The Discovery - 35. Chapter 35

The next day arrived, and Kyle was ready. While making breakfast, he sent off text messages to all involved, making sure they were prepared. Troy and the others arrived in good spirits and joined the rest of the household at the table. Colt helped Kyle keep the food flowing while Jacob got the boys ready for school. By the end of next week, the school year would end, and more changes would be taking shape, but Kyle was prepared. Overall, the air in the kitchen was positive while also having an undercurrent of excitement. What surprised Kyle the most through it all was how calm he felt. Rationally, he knew he should feel at least a little nervous. There was no guarantee that he would get the response he was hoping for. So many unknown variables were still at play and at any moment things could go terribly wrong if he did or said the wrong thing at the wrong time. Having decided to take his medication faithfully from now on, gave him a different perspective on his anxiety that he didn’t have before.

Sitting down at the table, he focused on his children. Aaron was soaking up the extra attention Andy and Troy gave him while Brian sat next to Matt and told him funny stories much to the boy’s delight. Colt’s mood seemed to brighten as he shared the table with all of them. When he finally gave himself a moment to sit, Kyle sat down next to the older man and smiled as he turned to ask, “how’s Tony been?”

Colt smiled a little more as he answered, “he’s been doing pretty good. He’s weighing his options about what he wants to do next.”

“Oh? What are the options?”

With a shrug, he explained, “well, he could do another stint in the corps. Maybe go to college. Or he might decide to settle down and get married. He’s been dating the same girl now for years.” He took a bite of his eggs before adding, “I told him to do what he felt was right. We’ll figure it out together.”

Kyle smiled, happy to see Colt looking forward to being with his son again. “Well, I’m glad the two of you managed to patch things up between you.”

“Speaking of…” Colt slowly turned his head towards the others at the table. “How is it that my kid ended up coming to Davey’s funeral out of the blue?” His eyes slowly settled onto Brian as he waited for an answer.

Brian looked up from his plate in the sudden silence in the room, looking at Colt with mild confusion. “Helen. It was Helen, right?”

Colt’s eyes narrowed. “I never told her anything.”

His face froze. “Oh. Uh. Well, I guess she figured it out somehow. Or something. Maybe she didn’t know anything other than he was stationed in California?”

“Cut the bull… crap.” Colt kept his voice conversational and felt a little proud of his sudden ability to censor himself. “What did you tell her?”

Andy smirked slightly. “What makes you think he was the one who told her?”

With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Colt declared, “you two, I swear.”

“Colonel,” Brian said pointedly. “Just be glad it happened. Everything else doesn’t matter.”

Colt decided to drop the subject and went back to eating.

While the camaraderie in the kitchen was a great way to begin the day, once everyone was finished, they had to get the boys to school and then make their way to the courthouse. “Just remember,” Kyle cautioned the others, “you can sit behind us in the gallery but don’t take up the seats on the aisle. We need those for someone else.”

Getting affirmative replies, Troy and the others headed out first with Jacob and Kyle stopping to drop the boys off at school before following behind them. During the long drive, the couple talked about their plans for the coming summer months. What needed to be done in the orchard, parties to be planned, Chase’s birthday and a possible plan for a vacation to visit Kyle’s mother. Jacob mentioned his aunt and uncle wanting to spend time with him and the children and Kyle was completely in favor of having them visit.

When they arrived at the courthouse, they detoured to the holding area to get Josh and bring him to the courthouse. Josh was surprised to see Jacob standing next to Kyle as he arrived with the guards. They two of them were looking at him with bright smiles. Standing there together, they seemed different to him from when he met with them separately. Kyle seemed more relaxed while Jacob appeared stronger and more confident. Josh thought that it might just be their way of coping with the loss of their father, even though he was unsure of his assessment.

Josh had been thinking about that old man he met months ago whenever he was alone in his cell. The quiet confidence he used to convey with his smile. The honesty and compassion he showed a stranger he never knew. When Jacob had called him to share the news of David’s passing, Josh had felt a loss he could not define. An unknown sadness that spoke of a potential future he would never get to experience. Standing there in that moment, seeing Kyle and Jacob looking back at him now, he could see David’s quiet confidence in Kyle’s body language and the kindness and compassion Josh had come to appreciate from David in Jacob’s eyes.

