Bad Blood

40.

'Well, we can't exactly ignore information like that.' The judge finally spoke and nodded to two officers to escort me from the courtroom. I didn't resist. I was led down from the stands and past Dan. I was able to touch his hand through the glass for just a moment. He was pleading with his eyes for me to stop what I was doing.

I was taken behind the judges stand and into a small dark room full of books and files. There was a lot of confusion and talking, phone calls and hushed conversations. It seemed that I had thrown a spanner in the works. I just sat there, humming to myself and rubbing my bump. If my plan was going to work then I needed to keep calm and think clearly.

'Ms Taylor.' There came a sigh. The judge had entered the room. He took a seat in front of me and then Gary sat besides me. And then two policemen joined us. 'I understand you wish to confess?'

'Yeah. I did it.'

'Don't think I don't know what you're doing. You're not the first and you won't be the last to try get their partner freed by pleading guilty.'

'But it was me. I can tell you everything. Let me go on trail.'

He regarded me for a long time.

'Its not up to me to arrest you. I do however have to throw this case out and have the prosecution start from scratch, because continuing from here would end in a mistrial. Your little outburst would have biased the jury and this is no longer a fair trail.'

'Does that mean...?' I dared to hope my idiotic plan had worked. He nodded. I wanted to dive up and hug him. He had no idea what this meant to me.

'It is up to the police whether they release Mr Smith. And these officers here are going to take you into custody.' I had prepared myself for this. I knew full well they weren't just going to let us both walk out of here. I'd confessed to murder and I would be going to prison. The end game was that I wouldn't get as hefty a sentence as Dan would've.

I was read my rights and my hands cuffed uncomfortably behind my back. Even when I was taken away in the back of a police car from the magistrates, I knew I was doing the right thing. I just had to wait it out. I only hoped my family and friends could understand what I was doing.

I spent a night in the cells, on a hard mattress with the toilet just a foot away from where I slept. I was surprisingly calm and only slightly scared. The next morning, after a breakfast of porridge and crap coffee, I was taken out and put into an interview room, just like one I'd seen on cop dramas as a child. Everything about this felt like some sort of television show. The female officer who had to help me from my cell to the room took pity on me and had got me a cup of tea, having constantly checked on me all night to make sure I was ok. I wondered if it was the first time they'd had a large pregnant detainee.

I had everything ready to say to the police. Why I'd done it, how I'd done it, that Dan didn't even know I'd done it. I had fully expected to be questioned for hours, but when the door opened, in stepped Dan. He looked so much older now, so tired and grey. If I could've got up to hug him, I would've.

'What the hell are you doing? Are you insane?' He sighed as he bent down to me, kissing me desperately. I couldn't stop smiling. The police woman let us have a moment.

'They let you out.' I could feel the tears of joy brimming in my eyes.

'Yeah and now you're in here. Gracey, this is ridiculous. You are almost nine months pregnant.'

'They can't touch me Dan. They're not gonna send a pregnant woman to jail.'

'No, but they will send you when those babies are born and you'll never see them again.'