Chapter 102

Jason stood outside and for the first time he looked uncertain.

“Hi, Jason. Come on in,” I said and took a step aside to let him in.

“Hi. I hope I’m not interrupting your evening,” he said, glancing around.

“Not at all. I was just going to have some cupcakes, do you want to join me?” I asked. He smiled at me as if I had offered him a fortune. He sat down at the kitchen table as I made some tea and put the cupcakes down. Jason took a bite from a cupcake and sighed happily. I smiled, it was good for my ego to have Jason around.

“Is it okay that I came to visit you?” he asked without looking at you.

“I don’t mind. I would like to think we have become friends. I know you and Hunter are like brothers and if Hunter isn’t comfortable with you having contact with me, I understand if you won’t,” I told him. He shrugged.

“He said he didn’t mind. I just want to make sure I don’t make you uncomfortable,” he said. He was clearly not entirely comfortable having this conversation and it was sweet of him to make sure.

“I’m happy you came by. Did you have anything specific you wanted to talk about? Or does your spider senses tingle when I bake cupcakes?” I asked, and he laughed.

“I heard that you had your second day in the witness stand today and just wanted to check up on you,” he said.

“Was it your idea?” I asked. Jason shuffled around in his seat.

“Yes,” he finally said. I could see he was telling the truth, and that he thought I would be hurt by it.

“Good. Then I’m happy that you are here. And thank you for checking on me. But I’m fine. It wasn’t a fun experience but I got through it.” He nodded.

“So it’s over for you now, you can relax,” he said and took another cupcake.

“No. They asked me to be on standby as the defence wants to call me back. It’s making me a little nervous, like they have something planned,” I told him and he frowned.

“I’m sure it’s nothing. The prosecutors would have warned you if they had seen any strange witnesses on the list or odd evidence,” Jason finally said.

“You're right. I’m probably being paranoid. I just hate sitting in that room all day and do notthing.”

“Take up knitting, I hear it’s fun,” he said. I stared at him and then we both chuckled. He stayed for an hour and when he left, I sent the rest of the cupcakes with him. It was a good feeling knowing we could stay friends. I liked Jason and I would have been sad if I had to lose his friendship.

The next morning I was getting ready when Wictor called me. I frowned and hoped nothing had happened.

“Hi. What’s up?” I answered.

“Hi! If you don’t hurry down, we’ll be late,” he told me.

“Late for what?” I asked as I grabbed my keys, as I was actually running a little behind.

“Court, you silly goose,” he told me.

“Are you coming today too? I don’t think I’m going to testify.”

“I decided to not chance it. I have a lot of personal time and my boss was okay with me taking it on short notice since we are in a low phase,” he explained.

“That is sweet of you. But are you sure you don’t want to use that time with Anthony?” I asked.

“About that. He’s coming as well.” I was walking out of the building and there on the sidewalk stood Wictor and Anthony. I hung up the call. “Rude, you didn’t even say goodbye,” Wictor told me and then smiled and gave me a hug.

“You are both coming?” I asked as we started walking.

“We are,” Anthony told me.

“I am there to support you, and Tony is my support,” Wictor explained.

“That is sweet of you, thank you,” I told them. Somehow, without realising it, I had grown my support network over the last months. It used to be just Wictor. But if there was one positive thing about this trial, not including the possibility of putting Simon away, it was the realisation that I wasn’t as alone as I feared. Wictor and Anthony talked to me and joked as we walked, trying to keep my spirits up and when we said goodbye and went our separate ways, I was in a better mood than I usually was heading into the small room. My day was as exciting as I had feared. Nothing happened and I tried to keep myself busy. I was getting ready for lunch when my phone rang. I didn’t recognise the number so I answered tentatively.

“Hello Miss Bishop. This is Tom Smith, I hope I’m not calling at a bad moment.” When I heard the CEO of the company I worked for I automatically sat up straight in my chair.

“Not at all Mr Smith. What can I do for you?”

“I heard through the grape wine you had asked for extra work to do outside of office hours.”

“Yes, sir. I will need to be part of this trial longer than expected. I feel bad for asking for more time off,” I explained.

“You shouldn’t feel bad for a thing like that. But I understand. If you still want something to do, I may have something for you.”

“I would love for something to do.”