With a small smirk, Kyle greeted him. “Today is a big day.”

Kyle’s words brought Josh out of his inner thoughts, and he focused on the moment. “What’s gonna happen?”

Even though Kyle’s confidence was high, he did not want to disappoint Josh if he failed in his task today. “We are going to have an important day in court. All I need you to do is keep doing what you’ve been doing the last three weeks. Stay calm. Stay confident. And above all, don’t get too emotional in front of the jury. We know you’re innocent. We’re going to show them that today.” He thought about more advice to give considering what might become known in court today. “Josh, you’re going to hear a lot of stuff come out. Probably some things you don’t already know about. It’s important you do not get in trouble or do anything to jeopardize the case.”

Josh stared at Kyle curiously. “You really think I’m gonna start screaming or bawling in the middle of the courtroom? You know, what with all the other times you’ve seen me do it?”

Jacob chuckled silently as Kyle gave Josh a knowing look. “Good point. But you might hear things today that might shock you.”

“He’ll be fine,” Jacob said to Kyle. He turned his attention to Josh and added, “I’ll be sitting right behind you the entire time.”

The younger man’s look softened at the unexpected news. “Oh. Okay then.”

“Let’s get moving,” Kyle said. “We got to meet up with the others and Jacob needs to get in place before we get there. Oh, Jacob, remind the others to not sit in the aisle seats.”

“Honey, you already told us this morning,” Jacob reminded him as they started to make their way to the walkway between the courthouse and the jail. “You let me worry about them and you focus on your job.”

“Okay, okay.” They came to a stop in front of a door. Kyle stood to the side as the guards ushered Josh into the room where Kevin and Michelle were waiting. He looked up at Jacob and smiled before kissing him. “Go. We’ll be down there in a few minutes.” Jacob gave him a small, loving smile before walking down the hall towards the courtroom. Kyle stood for a moment, watching him walk away before stepping into the meeting room.

Michelle and Kevin stood, both of them with a mixture of confusion and surprise. “Kyle, why is Monica here,” Michelle asked.

Kyle was expecting the question. “She’s here with her client, Angie Crawford.”

Kevin frowned slightly. “Then why did I see her going into the ADA’s office with a file in her hand?”

With a satisfied smile, Kyle knew everything was falling into place. “She’s just greasing the skids, is all.”

Michelle’s face showed growing concern. “Shouldn’t we know what was in the file?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Kyle assured her. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But this is our case,” Kevin began.

Kyle raised his hand to silence them. “It has nothing to do with our case. Not directly, at least. We’re here to free Josh. Monica’s gambit is a lot bigger. What she needs, what we all need, is for things to work out right today for Josh. That should be your focus.” He watched as they slowly calmed down. His smile softened as he looked at his two junior associates. “But before we go down there and get this started, I just want to thank you both for all the hard work you put into this. Josh wouldn’t be this close to freedom if it hadn’t been for the two of you.” His eyes went to Kevin as he continued, “you took a big gamble wandering around a neighborhood the way you did, but it paid off big and I’m very proud of you for following your instincts.”

Kevin smiled and blushed slightly at the praise. “Thanks.”

He shifted his focus to Michelle and said, “you’ve done an outstanding job as a defense lawyer, and I fully intend to recommend you start your own criminal defense wing of the firm when this is all over and done with. I want you teaching other new lawyers like you did Kevin here how to do the right thing for people who need help the most.”

The younger woman blushed brightly and pushed her hair behind her ear. “Thank you, sir.”

Kyle let out a long breath as he prepared himself for what was likely to be the most important day of his legal career. His eyes went to the silent man sitting at the table, as if he was trying to disappear. “Josh?” When he looked up, Kyle gave him a warm smile of reassurance. “Today is going to be the biggest day of your life. I want you to know that your family is out there, ready to support you. You may not know them now, but you will eventually.”

