49. Molly
It look a little more explaining but in the end, the two police officers decided that Councilor Paige’s husband’s suggestion made sense. They called an ambulance for Pate’s body and managed to get the still-sobbing Karen up off the floor.
“He was mine! He was supposed to be mine!” she kept saying as one of the officers led her away to the back of the police car.
They wanted to take Torus into custody, but it turned out that Councilor Paige’s husband, Lone, was a lawyer too.
“This is a clear case of Rage, gentlemen,” he said politely but firmly to the two police officers. “Commander Torus is a Kindred warrior—when he saw his Mate was in danger, he went into action and eliminated the threat. The World Court has ruled he can’t be prosecuted for protecting her. You can ask him questions later, but right now Judge Hudson is expecting him in her courtroom.”
The Judge’s name seemed to carry considerable weight with the two officers. Apparently she wasn’t someone to cross. Reluctantly, they agreed to let Torus and Molly come to the Richmond PD and answer questions after they visited the courthouse and heard the verdict, which was being held up by their absence. They even allowed Molly and Torus to ride back in Lone’s ship—providing that one of the officers came with them, while the other waited for the ambulance and back-up to deal with Karen and the body.
It all passed in a blur. Earlier Molly had been sure she was going to burst into tears, but now a kind of icy calm had descended on her.
I’m in shock, she thought distantly, but if so, it seemed to be a good thing. She didn’t want to break down in front of everyone. There was still too much to do—too much to get through.
Torus freed her hands—which had been going numb from lack of circulation—and helped her to her feet. Molly took a step and stumbled—clearly she wasn’t quite as steady on her feet as she needed to be.
“Here, sweetheart.” Torus swung her into his arms and Molly didn’t even protest. She simply closed her eyes and breathed in his warm, cedar and spice scent. In his arms she was safe and for a minute she could push away all the awful events of the past hour.
Torus carried her into Lone’s ship. While the other Kindred went to check on his twins—who were sleeping in the back—she changed into a new blouse which he had offered her.
“It’s Lizabeth’s, but I’m sure she won’t mind,” he told her.
“Thank you,” Molly said numbly. But when she tried to button the buttons, her hands were shaking too badly to manage it.
“Here, sweetheart.” Torus brushed her hands aside and buttoned the blouse himself. Then he pulled her close again. “Are you all right?”
“Fine—I’m fine,” Molly heard herself saying. She felt like she was in a dream that just kept going. She wished she could wake up, but there was no stopping it—it had to run its course.
Before she knew it, they were back at the courthouse. Torus let her walk on her own but he kept one long arm protectively around her shoulders, guiding her down the hallway.
When they opened the doors to find the judge and jury waiting for them, Molly saw Zach’s eyes go wide with shock.
“What the fuck?” she heard him mutter as she and Torus passed him. He turned to his lawyer. “I have to go—I need to get out of here!”
“You can’t go anywhere until the jury reads the verdict,” the lawyer hissed back. “Now settle down please, Mr. Wyndham!”
“There you are!” Judge Hudson looked annoyed. “I understand from Councilor Paige that something happened to hold up your return but we’ve all been waiting for over an hour!”
“Your Honor, I’m officer Hatchet,” the policeman who had come along with them in Lone’s ship said, speaking up. “I can attest that these two were late because the woman was kidnapped and her husband, er, Mate, was searching for her.”
There was a collective gasp from the jury and the judge’s eyes went wide.
“Kidnapped? By whom?” she exclaimed.
“By a man and woman that he hired.” Molly threw out an arm, pointing at her ex. “Mandrew Pate and Karen Geners. Zach had them take me out to an abandoned building. He told Pate to…to kill me and bury my body where no one would ever find it!”
Molly’s voice was shaking and she could barely get the words out, but she had to speak her truth. She was afraid if she didn’t get it out now, she never would.
There was another collective gasp from the jury and Zach’s lawyer started shouting,
“Objection, Your Honor! Objection!”
“Order! This courtroom will come to order!” Whack-whack-whack! Judge Hudson pounded with her gavel, raising her voice over the confused babble. Slowly, the noise died away. “Now—you, Officer… what did you say your name was?”
“Officer Hatchet, Your Honor,” the policeman said. “I can’t say who was behind the kidnapping, but the lady in question was definitely in the act of getting assaulted when her husband, er, Mate came in and stopped it.” He nodded at Torus.
“Your Honor, I must object—this kind of talk is going to taint the jury!” Zach’s lawyer exclaimed again. “In fact, it probably already has! I move for a mistrial.”
“Overruled and denied,” the judge snapped back. “You know good and well that the jury has already returned a verdict—we’re all just waiting to hear it. As for the rest of this mess, Officer Hatchet, I am directing you to take Mr. Wyndham into custody directly after this trial concludes, so you can get to the bottom of all this.”
“Yes, Your Honor.” The police officer nodded respectfully.
“I object!” Zach’s lawyer shouted again.
Judge Hudson pointed her gavel at him.
“For the last time, overruled! And if I hear one more word from you, Councilor Troy, I’m holding you in Criminal Contempt.”
Zach’s lawyer sat back down with a sullen look on his face and Zach immediately began whispering earnestly to him. The judge turned her attention to the jury.
“Madam Foreperson, I understand you have a verdict for us?” she asked.
“Yes, Your Honor.” A woman who looked to be in her fifties with long silver hair rose from her seat.
“Proceed to read it please,” Judge Hudson directed her.
The woman cleared her throat.
“Ahem. We the jury find the defendant, Commander Torus not guilty of any of the charges the plaintiff, Zachary Wyndham, accused him of because Commander Torus was defending his wife, which he has a right to do.”