“I need someone to put together some statistics for me. No, that is a lie. I need someone to put together a lot of statistics. It’s not urgent, we don’t need it for another two months. But it is boring work so no one really wants to do it,” he told me.

“I want to do it, sir. It sounds perfect.”

“I’m happy to hear it. I will send you the raw data and I will send an explanation of what I need. If you don’t understand what is expected of you, let me know. You can email or call. If you are working in the evening I may not answer. I usually have a no phone policy when I spend the evening with my daughter. But I will try to call back,” he told me.

“Thank you, sir. And I won’t call after hours. I think even the CEO has the right to some down time,” I said. I could hear him laughing. He seemed like a nice man.

“I wish everyone had the same attitude. I will let you go to lunch, Miss Bishop. As always, it was nice to talk to you.”

“You as well, sir. And thank you again.” I was stunned, but happy, when we finished the call. It felt better knowing I would have work to do. I hoped I would be able to figure out what to do with the data he would send to me. Wictor and Anthony were waiting outside for me. As Wictor hooked his arm in mine I saw Hunter and our eyes met for a brief moment. At first I felt the excitement I was used to by now, then I felt the pain when my brain remembered that we were no longer together. Wictor looked in the same direction and tugged on my arm.

“Come along, sis. We have decided we want to have Thai food today,” he told me in an overly cheerful way.

“Not fair. There are two of you and only one of me, I will always get downvoted,” I objected and we laughed. I still felt the pain, but it was easier to carry it when I reminded myself that there was still joy in the world.

As the trial continued, I stayed in my little room in the court house. I started working on the assignment I had got from Mr Smith, and it proved to be a good way to pass the time. It was split up into several smaller tasks and as soon as one was done, I sent it to him. He had called a couple of times to discuss my work, or to tell me I was doing a good job. I had worked for some less than good managers, but he was fantastic. I was sitting and putting together the latest set of numbers when the door opened and Tim walked in with Seymour. I was so surprised I didn’t do or say anything. Then I noticed they both looked angry.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” I asked.

“No,” Seymore said and took a seat opposite me. Tim walked back and forth.

“Have they declared a mistrial?” I asked as it was the only thing I could think of that would upset them to this point.

“No, the trial is still going. We are almost done with the witnesses,” Tim said. I felt relieved. After weeks of sitting in the small room, I would finally be free to leave.

“Okay. So do they want me to testify again?” Was that why they were so upset?

“Most likely, yes. But there is something else. I need you to know I did my best to stop this. I have objected in every way I know how to,” Tim told me as he leaned with his palms on the table.

“He did. He did everything possible expert throwing a punch at Mr Steel,” Seymour agreed.

“Okay. I believe you. But you are scaring me.”

“Do you know a Mr Rodhes?” Tim asked. I felt my entire body turn to ice and my instinct to flight was so strong that I needed to force myself to stay seated. I just nodded as my mouth wasn’t working. “Mr Steel has called him as a witness.” I wished I was prone to fainting. It would have been a nice escape in a moment like this.

“Why?” I managed to ask and my voice sounded hoarse. I reached for my water bottle and saw my hand shaking. Seymour took my hands in his.

“Mr Steel is arguing it is to lay foundation to his defence that you have manipulated his client. I argued that you weren’t on trial, but the judge sided with him,” Tim told me. I nodded.

“Remember, he can’t hurt you. We can make sure you are never in the same room,” Seymour said.

“Is there a way for me not to do this?” I asked.

“No. Not without facing jail time or a hefty fine,” Tim told me. I drew in a deep breath. It may be worth it, I thought as I tried to calm down.

“Okay. Okay. Thank you for letting me know, I will do my best.”

“You always do,” Tim said, placing a hand on my shoulder before he walked out of the room. Seymour stood up and I took his hand.

“Can you warn Wictor if he doesn't already know? If he needs to leave, tell him it’s okay,” I asked Seymour.

“I will make sure he knows.”

“Thank you. Please don’t let him do something stupid.” He smiled at me.

“I will do my best. Don’t think too much about this. Try to think of something else,” he told me.

“We both know that won’t work. But thank you.” He left me alone in the small room with my own thoughts. It felt like I was sitting there for hours and I had started to hope Mr Rodhes’ testimony would drag out and they would adjourn for the day. There was a light knock on the door and the bailiff walked in.