Chapter 7 - The Trial of Elm Street
The federal trial of Gail and Holt Merritt began in the dead of winter. The courtroom was packed with media, local activists, and curious neighbors who still couldn't believe the prominent Merritts were capable of such darkness.
Derek had agreed to testify for the prosecution to avoid a maximum sentence. When he took the stand, he looked broken, his hands shaking as he looked anywhere but at me.
"My mother handled all the arrangements," Derek admitted under oath. "Every time Rachel called from Germany, my mother would tell me to stay away from the house, saying Brinley was having a behavioral episode. I... I didn't want to deal with it. I just wanted the support checks to keep coming so my car payments were cleared."
"And did you ever go down into that basement, Mr. Merritt?" the federal prosecutor asked.
"No," Derek whispered. "But I heard the generator running when it shouldn't have been. I should have checked. I was just... I was afraid of my mother."
Then came the medical testimony. Dr. Foss displayed the X-rays of Brinley’s old fractures and the detailed photographs of the infection on her ankle. Several members of the jury covered their mouths. One woman began to cry silently.
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Gail’s defense tried to argue that the confinement was a temporary measure due to Brinley’s "runaway tendencies," but the prosecution quickly demolished that lie by presenting the calendar with the Caribbean Cruise circle and the smiley face drawn on the exact day Brinley was left locked downstairs.
"This wasn't a temporary measure," the prosecutor shouted, pointing at Gail. "This was a calculated abandonment. They left a seven-year-old child chained to a pipe like an animal while they went to drink cocktails in the sun."