Josh was confused. He knew Jacob was here, but Kyle made it sound as if there were a lot more here. “Um. Okay. Do they know me?”

“They know enough,” Kyle replied. He felt relaxed and confident. The one person he wished was here could not be, but in his heart, he could feel that familiar touch and hear those familiar words. His father might be gone, but there was still a piece of him in Kyle’s heart that would never leave him. “So, are we ready to go?”

“I’m ready,” Michelle said as she gathered her purse and satchel.

“Same,” Kevin said, grabbing his backpack.

Kyle picked up his briefcase from where Michelle had left it when she brought his stuff with her and said, “then let’s go finish this.”

Josh rose to his feet and silently followed behind with the bailiffs flanking him on his way to the courtroom. He felt confused because Kyle and Jacob were making it sound as if the trial was ending today when he knew enough to know that there would be more days left between closing arguments on both sides and then jury deliberations which could go on for weeks. And yet, he could feel this slight current running through him. Kyle said things were going to happen today and that he had to remain calm throughout it all. As he stepped into the room, he moved to the chair at the far end of the table where he usually sat and was surprised to see Jacob sitting just inches behind him in the gallery. Next to him were three other men who he didn’t recognize but could tell were there as a group. Was this the “family” Kyle was talking about earlier? He turned slightly in his seat to look back at Jacob who met his gaze with a smile.

Jacob leaned forward against the bar that separated the gallery from the rest of the courtroom. “Everything is going to be alright,” he said to his younger brother. He saw Josh’s eyes flicker towards his friends, and he had to stop himself from laughing. “Don’t worry about them. They’re mostly harmless.” He pointed them out one by one. “This is Troy. He was my best man at my wedding. That’s Andy and his husband Brian. They’ve been friends with me for twenty years now.”

Josh’s eyes widened slightly, unsure of what to say, considering the fact that he is sitting in a courtroom where he is being tried for murder. “Hi.”

Troy grinned at the shy look and playfully nudged Jacob. “He’s definitely your brother, that’s for sure.”

Andy sat back in his seat with a half-smirk on his lips. “Yeah. Definitely has that same outgoing nature.”

Jacob rolled his eyes. “Ignore them,” he said to Josh. “For now, at least.”

Josh was completely confused and not sure what to say. He was saved from his dilemma by the announcement of the judge entering the room. With an almost grateful feeling of relief, he rose along with his lawyers as the judge stepped in and moved to take his seat on the bench.

“You may be seated,” the judge said to the room. He looked over a few papers in front of him before looking towards Kyle and asking, “is the defense ready to resume, Mr. Howard?”

Kyle stood and said, “we are, your honor. Defense calls Dylan Goode to the stand.”

Dylan Goode had been sitting a few rows behind the prosecutor’s side of the gallery and watched Josh speaking with the people seated behind him. He frowned in annoyance, wondering what was going on with the defense. So lost in thought he almost didn’t hear his name being called. He turned to his wife who was at his side and gave her a confident look as he rose and headed to the witness stand.

As he watched Dylan raise his right hand, Kyle heard the subtle click of the door in the back of the gallery opening and closing. He tried but did not completely succeed in suppressing a smirk as he imagined what was going on behind him. Once Dylan sat in the witness stand, Kyle focused on him and prepared for a fight. “Good morning, Mr. Goode. Thank you for taking the time to be here.”

Dylan stared at him and shrugged. “Just doing my part.”

Kyle nodded as he moved to the podium with his notes. “I wanted to ask you about your recollections on the night of Sharon Ellington’s murder, but before we get to that, I’d just like to ask you about how the two of you met.”

Dylan’s eyes went up as if trying to recall. “I would say it was fairly early into my freshmen year of college. If I remember right, my roommate was friends with a friend of hers.”

“That roommate being Rodger Reid, correct?”

Dylan’s expression took on a more formal as he nodded. “Yes. We roomed together in the dorms the first two years.”

“What happened in the third year?”

“I decided to live off campus for the remainder of my time at school.”

Kyle nodded. “So, when did you start dating Sharon?”

