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Her lawyer said, “No offense taken. I am busy.”

Abby looked at the sour expression on her public defender’s face as he packed up his briefcase. “What do you think, Mr. Jones? Should I go with Mr. Gallagher as my new counsel?”

He stared at Jack for a minute and then back at her. “I would. So far as I know, he’s never lost a case.” Without Abby saying another word about her decision to change her lawyer, Mr. Jones, her public defender, left the defense table and strode out of the courtroom.

She smiled at Jack. “Seems like I need a new lawyer. I’d be delighted to accept your counsel.”

“Excellent.”

Jack turned and faced the judge. “I’d like to thank the court for its patience. And I’ll be representing Abigail Dixon going forward.”

“Fine. The court reporter will make the appropriate changes as will the bailiff on the paperwork.” He glanced at Duke still sitting patiently in the witness box. “Now may we proceed, Mr. Gallagher?”

“Certainly, and as my first order of business, I’d like to request that the charges against Ms. Abigail Dixon on the charge of grand theft auto be dropped, and that this fraudulent case be dismissed immediately.”

The judge didn’t seem to be very surprised by this, although Abby was. The judge asked, “On what grounds?”

“The vehicle in questions that the defendant was alleged to have stolen, resulting in the unfortunate issuance of an erroneous warrant for her arrest, was in fact a company car assigned to her by her current employer, First National Savings and Loan of Miser.”

Abby absolutely adored her new lawyer.

The prosecutor stood up. “If it pleases the court,” he started out with exasperation in his tone. “Her employer was the entity reporting the car stolen after Ms. Dixon was suspended from her job. Besides, this is a preliminary hearing, Your Honor.”

“He’s right, Mr. Gallagher? Do you have any evidence that the warrant was issued erroneously.”

“Yes, Your Honor, I do.” Jack produced a sheet of paper from a slim folder and handed it to the prosecutor. He handed another piece of paper to the judge when motioned forward. “Here is a copy of the agreement Ms. Dixon signed when she was issued the vehicle by her employer. I’ve highlighted the relevant paragraph and section for your consideration.”

He pulled another copy from the folder and started reading out loud. “Paragraph six, section two, the primary driver of the vehicle, Ms. Dixon in this case, shall have fair use of the listed vehicle not less than five business days after any suspension or temporary cessation of employment in order to acquire alternate transportation.

“In this case, Ms. Dixon was not given five business days to find alternate transportation, instead she was falsely accused of stealing her own assigned car on the exact same day as her suspension pending another investigation not associated with this case.”

The judge studied the paper before him for less than a minute. He looked up and frowned at the prosecutor. “This case is dismissed.”

The prosecutor opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it when the judge drilled a very unhappy look his way. “The defendant is to be released immediately.” He banged his gavel, cracking the final wonderful sound of her freedom into the air.

Abby stood up as Jack approached. “Thank you so much. That was amazing.”

He smiled, but then moved closer and said, “Unfortunately, I’m fairly certain the other matter with your employer will be next on their agenda. Don’t be surprised if you’re arrested on another charge as we leave the courtroom. There might be a little bit of legal shuffling, but I’ll make sure and get you out as soon as possible.”

Abby deflated a bit. “But you’re going to be my lawyer for any other charges, is that right?”

Her new lawyer smiled. “Of course. Then again, it’s also possible we won’t have to worry about any other charges.”

“Really? Why is that?”

“Let’s just see what happens next, okay?”

“All right.” Abby was a bit confused by his waffling attitude on what might happen next, but he’d been brilliant in getting these charges dropped. She instantly trusted him.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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