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There were many gasps and a few outcries, all while the shutters clicked for that perfect photo. Jameson, on the other hand, looked beet red and nearly apoplectic. Perfect.
If this were a TV drama, this would be the moment someone would start shouting and cause the courtroom to erupt into chaos. That someone would probably be Lieutenant Jameson, so enraged at the false allegations that he would show his ugly side. The judge would have to bang the gavel and call for order, and it would all be very dramatic.
But this wasn’t a TV drama, and Jameson knew better than to interrupt legal proceedings. He was probably already thinking of how to clear his name for his actions that day, but nothing he tried would work. There was no money trail because the supposed payoff wasn’t monetary. A reasonable doubt had been planted, and that was all that mattered. Although it was not clear who had contacted Diaz Lopez, he had planted the drugs and Marino had been set up. We had insinuated it may have been the Lieutenant, but we had not lied and he would only be punished for what he really did, which was abuse his power and plan to catch Marino for good or for bad, hiding the details of the arrest. Mr. Diaz was prepared for the investigation that would soon occur and for his potential detainment by ICE, but he would hold to his story. His family’s citizenship sponsorships were on the line, after all.
The best lies were the ones that were almost truths, and Jose Antonio Diaz Lopez’s story was a perfect base. A struggling man with a wife and four kids, working for B&L Shipping, just like he said. Trying to gain access to the United States to better his and his family’s lives, just like he said. Willing to commit crimes to help his family, just like he said. But he had never touched a bag of heroin in his life.
No, he was just one of the shipping crew staying at the motel for a few weeks before getting back out on the open seas. Richard had picked him to target because of his situation and offered him exactly what he needed most—citizenship, just like we accused Jameson of.
Except the Marinos did it smart; in return for his false testimony, Mr. Marino would offer him a worker’s visa and sponsor his family. They’d have to get green cards the old-fashioned way, but they’d be secure in their standing here until that day came.
Plus, it was a perfect twist in public perception.
A wealthy businessman, known for his charitable donations, is wrongly convicted due to another man’s actions and then turns around to help the very man who put him in jail in the first place. Nothing looked better.
All Mr. Marino would have to say was that he heard Mr. Diaz’s testimony on the stand and felt for him. “Mr. Diaz was trying to keep his family alive, and former lieutenant Jameson took advantage of his dire need. How could I blame him for that?”
Truly, a heart of gold. The press would have a field day.
“No further questions, Your Honor.” Judge Cardinal gaped as I sat down. The room was totally silent.
“…Prosecution, your witness,” the judge said, clearing his throat. The opposing counsel slowly stood and said the only thing he could.
“The state has no questions for this witness, Your Honor.”
And so concludes the final act.
Chapter Fifteen
RICHARD
Lauren was brilliant. She manipulated everything perfectly, asked all the right questions in all the right ways, and came across as a cool but compassionate and professional. Everything went exactly how it was supposed to, and I was still terrified.
There was something so intimidating about this moment, filing back into the courtroom just to stand there and wait for a verdict. My dad was finally standing right in front of me, separated only by a flimsy swinging gate, and I couldn’t reach out to him. I knew this whole thing had affected him; I could see it. Most people would never notice, but I had, and I knew the rest of my family had, too. Selene squeezed my hand tight.
Dad stood so proudly, but he looked tired. I knew he hated not being clean-shaven. I’d bet that the first thing he’d do when we got him home.
If we got him home.
It felt like the moment at the beginning of a rollercoaster, where the car teeters just on the edge of that great drop, and it doesn’t matter how many rollercoasters you’ve been on or how well you can see the track, the terror and anticipation clenches in your gut anyway. All the what-ifs played inside my head.
What if it wasn’t enough? What if I didn’t do enough? The win seemed so certain just moments ago, but now that dad’s fate was about to be sealed, I couldn’t help but think that I could have done more. I felt that if he got sent back to prison, something in him would break.
The idea of my proud father, hunched and humbled, gripped me with horror. The part of me that was still a little boy beat at the inside of my skull and screamed.
The judge walked in, and I gulped. I squeezed Selene’s hand back.
“After careful deliberation,” Judge Whats-his-face started, sounding almost shocked by what he was about to say, “and given the preponderance of evidence, this court finds Andrea Marino innocent on all charges?—”
He kept talking, but I didn’t care. I slumped, relieved and exhausted, and mom crushed Fabrizio in a hug,. Selene sniffled, and I pulled her close with an arm around her shoulder. It was okay. Dad was back, and everything was right with the world.
The judge must have dismissed the courtroom because my dad instantly turned around and locked eyes with mom. I was right, he looked tired, but the lines under his eyes were softened by his grateful smile.
I committed that image to memory. I never wanted to forget the look on his face when he was freed, when he was relieved of the possibility of further captivity and humiliation, when he knew he could return to our arms.
My mom either forgot the waist-high fence was there, or just didn’t care, as she grabbed him by the face and pulled him into a deep kiss. I had to laugh at the spectacle. I was so relieved I was giddy with it.
Dad broke from the kiss with the softest, most grateful look in his eyes and never took his hands off mom’s cheeks as he turned to us with a watery smile. I’d never seen tears in his eyes before. As one, all of us kids launched forward.
