Page 37 of Echoes of Twilight (Dawn of Alaska #4)
37
M ikhail had found himself trapped in his share of miserable places over the years: at a desk in the office above the trading post trying to do paperwork, in school trying to read a book while words danced around the page, at one of Alexei’s fancy dinners where he tried to woo bureaucrats, and, well, any other number of places where he was indoors and forced to sit still.
But a courtroom had to be the worst.
There was something innately intimidating about a judge with serious eyes scowling down at them behind a bench that was higher than every other person in the room.
It didn’t help that the judge had delayed the hearing for two hours that morning either.
Maybe he would have been less nervous if the judge seated behind the bench today was the same judge who’d presided over the courts in Alaska for the past twenty years. But no one knew what to expect from this new judge, who’d been sent not from Seattle or San Francisco but clear over from Washington, DC.
Mikhail shifted against the hard wooden chair where he sat. That probably didn’t fall in his favor. The man was surely used to siding with the government in cases like this. He might take one look at the notes from Marshal Hibbs’s investigation and decide right then and there that the case should go to trial.
Evelina didn’t seem to know how to take the man’s silence as he pored over the case notes. She fidgeted with the papers in front of her and kept smoothing the folds of her skirt, her fingers pressing out imaginary creases over and over. Every few seconds, she glanced toward the judge, then away again, her lips parting as if she wanted to speak but thought better of it each time.
To be fair, the prosecutor from the governor’s office looked just as nervous, as did Bryony’s family and Dr. Ottingford, who were seated directly behind the prosecutor, right along with Governor Caldwell and his brother.
Bryony sat across the aisle from them, surrounded by the Amos family. Each time Mikhail glanced back at her, tucked between Yuri and Kate, something warm filled his chest.
The judge finally set the papers down and banged his gavel; then he looked straight at Evelina. “Mrs. Redding, I see you’ve filed a motion to dismiss the criminal negligence case against your brother.”
Evelina stood. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“I see you’ve also filed a harassment lawsuit against Governor Caldwell and the Revenue Cutter Service, claiming unfair and unconstitutional search procedures of your family’s ships.” The new judge’s voice sounded small and nasally compared to the previous judge’s booming one.
“Yes, Your Honor.” Evelina nodded.
“I also understand that as of this morning, you filed three other harassment lawsuits against either Preston Caldwell or Governor Caldwell, or both.” The judge shuffled the papers on the bench; then after appearing to find what he wanted, he peered down at Evelina again. “Is that correct?”
“It is, Your Honor.”
“Your Honor?” The prosecutor stood and stepped around his table. “With all due respect, those cases have no bearing on a hearing meant to decide whether we have enough evidence to proceed with criminal charges against Mr. Amos for the death of Richard Caldwell.”
The judge straightened his spectacles, then peered down at the prosecutor. “On the contrary. I find those cases helpful in determining the accuracy of Mrs. Redding’s assertion that the investigation leading to these criminal negligence charges was conducted with bias. Just as she believes the RCS searches of her family’s ships have been conducted with bias. And just as other families in the community are asserting bias, harassment, and unfair treatment.”
The judge pulled off his spectacles, using them to point at the prosecutor. “I might not understand much about Alaska, but I’ve heard a few cases in my time, which means I understand politics and power. When someone comes to me with this many complaints stacked against a large company or member of government, I know to pay attention.”
The prosecutor wet his lips. “Your Honor, none of this changes the fact that Alaska, acting under authority of the United States Government, recommends proceeding with negligent homicide charges against Mr. Amos.”
“I see.” The judge scratched the side of his head. “And Mrs. Redding, do you still recommend dropping the charges?”
“I do, Your Honor.”
“Very well.” The judge made a rolling motion with his hand. “State your case.”
Evelina laid out the case masterfully, stating that each person who agreed to go on a government expedition in Alaska knowingly assumed a risk of death. She then went on to say that, by multiple accounts, Richard Caldwell had proven to be difficult to accommodate on the expedition. Apparently he’d even proven to be difficult to accommodate on the trip to Alaska itself, based on the captain’s testimony from the vessel that had transported them from Seattle to Sitka.
