Chapter 11
The trial began six months later.
The media circus was enormous.
"Pool Murder Trial." "The Body Beneath the Mansion." "Twelve-Year Secret Exposed."
Every day, cameras lined the courthouse steps.
Dad and I walked through them every morning. Eleanor on our arm.
Richard looked different in court.
He had lost weight. His expensive suits were gone. He wore a jail uniform.
His lawyer was one of the best in the state. Expensive. Ruthless.
His strategy was simple.
Attack my father.
"James Wilson is a disgruntled pool man," the lawyer said in his opening statement. "He wasn't paid for a job. So he planted evidence. He fabricated a story. And the police, eager to solve a cold case, went along with it."
I wanted to scream.
But Dad just sat there. Calm. Steady.
When Dad took the stand, the lawyer attacked him for three hours.
He questioned his integrity. His methods. His motives.
Dad answered every question. Truthfully. Calmly.
"Mr. Wilson," the lawyer said, "you stood to gain financially from this, didn't you? The $7,800 you were owed. Plus the book deal. The interviews."
Dad looked at him.
"I haven't taken a dime from any interview. And the $7,800? I don't care about the money. I care about the man buried under that pool. And I care about justice."
The lawyer had no response.
Melissa testified.
Under her plea deal, she got five years. She had agreed to testify against Richard.
She told the court everything.
How Richard and Victor had planned it. How David had confronted them. How Victor had hit him. How they buried him.
She told them she was scared. That Victor had threatened her.
But on cross-examination, the truth came out.
She had known. She had helped. She had kept the secret for twelve years.
The jury watched her. And they didn't believe her tears.
Victor testified too.
He was cold. Calculating. But his story matched the evidence.
He described the night of the murder in detail. Only the killer could have known those details.
Richard didn't testify.
His lawyer advised against it.
The trial lasted three weeks.
On the final day, the jury went out.
We waited.
Eight hours.
I held Dad's hand. Eleanor held my other hand.
May you like
And then the bailiff came back.
The jury had reached a verdict.
