Post by Admin on Aug 3, 2014 2:36:59 GMT
Morgan was nervous as she took the stand, wishing that all she had to worry about was making scientific facts easy for people to understand, to connect to, as her testimony usually consisted of. She hadn't seen Ellie since the kidnapping and didn't want to face her now. There was something in her eyes she missed before and wondered if it was just her wariness of the other girl. Ellie seemed cold, dead inside, and, for a moment, Morgan felt sorry for her. She would never understand what it meant to love someone, be it a significant other or family member, never know what it meant to have them backing her 110%. Jim had sat here every moment of the trial and still Ellie never got the feeling Morgan got as she looked out at her dad and Greg sitting together on the back bench of the courtroom. It was a feeling of peace, of knowing she was loved and safe. It was the strength she had to sit here and tell the truth, all of the truth, of a time in her life she never wanted to think about again.
Greg watched carefully as Morgan sat down, worried that she would break down as she had done so many times before since they had rescued her.
They started easily, with Russell getting the case, with the prelims, and then the decision that had forever changed Morgan's life: the decision she had made to go undercover, to try to save Ellie's life. She remembered arguing with her dad that she had to do it, not so much for Ellie, who she'd barely known, but for Jim. She wondered what her life would be like if she had given in, not been so stubborn, not thought he was trying to run her life. He'd been trying to protect her. She remembered Nick and Greg outside and how safe she'd felt that they were the ones Russell had sent with her. Nick was her big brother, Greg her boyfriend, there was no way anything could happen to her, but it had. She said none of this though, stuck to the facts as much as she could, just what needed to be told.
"And what happened when you found the defendant?" asked the prosecutor.
Morgan told of their conversations. She remembered being angry at her father and thought Ellie's was the same, but she'd been wrong. Ellie hated Jim for some reason she couldn't possibly understand, with a force she couldn't grasp. She tried to leave her feelings for her own father out while telling how Ellie had responded, that they'd bonded over having fathers who had left, or Morgan had thought they'd bonded at the time. She'd trusted Ellie. Would she never stop feeling like a fool because of that?
"And Ellie helped you to escape?"
"We helped each other escape. She told me that she heard someone else in there. I was afraid...afraid another girl was going through what we were." She thought back on the phone call. It seemed improbable to her that there'd been a third person in the shack, but back then she was sure enough that she'd returned. "I entered and found that he wasn't where we'd left him and that the shack was empty. I ran back outside; he was waiting there for me." This was the part she hadn't discussed with anyone, even her dad or Greg. The helplessness she'd felt, the feeling that he could rape and kill her and no one would be able to stop him.
"Where was Ellie when you came back out?"
"At first she was nowhere. I thought she had gotten away." She looked anywhere but at her dad and Greg as she described what her captor had made her do. "And then she was there, with a gun. She shot him. I thanked her, thought it was over. I was walking away."
"And?" He was being gentle.
"And Ellie shot me, in the back, as I was walking away." She looked at Ellie momentarily and was frightened once again so she focused her attention back on her safe places, her dad and Greg.
"Do you know what happened next?"
"I remember the sirens. I remember my father and...And my coworkers being there. I remember their voices. I don't remember after that until I woke up in the hospital and immediately tried to tell my father who had shot me, but Ellie had already been arrested for murdering her mother at that time."
"Thank you. Nothing further."
Morgan wished she could get down, but it was the part she dreaded most. Ellie's lawyer moved in for the kill. "How do you know that my client shot you if you weren't looking at her?"
"Because Ellie was holding the gun."
Greg watched carefully as Morgan sat down, worried that she would break down as she had done so many times before since they had rescued her.
They started easily, with Russell getting the case, with the prelims, and then the decision that had forever changed Morgan's life: the decision she had made to go undercover, to try to save Ellie's life. She remembered arguing with her dad that she had to do it, not so much for Ellie, who she'd barely known, but for Jim. She wondered what her life would be like if she had given in, not been so stubborn, not thought he was trying to run her life. He'd been trying to protect her. She remembered Nick and Greg outside and how safe she'd felt that they were the ones Russell had sent with her. Nick was her big brother, Greg her boyfriend, there was no way anything could happen to her, but it had. She said none of this though, stuck to the facts as much as she could, just what needed to be told.
"And what happened when you found the defendant?" asked the prosecutor.
Morgan told of their conversations. She remembered being angry at her father and thought Ellie's was the same, but she'd been wrong. Ellie hated Jim for some reason she couldn't possibly understand, with a force she couldn't grasp. She tried to leave her feelings for her own father out while telling how Ellie had responded, that they'd bonded over having fathers who had left, or Morgan had thought they'd bonded at the time. She'd trusted Ellie. Would she never stop feeling like a fool because of that?
"And Ellie helped you to escape?"
"We helped each other escape. She told me that she heard someone else in there. I was afraid...afraid another girl was going through what we were." She thought back on the phone call. It seemed improbable to her that there'd been a third person in the shack, but back then she was sure enough that she'd returned. "I entered and found that he wasn't where we'd left him and that the shack was empty. I ran back outside; he was waiting there for me." This was the part she hadn't discussed with anyone, even her dad or Greg. The helplessness she'd felt, the feeling that he could rape and kill her and no one would be able to stop him.
"Where was Ellie when you came back out?"
"At first she was nowhere. I thought she had gotten away." She looked anywhere but at her dad and Greg as she described what her captor had made her do. "And then she was there, with a gun. She shot him. I thanked her, thought it was over. I was walking away."
"And?" He was being gentle.
"And Ellie shot me, in the back, as I was walking away." She looked at Ellie momentarily and was frightened once again so she focused her attention back on her safe places, her dad and Greg.
"Do you know what happened next?"
"I remember the sirens. I remember my father and...And my coworkers being there. I remember their voices. I don't remember after that until I woke up in the hospital and immediately tried to tell my father who had shot me, but Ellie had already been arrested for murdering her mother at that time."
"Thank you. Nothing further."
Morgan wished she could get down, but it was the part she dreaded most. Ellie's lawyer moved in for the kill. "How do you know that my client shot you if you weren't looking at her?"
"Because Ellie was holding the gun."
