Page 125 of The Right to Remain

The prosecutor spoke up. “Judge, these are all questions that a jury can consider at trial.”

“Yes,” said the judge, nodding agreement, and Jack’s heart sank.

But then the judge looked at Jack. “And releasing the defendant before trial won’t stop the jury from doing its job. Mr. Swyteck, your client is ordered to surrender his passport and wear an ankle bracelet. I’m granting the motion for pretrial release. This court is adjourned,” he said with a crack of the gavel.

“All rise!”

Ironically, Jack felt the sudden need to sit in his state of disbelief, but he remained standing as his client, the prosecutor, and the packed gallery climbed to their feet. Judge Garrison made his way to his chambers, and upon the thud of the door closing behind him, the courtroom sprang to life. Reporters hurried to the rail and clamored for a quote from Jack, the prosecutor, and even Jack’s client.

“Will the state drop the charges?”

“Is your client innocent?”

“Mr. Stafford, will you resume your treatment now?”

Jack didn’t have to tell his client not to respond. Elliott remained silent to the crowd, to Jack, and to the guards who came to escort him back to the correctional center for processing and release.

Jack was never one to publicly embrace his clients, mindful as he was of victims and their families, but a simple “thank you” was always appreciated. He got nothing from Elliott—not even a look in the eye, much less an expression of gratitude.

“You’re welcome,” Jack said to no one, as the deputy led his client to the side exit.

Chapter 46

Jack decided to take the rest of the day off. He drove home to Key Biscayne, flopped on the couch, and switched on their streaming service. He and Andie liked to watch old movies together, but he noticed she’d been watching one without him.Love Story. It was more than fifty years old, and they’d both seen it before. He hitplayon the remote control and found that she’d queued it up precisely to the first scene in which Ali MacGraw tells Ryan O’Neal, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” It made him smile because he remembered how they’d had the same reaction when watching it together: The line made no sense, and the opposite was true. Then it occurred to him that perhaps Andie was working a kind of reverse psychology on him and had queued up that line to send him a message:

You still owe me an apology.

It was up to Jack to figure out what for.

Whatever it was, a little unconditional love from a goofy golden retriever could only make Andie more receptive, so he put Max in the back seat and drove to downtown Miami to meet Andie for midafternoon coffee at the Cuban pastry shop around the corner from the FBI field office. All the outdoor tables were occupied by old, highly caffeinated Cuban men smoking cigars and playing dominoes. Max sniffed out an inside table with a view of the alley and a half-eaten empanada that someone had left on a napkin. It was gone in a single gulp.

“Amazing how he works up such an appetite sleeping all day,” said Jack.

“Aww,” she said, hugging Max. “He’s a good boy.”

Jack smiled. Bringing in canine reinforcements had been the right move.

The server arrived with their order. Espresso for Andie. Café Americano—Abuelawould have choked—for Jack. Andie asked about his case, and Jack shared the good news about bail. Then he said what he’d come to say.

“I saw the movie you left for me.”

She smiled. It was a choreographed move after all. “And?”

“I’m sorry.”

She tasted her espresso. “For what?”

Jack had figured it out on the drive from Key Biscayne. “For accusing you of trying to turn me against Theo.”

“Apology accepted.” She added a little sugar to her demitasse but said nothing more.

“That’s it? Just ‘apology accepted’?”

“What more is there to say?”

It wasn’t like her to be so stingy with her words. “I don’t know,” said Jack. “Maybe something like ‘I’m glad we got rid of the Rule. It’s much better now that we talk to each other about our jobs, but you’re right, Jack: If you want to use Theo as your investigator, that’s really your decision.’”

“I do like the change we made.”