remain composed as she stood with her attorneys on either side of her.
“It is the opinion of this court, the defense, and the prosecution that you are not guilty of the charges brought against you. You’ve been far too long incarcerated without just cause. All the charges against you have been dropped and you are being processed to leave this courthouse a free woman, with an official apology for the bumbling of the case.”
“Your honor,” the prosecuting attorney said.
“Do not attempt to censure me, counselor. You’ve said as much in your request to drop the charges.”
“Yes, your honor,” the attorney answered.
Talie plopped down in her chair, gaining the judge’s attention once more.
“Are you well, Mrs. Lyakhov?” he asked.
Talie nodded.
“To be clear, Mrs. Lyakhov. I’ve sent my assistant to see to the documentation for your release and force it through the system today. It will likely take several hours, but it is my intention that when you leave here today it will be to go home, rather than to your jail cell.”
“Thank you, your honor,” Talie finally managed.
She looked over her shoulder and met Roman’s own teary gaze.
“I’m going home,” she said.
Roman couldn’t contain himself any longer and got to his feet, leaned over the railing separating them and hugged her to him, kissing the side of her head.
“Sir, please don’t touch…” the bailiff started.
“Bailiff, give them a moment. She is no longer a defendant,” the judge barked out.
“Yes, your honor,” the bailiff said, looking at the floor now, since he’d been scolded.
After a few minutes of Talie and Roman celebrating, the judge called the courtroom to order. “Let’s move this along to the next case, please.”
“Your honor, it will be about an hour before we can proceed. We are awaiting the arrival of one of the defendants. He’s being brought in from the hospital where he’s still under care. He is on his way now,” the prosecution attorney said.
“Very well. This court will reconvene in one hour,” the judge said, getting up and exiting the courtroom.
“Talie, we’re going back to the holding room until the documents are delivered,” her female guard said.
Talie nodded.
“Sheryl, right?” Roman asked.
“Yes, I am. And you’re Roman,” the guard said.
“Yes. Thank you for looking after Talie,” Roman said.
“You’re welcome. Least I could do.”
“Where’s the holding room?” he asked.
“You can’t go back there. But don’t worry, I’m going to stay with her until she’s free to go, and then I’ll deliver her right to your side,” Sheryl said.
“And I’ll go sit with her, too,” Ms. Autry said.
Roman nodded. “Okay, thank you, Ms. Autry,” he said, watching as they unchained Talie from the chair, then instead of leading her away in cuffs, Sheryl removed the shackles from her ankles, the cuffs from her hands, and even removed the belt the chains threaded through from her waist.
Talie smiled and hugged Sheryl, then Ms. Autry, and Patrick as her happy tears flowed.
“Thank you!” she said to Patrick.
“You are most welcome, young lady,” Patrick answered.
“We’ll see you as soon as the judge says we can. You hanging around, right?” Sheryl asked.
“I’m not leaving without Talie,” Roman said forcefully.
Talie stepped closer to the railing separating them and Roman hugged her to him again, turning her chin up and kissing her with a soft, quick peck of the lips.
“I’ll see you in a bit?” she asked.
“I’ll be waiting,” he answered.
Talie nodded and allowed Sheryl and Ms. Autry to escort her to a holding room.
As they walked through the doors and out of sight, Patrick gathered his paperwork, placed it back into his briefcase and turned to shake Roman’s hand. “It has been a pleasure.”
“I’ll never be able to thank you,” Roman said.
“You already have. Now, I’ve got to move to the prosecution’s table for the next case. If I were you, I’d run out and find something for my wife to wear home instead of jailhouse scrubs.”
“Do I have time for that?” Roman asked.
“I’m thinking the end of the day, say three or four in the afternoon before she’ll be able to leave. You have plenty of time,” Patrick answered.
“Okay, good. Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Roman said. He turned to Mr. Schmidt. “Can I give you a ride home?”
“No!” Patrick said. “Mr. Schmidt, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate you staying to give your testimony again in the next hearing.”
“What is the next hearing?” Lawrence asked.
“The two witnesses that gave their accounts of what happened to the victim in Talie’s case… they’re being arraigned today. Along with Frederick,” Patrick said.
“The dick? Well,