When Mr Jackson led me back down to the cell room underneath the court, my instinct took me straight toward the cell I’d been put in so many times before. As I walked toward the door, I heard a noise I’d never heard before behind me. I turned to see Mr Jackson laughing.
“Where are you going fella?” he said. “You don’t belong in there any more sunshine.” He pulled out a chair from under the main table in the room, the one I’d seen him reading his newspaper at so many times over the last week. “Have a seat, Gareth. All we’re waiting for is some paperwork, and then you’ll be on the out.”
I didn’t reply, but just sat on the chair he had offered me. It didn’t feel right, and I looked over my shoulder toward the cell. As I did so, Mr Jackson bustled around by the kettle.
“White with two, isn’t it?” he asked me, throwing two teabags into mugs and flicking the switch to the kettle on. Mugs, not polystyrene cups. As it heated the water, he turned to face me and crossed his massive arms over his chest. “Well, I didn’t see that coming, did you?” he asked. I shook my head in reply, not sure what to say. “I mean, blimey, you’ve just gone from being a convicted murderer to a free man in the space of about an hour.” Mr Jackson continued talking, and I tried my best to tune him out. It was weird the way he’d gone from being sullen and uncommunicative to my new best friend, but I guessed it was just the way he related to prisoners versus people who weren’t prisoners. Maybe I had misjudged him after all?
The door to the cell room flew open and Laura came through it, almost running. I got to my feet and turned to face her and to my surprise, she threw her arms around me and hugged me. I stood there for a second before I remembered what to do, and put my arms around her to return the gesture. Her hair was lying against my cheek, and I could smell the shampoo she used. I had no idea what sort of shampoo it was, but it smelt amazing. The feel of her body against mine felt amazing. I let go of her, embarrassed but not really knowing why. She released her grip on my shoulders and took a step back. I looked at her and saw that her face was flushed with excitement.
“My God, can you believe that?” she said, almost squealing. There were two red patches on her cheeks, just where her dimples appeared when she smiled. “Can you believe that?”
“That’s just what I was saying,” Mr Jackson added. “Look at him though, I don’t think it’s sunk in.” They both looked at me, and Laura smiled before starting to laugh. Her dimples punctuated the red patches on her cheeks perfectly.
“No, I don’t think it has,” she said.
Mr Jackson, whose first name I found out was Craig, finished making the tea just as a man in a suit who I’d never seen before came in with a bunch of paperwork for me to sign. Laura explained what the various bits and pieces were, but I couldn’t care less. All I wanted to do was get them signed and get out of the place. As he left, clutching the freshly signed forms in his hand, he walked past Paul who was just coming into the room.
“Gareth, my dear boy,” Paul said as he reached me, pulling me into a bear hug. I wasn’t that bothered about smelling the shampoo that he used, though. “What an amazing result,” he whispered in my ear. Once we had completed the back slaps of two men hugging, we extricated ourselves and sat down.
“What’s next, Paul?” I asked him.
“Well, once the paperwork has been countersigned by the judge then you’re a free man. I’ve been talking to Jennifer’s father, Andy is it?” I nodded. “He’s waiting to collect you and take you back to his place while everything else is sorted out.” I suddenly realised that I had nowhere to go. The flat that Jennifer and I had rented now had new tenants in it, and as what had just happened had been so unexpected, I’d not even thought about it. Paul must have realised what I was thinking. “I’ve just spoken to Andy outside. There’s bloody press all over the place, though,” Paul said. “Did you want to speak to them?”
“Er, no thanks,” I replied. “I’d rather not.”
“Good lad, that’s what I like to hear. Although I suspect that you could be quite the celebrity for a while if you wanted your fifteen minutes of fame.”
“No, not my style. I’m not interested in the slightest.”
“Okay, no problem. Andy’s son has a car parked at the rear of the courtroom. Most of the hacks know about the rear entrance, but they’re pretty good about not bothering people if they leave from there, so I’m told,” Paul said. “So as soon as we get the nod from the judge, you’re good to go.” I looked at Laura, who had a broad smile on her face. She looked as pleased as I was.
A few minutes later, I flinched as a phone in the corner of the room rang. Mr Jackson walked across to answer it in the absence of any of the court staff. I guessed that now I was innocent they didn’t need to be here anymore. I heard Mr Jackson, now Craig, say a few words to the person on the other end of the line before he put the handset back down. He turned to me with a grin.
“That’s it, sunshine. You’re all good,” he said, his smile broadening. I got to my feet and he walked toward me. For a horrible moment, I thought he was going to give me a hug like Paul had done, but he just held out a hand. “We’ll sort out your personal belongings down the line, yeah?” he said as he gripped my hand like a vice. I thought for a second about what those belongings actually were.
“You can keep them if you want, or burn them,” I replied. “But would you say goodbye to Pete for me?”
“Course I will,” he said. “You take care of yourself, you hear? Don’t take this the wrong way, but I never want to see you again.”
I laughed and followed Paul up the stairs leading back toward the courtroom. Instead of entering the courtroom, he pushed open a door with a sign saying ‘Court Employees Only’ in bold red letters. I must have walked past the door a hundred times and never noticed it. Laura was behind me as I followed Paul down a well-lit corridor toward a fire door at the back of the courtroom. He paused at the door and turned to me.
“Gareth, we’ll meet again soon to tidy everything away. But well done chap, that’s a real result.” We shook hands. I didn’t want to say anything as the lump in my throat was threatening to overwhelm me. I looked at Laura, wanting to give her another hug, but I knew if I did I would lose it completely. We all exchanged handshakes again, and I blinked to keep the tears at bay. Laura didn’t bother, and I could see them gathering in the corner of her eyes.
With a flourish, Paul pushed the fire door open, and I stepped out into the sunshine.