Chapter 58

( The next morning @ the courthouse )

Justin spotted Johnny ahead of him, at the end of the hall.  His pace quickened, he just wanted to get in there and get this whole thing over with so he could take Kerrigan home.  She didn’t deserve to be locked up in a jail cell.  And he only prayed that she was alright, he couldn’t imagine what spending the night in jail was like.  Nor did he want to either.

Reaching Johnny, Justin gave him an expecting look.  Ready to be informed of whatever they had to do that morning.

“Glad to see you could make it.” Johnny said, looking up from some papers he was sorting through in his lap.

“Did you honestly think I wouldn’t?” Justin questioned, taking a seat beside Johnny.

“No.  I knew you would be here.  I’m also guessing from your appearance that you didn’t get any sleep last night at all, did you?”  Johnny stated, eyeing him.

Justin shrugged.  “Had a lot on my mind.”

“That’s to be expected.” Johnny nodded.  “Actually, I need to speak with you and Trace privately.” he added, looking over to Becca, who stood at Trace’s side.

“Why, is something wrong?” Trace questioned, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach.

“No, I just need to go over some things with the two of you before we go in for her arraignment.  We have an hour.  I had you meet me here at 8:30 so we would have time before.”

“Oh, so she’s not being arraigned until 9:30?” Justin questioned somewhat disappointed.  He wanted to get in there and get it over with.  He didn’t want to wait another damn hour.

“Yes, that’s correct.  So why don’t we head outside to my car.  I don’t feel comfortable discussing this with you here, someone might overhear us.” Johnny stated, getting to his feet.

Justin watched him curiously, getting the distinct feeling that Johnny knew something that he hadn’t been told.  That make Justin somewhat nervous.  If Johnny knew, did that also mean that the Police knew as well?  And if so, what did that mean for Kerrigan?  Or for him?

Wearily Justin got to his feet, looking over at Trace then Becca.  Trace seemed to be wearing the same worried look that Justin was sure was plastered on his face.  Although, Becca seemed confused and completely oblivious.  That was no surprise, she had no idea that Justin had really shot Cody and not Kerrigan.  He’d been afraid to tell her for fear she would get upset with him and he had made Trace swear that he wouldn’t tell her.

“Well, what about Becca?” Justin asked, looking back to Johnny.

Johnny eyed the girl.  “What’s her relationship to this matter?”

“I’m one of Kerrigan’s friends and Trace’s girlfriend.” she answered.

“She’s also a Pre-Law student at UCL.” Trace supplied.

“Oh, really?” Johnny smiled.  There was just something about seeing young people that were looking to follow in his footsteps and study law.  “Well, this should be a great learning experience for you.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” Becca shrugged.  She wasn’t there for the learning experience, she was there to support her friend and her boyfriend.  Right now school was the last thing on her mind.

Johnny turned his attention back to Justin and Trace.  “That’s up to you two.  If you want her there, then by all means it’s fine with me.  You just want to keep in mind that this is confidential and whatever we talk about cannot be spoken about outside of us.  I’m not saying that they can’t trust you.” he said turning his attention back to Becca.  “It’s just that I have some questions for my clients and I just want to make sure that whatever we talk about is going to stay between us.”

“They’ve got nothing to worry about from me.  Hell, I’ll sign a confidentiality agreement if I have to.  I just want to help Kerrigan, she’s my friend.”

Johnny nodded, then turned his attention back to the guys.  “Like I said it’s up to you two.  But we really need to go have this discussion so we can get back in here.”

Justin sighed and looked over at Trace.  He knew what discussion they were about to have, he could see it in Johnny’s eyes.

Trace shrugged, leaving it up to Justin.

Justin turned his attention back to Johnny.  “It’s fine.  I trust Becca.  She can come if she wants.”

“Alright the.” Johnny nodded.  “Let’s go then.” he said, leading the group off, down the hall.

Walking out the front doors of the courthouse, the group was immediately surrounded by reporters and photographers from every possible place you could imagine.

Quickly Justin’s bodyguards began to fight off the large crowd, leading them through so they could get out to the parking lot to Johnny’s car.  Justin was missing Mike already.  He would be off for a few weeks, while he recovered from the gunshot wound to his shoulder.  Thankfully, it wasn’t life threatening and he would be fine.  But Justin was so used to always having Mike with him it felt weird to be without him.  Not that he didn’t trust his other guards, he did.  But it just wasn’t the same.

Finally, reaching the parking area, the group loaded up in Johnny’s car, while the security guards made sure to keep the press at bay.  No one within earshot of the car, as instructed by Johnny.

“Ok, we need to get this over with so we can get back inside, so I’m not going to beat around the bush.” Johnny started, looking directly over at Justin.  “Kerrigan, didn’t kill Cody, did she?”