Dylan sighed and affected the same look of recollection as he responded. “Oh, I would say about two months into that first year. We dated off and on that year.”

“How did it end,” Kyle asked casually.

“It was a mutual agreement,” Dylan answered dryly.

Kyle shook his head slightly. “That’s not according to what others said.” He picked up a copy of an affidavit and read it. “According to Grant Dawson and Rodger Reid, she broke it off with you.”

Dylan frowned slightly. “I guess you could see it that way.”

Kyle smirked and winked at him. “There’s no shame in being dumped, Mr. Goode. Happens to everyone at some point.”

Dylan bristled as his frown deepened. “I fail to see the point of your questions.”

Jensen had remained silent up until that moment when he rose to his feet. “Commonwealth would have to agree with the witness, your honor. Unless there’s some relevance to this line of questioning, defense should move onto the trial at hand.”

“Mr. Howard,” the judge began with a hint of annoyance. “Is this going anywhere pertinent to the case?”

Kyle nodded politely to the judge. “Your honor, if I may be allowed a little latitude for a few moments, I assure you it will all make sense before I’m done.” He turned to look at the prosecutor and gave him a meaningful look before adding, “if the commonwealth will be patient?”

Jensen fixed Kyle with an uncertain gaze before nodding and responding in a quieter tone. “Commonwealth will not object to the questioning at this time.”

Judge Schumer sensed something was going on between them but knowing he had to remain impartial, and no formal objection had been raised, he saw no other course of action. “Very well, Mr. Howard, you may proceed but do so cautiously.”

“Thank you, your honor, I will.” Kyle returned his gaze to Dylan who was sitting a little more rigidly in his seat. He put on his best polite if fake smile and continued. “In the interest of time, let’s go ahead and move on to Sharon’s drug addiction.” Kyle pulled out another paper from the small stack on the podium. “When Ms. Ellington was admitted into drug treatment, she was addicted to heroin and methamphetamines. Do you know how she first got started in her drug use, Mr. Goode?”

Dylan fumed internally and squirmed slightly as he answered the question. “She and I started experimenting with cocaine and other drugs that first year.”

“Yes,” Kyle nodded. “In fact, you both had quite the problem that you were both put into the same drug program, isn’t that correct?”

“Yes.”

“As it so happens, it was while she was seeking treatment that she met my client, Mr. Carter,” Kyle declared as he motioned towards Josh. “It would seem she had you to thank for finding him.”

“You could say that, I guess,” Dylan replied with a stone-faced expression.

Kyle was needling him, and he suspected Dylan knew it, but he also knew Dylan was too prideful to know where his line of questioning was headed. “Now, I have to ask, how is it you came upon these drugs? I assume you bought them from someone.”

“Another student in my dorm building,” Dylan confirmed.

Kyle smirked. “Darren Michaels is his name, correct?”

Dylan couldn’t hide the look of surprise in his eyes that Kyle knew about Darren. He knew this was some kind of trap but wasn’t sure how to get out of it. “Yes. We were friends.”

“And you continued your friendship with him after college?” Kyle fixed his gaze on Goode, letting him know he already knew the answer to the question.

Dylan replied through clenched teeth, “yes.”

“In fact, he was your supplier for your college years and beyond.”

Jensen rose to his feet again. “Your honor, this is far from improper. I object on the grounds of relevance. The witness need not answer questions of a personal nature that have no bearing on Mr. Carter’s trial.”

“The objection is sustained,” the judge replied. “Mr. Howard, you are coming dangerously close to being sanctioned by this court. Make your point or finish your questioning of this witness.”

“Very well, your honor, I will get straight to the point,” Kyle replied without looking away from the witness. “Mr. Goode, on the night of Sharon Ellington’s murder, did you call Darren Michaels on your cellphone?”

“Well, I… I don’t recall,” Dylan replied. “It was six years ago.”

“Allow me to refresh your memory.” Kyle crossed the floor to the table where the evidence was laid out. He found what he was looking for and said, “approach the witness, your honor?”

