Manhunt (20 page)

Once inside, they welcomed the dignified quiet of the interior as they walked through the metal detectors. They were directed by security to go to the third floor and look for the brass plaque indicating Judge Stone’s courtroom on the right. When they reached the floor, they knew immediately to which room they were going, as there was an armed guard standing outside the door.

“The State versus Michael Brennan?” Christian asked.

The guard nodded and opened one side of the large oak double doors, indicating with his hand to enter. Nikki’s breath caught in her throat when she saw the back of Michael’s head as he sat at a long wooden table on the left hand side of the room, Wes at his side whispering in his ear. At the table on the right were a man and woman whom Nikki assumed were the prosecutors. They took the closest available seats, which were in the second row. Aaron, Olivia and Jeremy were sitting in the front row, and turned to mouth a silent greeting to them, much as people do in church, before turning back around.

Nikki took a moment to take in the scene. The room was divided with a wooden railing. To the right was the jury box, currently empty. In the front of the room, there was a raised platform. The center, being the judge’s seat, was higher than the areas on either side. On the left was an elderly gentleman speaking to another armed man. The bailiff, most probably. On the right was a thin woman with peppered black, wiry hair pulled in to a bun, a mini-typewriter-looking device on a small rolling stand in front of her.

It was only a few minutes before the bailiff announced the judge. Everyone inside at the front of the courtroom stood, and the spectators followed suit. The judge emerged from a door behind the desk, on the left. He was older, probably in his fifties, with a kind look on his plump face and a full head of wavy grey hair. He wore small, square gold eyeglasses. He reminded Nikki of Santa Claus without the beard. He motioned for everyone to sit down, and did the same, adjusting his robe as he did.

“Good day, everyone.”

The judge looked at a paper on his desk before lifting his eyes and focusing on Michael.

“So you’re the famous Michael Brennan, are you?” he asked cordially.

“Yes sir, I am, I mean no... I mean...”

Wes put his hand on Michael’s shoulder to interrupt the nervous word vomit and the judge chuckled.

“Well, jury selection in this case should be very interesting to say the least. I’m Judge Thomas Stone, and I will be presiding over this case.” The judge turned his attention to the man beside him. “Balliff, if you would be so kind as to read the charges.”

“Michael Brennan, you are charged with one count of murder in the first degree, one count of felony kidnapping, one count of interfering with the course of an investigation, and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle.”

The man looked up at the judge to confirm he had concluded. The judge nodded at him and he sat back down.

“How does the defense plead?” Judge Stone asked.

Nikki had hoped this would be the opportunity she’d been waiting for, to hear his voice, but it was Wes who stood and replied.

“The defense pleads not guilty, your honor.”

“Very well,” he replied mechanically. “Does the prosecution have anything to add at this time?”

The young man at the right table stood. “The prosecution respectfully requests that bail be denied at this time, due to the nature of the crime and the fact that Mr. Brennan has already established himself as a flight risk.”

“Agreed. Mr. Brennan, you will remain at the county jail until the conclusion of your trial. Jury selection will begin one week from today at 11 AM. Court dismissed.”

The judge rapped his gavel once and stood, exiting through the door from which he came. Everyone stood, and Nikki stepped quickly to the railing, stretching to reach Michael, earning her a warning look as the bailiff took a step in their direction. She dropped her arm in defeat and waited. Wes was still talking to Michael, but Nikki couldn’t focus on what he was saying. All she cared about was Michael.

Michael turned to her, and she saw that, although he was dressed in a shirt and tie, he was still handcuffed. It made her want to cry, and she whimpered at the sight, despite the fact he was smiling like he’d just won the lottery.

“Don’t cry, Sunshine. I have to go meet with their psychologist now, but Wes just assured me that I will be allowed visitors now. Why don’t you go out to lunch with the family, and I’ll see you in a couple of hours?”

She nodded, biting both her lips until she could taste copper, trying to keep herself from jumping the barrier between them. The guard walked over and took Michael by the elbow, leading him out the room through a door just past the jury box. Michael turned his head as he was walking so that his eyes didn’t leave hers until he’d passed through the door. As soon as he was out of sight, Nikki broke down, collapsing in a blessedly empty chair, crying hysterically.

Arms were around her, hands stroked her hair and back, trying to soothe her. Voices whispered encouraging words to her, but they may as well have been speaking Greek for all she could comprehend. Everything had finally caught up to her and was taking its toll. Somehow she found herself in Christian’s car, and then at lunch. She sat mutely, picking at her tasteless tuna fish sandwich. It wasn’t until Christian whispered in her ear that Michael deserved to see a happy face when she sees him that she pulled herself together, just enough to go back to watching the clock until it was time.

Chapter 18

Nikki was a swarm of conflicting emotions as she entered the jail. On one hand, she hated the idea of seeing him here, restrained and imprisoned. It was going to shatter her to bear witness to his suffering. On the other hand, to see Michael again, under any circumstances... Her anxiety was urging her to move forward faster through security, an impossible task. It was as if an invisible thread was tied to a spot deep inside the center of her chest, pulling her to him. She was getting quite irritated at the people in line in front of her, who were stepping through the metal detectors for the third time. She groaned out loud when the beep sounded. Again.