Justin looked down at his lap, while Trace sat back in the seat, closing his eyes tightly shut as he leaned his head back against the headrest.  Becca on the other hand was completely confused, but said nothing.

“Justin, I need you to be honest with me. I need to know what I’m dealing with here.” Johnny urged.

Sighing, Justin looked up at Johnny.  “No, she didn’t.  I did.”

Johnny nodded his understanding as he heard a gasp escape Becca from the backseat.  “That’s what I thought.”

“How’d you know?” Justin asked.

“Just some things you said at the hospital yesterday.  Not to mention that guilty look you’ve got plastered on your face.”

“Do the police know?” Trace questioned from the backseat.

“I doubt it.  They seemed to fully believe Kerrigan’s story.  Which I guess is good for you.” he paused.  “I have one question, thought.  Why is she taking the rap for this?  Did you put her up to it?”

“What?  NO!” Justin exclaimed, defensively.  “It was her idea.  I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t listen to me and before I knew what was happening the Police were there and she was already telling them her version of the story.  She said they would let her go because of what Cody had done to her and that if they found out that I had actually been the one to shoot him, that it would ruin my career.  I swear I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t let me!”

“Justin, it’s ok.  I’m not judging you.  I just need to know what’s going on before I go in that courtroom.” Johnny assured him.

“So what do we do now?” Trace asked.

“Same thing we planned on doing before.  We’ll stick with Kerrigan’s story, because changing it would only cause more problems.  Not only for Justin but for her as well, so we’ll just stick with what she’s saying.  Besides, I do have to agree, it’s better for her because she has a defense.  You wouldn’t have one.”

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t bite my tongue.” Becca began, sitting forward in the backseat.  “How could you let her do this?  I mean she’s in JAIL!”

“Not now, Bec.” Trace warned, hoping to subdue her.  Wrong.

“Don’t you “not now” me!” she glared at Trace.  “Kerrigan is my friend and even if this was her idea, she’s hurt and beat up.  She does not need to be in a jail cell.  And you do realize that she could possibly go to prison for this.  For something she didn’t even do!”

“Becca, be quite.  You’re not helping here.” Trace warned again.

“I’m not trying to help.  I’m trying to get you to see that what you’re doing is wrong!” she exclaimed.

Justin turned to look at her.  “You think I don’t know that?  You think I like this?  I wasn’t really given much of a choice.  If I would have said anything after she had started telling them her story that would have made things worse!  She’s my Best Friend and I love her and it’s killing me to know that she’s locked up in jail because of me.  I was only trying to protect her!  I didn’t mean to kill him.  And I certainly didn’t mean for this to happen!”

“Let’s calm down here.” Johnny interjected.  “What’s done is done.  There’s no going back and changing it now.  We just have to proceed from where we are.  Arguing over it isn’t going to change anything.  And blaming Justin isn’t either.  It’s obvious he’s upset with all of this, I mean have you looked at him?  So let’s try to keep it together here.  For Kerrigan’s sake.”

Becca looked down at her hands solemnly.  She hadn’t meant to blow up at Justin the way she did, it was just that she really cared about Kerrigan too.  Regardless of the fact they hadn’t known each other very long, they were still really close and she just couldn’t understand their reasoning for doing what they did.  But she did understand that Kerrigan loved Justin and would do anything to protect him, which would definitely explain why she had done what she had.

Leaning forward, Becca reached her hand up to squeeze Justin’s shoulder apologetically.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have said those things.  I know you love her and would do anything for her.  It’s just that, she’s been through so much already and I don’t want to see her suffer anymore.”

“Neither do I.” Justin said, not looking at Becca but once again his lap.

“Ok, well we’ll have to set up a time after the arraignment for us all to get together so we can go over the details of what happened that night.  I need to know everything, but for now we’ll proceed as planned.” Johnny stated.

“So you’re not going to tell the court that Justin really did it?” Trace questioned.

“Of course not.” Johnny scoffed.  “Justin, is my client as well and that would be a breach of my confidentially with him.  Besides, I agree that Kerrigan has a better chance of beating this rap.  And it’s really too late to change our story now.”

“I was just checking.” Trace sighed.  This whole thing was out of hand and he was totally stressed out.  And thinking that he felt even more guilty because he knew that what he was feeling was nothing compared to what Justin OR Kerrigan were feeling at the moment.

“Ok, well let’s get back inside so we can bring Kerrigan home.” Johnny said, starting to exit the vehicle.

Justin halted him by quickly grabbing his arm.  “Do you really think you’re going to be able to get her out?”

“I’m going to do my best, Justin.  That’s all I can do.”
 

“Let’s get the hell outta here.” Trace said, as they all were dismissed from the courtroom.

Johnny had succeeded.  The Judge had granted his request to have Kerrigan released to Justin’s custody until her trial, agreeing that she did not need to be in jail in her condition and should be at home, where she could heal and get better.