“Proceed.” The judge’s ire seemed to wane as he watched Kyle walk calmly towards the man sitting on the witness stand.

Kyle put a piece of paper in front of Dylan Goode and explained, “this is a record of all the calls you made six hours prior and twelve hours after Sharon Ellington’s murder. At 8:42 p.m. which would be while you were still at the party, you called the number highlighted here.”

Dylan nodded. “Yes. But I don’t remember who that number is assigned to. I don’t even have that cellphone or that number.”

“Yes,” Kyle confirmed. “In fact, it was three days after the murder that you changed your number, isn’t that right Mr. Goode?” Dylan looked up at him, stunned. “It took me a little while to find that little piece of information, but suffice it to say, Mr. Michaels confirmed your call to my investigator two days ago.” Kyle turned and looked at Jensen who appeared shocked as he returned to the podium.

“So what if I called him?” Dylan growled. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

Kyle shrugged. “If it had been a simple call for some more meth, I would agree. But that wasn’t why you called him. What did you ask of him that night, Mr. Goode?”

Dylan grumbled. “I choose to invoke my 5^th amendment right.”

Kyle smirked. “And that is your right to do so.” He stepped back over to the evidence table and pulled up a large blowup street map with highlighted lines of yellow and green which he sat on an easel. “Mr. Goode, we subpoenaed everyone’s phone records who were present at the party that night before Sharon was murdered. My forensics expert took that data and extrapolated two routes from two phones from that night.”

Jensen was on his feet again. “Your honor, the prosecution was never given these maps.”

Kyle turned to the judge and explained, “we handed over the same data that we received from the subpoena during discovery, your honor. The commonwealth has plenty of resources at hand to translate that data into the information that we both received. It is not defense’s obligation to hold the commonwealth’s hand in helping them to understand it.”

The judge looked from Kyle to Adam Jensen before asking, “was the information on the subpoena given to you in a timely manner during discovery, Mr. Jensen?”

Jensen stumbled as he replied, “Yes, sir.”

“Then that’s your problem,” the judge declared. “Proceed, Mr. Howard.”

“Thank you, your honor.” Kyle turned back to the map and began pointing out the green route. “This is the data that cell towers in the area recorded your position to be.” He then pointed to the yellow highlighted portion. “And this is Sharon’s phone. Both of you started at the same place, which was Grant Dawson’s house. According to this, you left sometime around 9 p.m. that night which was just a few minutes after your phone call to Mr. Michaels.” He began tracing the lines as he continued his description of the map. “And then Ms. Ellington left about a half hour later.”

“If you say so,” Dylan replied. “I have no recollection of when I left the party that night.”

“That’s fine,” Kyle countered. “Mr. Dawson, Mr. Reid and Ms. Spencer all testified through testimony here or on an affidavit that you were the first one who left the party that night.” Kyle started to slowly walk back to the podium as he pressed on. “Here’s what really interested me when I saw all of this evidence about the night of her murder, Mr. Goode; according to the cellphone records of both you and Sharon, you somehow arrived at Mr. Carter’s residence first. Had you ever been there before that night?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dylan barked. “I wasn’t there.”

“Oh. So, someone else stole your phone and went to Joshua Carter’s house with it.” Kyle didn’t bother to hide his sarcasm.

Josh heard that and sat up straighter in his seat, wondering what that meant. Troy and the others sat there in astonished silence watching their friend doing his job defending his client. This was a side of him they had rarely seen. To Andy’s eyes, he looked stronger than any marine he had served with and his heart swelled with pride as he fought down the urge to champion him. Brian’s mouth had dropped open so many times in the last minutes he had to hold his hand over his mouth. Jacob sat there and watched the love of his life do what he did best. Carrying on the Howard tradition of standing up for those who needed protecting.

“It makes no sense as to why I would have been there,” Dylan argued. “Your guy got the information wrong.”

Kyle didn’t flinch or back down. “Is that so? Didn’t you often say to the others how Sharon was wasting her potential with someone like Josh?”

Dylan shook his head. “That’s irrelevant.”

“But you don’t deny that that was what you thought about him, do you, Mr. Goode?”

