CH 12

Joshua Dale was brought up to court at 10 a.m. Unlike everyone else, he was made to sit within a square transparent booth covered with bulletproof glass.

This wasn’t his first time sitting in this seat. The case had been ongoing for some time. The hearings had been held on and off several times, but he still couldn’t make sense of these legal procedures. 

“Where’s the jury? Why is there no jury?”

Joshua scanned the entire room. This pretty much summed up his current understanding of court proceedings.

There were two wardens from the detention centre standing on either side of him. Both of them had stern faces as they stared straight ahead, exuding a strong oppressive air.

One of them heard this. He gave a short sneer and mumbled from between his lips, “Why would there be any need for a jury here?” 

Regarding matters like bail, a judge was sufficient.

Joshua’s expression turned ugly. This didn’t sound like good news to him, because a judge obviously wouldn’t like him.

In all honesty, many people wouldn’t like him. He had a gloomy, harsh appearance, and a bad temper. He wasn’t likeable at all. But if there was a jury, at least he could have a faint glimmer of hope.

“Bail is tough, really tough,” Joshua murmured.

The two wardens behind him exchanged a look.

This was actually a major misunderstanding. In fact, getting bail was simple. It was just that his previous lawyers never took his case to heart and didn’t even deign to come down to Wine City; there wasn’t anyone who cared enough to help him.

And in a place like Wine City, if no one stood on the suspect’s behalf, the review officer couldn’t be counted upon to take the trouble to apply for bail for the suspect. They would prefer suspects stayed locked up in the detention centre or prison for the rest of their life so that they could bring them less trouble.

However, those two wardens didn’t intend to explain this to Joshua. They simply shrugged and let him continue in his misunderstanding. 

Joshua looked at the defence table with great reluctance. “I knew it! Liar! You’re just another liar…”

He saw that Lawyer Gu, who had vowed to get him out, was simply sitting by idly with his hands in his pockets, whereas Yan Suizhi, the young lawyer who had followed behind Gu Yan, was now in the driver’s seat.

God knows if he has graduated yet, Joshua thought spitefully and despondently.

He watched that young lawyer’s mouth open and close as he made a statement to the judge, but not a word went into his ears. 

What did the prosecutor say next over there? He hadn’t listened to it, either.

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But what he didn’t know was that Yan Suizhi, who was behind the defence table, didn’t feel that there was any issue securing bail at all, and even planned to make this hearing quick. However, it was now the prosecution’s time to yatter.

“…he doesn’t have a guardian, so no one is able to restrain his actions. Past behavioural records have shown that he has moderate mania, as evidenced by the attached medical evaluation on page 18. I trust the lawyers present have also read through all the evidence and should be well aware of this as well.”

The prosecutor took out the medical evaluation and sent it to be displayed. 

A holographic page automatically appeared before the judge as if on a standing screen, allowing everyone in the courtroom to see it.

The grey-haired judge nodded, indicating that he had already read the contents of the medical evaluation. At the same time, he peered at Yan Suizhi from over the rims of his glasses.

Yan Suizhi nodded calmly, indicating that he had read it as well.

The prosecutor went on to say, “Video evidence 1-4 shows the monitoring from the detention centre, which also proves this point. Besides that—” 

He pressed a button on the playback controller on the table and the screens on both sides of the room began to show the surveillance footage from this morning as Joshua Dale was sent to the hearing from the detention centre.

There was surveillance both inside and outside the vehicle.

He stopped the surveillance footage within the vehicle at a specific timeframe. In the still shot, Joshua was struggling, his expression wild as his body leaned towards one of the vehicle windows. It looked like he was trying to break out the vehicle, but was held down by one of the wardens next to him.

“He even displayed great emotional instability when being brought to the hearing this morning.” 

The prosecutor paused at this point to let the crowd grasp what he meant. Then, his face filled with regret, he continued, “And the defendant, Joshua Dale, has a younger sister. Only eight years of age, she is completely incapable of resistance. If he is granted bail, this would mean that a suspect accused of burglary, also with a record of moderate mania and multiple fights on his arrest record, would spend a long time staying in the same residence as a completely defenceless little girl.”

The prosecutor looked squarely at the judge. “Most certainly, this is not a good idea, as everyone may understand.”

With this, he nodded at the judge, concluding his address.

The judge peered at Yan Suizhi again from above the rims of his glasses. “The defence counsel… Mr Ruan?” 

