Page 26

26

FINN

T he courtroom is packed today, standing room only. Solicitor Quinn has called his final witness, and following that, we will hear the closing arguments. I spoke with Siobhan this morning in her penthouse curled around her naked body as she told me quietly how scared she was for today. I assured her that it would be fine, that we would figure it out. I told her then to say only truthful statements and let the chips fall where they may.

Now as Quinn takes his rest and sits behind his table next to Mick, I'm concerned Siobhan won't be able to follow through, that her resolve will wane and she will fear the tentacles of this machine poised to devour her more than the fear of doing the wrong thing. I, myself, have been in this position so many times in my life and I've always chosen to do the wrong thing. Though the monster hunting me is a life separated from my family, while hers is certain death. The Doyles won't care about ethics or whether she was right or wrong for her arguments.

"If that's all, we'll move to closing arguments." Callahan scowls at Siobhan. It's been his constant expression for the past week. He knows she has seen him for who he is and he doesn't know how that all came about yet, but with the evidence we have against him, there's no getting out of it. Siobhan says her boss, McVeigh, will step in. She's sure of it. But she's still frightened.

"Of course, Your Honor." She stands, tugging the hem of her suit jacket, then walks around the tables to stand in front of the jury box. It's her time to shine. I don't know what she'll say, but after lying in bed with her agonizing over closing arguments last night, I know she believes Mick is innocent now.

Siobhan sucks in a deep breath so loud the entire courtroom can hear it, though that's not difficult. You can hear a pin drop in here. There are murder cases every year in Dublin, but this one is the case to follow. Rival syndicates have blown up this city quite literally in an attempt to ensure the pieces fall on the right sides of this division. Ronan has men prepared to storm the Doyle compound and take them all out if investigators don’t get there first. I'll just be happy to take Siobhan into my arms and hold her as the stress of it all melts off her.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, what you've heard over the past few months is testimony in the case against Mick O'Connor accused of murdering Aiden Hughes in cold blood." She paces as she walks, carefully avoiding eye contact with Mick or the judge. She's walking a tightrope and she knows it. One wrong move and she falls, and there's no safety net to catch her.

"You've heard Mr. O'Connor's testimony, how he lied about his alibi, only later to reveal that he was with another woman the night of the murder." She's choosing her words carefully, but they're not looking good for Mick. I hear the bench behind me squeak and know it's Brennan. I reach over the back of my bench and take her hand and squeeze it as Siobhan continues.

"You’ve heard that it's possible for him to have left the sex worker's house and make it to the scene of the crime, murder the man, and then return to the sex worker's house. You’ve seen video of Mr. O'Connor at that same sex worker's house to prove he was there. And you've also heard testimony that his DNA, along with a muddy boot print in his same shoe size and tread pattern, were found at the scene of the murder."

She pauses and turns to look at me, then spins around back to the jury. I watch her carefully. She seems unsteady on her feet, a sign of the nerves she's trying to swallow down. She's hoping for a hail Mary, for her supervisor, the director of public prosecutions, to come in and stop this nonsense. The fear etched on her forehead shows me she doesn't want to cross that swindling judge, but she has to do what's right.

"And you've heard how Detective Garda Liam Kearney was alone at that house when the alleged evidence was found." The statement makes a few members of the audience gasp, but she doesn't stop. "All of this may lead you to doubts or hesitancy to convict Mr. O'Connor, and I implore you, as citizens of this great country, to do your due diligence and consider all the evidence."

Callahan is glaring, face red, seething with rage I know he’ll turn to action soon enough. Siobhan strolls back to her seat on wobbly legs as Callahan stares her down. A court official walks up to him carrying a manilla envelope, sliding it across the bench carefully. The judge nods at him and clears his throat as he opens it and pulls out a slip of paper. Everyone is on the edge of their seat waiting as he looks up at Siobhan with more hatred than anything else in his expression now.

"Please give me one moment. Everyone must remain seated." Callahan stands, taking the envelope with him, and walks out the back entrance of the courtroom into his chambers.

Siobhan looks over her shoulder at me, biting her lip, and I nod at her reassuringly. Something is coming, an explosion we can all sense. Whatever this is isn't normal, and abnormal usually means not good. I wonder for a moment if it's her boss's intervention, but there's no sign of that. And when I look back at Brennan, she seems just as anxiously confused as everyone else.

"What's happening?" Rebecca whispers, but no one, not even Ronan seated to Brennan's left, can answer.

When the judge returns and walks back up to his seat at the bench, he removes his glasses and sits down. "It has come to my attention that the counsel on this case has become compromised." He rubs the bridge of his nose in an exaggerated act that seems overly dramatic before continuing. "Ms. Gallagher, you are being removed from this case, and I'm forced to declare a mistrial."

