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46. He Went to Court

He Went to Court

Toby

The courthouse was finally the seedy underbelly of Sydney I’d been dreaming of—cops hauling perps, brawls being broken up by family members. There was even a shady-looking guy with insane ink wearing a suit and sunglasses milling around the doors, giving me the once-over.

“Now, this is more like it,” I whispered to Gwen.

She charged through the courthouse, missing all the cool stuff. “Monday mornings are always the busiest,” she said in a hushed whisper, focused on dodging everyone to get to Court Five.

I gawked at everything. “Do they do murder trials here?”

“No, it’s mostly low-level criminal stuff… Drugs… Maybe drunk driving.” She froze on the last step. “Oh, great,” she muttered.

I looked around. “What?” There was a punch-up happening outside Court One, but nothing remotely cool was happening outside Court Five.

“The guy in the gray suit,” Gwen whispered. “Over there.” She jerked her head in the direction of the doors. “That’s Dan Calver.”

I scanned the crowd for a guy in a gray suit. He was easy to spot. Short and stumpy with a belly that jutted out of his suit jacket, he had a thin line for his mouth and rosy-red cheeks like Santa Claus.

My lip curled. “Who’s he?” He didn’t look impressive. He looked like the guys who were a dime a dozen at my mother’s yacht club.

“Only one of the most pompous jackasses this side of Sydney. He’s a King’s Counsel. As high as you can get for barristers.” Gwen shook her head. “Let’s take a wild guess who he’s representing.”

I didn’t need to guess. I could see it with my own eyes.

Kayleigh stood next to him, drowned head-to-toe in loose black clothes, and her hair scraped back in a severe bun.

She looked in our direction. A smile wavered.

I quickly turned away, wrapped my arm around Gwen, tugged her against my chest, and dropped a kiss on her head.

I wasn’t wasting any more looks on Kayleigh.

“So, King’s Counsel…” I said to Gwen. “I thought the police prosecutor said the restraining order wasn’t a big deal?”

“Some people lawyer up if there’s even a whiff of court action.”

“But…?”

“A King’s Counsel is overkill.” A hint of concern edged her voice, but I let it slip by.

We milled around outside the courtroom, keeping a safe distance from Kayleigh and her overpriced lawyer.

Call me paranoid, but I could feel her eyes on me.

I refused to acknowledge her. My eyes were only for looking at Gwen and—when he finally arrived, panting about the massive line of traffic waiting for the car park—Zach.

I’d barely cracked two jokes before a voice called out, “Matter of Sullivan and Roberts!”

Panicked, I looked down at Gwen. Her fingers curled around my tie, and she tugged me down to her eye level.

“You’re going to do fine.” She kissed my jaw.

“Nothing bad can happen. Just sit and listen, and if the magistrate asks you a question, stand up and answer her. I’ll be sitting right behind you, okay? Good luck.”

I glanced at Zach, my eyebrow arched.

“You’re not getting a kiss from me.” He laughed. “But yeah, don’t sweat it. We’re here.”

Zach said not to sweat it, but I totally was.

I rolled my shoulders and sucked down a few deep breaths as I headed for my front-row seat.

The police prosecutor—Peter Collins—was waiting for me.

He smiled. Easy for the little bald guy, I could only nod.

I was way out of my depth. I’d never been in court before.

I was plucky comic relief. The serious stuff was Gwen’s domain.

I rubbed sweaty palms down the front of my pants.

Please don’t let me stuff this up.

“We’re about to get started,” Peter said to me.

I nodded dumbly and sat up with better posture than I’d ever managed in school. I looked at the bench. A woman with short gray hair wearing a powder blue suit so bright I had to squint my eyes already sat up there, flicking through notes. The name plaque in front of her said, “Magistrate Holland.”

Dan Calver was the last to arrive. He marched up like he was expecting fanfare, Kayleigh shuffling behind him. Then, there was lots of nodding, bowing, and introductions, and I got to sit down again.

I let out a breath.

So far, so good. No screw-ups.

Peter stood and cleared his throat. “Good morning, Your Honor,” he said primly. “The police seek an interim apprehended violence order—”

“Your Honor.” Dan rose from his seat. “I must object.”

Magistrate Holland peered down at him. “Mr. Calver, it’s an auspicious day when a King’s Counsel appears for a mere mention in my small court.

” She smirked. “But what exactly are you objecting to? Mr. Collins hasn’t finished introducing the application yet.

Perhaps you should take your seat until he’s done. ”

Dan huffed and puffed, but when he realized the magistrate wasn’t budging, he sank back to his chair.

Peter shuffled his notes. “Thank you, Your Honor. As I was saying, the police seek an AVO on behalf of Dr. Tobias Sullivan and his immediate family as persons in need of protection.”

Holland nodded, barely looking up, too busy writing something down. “I understand the police are continuing to investigate Ms. Roberts—”

“Your Honor!” Dan popped back up. The magistrate’s head swiveled in his direction with narrowed eyes. He wasn’t bothered. He buttoned his jacket like the whole world should wait for him. “Now, I must object to the mention of an ongoing investigation.”

“Are you actually objecting to a question from the bench?” Peter almost laughed. “It’s wholly relevant to the application being made! I heartily respond that, yes, Your Honor, a stalking investigation is ongoing—”

Dan snorted. “My learned friend is continuing down a dangerous path when no charges have been forthcoming—”

“Because you’re blocking the subpoena for the security footage from Dr. Sullivan’s workplace!” Peter shot back.

“Blocking!” Dan spluttered. “How dare you, sir!”

Peter took a deep breath. “Your Honor, I concede the police investigation is ongoing, and charges will be forthcoming. However, the precise nature and number of charges can’t be finalized until the release of vital security footage anticipated to corroborate Dr. Sullivan’s version of events.”

