Killing Me Softly: A Thriller Romance Novel

Chapter 32

The jury deliberated for only 47 minutes before coming to a final verdict.

As soon as we were informed we could return to the court room, Theo kissed my hand and said to me, "I better get in there."

"Okay," I said and smiled at him before letting him go ahead of us.

Theo stepped to his parents to walk inside. A strange feeling hit me when I saw his parents say something to him and turn to frown over their shoulders at me. It sort of bothered me that they did not seem to approve of me. Then again, I was almost forty, and what the hell did I care if they liked me or not? A lot...I cared a lot, actually. Not only did I want Theo to want me and love me, I wanted his family to want and love me, too, with the exception of Amelia.

She was now serving five years behind bars for the Texas law of parties—being guilty by association—for attempting to carry out the conspiracy created by Donnie himself to frame and harm Theo, her own brother. I could only imagine how it would be once she gets out.

As a realist, these were the things I thought about while Janice and I filed back into the courtroom to hear the verdict. When I walked in, Donnie was sitting there with his head hanging low and his dark hair over his eyes. The muscles in his jaw were flexing, as if he were clenching his jaw over and over again, probably nervous to hear the verdict.

Amazingly, Mary Jo's mother was still on Donnie's side. She was holding her hands together as if in prayer, rocking back and forth. For some reason, she believed Donnie was innocent. Or, perhaps she was praying for it to be so. But, it seemed that now that the evidence had been presented, Donnie lost some of his supporters.

I'll never forget when the foreperson rose to give the verdict. My ears prickled, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I took Janice by the hand, and we squeezed each other's hands with anticipation. The room drew completely quiet as the foreperson read the entire verdict of everything Donnie was found guilty and not guilty for. It was inevitable, Donnie's fate was sealed and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the pre-meditated murder, first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and three counts of criminal conspiracy. These charges, in the state of Texas, meant the death penalty for Donnie.

"No!" Mary Jo's mother cried out and covered her face to weep at the left of us.

Donnie then shook his head and shook his legs nervously under the table where he was sitting when they read the verdict and his punishment.

"This is bullshit," Donnie said just under his breath before his outburst. "This is bullshit! I didn't murder her! I didn't! What is wrong with you people? I loved her for fuck's sakes..." Donnie broke into tears and folded over onto himself as the bailiff approached him and told him to stop.

Donnie's sobbing filled the courtroom, so much that the judge had to call order for him to stop before calling the families of the victim to come up and have their final say in court before adjournment. It had to be the most difficult thing to hear for me and everyone else in the courtroom.

Theo's parents were first to speak because Mary Jo's mother needed more time to get her emotions in check. The way Theo's parents spoke so highly of Mary Jo made me realize how much they loved and adored her. I was foolish in thinking they would be okay with Theo bringing me into their lives anytime soon. They felt not only that they had been robbed of someone wonderful from their lives, but also their son Theo. They spoke on Theo's behalf a little, stating that there was no one more perfect for him and that he will suffer more than ever now that she's gone.

Theo held his head low as he listened to their final speech to Donnie. He didn't seem to cry or weep or barely to even breathe. Come to think of it, Theo did not cry once the entire trial. He was just calm, collected, and relaxed through the entire thing, while Donnie on the other hand, acted out much like he did at Mary Jo's funeral. Crying and weeping in hysterics, acting as if he were utterly tormented by all of this.