found at Andrew Wells’s murder scene. The same gold coin he had previously given to his friend, when she lost her daughter, to a cold-hearted world. “It’s not that simple, is it, though, Mr. Ford?” “No one in this town just dies. I believe Daniel Jace shot Andrew Wells because he thought he and Mary were having an affair.” “What makes you so certain? Did you find any records of an interview between the Jaces and Mr. Wells?” “Mary told me Daniel was suspicious. Andrew and Mary never did anything, but she explained to me that it was impossible for her to change Daniel’s mind. And for any records, well, we have 10 pages written in his journal, but one is ripped out. It’s missing.” “Do you know who tore it out?” “Daniel, I assume. He was always angry and aggressive. I wish I could blame it on him shooting up, but he was just a shitty person.” “Mr. Ford, is it true that the Jaces purchased any illegal substances?” “Yes sir. Mary said that she couldn’t help it. I never did like that.” As Oliver spoke, his tone shifted. It was unknown if anyone could tell, but a drop of sorrow and blame inspired a chorus in his voice. He looked at the crowd, and his tongue sobered up. “I truly believe she would've left this town if it wasn’t for Daniel poisoning her with that shit. He started her, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive him for that.” His anger blinded him from the fact that Mary chose willingly to use. His thoughts were loud, but no one could hear them. He felt as if he was on a plane, thousands of feet into the air, alone, but in need of help. Hopeless. He could shout at the ground all he wanted, but it didn’t matter, his voice could never reach that far. He was stuck, and all he could do was scream, maybe until his throat was raw with blood, but it was useless. Oliver could only manage to spit out two raspy, low-voiced words, “I’m sorry.” The court all gazed with puzzled looks. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for Mary. She had it rough since day one. No father in the picture, and a mom who couldn’t care less for her. I was one of her few friends growing up, and I remember her being an amazing person. It really was an ill-fate, her and Daniel. She thickened her blood whenever she would use. After losing one of her children, I’m surprised she held up as much as she did. You know, the last thing she ever said to me was, ‘It feels like we just give and give, and all this world does is take.’ Was she wrong, though? I mean, if so then we wouldn’t all be in this room here today.” “Mr. Ford, we are sorry for your loss. Can you answer just one more question? If we could bring it back to Mr. Wells's journal, did anything stand out to you? Maybe something that hinted at Daniel hating him, or maybe he was scared for his life.” “No, no. Nothing like that. The guy wasn’t even halfway through on solving Maggie’s murder.” When Oliver first read Andrew’s journal, a quote about life being on a spectrum, much like colors, has really stayed with him. Sometimes, his life *was* on a color spectrum. It could be as red as the fire that he used to burn the missing page. As black as the ink that tattooed the page, that bore the writings, “Today, Mrs. Jace admitted a secret. She knows who murdered Maggie. She claims that it was an accident, but it was Charlie Jace, her other child, who found the gun and shot Maggie.” Maybe life is gray, like the ashes and embers of the once white page. Maybe blue like the water he used to cool them, or as green as the grass he dumped the pile in. Oliver knew everything. He knew that Mary wore long sleeves for two reasons: to hide bruises and the needle pricks. He also knew that he would protect Mary as well as Mary had protected Charlie after he accidentally shot Maggie. So he kept quiet the fact that Mary killed Andrew Wells. Even if he wanted to tell the court that, it might get out that he helped kill Daniel Jace cover it up as a suicide. But why? Because he loved Mary. It was a harmful, toxic, one-sided love. So he decided to not lie, but instead, tell the court everything he *knew*. “Daniel Jace was an awful human being. He was a horrible husband who shot and killed Andrew Wells who he believed to be having an affair with his wife, Mary. Plagued with guilt, he shot himself, ending a tragic cycle.” “I know we said one more question, Mr. Ford, but another question has come to mind. Earlier you said no one just dies, and I was curious. Curious as to whether or not that applied to Mary Jace when she was later found on the side of the road after she had overdosed?” “I don’t think she would’ve minded where she ended up. Mr. Parker, only innocent ones are dead, so I’m begging you, please, for the love of God let them rest in peace.