“He was just some loser with no family name and no life outside of being a working grunt,” Dylan shot back. “She could have done so much better with her life.”

“Like you,” Kyle asked. “How many times did you try to get her to give you another chance?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kyle pursed his lips and tilted his head slightly. “Do you remember a girl you dated named Angela Crawford, Mr. Goode?” He turned his head and looked towards the gallery where he found Angela sitting next to Monica right where he wanted them, just within view of the witness stand over his shoulder. He turned back to the defendant who had followed his gaze.

Dylan paled slightly but replied with his formal, politician tone. “Yes.”

“And how did that play out?”

“Under an agreement reached between us, I cannot discuss my relationship with Ms. Crawford.”

“An agreement which is void if it pertains to testimony relevant in a court of law,” Kyle countered. “She has counsel present and after I’m done with you, Mr. Goode, she will be sitting where you are, telling everyone how you strangled her in her own apartment out of rage that she dared to break up with you.”

Jensen nearly flew out of his seat as he attempted to stop Kyle. “Your honor! If that kind of testimony is sealed, then it is improper for Mr. Howard to announce it to a jury! I move for a mistrial!”

The judge started to turn towards Kyle and reprimand him until a voice spoke up from the gallery, “if it please the court, your honor.”

Judge Schumer glared at the woman standing in the aisle of the gallery. “Who is interrupting this trial?!”

Monica stepped forward with a file in her hands. “My name is Monica Jones, Ms. Crawford’s counsel. We filed a motion to unseal and were granted permission by the court yesterday. If I may approach?”

The judge motioned her forward and took the file from her as she held it up to him. He opened the file and reviewed its contents. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before deciding. “Bailiffs, please escort the jury to an antechamber.”

Everyone remained silent as two bailiffs ushered the jury out of the room. Once the door was closed, the judge finally spoke. “Well, this has taken quite the turn. According to this, Ms. Crawford is free to testify, but the current witness seemed to be unaware of it. Mr. Jensen, what is the commonwealth’s position on all of this?”

Adam Jensen was still on his feet as he looked at Kyle. “I’ve been given information regarding a situation that is linked to this trial, your honor, but I am not free to discuss it at this time.”

“Your honor,” Kyle pressed as he moved towards the judge’s bench. “The prosecution is acting in accordance with the wishes of the district attorney. But this is his case, and he is well aware of the fact that I have enough evidence not only show reasonable doubt, but that the police and the DA’s office six years ago was complicit in covering up the real crime that was committed that night.”

“The real crime?” The judge looked at him curiously. “How do you know all this?”

“Your honor, if I may?”

With a sigh, the judge replied, “go on.”

Kyle looked at Dylan still sitting on the witness stand, fuming. “Your honor, Dylan Goode went to my client’s house that night. But his original intention wasn’t to kill Sharon Ellington that night, was it?”

Internally fuming, Dylan nearly spat out the words through his teeth. “I am invoking my 5^th amendment rights for the duration of this examination.”

Kyle looked back at the judge. “He went there to kill Joshua Carter. He had been obsessed with getting Sharon back and was enraged with her, but he knew she knew about his past and if he so much as laid a hand on her she would tell the police and he would be in deeper trouble than his father could get him out of.

“So he called up his friend and had him find out where Josh lived and when he left early that night, Sharon figured out what he intended and went to stop him.” Kyle glared at Dylan as he went on, his anger starting to raise his voice. “I have a video recording of him leaving the scene taken by someone who was on the street that night filming. The car and it's license plate is visible in the footage. I have the cellphone records and I have the knowledge that the scarf that she was wearing was missing after her death which means someone took it. But the police and the prosecutor’s office were curtailed by Mr. Goode’s father who was and still is a state senator. When Dylan realized what he had done, he called his father. The lead investigator didn’t know at the time that one of the men working under him had been asked to cover up Dylan’s presence in the area, so he destroyed evidence like Mr. Carter’s drug sample, and they limited the scope of their investigation to make what little evidence was available was going to point at Josh. Given his drug history and the fact that he lacked the ability to get adequate counsel, they succeeded the first time in getting him convicted. And whenever someone came forward wanting to offer something new or help Mr. Carter in any way, this same person would dissuade them from doing anything. I have word from two people involved in this case that they both received a visit from someone who fits the description of a man who currently is on staff in Senator Goode’s office. The same person who used to be a Pittsburgh police officer working in the homicide division before he abruptly quit and took the job he has now as a ‘special counsel’ to the senator. Special counsel being code for someone who gets paid to do nothing. Especially given the fact that he only has a high school diploma with no background in political science.”