"What?" she gasps, standing up. Her fingers press into the wood of the table. "I demand to know why!"

The room is a babbling brook, a constant undercurrent of hushed whispers and talking. Judge Callahan shakes his head, lips pursed, and smacks his gavel on the sounding block.

"Order in this court," he demands, and then continues. "You are being removed for impropriety and unethical behavior after being found having sexual relations with a member of the defense's familial ties." Callahan does the unspeakable, lifting a tablet up and turning it around to show the entire courtroom.

On that tablet, a video plays. Siobhan is draped over her couch with her head thrown back in pleasure as I take her from behind. The night was incredible, but reliving it like this is mortifying for her, I'm sure, though the only thing more shocking than seeing it on that tablet in the courtroom is the person who's sharing it with us. The filthy, crooked bastard was in her home, and we know why. He planted that camera there to watch her and keep tabs on her. It all makes sense now too. They wanted to have a plan to discredit her just in case she grew a moral compass that pointed her away from their scheming.

"Mother of God," she mutters and covers her mouth. I want to leap to my feet and defend her, but before I can do anything, the door bursts open and men start filing in. It's McVeigh and a smattering of Garda officers.

Callahan nods at them and glowers, pointing at Siobhan. "She's there," he says, tipping his head in her direction, but McVeigh goes straight to the judge's bench and takes Callahan's wrist.

Siobhan melts into her seat, and I lean forward over the wall, wrapping my arms around her. She's sobbing, and I kiss her cheek and squeeze her.

"It's over, Sib. They're going to take him down now." This couldn't have happened at a better time. She clings to my arms, wrapped around her shoulders, and I hold her as they tell the judge he's being arrested for blackmail and extortion and a dozen other charges. I know he's not the one behind this and it's evidenced as more Garda officers find Liam Kearney and arrest him before he's able to slip out of the room too.

Siobhan is still shaking when I'm forced to sit back down. A tall man in a judge's robe, balding head, no glasses takes the bench. He stands with a looming presence staring down at everyone and has no need to use the gavel. Everyone in this room wants to know what's going to happen now. Callahan declared a mistrial, but he's been removed from the room and will probably face time in prison.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Judge Ross Gregory. I'm appointed to oversee this proceeding and finish things. As I have not been here to hear the trial, and it has come to our attention that several factors have weighed on this trial, Director McVeigh and I will declare a mistrial." He nods at Siobhan, who is wiping her eyes, and then at Mr. Quinn, who both seem relieved.

"You are dismissed," the new judge says and then turns to the court officiant. "Please remand Mr. O'Connor to?—"

"No, Your Honor," Siobhan says, standing quickly. "We don't need to put Mr. O'Connor in remand. I am dropping all charges. We have a new suspect and stronger evidence to build a case."

It feels like the entire courtroom erupts in cheers, though I'm sure there are a few people who aren't as pleased to hear this news. But Siobhan has done it. Mick is free to go, and I am proud of her for holding her ground and following what she knew to be truth.

Mick stands to his feet, shaking the solicitor's hand, and Brennan pushes past a mob of people to get to his arms. Everyone is up, moving around. I find my way to Siobhan first to pull her in for a hug, and it's like we're alone in the room despite everyone surrounding us.

"Well done," I tell her, pushing some hair off her forehead. Her eyes are still misty with emotion.

"Thank you. I'm glad that's over." Her lip still quivers as she speaks, and I can tell something is still bothering her.

"What is it?"

"They were in my penthouse, Finn. And when Liam… well, he…" She blinks and looks down at the space between us. I take my finger and lift her chin.

"What did he do?" She hasn't spoken to me about anything regarding that man, though I've known he was a snake since the first time I saw him going into her apartment.

"He tried to get me to sleep with him in my living room. I smacked him. I swear nothing happened, but?—"

"But he was trying to get you to do something unethical to set you up for failure. If you wouldn't back down, he'd make you. He knew that bug was there." I could kill the bastard, but he's behind bars where he's safe from me for now.

"I can't believe this. I'm so disgusted. McVeigh told me to sweep my place for bugs, but I didn't think he was serious." She covers her face and folds into my chest, and I hold her tightly.

"Hey, shh, it's over. It's done, and you don't have to think about it anymore. I'm sure you'll have to give a statement, but that will be that." I don’t know what the future looks like for us, but I'm ready to put all of this behind us and find out. I want a life with her, not this runaround. "Let's get out of here," I tell her, and I guide her through the crowd and out.

We have some important things to discuss and I can't wait to have her alone.