Those words had been music to Justin’s ears.  He had been so extremely worried that the Judge would refuse to release Kerrigan and she would have to stay in jail.  He just wanted to get her home and take care of her.

When they had first brought her into the room, Justin had felt tears welling up in his eyes.  She looked horrible.  Every bit of her skin that you could see from her orange jumpsuit was black and blue.  Not to mention her two black eyes and swelled lip.  She looked worse than last time, if that were even possible.

“I agree, let’s get out of here.” Justin said, getting to his feet.

He watched as Johnny lead Kerrigan from her seat at the Defense table and through the flapping doors that separated them.  As soon as she was in reach, he pulled her into a tight, but careful hug.  She looked so fragile, as if she could break at any moment.

“It’s ok, J.  I’m ok.” she said, attempting to reassure him.

Pulling back he looked down at her.  ‘I’m just glad to see you is all.  I was up all night last night worrying about you.  When they wouldn’t let me in at the hospital to see you or anything.  I just…I just…”

“Justin, it’s ok.  I understand. No need to explain.  But can we please get out of here before they change their mind or something.”

“They can’t change their mind now.  I’d love to see them try to take you back.  They’d have to get through me first.” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist, leading her out of the room followed by Trace, Becca and Johnny.

“With all the Cops they got in here, I don’t think that would be too hard.” she retorted.

Justin smiled, at least she seemed to be in semi good spirits.  He knew it was probably more of an act for his and Trace’s benefit, to try and reassure them that she was strong and that she was ok.  But he would go along with it for now, he was jus happy that she was being released and he could take her home.

“You’re not wearing that out of here, are you?” Becca questioned, pointing to the orange jumpsuit.

“I don’t have anything else to wear.” Kerrigan stated, looking down at herself.

“No worries, we brought you a change of clothes just in case.” Trace spoke up, holding a duffle bag up.

“Thank God.” Kerrigan sighed.

“Let’s find a restroom so she can get changed.” Johnny suggested.

After they had found a restroom and Kerrigan had changed into the yoga pants and t-shirt Trace and Justin had brought her, with Becca’s help, as she was still extremely sore and couldn’t bend over very easily.  Kerrigan turned the jumpsuit into one of the guards that was in the hall and proceeded to leave with her friends.

She eyed the bodyguards, all of them familiar but missing the one man she had adored for years she turned to Justin.  “Is Mike ok?”

“He’s fine.  He’ll be off for a few weeks while his shoulder heals, but he’ll be fine.  He said to tell you he’ll see you soon when I talked to him this morning.  He wants a full report on how everything went today, so maybe when we get home you can call him and tell him yourself.  He’s still kinda pissed off at me.”

“Why’s he pissed off at you?” she questioned, as they stepped into the elevator.

“Why is he always pissed off at Justin.” Trace snorted.  “Because he never listens.”

“What did you do?” she asked, eyeing Justin.

“He’s just upset because last night when I heard you screaming at the house I didn’t wait for him, I ran ahead without him.  So I’ll of course never hear the end of that.  Of house I should have waited for him to check it out first.” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Well, he’s gotta have something to be mad at you about or your relationship just wouldn’t be normal.” Kerrigan smiled.

Justin laughed.  “True.”

When the elevator reached the lobby the group exited and made their way for the doors.  Justin stopped when they got about ten feet from the doors and looked at Kerrigan.  “There’s a shit load of press out here, just to warn you.”

Kerrigan nodded.  “I figured as much.  Let’s just get this over with.”

“Ok.” he nodded.

Frank stepped up beside Kerrigan.  “Stay close to me lil’ one.  I’ll keep them back.”

Kerrigan smile at him.  Next to Mike, Frank was her second favorite guard.  They had always had a friendly banter between them and she felt safe knowing that he would be looking out for her.  “Ok.”

The group made their way out of the courthouse, Kerrigan wasn’t surprised in the least at the mob of press and fans that were gathered.  They made their way through the crowds, the bodyguards clearing a path, Johnny refusing to give any interviews, telling them that they had no comment at this time.

When they finally reached their vehicles, Frank and Justin got Kerrigan securely loaded into the vehicle before Justin turned back to Johnny.  Extending his hand, Justin thanked him for all of his help.

“It’s what I’m here for, Justin.  I’ll call you in a couple of days so we can set up a time to go over everything.  I think Kerrigan needs a few days to rest and relax.”

“Yeah, I agree.” Justin nodded.

“Ok, well I’ll see you guys later.  Take care of her and if you have any questions or need anything you have my numbers.” Johnny said as he started to head for his car.

“Ok.  Thanks again.” Justin called after him, before climbing into his vehicle.

“So where to now?” Kerrigan asked jokingly.

Justin rolled his eyes at her.  “We’re going home.  We’re taking you home.”