Yan Suizhi smiled at this old chum. “Earlier the prosecution brought up a point regarding reasons for restraint. Your Honour, with all due respect, may I ask what do you think is the reason behind why a person would be restrained by another? Or, put in another way, if a person’s restraint was dependent on another, then what reason might this nature stem from?”

“Fear. Out of instinct, or subject to other restraints.” The judge paused and supplemented with another two answers. “Respect, and love.”

Yan Suizhi turned over to look at the prosecutor. “Do you agree?”

The prosecutor, “…” Bullshit, can I disagree with what the judge said? 

And, he did believe so as well.

Satisfied, Yan Suizhi nodded and briskly took out those two pages of Joshua Dale’s personal information from the case file.

The holographic pages appeared before everyone’s eyes.

“The content of this evidence is comprehensive and clear. The only flaw is that the photos do not match the age.” 

The judge, “…”

The prosecutor, “…”

“But that doesn’t matter. There is enough information. The files show that my client, Joshua Dale, had lost his parents at the age of one. His last elder figure, his grandmother, passed away when he was seven years old. At this time, his grandmother had also taken in another child, and that would be his younger sister, Rosie Dale, at the age of one.

“I don’t know exactly how old Rosie Dale was when the photo in the file was taken. But I know that it was surely more than one. Perhaps at five years old? Or four? May I ask Your Honour, and the prosecution, another simple question. Does Rosie Dale look fat in the picture?” 

The judge, “…”

The prosecutor, “…”

“A little, but don’t most children have this type of chubbiness on their faces? She can’t be considered fat.” Once the judge replied this, he stared sternly at Yan Suizhi. “What does this have to do with the hearing? I hope that you can give me a reasonable explanation. Otherwise, you will be warned if you continue to ask other such meaningless questions.”

Yan Suizhi was completely unfazed by this. He smiled and said, “Rosie Dale in the photo has chubby cheeks, bright eyes, and looks very healthy. Just as Your Honour had said, she looks just as all children should.” 

He paused. “But this is precisely what is the most abnormal. Because she’s not an ordinary child. She has no parents and was picked up by my client’s grandmother. From between the age of one to approximately five years of age as shown in the photo, that kind grandmother had already passed away. The one who raised her just happens to be my client.”

“My third question. When a person, who can’t even fill his own stomach, keeps another person healthy and round, what emotion might it stem from? Hatred? Or disgust?”

The prosecutor, “…”

The judge silently brushed his fingers over the handle of the gavel by his hand… 

He really wanted to give a hard knock to people like Yan Suizhi who insistently beat around the bush to get to his point.

But this old chum touched his conscience, and admitted his words truly made it impossible for him to refute Yan Suizhi—

What other emotion could it stem from? It could only be love.

There were three fundamental reasons for restraint: fear, respect, and love. 

Was there anyone who could restrain Joshua Dale? Yes, there was.

The judge, “…”

And those words had all been said by himself, make no mistake about that.

“As for his moderate mania,” Yan Suizhi spoke again, “it is very clear in the issued medical evaluation that this is a condition that my client has had for a long time, no less than three years at least.” 

“Rosie Dale is eight years old this year. Three years ago, she was five. She should be able to retain memories by that point, right? If my client had threatened her, beat her, or scolded her because of his moderate mania, or as the prosecution said, out of emotional instability, Rosie Dale should be afraid of my client.”

Yan Suizhi also pressed the playback control buttons on the table. It was still those two same screens, and even the same surveillance footage that was used by the prosecution a few minutes ago.

It was just that he focused on the footage outside the van.

“Thank you for the out-of-vehicle surveillance that captured the corner of the wall opposite the detention centre, as well as the existing technology to zoom distant images without pixelation.” Yan Suizhi enlarged the area at the corner of the wall to fill the screen. “Do you see this little girl squatting here? Her skin is sallow, her eyes are vacant, and her body is inhumanely thin. Nevertheless, I’m sure you can still recognise her from her facial features. This is Rosie Dale. Is she waiting here anxiously for someone who would abuse her when he comes home?” 

The prosecutor, “…”

The judge gave Yan Suizhi a hard stare and was replied to with a smile. Following which, he began to conclude, “My client, Joshua Dale, is fourteen years old. He is a minor, he has a place of residence, and a family to restrain his actions. He also has a family eagerly looking forward to his return. Although he might have displayed emotionally unstable behaviour in the detention centre, this goes to show that he has a desire to prove his innocence. Thus, he will not be absent from the follow-up trial and is fully eligible for bail.”

With a pinched face, the judge fell silent. After a moment, he suddenly said, “But there still remains an issue… Joshua Dale can neither pay for bail nor find a bailor.”