Before Kendall took the stand, Ricky was called to testify. He knew that he’d answer truthfully and hoped that people would see the side of Devin that he knew.

“Mr. Olson, you are the one who found Mr. Sola’s suicide note, correct?” Devin’s lawyer asked.

“Correct.”

“Where was it?”

“It was in a CD case in his car.” Ricky answered.

“How did you find it?”

“Well, Chris had gotten a call from the bar down on 12th street. Devin was drunk and needed someone to pick him. I went with Chris to drive back Devin’s car. As I was driving, I wanted to listen to music to keep me awake, it was almost 4 am. I saw his favorite album by the band HIM on the seat and while at a red light, pulled it out the disc. As I did so, the note fell into my lap. I read the first line and realized what it was and immediately called Chris and told him to not leave Devin alone. That is when he then opened the bathroom door and found Devin bleeding out.”

“Was there anything else in his car?” Devin’s lawyer asked.

“Yes. All of his belongings, which fit into 2 books.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes. A note from Mrs. Behringer that said she took all of his furniture and stuff he bought her, leaving his apartment empty beside those two books he had.”

“And you were the one who filed Mr. Sola’s belongings missing and the police then arrested Mrs. Behringer for having possession of those items.”

“Correct.” Ricky answered.


“I asked Mr. Cerulli about Devin’s nature, would you agree that he is quiet?”

“Yes. When I first met him, it took him two months for him and I to have a short conversation about a common interest, the band HIM. It took almost a year for him to speak above a whisper, and still at times, he is still very quiet. He comes out of his turtle shell, that’s what I call it, and socializes with me and the rest of my band for a bit before retreating. He’s very non-confrontational, and avoids drama.” Ricky said, answering the lawyer’s question.

“Do you think that Mr. Sola would harm Mrs. Behringer?”

“Absolutely not. He loved her. The way he spoke about her showed how much he loved her. The band may have thought weary of her, but we knew that Devin loved her with his whole heart, and had opened up to her more than he had us. So if he trusted her and told her everything, we knew she must be important to him. She knew things we had never been told, and we’ve known Devin for almost 5 years. Despite our mixed emotions for her, we welcomed her and tried to be friendly. She was not friendly back and was often rude.”

“Did she ever say anything harsh when Mr. Sola was not in her presence?” The lawyer asked.

“Yes, on multiple occasions. She called Chris a tall emo freak, and she called Vinny a white boy rapper want to be. Both laughed off the insult, as they’ve been told that before but felt that it was harsh and cruel, considering both men (Chris and Vinny) have a similar style to Devin. Mrs. Behringer also told me that I was short freaky hobbit that she’d love to watch trip and fall as bees were chasing me. She’s said some more harsh things to me. I also overheard her say some mean stuff to Devin. I think he just didn’t acknowledge that it was an insult because of how much he loved her. For instance, she once told him that his outfit (which had been cruella Devil inspired) made him look like a large fat freak, and that if he was seriously going to wear that, she wasn’t going to talk to him until he changed.”

“So Mrs. Behringer had said some harsh things to Mr. Sola, that’s what you said, correct?”

“Correct.”

“And Did Mr. Sola ever say anything mean back, or anything?”

“No. He would become very quiet and almost Ghost like. Like you knew he was there but he made himself as invisible as possible. That’s how he got the nickname Ghost, he’s so quiet and shy and just blends in to the surrounding a lot.”

“In your police report concerning Mr. Sola’s belongings, you said that a note had been left on your door, and a knife was stabbed through it, holding it into your door, is that correct?” the lawyer asked.

“Yes.”

“What did it say?”

“That if we asked any more questions, more of Devin’s secrets would be released. We did not stop in our quest and a secret was released. Vinny said it reminded him of the show ‘pretty little liars’ because A always threatened the group of friends and blackmailed them into keeping silent.”

“Thank you. No further questions for this witness, your honor.” Said the lawyer that was defending Devin.

The lawyer Representing Kendall then asked Ricky questions. All the questions he asked made Devin look better.

“Did Mr. Sola ever complain about his relationship with Mrs. Behringer to you?”

“No. he never complained, if anything he spoke so high of her, we thought he idolized her more than his favorite band, HIM. Even when she was cruel to him, he never spoke ill of her, in fact, he would say how much he loved her, and would go on and on about how amazing she was.”

“Do you think Mr. Sola enjoys being, as you claimed, ‘belittled’ by Mrs. Behringer?”

“No. I think that when she belittled him, he had no clue how to react so he went into his turtle shell and processed the situation. I think that when she did it, he often knew what she was saying was hurtful but was blinded by his love for her.”

No matter how hard the lawyer tried to paint Devin badly, Ricky’s answers made Kendall look like the bad guy that she was.

“Why did you not talk to Mr. Sola sooner?”

“ I chose to get caught up in the lies spread on the Internet that overwhelmed and elevated the situation further. All of Devin’s secrets being released online made me feel ill. He had trusted her and she sold them to the highest bidder. When I realized my awful mistake, I apologized promptly to Devin, as did my band mates.”

“Were you upset that Mr. Sola did not tell you these secrets, and that you found out online?”

“I was disappointed that his secrets were told and that his privacy and trust were broken. I know that if it were truly important, Devin would tell us all of his secrets that would directly affect us. I am not upset that he chose to keep things from him. I have things that I too, have not told my band mates.”

“Would you like to share those things?”

The judge interrupted and said, “Mr. Olson you do not need to answer that, it does not pertain to the current case.”

“But what if it does?”

“Fine. Continue.” The judge said grumpily.

“Mr. Olson.”

“You think the fact that I once dyed my hair a bright shade of pink is important to your case? Well damn that’s something. Or the fact that when I was 13 I begged my mom to take me to a Brittany Spears concert because I thought she was hot. I never did go, and I’m glad I didn’t. My sister went instead and she said it was no fun.”

All of Ricky’s friends were then trying not to laugh as they pictured a 13-year-old Ricky begging his mom to take him to a pop concert. They also laughed at when he said he had pink hair, they tried to imagine it and imagining it on the short man was just down right hilarious, or at least the image they had in their minds was hilarious. They ultimately failed and then got told to be quiet.

“So was that important to your case?”

The lawyer then grumbled and said, “No. No further questions, your honor.”

Ricky then rejoined Chris and the guys in the pews. Usually the person claiming to be the victim speaks first but due to a lot of funky stuff in the case, an error happened which allowed Devin to speak first. The arresting officers were not present to state their view as they arrested Devin AND there was no proof that they actually existed, and the phone call to 911 was not ever on file. That right there was enough evidence to let Devin go but Kendall cried and made her sob story sadder so they would listen to her, but because she did that, Devin got the opportunity to testify first. So whatever she said, could either make her win the case and put Devin away for a crime that he did not commit, or he would win and she would most likely be in trouble for lying about the abuse and stuff.

As she took the stand, Devin felt his fear for the future intensify. Only time would tell what happened next.

Notes