Final Trial

After the final capture of the murderer from Carlsbad, life in the SPA town, could slowly return back to normal. People were relieved and the parents of young teenage girls were overly happy. They no longer needed to guard and control their beloved kids twenty-four hours a day.
Some did not even let their daughters out. They only took them personally to school and back home.

Alexander survived the shooting and was lying in the hospital with two policemen on the clock around the door of his room. However, a difficult bureaucratic period awaited Patricia and Marek. They had to put together the file, all the evidence, re-examine the witnesses, sum up the murder weapons, and prepare a detailed report.

Of course, it was not easy to go through all that information from several months. They even had to face a crazy family during the investigation. As for Marcel, Patricia avoided him like the devil. Only Marek was going to interrogate him. Even he did not allow her any further contact with that mentally disturbed individual.

A small almost empty square room and the accused was led inside in handcuffs. His hands were behind his back and it was forbidden to look directly into his face. They were afraid he would try to hypnotize someone again. They were permitted to use violence against him if they felt he was attempting such a thing.

Of course, Marcel refused to cooperate if Patricia did not appear. It only made his case worse. Marek repeatedly explained to him that he would never see her again in his life and that he would personally take care of it.

They conducted the investigation with two other detectives. All the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of the victims were investigated in detail. Marcel was still sulking, he hadn't opened his mouth in weeks, but after a while, he did slip up. He must have come to terms with the fact that he really won't see Patricia, so he answered some questions from time to time. He was subjected to several methods of interrogation.

Patricia was with Alexander only once, but since he started behaving aggressively as soon as he saw her, they stopped it. He wiggled in his handcuffs and began to stand up. The guard who was there to protect her had to pacify him and the interrogation was moved to another day, to which only Marek and the other co-investigators went.

Alexander showed no remorse for his actions, even was proud of himself for saving the world from the evil corruption of this day and age. He described in precise the horror details of how he took six innocent girls out from this world.

Marek needed to have great self-control, because he really had to manage himself in order to not do something to Alexander. He clenched his fists on his knees under the table so that no one could see him. He would rather take Alexander out of the world with his bare hands than indulge him in some kind of ridiculous trial.

What else deserves such a monster? Live of citizens' taxes? Unfortunately, this is the trend of modern times. Mrs. Schmitt was interrogated by Patricia. She acted like the first time they met her.

However, in the middle of the interrogation, something broke inside her and she began to exhibit manic-depressive psychosis as soon as Marcel's name was mentioned. She was overcome with anxiety and fear. She wanted to leave the room, but of course, no one allowed her to, so she started verbally attacking everyone present.

Patricia did not let herself be drawn into it and continued to ask questions as if nothing had happened. After a while, the old lady calmed down and continued. It was really excessively demanding hours.

The previous suspects also turned into victims. They agreed for a reverse hypnosis to find out what Marcel was doing to them under his hypnosis. There was a fear that they would also unwittingly participate in their crimes.

Apart from taking hold of their material possessions, which were eventually used in the murders, he did nothing else. Marcel always followed the same style. He approached the person about whom he had obtained detailed information to see if they had anything that piqued his interest.

He wanted to take the most valuable thing they owned. It was more or less his hobby. He collected things from different people, which he then hid in his biological mother's house. Alexander then seized them and used them for his crimes. Except for those clothes, they weren't intended directly as murder weapons, just as trophies.

From a psychological point of view, this is how you build your sense of superiority over others. He banished his loneliness and insecurities from himself. Those affected by his games brought additional charges against Marcel, namely theft and psychological harm.

The trial began on a rainy day in November. The wood-paneled room was old, a bit musty for its size, and lacked heating and minimal ventilation. The huge windows could not be fully opened without the panes falling out.

Everyone was sitting inside dressed. Of course, there was a gloomy mood. Opposite the judge on both sides sat the defendants. On the left Alexander with the Mother and their poor lawyer, while on the right sat Marcel with his "army" of lawyers.