By the time she finally sat down, she’d made the government’s case sound weak and flimsy.
Then the prosecutor launched into his reason for the case going to trial. His main claim was that every death should be fully investigated. Clearly, he hadn’t been in Alaska long. People died all the time in the wilderness, and the people with them—if there were survivors—never got charged with negligent homicide.
The judge asked that very question next, if he thought charges should be brought against all members of the original botany expedition over Jack Ledman’s death from a grizzly attack.
The prosecutor blinked, his face turning white before stammering, “No, Your Honor,” and sitting back down.
The judge picked up a piece of paper and waved it at the courtroom. “I have here a copy of Marshal Hibbs’s notes regarding the interviews he conducted, along with Marshal Redding’s. Both men gave them to me when I asked for them this morning.”
Mikhail shifted. Was that why the hearing had been delayed? The judge had wanted more documentation?
He glanced at Evelina, but she stared at the judge with a serious face that gave nothing away.
“Marshal Hibbs’s and Marshal Redding’s notes look very different, though my understanding is that they both sat in on the same interview with Mr. Mikhail Amos. Is that correct?” The judge wasn’t looking at Evelina or the prosecutor but directly at Mikhail.
He nodded. “Yes, Your Honor. They were both present and both took notes.”
“Marshal Redding,” the judge asked, “were you present for the interviews with the members of the botany expedition, specifically Heath Wetherby, Dr. Atticus Wetherby, Dr. Walter Ottingford, and Miss Bryony Wetherby?”
Jonas cleared his throat. “No, Your Honor. Marshal Hibbs said he didn’t need my assistance with those interviews.”
The judge harrumphed, then looked at his papers again. “Despite all the stories floating around, there seem to be two things all members of the botany expedition agree on. One, that Richard Caldwell was petulant and argumentative for a good portion of the trip. And two, that Mikhail Amos was not close enough to touch Richard Caldwell when he fell off a log into a gorge. The records also state that all other members of the botany expedition testify to easily being able to cross the gorge on the log bridge without losing their footing.” The judge blinked, then pounded his gavel on the bench. “I henceforth move to dismiss this case from court based on insufficient evidence that a crime occurred.”
Silence fell over the courtroom, broken only by the scratch of the judge’s gavel against the wood. For one long frozen moment, no one moved. No one spoke. Then Preston Caldwell shot to his feet, redness climbing up the side of his neck.
“The evidence is clear. Mikhail Amos was responsible for my cousin’s death. I don’t understand how he can be allowed to walk free without the case even going to trial.” He turned to the prosecutor, jabbing a finger in his direction. “Do something. File an appeal. Now.”
The governor sat frozen beside his brother for a moment, his expression far more calculating. He didn’t protest, didn’t lash out, but his narrowed eyes flicked between Mikhail and Alexei.
Mikhail found himself swallowing. They might have won this particular case, but in doing so, they’d humiliated the Caldwells in front of the entire town.
The governor finally stood, his voice chillingly calm when he spoke. “Your Honor, I strongly suggest you reconsider your ruling. Dismissing this case so hastily does not reflect well on the administration of justice in Alaska.”
The judge merely arched a brow. “The evidence presented does not justify a trial, and the law does not exist to serve your personal vendettas. I will not waste my courtroom’s time by entertaining this case any further. Now if you can’t respect my decision, I suggest you remove yourself from this courtroom. Either that or my bailiff can forcibly remove you.”
“You can’t just remove us,” Preston Caldwell spat. “We’re plaintiffs in the next case.”
The judge leaned forward, eyes narrowed. “Would you like to test me on that?”
The governor grabbed his brother’s shoulder and muttered something into his ear, then the two men turned and stalked toward the exit, their polished shoes tapping hard against the wooden floor.
Dr. Wetherby, who had been sitting directly behind the Caldwells with Heath, huffed out a breath and stood. His normally upright posture sagged ever so slightly as he turned and headed to the door, with Heath and Dr. Ottingford behind him.