“I see.” The Judge nodded. “And the countersuit?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” the woman nodded. “We the jury also find Zachary Wyndham guilty of inflicting emotional pain and trauma on Molly Byrne and of ruining her career and her good name with his malicious actions. We unanimously voted to award Ms. Byrne eighty-eight million dollars to compensate her for her pain and suffering. Thank you.”
Judge Hudson nodded.
“Thank you, Madam Foreperson. And may I say that I find your judgment to be extremely fair. You?—”
“Eighty-eight million dollars!”Zach’s anguished howl interrupted her words. “That’s all of it! That’s everything I have! Hell, that’s more than I have—I’ll have to sell my houses and cars to pay that fucking amount!”
Whack-whack-whack!
Judge Hudson pounded with her gavel.
“Councilor, instruct your client to be quiet!” she exclaimed. “I will not have this kind of outburst—or that kind of language—in my courtroom!”
“Be quiet!” Zach’s attorney hissed at him. “Be quiet or you’ll get us both in trouble!”
“But it’s not fair!” Zach whined. He glared at the jury. “You can’t fucking do this to me! You’re going to be sorry—all of you!”
“That’s it!” Whack! Judge Hudson banged her gavel again. “How dare you threaten the jury in my courtroom? You, Sir, are going directly to jail!” She pointed at the police officer who had come in with Molly and Torus. “Officer Hatchet, I’m sorry but you’ll have to question Mr. Wyndham from his jail cell. I’m charging him with Criminal Contempt and ordering that he be held for the next thirty days without any option for release.”
“Yes, Your Honor.” The officer nodded respectfully.
“Thank you. Now, I understand that everyone wants to go home. I want to thank the jury again for their time and patience in this matter. You have all discharged your civic duty extremely well,” she said, nodding to the jury. Then she looked at Molly. “Ms. Byrne, I hope the money awarded you will enable you to live the life you want. I know that no amount can make up for the last five years, but I want you to know this Court wishes you well in your future endeavors.”
Molly nodded.
“Thank you, Your Honor.”
But her head was spinning. Eighty-eight million dollars? What would she do with so much money? And was it really going to wipe Zach out financially? She certainly hoped so!
She watched as her ex was dragged away with a bailiff on either arm.
“You can’t do this to me!” he was saying. “Do you know who I am? People like me don’t go to jail! I have too much money to go to jail!”
“From what I hear, you and your money are about to be parted,” one of the bailiff’s remarked, chuckling. “Don’t worry, though—there aren’t many millionaires in lock-up. You should get along fine—maybe even make some new friends.”
“Well, sweetheart—are you ready to go?” Torus murmured.
Molly looked up at him.
“I’m so ready. I wish we could go back to the ship, though.”
“I’m afraid we have to answer some questions at the police station first,” Torus said regretfully.
“Actually, if you folks promise me you won’t leave the area, I’ll let you come to the station tomorrow to make your statements,” Officer Hatchet, who was sitting on the other side of Torus, said. “It sounds like you’ve been through an awful lot today.”
“Thank you, Officer—that’s extremely kind of you,” Torus told him. “I believe my wife needs some rest after everything that’s happened. I promise we’ll stay on my ship, which is parked just two blocks from here, and come to your station in the morning.”
Molly felt a wave of relief wash over her.
“Thank you,” she said to the policeman. “Thank you so much. I just want to get out of here!”
“I understand.” He nodded at them both. “Have a good night’s sleep and we’ll see you in the morning around say, ten.”
He gave Torus the address of the police station and then left—presumably to get a statement from Zach.
“Well!” Councilor Paige, who was sitting to Molly’s right, exclaimed. “That went even better than I hoped!” She looked at Molly. “But are you all right? I can’t believe Wyndham had you kidnapped! Lone bespoke me and told me all the details—I’m so sorry!”
“Kidnapped and nearly killed,” Torus said grimly. “If the Goddess hadn’t told me where to find her…” He shook his head. “I got there just in time…but I wish I could have made it there sooner.”
“It’s all right. I’m all right,” Molly said automatically. But she found her eyes were stinging. She swiped at them—she didn’t want to break down! “I mean, I will be all right, after I get some rest,” she amended.
“I understand what you’re going through.” Lizabeth Paige reached out and squeezed Molly’s arm gently. “I went through something very similar a few years ago,” she told her. “I was taken by a primitive, misogynistic tribe on another planet and the Goddess told Lone where to find me. He went into Rage and killed every man who was trying to attack me, but not before I suffered some fairly brutal torture.”
“Oh my God!” Molly looked at her with wide eyes. “That’s terrible!”
“It was an awful experience,” Lizabeth admitted. “But I don’t let it define me. And thanks to the Goddess—and to Lone’s patience—I was able to go through a healing process and make a complete recovery. I hope that you will, too.”
“I’ll do everything I can for her,” Torus wrapped an arm around Molly’s shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze.
“I know you will.” The lawyer smiled. “Kindred are the most patient and devoted husbands in the known universe. Molly, I know you’re going to get through this.”
“I’ll be fine,” Molly said, agreeing with her. “I just…need time to process. That’s all.”
“Of course you do. So go back to Torus’s ship and try to relax. I’ll meet the two of you at the police station at ten. It’s better if you have your lawyer with you, just in case,” she added.
“Thank you.” Molly gave her an impulsive hug and Lizabeth hugged her back.
“You’re going to be just fine,” she murmured in Molly’s ear. “Just let Torus take care of you and try to take it easy.”
“I will. Thank you.” Molly smiled at her. Then she looked up at Torus. “Can we go now? I feel like I’m going to fall over I’m so tired and over-stimulated.”
“No falling on my watch,” he rumbled.
Leaning down, he swung her into his arms again and carried her out of the courtroom.