Patricia sensed that this was a losing battle and they would commute his sentence. She, along with the other investigators representing the murdered and injured, sat on the periphery of the judge on the right under the windows. The parents of the murdered remained seated at the back of the courtroom near the door.

They couldn't stay close to the monsters that took their children from them. Marcel's eyes lit up as soon as he saw Patricia. It brought a smile to his face. He didn't care at all where he was right now, he just quietly admired her from afar.

While the process began, the hall was filled with the murmur of onlookers and the occasional sob of sorrow. To begin with, everything fell silent and the subject matter of the hearing was summarized in front of everybody present. The charges were read and then the cross-examination and defense began.

The most serious charges against Alexander and his mother were discussed first. Accusations of torture, rape, and finally brutal murder of six girls were made. They put all the evidence in front of the judge and even the video recordings of Alexander's interrogation, where he described in detail his crimes against the poor girls.

The parents of the victims couldn't stand it, so they had to postpone the trial to the next day. Hearing what their children had to endure and go through broke them and they even called ambulances and psychologists.

The next morning it was Marcel's turn. His charges were theft, multiple kidnappings, influence and manipulation of people, and complicity in murders. Marcel, in an elegant dark suit with a thick jacket, appeared before the jury first.

He was followed by Patricia in a black skirt, a white shirt, and a dark coat. She had a dark blue scarf around her neck. All the affected by the crime and the parents of the murdered came after. The hearing dragged on into the late hours, which was interrupted by two half-hour breaks.

The seriousness of the case also attracted the media, which tried to get in, or squeeze information from any of the bystanders. Finally, the final readings took place. At the trial, Marcel was sentenced to five years in a highly controlled institution for theft, kidnapping, harassment, and incitement to murder.

Mrs. Schmitt received three years for abuse and will have to undergo psychological treatment afterwards. Alexander was given a prison sentence of twenty years, as he did not act under the influence of Marcel at the time of the murders, but was fully present.

He will serve them first in a youth correctional institution and then the rest in prison because of his age. Otherwise, he would have received five more years. When the trial ended, Marcel turned to Patricia, waved her way with both cuffed hands, and blew a kiss through the air.

Annoyed, she looked at Marek with her mouth wide open. He was pissed off again. Marek and Patricia were disgusted with the court system. Both wished that all the convicts had received much more. Patricia even thought that the death penalty should be reinstated. Such individuals did not belong among regular people. When she imagined that in twenty years or, God forbid earlier... Alexander could be free again, she was shocked.

She was later summoned to see Marcel one last time, but without Marek. Willy-nilly, she thought about it and finally agreed. She was ushered into a small, windowless room with two heavily armed guards in the corners.

Marcel hugged Patricia from behind after entering the room and both men quickly targeted Marcel. Patricia waved her hand and signaled for them to lower their weapons down. She knew Marcel wasn't dangerous… at least as far as it was about her.

"Why did you wish to see me?" He squeezed her even tighter. "I wanted to express my gratitude to you. My lawyers told me that you testified more or less in my favor. I knew there was really something between us."

She raised her head to the mountain of a man. "I saw your polygraph test results. You passed all five, that's the first. Secondly, during the interrogation, I only truthfully described the situation I was in. I didn't help you, I just told the truth."

Still, he was pleased and smiled. "It does not matter. Thank you! Can you grant me one wish? Can you hug me back?” Patricia exhaled in annoyance. She hoped that after this she would never see him again in her life, so she granted him this last huge wish.

She turned to him and gave him a tight squeeze. After her departure, Marcel was directly taken to prison. In the same week, Patricia and Marek were walking in the capital of the Czech Republic. They were in the middle of a scenic walk along Charles Bridge.

It was most magical in the middle of the night. All the lights and atmosphere matched Marek's one question perfectly. He got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. The wedding was planned for next autumn. A month later, they received a registered letter from the police.

Alexander escaped...