“His falsified version of events,” Dan retorted.

I sat very, very still and tried to make Gwen proud.

It was hard, though. I wanted to stare at everyone and everything that was happening.

Gwen said it would be boring, but the lawyers shouted at each other like the guys did on TV!

I wished she was sitting next to me. Was this normal?

Her version of boring? If it was, I’d hate to see what “exciting” was.

Smoke was just about blowing out of Peter’s ears. “Well, Mr. Calver, wouldn’t the easiest way to prove your client’s innocence be to work with us for the release of the footage and employee wage records instead of encouraging Dr. Sullivan’s business partner to withhold this evidence?”

“That is an out-and-out lie!” Dan’s face was candy-cane red now. “The outrage—”

Peter snorted so loudly the magistrate’s eyebrows shot up. “Both you and Mr. Cooper’s army of lawyers have objected to the subpoena on utterly baseless grounds,” he retorted, “which has tied us up in a further court case—”

“Gentlemen!” Holland barked from the bench.

Peter reshuffled his papers, forcing down such big breaths that his lungs heaved. “My apologies to the court,” he muttered.

Dan sniffed his bulbous nose in the air. “I make no such apologies.”

“I’d expect no less from my learned friend,” Peter shot back.

“Both of you sit down,” Holland said. “Now.”

Dan huffed, making a grand production of unbuttoning his jacket before flopping with outrage into his chair.

Peter bowed his head and muttered a quiet apology to me, but I barely heard him.

I’d already gotten lost, sneaking a look behind me, searching for answers from the person I trusted more than anyone.

Gwen’s lips were flat, and her brows furrowed. I knew that look. She was stuck up in her head. What was she thinking about? This wasn’t “in and out in a minute.” This sounded like…problems. And Ian’s name was mixed in there, too.

Why did he have lawyers blocking the security footage or getting copies of records? Why the bloody hell did he care if everyone watched Kayleigh lock me in the changing room?

Holland cleared her throat. I ignored all the worry settling in my gut and snapped my attention back to her.

She glared at the lawyers one by one. “Clearly, separate issues are muddying the waters on both sides,” she said.

“I’ll remind you both that the purpose of today’s mention is only to determine if an interim order should be made for Dr. Sullivan.

Mr. Calver, what is your client’s response to the police application? ”

Dan rose from his chair. “Your Honor, we intend to defend the application in the strongest possible way and demand this matter go to a full hearing. My client’s good family name must be saved from being dragged further through the mud.

This is nothing more than a witch hunt solely for Dr. Sullivan to save face after his wife caught him—”

Peter shot to his feet. “The police point to the filed affidavits that Ms. Roberts has acted—”

“ Allegedly acted,” Dan corrected.

Holland raised her hand and waved for them both to sit down.

“Mr. Calver, while I appreciate your, er… impassioned representation of your client, I must remind you that Ms. Roberts will have her day in court at the final hearing. However, the police have filed more than sufficient material to support me making an interim order that Ms. Roberts must not approach Dr. Sullivan or his family as named in the police application.” The magistrate started scribbling notes again.

“I so order that Ms. Roberts must not go within a hundred meters of where Dr. Sullivan or his family live or where they work. She must not approach or contact them in any way, and it goes without saying that she must not assault or threaten them, stalk, harass, or intimidate them, either in person or through electronic communication.” Her sharp eyes landed on Kayleigh.

“This includes on your social media pages, Ms. Roberts.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. The restraining order had been granted. One problem solved. Gwen and Noah were safe. I turned around and smiled at Gwen. She smiled back, but it was strained. Something wasn’t right.

“Ms. Roberts.” The magistrate flicked her fingers for my former assistant to stand up. Kayleigh wobbled to her feet, eyes still down. “Has your counsel explained the gravity of breaching this order?”

When Kayleigh shook her head, Dan snorted and leaned back in his chair with his arms folded.

“Let me be very clear then,” the magistrate continued.

“After you leave this court today, if you approach Dr. Sullivan again, or if you go near his wife or their son, you’ll be committing a criminal offense.

I can’t stress enough that this is very serious.

You could be arrested and charged. You could be sent to prison. Do you understand?”

Kayleigh glanced panicked eyes at me before turning back to the magistrate.

“I—I can’t talk to him—you mean—at all? That’s not what’s supposed to happen!

” Dan hissed something at her, but she ignored him.

“Toby… Please…” Her eyes darted back to the magistrate.

“I—I don’t want that. I can’t bear that. ”

Holland’s eyes rounded.

I dropped my gaze to where my fingers dug into my knees. I wished Gwen was sitting next to me. I needed her. I needed this to be over.

“Toby!” Kayleigh begged. “Please. I love you!”

I refused to look at her. Instead, I focused on Holland in her eye-watering blue suit and tried to bury the feeling of just how many people my stupidity had impacted.

If I’d turned my brain on for one second—acted more professional, listened to Gwen all the times she’d warned me, not gone to that party, and kept my stupid hands to myself—would any of us be forced to sit in that courtroom? No.

“Sit down,” Dan hissed at Kayleigh. “Your Honor—”

“I won’t stay away!” she shrieked. “They can’t make me. We’re in love —”

“Shut up, you foolish girl!” His face had turned beet red. “Sit!”

Holland held up her palm to stop them both. “I think you had best talk to your client in very plain terms about what this order means, Mr. Calver,” she said flatly. “The interim order is granted, and a final hearing will be set down in four weeks. My associate will be in touch. Next matter.”

Holland waved us out of the courtroom like nothing had happened, but somehow, it didn’t feel like a problem had been solved. It felt like a hundred new problems had just been revealed.