The judge banged his gavel again. “We will take a twenty-minute recess before hearing the harassment case.”
When he banged his gavel for a final time, the courtroom erupted, but the judge couldn’t seem to escape the room fast enough. He stood, then headed straight for his office, not remotely disturbed by the commotion.
Mikhail released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, then leaned back in his chair, staring at the door where the judge had just disappeared.
He was free.
It seemed too easy. He’d been expecting a trial, assuming he’d face several weeks of uncertainty before knowing what would become of the next ten years of his life. But the ordeal was over before it ever really began.
Which meant he could now take Bryony in his arms and tell her how he felt about her.
He looked around the courtroom to find her. She’d been seated two rows behind him, tucked between Yuri and Kate, but he didn’t see her now. She must have slipped out at some point. He couldn’t blame her. She probably didn’t want to have any conversations with her family or end up facing the Caldwells in the hallway outside.
“We did it, Mikhail!” Evelina leaned over and gave him a hug, a laugh bubbling from her chest. “We did it!”
“Thank you for helping me.” He squeezed his eyes shut, deepening the hug. “Thank you for getting me out of this mess without needing to face an actual trial.”
She laughed. “Don’t make it sound so serious. Any good lawyer would have done exactly what I did. It’s always worth attempting to get a case thrown out. There’s nothing for the defense to lose.”
“No. That’s not what I mean. I mean...” His throat grew thick, and that blasted heat returned, toying with the backs of his eyes, just as it had done for the past three days he’d sat in that wretched jail cell with Alexei’s Bible beside him. “I mean, I appreciate your help. I couldn’t have done what you just did today. I wouldn’t have gotten out of this so easily if not for you. In fact, I might have ended up facing a decade in prison. I don’t know anything about courtrooms or judges or legal matters. I just know the wilderness. So thank you.”
She grew still inside his arms. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” Moisture filled his eyes, but he blinked it away before anyone could accuse him of crying. “I’m more than all right. Better than I’ve been in years, actually. But still, I wanted to make sure I thanked?—”
A body crashed into the side of them. “Did you see that? The new judge is amazing! He let you off scot-free!” Yuri squeezed them both in a hug.
“He was rather masterful.” Alexei approached next, then wrapped Mikhail in a quick hug that ended with a pat on the back. “But he’s also new. Hopefully he has the integrity and sense not to end up in the Caldwells’ pocket over time.”
“I hope so too.” Sacha came up and wrapped him in a bear hug. “Can you imagine a judge in Sitka who’s actually fair and honest? Not sure we’ve had that since the Russians.”
“Not sure you had that with the Russians either,” Jonas muttered, stepping in for a hug of his own.
Inessa and Ilya hadn’t come to court, which meant the only person who’d been there and then left was Bryony.
He looked around again, just to make sure he didn’t see a familiar flash of red hair framing creamy skin, but there were too many people milling about the courtroom.
“She already went back to the house,” Alexei muttered. “She didn’t want her family to try talking to her and cause a scene.”
It made sense. He didn’t exactly want her talking to her family either.
“I need to get ready for the harassment hearing.” Evelina gave him another hug, then opened her satchel and produced a second stack of papers. “But you should go back to the house and talk to her.”
Mikhail shifted from one foot to the other. “You don’t want me to stay here and see what happens with the next case?”
Sacha clapped him on the back. “We’d rather send you home so that we can greet your new fiancée when we finish here.”
Heat crept up the back of his neck. “I don’t know that she’ll say yes.”
“She’ll say yes. That woman is so lovestruck, there’s no help for her.” Kate wedged her way through the crowd with Nathan, then gave him a hug that was so quick he almost missed it, before swatting him on the shoulder. “Now go get yourself a wife. That woman is too sweet for you to pass by.”
He didn’t need to be told again. “Let me know how it goes here.”
And then he was off, racing down Castle Hill at a pace that was likely to hurt someone, all so that he could hold the woman of his dreams in his arms.