The judge sat back, flabbergasted. “You have proof of all of this?”

Monica stepped forward again and replied. “We sent the information to the Attorney General’s office, and they are currently opening an investigation.”

Kyle turned to Jensen and said, “your boss was part of this conspiracy. He’s going to be investigated too. Didn’t you think it was odd that he offered to just let Josh go as long as he plead guilty to the crime? He did that because he knew that if the crime went without someone convicted of Sharon’s death, then Dylan would always have the threat of being indicted hanging over his head.” Kyle turned to Dylan and smirked. “You went there intending to kill Josh but ended up in your drug-fueled rage killing Sharon instead. Once you realized what you did, you called daddy up to save you.”

“Alright, I’ve heard enough,” the judge declared. “Everyone back to your seats. Mr. Howard, you can continue your examination of the witness once the jury is back.” The judge motioned to the bailiffs who exited to return the jury to their seats.

Monica went back into the gallery as Kyle and Jensen moved back to their places. Kyle leaned close to whisper into Jensen’s ear, “it’s not about winning or losing, Adam. It’s about doing what’s right. Do the right thing now.”

Kyle stood as the jury all returned to their seats and waited. Once they were all back, the judge turned to Kyle and said, “you may proceed, counselor.”

“Mr. Goode—”

“Your honor,” Jensen interrupted again as he slowly stood up.

With an exasperated sigh, the judge asked impatiently, “yes, Mr. Jensen?!”

Adam stood there for a moment, looking slightly stunned and uncertain for a moment. “The commonwealth moves at this time… to dismiss the charges against Mr. Carter with prejudice.”

Judge Schumer looked at the assembled courtroom and shook his head. In all his years on the bench, he had never encountered a situation like this, but he was glad to be rid of it. “Very well then, the case is dismissed.” He banged his gavel and declared, “the defendant is free to go, and the court thanks the jury for their time.”

Kyle stood there suddenly surprised. It happened so fast he barely registered Dylan stepping off of the witness stand and heading out of the courtroom as fast as he could, leaving his wife to trail behind him. He blinked a few times to make sure he heard the judge right before turning to Michelle and the others at the table.

Josh didn’t even know how he got on his feet as the reality of what just happened came crashing down onto him. All this time he had hoped but never really believed that he would finally be set free or that the hell he had been through since Sharon’s death would ever end. But now, he found himself slowly turning to look at Jacob who was right behind him. When he felt Jacob pull him into his arms, the dam that he had constructed to hold all of his feelings finally broke under the strain of the moment and he cried uncontrollably. He wept for the loss of the woman he loved. He wept for the injustice that had been inflicted on him. For all the years of loneliness and solitude that suddenly ended, and he cried with the knowledge that he was loved and that he would never be alone again as he heard his brother whisper in his ear, “it’s okay. I got you.”

Michelle came up to Kyle with a bright smile. “Good job, boss.”

He smiled with a demur shrug. “It was a team effort.” He grabbed his briefcase and patted Josh’s shoulder affectionately as he smiled knowingly to his husband who kept a tight hold on Josh. They both knew that while the trial was over, Josh still had a long road ahead of him to heal from his trauma. But at least it would be a road he would never have to walk alone.

Kevin remained standing in place as he looked at Kyle in admiration. “How come you didn’t tell us about the big scheme that was going on?”

Kyle sighed and grinned at his young associate. “Because it’s best to keep information like that from getting around. That way when you spring the trap on your adversary, they run out of ways to defend themselves.”

“What about Dylan?”

