Bullies Sla-pped New Girl Cheerleader — Unaware Her Father Is A Hell Angels
Chapter 32
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Cass came back in from the hallway where she'd been standing during the recess. She walked past the gallery. She didn't stop at Ray's row. But as she passed, his hand came out and briefly touched her arm. Not a grip, not a hold, just a touch, the way you confirm something is real. She kept walking, sat back down in her seat. Coach Reeves put her hand briefly on Cass's shoulder. Neither of them said anything.On the other side of the room, the attorney was speaking quietly and rapidly to Tyler. Tyler's jaw was set. Madison was looking at her hands. The confidence that had been in her face at the beginning of the proceedings had gone somewhere. What had replaced it was the expression of someone doing a specific kind of arithmetic—the kind where the numbers are coming out wrong and you keep running them hoping they'll change. They weren't changing.The recess ran 17 minutes. When Marsh came back, she sat down and looked at the room for a moment before she spoke."The committee has reviewed the materials submitted by Judge Holloway," she said. "We've also reviewed the audio recording submitted by Ms. Cole." A pause. "And I've received word in the past 10 minutes from our technical support office that camera footage from the hallway on the date in question has been partially recovered from an off-site backup server."The room absorbed that. Cass absorbed it. She kept her face still."The footage is not complete," Marsh said, "but it corroborates elements of the timeline described by Ms. Malone and is consistent with the audio recording." She set down her pen. "Before we continue, I want to address something directly."She looked at the side wall where Greer had been standing. "Sheriff Greer."Greer straightened."This committee is an independent academic body," Marsh said. "We appreciate community engagement with the college. However, a complaint generated through external pressure rather than internal process creates a procedural concern that this committee takes seriously. I would ask that you allow this proceeding to continue without further participation from the community law enforcement side."A silence. "You're asking me to leave?" Greer said."I'm asking you to allow the committee to do its work independently," Marsh said. "If you feel that conflicts with your presence here, then yes."Another silence. Greer looked at the room, at the committee, at the gallery full of men in vests who were watching him with the same patient steadiness they'd had since they walked in. He looked at Ray Malone. Ray was looking at the front of the room. He had not looked at Greer once.That was the thing that landed the hardest: not a stare, not a confrontation, just the complete absence of concern. The kind of stillness that belongs to someone who already knows how this ends.Greer picked up his hat from the chair beside him. He walked to the door. He did not slam it. The door closed behind him with a small ordinary click.