“I’m sorry, I thought I got everything,” the haggard-looking man apologized, embarrassed. He put his hands into his pockets, turning them inside out to show they contained only lint. He patted his back pockets, then shrugged to the security guard.

“Take your shoes off and run them through the conveyor. Sometimes the manufacturer puts magnetic strips in the heels to prevent them from getting stolen.”

The man was clearly uncomfortable doing so, and was moving quite slowly, his hands shaking slightly.

“Can I just come through while he’s doing that? My purse went through the scanners, like, five minutes ago!”

The security guard looked unimpressed and shook his head.

Christian put his hand on her shoulder and leaned in from behind to whisper in her ear. “It won’t do you any good to get on their bad side, sugar. Take a deep breath and try and relax. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Michael was only allowed two visitors at a time, so it had been determined that Nikki and Christian would go first. Aaron and Olivia would go during the next visiting hours. They volunteered to take Sophie home so she could get some rest, as opposed to sitting in the car and getting anxious.

Nikki held her breath as the man walked through the detectors again, this time in his holey black socks. No alarm. The guard was right. Nikki sighed in relief. Finally, she thought.

She took her shoes off and put them on the conveyor belt without being asked. She didn’t want to take a chance of having the same thing happen to her. The guard chuckled and she smiled a little at him, shrugging her shoulders.

“Better to do things right once, then wrong twice, right?” The guard nodded and Nikki grabbed her shoes to slide them back on while Christian came through. “I’m sorry,” she said to the guard. “Just a little anxious, I suppose.”

“I understand. It’s quite all right, miss. You have a good day.”

Christian put his hand on her mid-back and led her down the hall and through another locked door, which clicked to unlock and allow them entrance.

“We’re here to see Michael Brennan,” Christian told the officer behind the desk.

The officer pointed to a wall of small, square lockers just like you’d see at a gym or amusement park, and told them to put all their personal effects in. Christian shoved the tiny orange key in his pocket as the officer led them through the building and into what appeared to be a common area. There were several round tables spread throughout the room, which had two guarded doors. About half the tables had an inmate and his visitors. Looking around and not seeing Michael, Christian led her to an empty table near a barred window.

Nikki looked around once they sat down. The inmates were not handcuffed, which pleased her. She never wanted to see Michael in cuffs again. Still, it was such a depressing space: grey walls, grey concrete floors, what looked like chicken wire imbedded in the middle of what was surely bulletproof glass. Even the sky outside seemed grey and desolate from here, despite the fact that it was a sunny day.

*******

Nikki had her back to the other door, the one they hadn’t come in, and so didn’t notice Michael as he entered. He stopped for a moment to take her in, her expression so introspective, so ethereal. Deputy Slader had walked him in, wanting to get a look at his girl, he’d said.

“That her?” he whispered.

“Yes.”

“She’s beautiful. If she’s half as beautiful on the inside, you’re a lucky man.”

Michael turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised.

“All right, lucky might not be the most appropriate word choice at the moment, but still. Any man would be lucky to have her to call his own.”

“You’re right about that, Todd,” Michael replied.

“Well, go on. You don’t want to waste your half hour standing here staring at her back, do you?”

That was all Michael needed to hear to get his feet in motion. When Christian saw him coming, he put his finger to his lips to let Christian know not to say anything just yet. He stepped right behind Nikki, bent down, and whispered in her ear.

“Miss me, Sunshine?”

His lips caressed the shell of her ear and his voice sent tingles down her spine. She jumped up and almost banged their heads together in her rush to hug him to her.

“More than you’ll ever know!”

Nikki kissed him once, quickly. Then again, slower, her soft lips such a balm to his spirit as they moved with his. Lost in their reunion, Michael wrapped his arms around Nikki’s waist, his pinky finger slipping slightly below the waistband of her jeans as he deepened their kiss.

“Umm... I get it. Totally. But you do realize that, in addition to myself, there are probably twenty complete strangers in this room, right?” Christian quipped.

Michael chuckled into Nikki’s mouth and reluctantly broke their kiss.

“Maybe I should ask if they can arrange conjugal visitation for us?” Michael wagged his eyebrows, making Nikki blush furiously.

“Gross. Seriously. Way too much information, dude,” Christian chastised, standing to hug his dear friend, slapping his back in greeting.

They all sat down and Michael slid his chair as close to Nikki’s as he could possibly get it. He wrapped his left arm around the back of her seat, massaging her neck absentmindedly, his right arm crossing his body to rest his hand on her knee. For the first time since they’d turned themselves in, Michael was able to breathe.

“I baked, I was going to bring some, but Olivia said they confiscated everything she sent with Jeremy, so it seemed pointless.”

“I’m sure the guys here would have appreciated it. I’ve been telling Todd about your mad baking skills.”

“Who’s Todd?”

“Deputy Slader, the guy who brought me in here. He’s cool. He’s the one who let Jeremy come visit me.”

“Wait a minute,” Christian interjected. “Did my ears deceive me, or you just call an officer of the law... cool?”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been thinking that just because the few that we’ve had contact with were either evil or incompetent doesn’t mean they all are.”

“I’m impressed. If anything, I thought all this would have solidified your distrust of cops.”

Michael just shrugged.

“Well, I’ll be sure to bring your new friend something the next time I’m allowed to see you,” Nikki said.

Michael smiled and leaned in to kiss her again.