Kyle shrugged, unconcerned. “What about him? He knows he killed her. He can’t hide from that. He might get away with pleading down to manslaughter but he’s definitely going to go to jail. And his father is probably going to be dragged down with him. But that’s not our problem. We defended our client and that’s all we needed to do. And you did that very well.” He noticed Adam Jensen out of the corner of his eye packing up his things. “Give me a second.”

He walked over to where Jensen was quietly putting everything back in his briefcase when Kyle tapped him on his shoulder. He frowned slightly in annoyance and asked, “here to gloat?”

“No,” Kyle shook his head. “Just letting you know you did the right thing.”

“Yeah, well, the right thing is probably going to get me fired.”

“You were put in an impossible position by someone who doesn’t deserve the kind of loyalty you showed to him. You’ll bounce back from this.” Kyle smirked and added, “besides, you dismissed the charges before the jury could acquit him. That means it’s not a loss on your record.”

Jensen sighed. “Maybe. But I’m going to have the AG on me in a few days if what your partner showed me was true. For all I know I’ll get wrapped up in this and lose my license if they think I was part of all this.”

“You weren’t,” Kyle stated. “And if anyone says otherwise at the ethics hearing, I’ll be there to defend you.”

Jensen looked Kyle in the eyes and realized he was serious. “Thank you.”

Kyle shook his head. “Don’t mention it. And as for your next career move… there’s always an open spot in my firm if you’re ever looking for work.”

“Oh yeah? Out in the sticks?”

“Hey, it’s not that bad out there,” Kyle insisted with a smirk. “Besides, I think we might be taking on more cases like this in the future.”

Adam nodded. “I’ll think about it.” He extended his hand and gave Kyle a firm shake. “Congratulations, counselor. You definitely had your act together today.”

Kyle shrugged. “I got lucky, that’s all.” He watched Jensen leave the courtroom and saw Andy and Brian come up to him with Troy right behind them. “So, did you guys have fun?”

“Fun?!” Andy grabbed him in a tight hug and grinned. “You were fucking amazing, bro!”

Brian agreed. “Oh my God, that was so much fun to watch you make that guy squirm. He took out of here like a bat out of hell. Think the cops will catch him?”

Kyle laughed. “Eventually. Don’t worry about it. What’s important is that we got Josh freed.”

Andy released Kyle only to be replaced by Troy. “I’m so glad I got to watch you in action.”

Kyle hugged him back and smiled. “Good to know I didn’t screw up then.”

Troy’s voice dropped to a quiet whisper, adding, “I know he’s so proud of you right now.”

There was a brief sting in Kyle’s heart that he was still getting used to, but it was coupled with the love that he still felt inside him. “I know. He’s still here even if we can’t see him.”

Josh finally got control of himself and wiped his eyes. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

“What do you mean,” Jacob asked him.

“Well… what am I going to do? I’ve been in prison for six years now. No job, no house, no nothing.”

“You have me,” Jacob said with a smile and a hand on Josh’s shoulder. “And Kyle and the others.” He guided Josh over to Kyle and asked him, “so, does he need to do anything?”

Kyle let go of Troy and turned to Jacob and his brother. “Unless he has any possessions waiting to be picked up at the jail, not really.”

Josh shook his head. “Nothing that I can think of.”

“Well, in that case then,” Kyle looked at everyone assembled and said, “Michelle? Kevin? Take the rest of the day off. You’ve more than earned it. The rest of you, we can go home and have lunch and celebrate until we have to pick the kids up from school.”

“Sound good,” said Troy.

They all headed out of the empty courtroom with Josh walking beside Jacob. A moment of fear grabbed him. “Are you sure this is okay?”

Jacob smirked and put his arm around Josh’s shoulders as they moved down the hall. “Yup. You’re coming home with us where you can rest and get back on your feet.”

“You’re okay with that?”

“Of course I am,” Jacob assured him. “It’ll do you good to be away from all this.”

“What am I going to do once I get there?”

Jacob stepped into the elevator with him and smiled. “Have you ever been to an apple orchard before?”