Chapter 21
The public gallery seemed busier as they slid their way along the benches; finding a position that gave them the clearest view of the court below, empty as yet apart from some of the familiar suited officials. Aaron could feel a knot of apprehension, anxiety, twisting in his stomach; surely, surely they had done enough yesterday to make a guilty verdict a certainty. But what if they hadn't? The thought gnawed at him, had given him no peace overnight and now it was close; so close. He would have like to have held Jackson's hand, gripped it reassuringly, but he couldn't, not surrounded by all these people, these strangers in this hostile place.
Suddenly a silence began to spread through the gallery; a tense silence full of anticipation spreading upwards from the courtroom below, infecting all the spectators in the gallery, craning their necks downwards, down until they could see what was happening. Below, the jury were returning, taking their seats in the long benches; in the dock, the defendant was returned from his night on remand. The Procurator Fiscal and defence counsel; all the players in the drama returning until finally, with a shuffling of feet as the court stood, the Sheriff returned.
The Sheriff began speaking, summing up the evidence from the day before, reminding the jury of their obligations. It seemed that hardly had they all taken their places than they were leaving again; the jury dismissed to consider their verdict. The waiting watchers in the gallery left to wander restlessly, impatiently, to the waiting rooms.
The coffee machine was working overtime, churning out hot but tasteless teas and lattes, cappuccinos and espressos; Cain stood at the machine, feeding in coins, passing the corrugated cardboard mugs full to the brim of steaming liquid amongst them.
"How long do you think they'll be?" whispered Paddy, keeping his voice low, conscious that some of those waiting for news may be on the opposite side of the legal divide from themselves.
"Surely it won't be too long, not after yesterday," replied Hazel, in tones far less subtle than Paddy.
Cain glared at her. "Keep it down Hazel! Some of these folk might be with the little toe rag in the dock!" he hissed.
"Sorry!" exclaimed Hazel, looking around her, challenging any of the other occupants of the room to dare to contradict her.
"But she's right, isn't she?" whispered Chas. "After Aaron's evidence, they couldn't find him not guilty. Could they?"
Cain looked at her, raised one eyebrow questioningly; they could count on nothing until the foreman of the jury had delivered the verdict.
Jackson nodded to Aaron then moved, not far, just eased his way between people standing, aimlessly nursing their corrugated mugs.
"Sorry, they were doing my head in," said Jackson, leaning against a wall. "And just being here...even though we're not down there, in the dock; it feels like we're the ones on trial."
"I know," Aaron replied, "it's like eyes are watching us all the time," he glanced behind him as he spoke, almost expecting everyone in the room to be staring at them.
"Wish we were on own," said Jackson, gazing down into the swirling brown liquid in his cup, "could do with a hug."
Aaron looked at Jackson, hated see the uncertainty, the defeat; he was usually so strong, so certain. Making a decision, Aaron touched him briefly on the shoulder, getting his attention.
"Come on," he said, "follow me!"
Pushing their way back through the crowded room, Aaron led them towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Chas asked as they passed.
"To the loo, if that's alright with you," growled Aaron without stopping.
"Both of you?" questioned Chas as they passed her, saying nothing more.
Reaching the corridor, it was less crowded although there were still people milling aimlessly about, waiting. Seconds later they pushed through the door into the gents, ignoring the men standing, doing the necessary, Aaron gave Jackson a gently push towards an unoccupied cubical.
"This is mad," whispered Jackson, as Aaron shut the door behind him, leant back against it, pulled Jackson, unresisting, towards him. "Do you remember why we're here? And you come right in here with me?"
"We can't let them win, Jackson," said Aaron quietly, hugging him. "That's what today is all about. And I don't give a toss about them out there...we just need a minute."
Jackson let his head rest on Aaron's shoulder, content for the moment to forget that they will soon have to leave the cubical, content for the moment to relax, to feel Aaron's strong arms holding him, lending him strength, to try and reassure himself that soon, soon it would be over, whatever the outcome.
For a moment, Aaron was content just to hold Jackson, to hug him, content to feel him held secure in his arms, feel his familiar body pressed closed against him, the smell of his hair, the feel of the soft hairs on his face tickling against his neck as he moved his head a little.
For a moment they stood unmoving; then Aaron slid one hand upwards, letting his fingers briefly rub the back of Jackson's neck, feeling the tension in his muscles, then running his fingers through his short curls before tilting Jackson's face towards him, searching out his lips with his own. Their kiss was tender; the reassurance of a brief moment of intimacy when nothing mattered but each other. Until they were interrupted.
The main door into the gents crashed noisily open, making them jump. Second later a fist was banging loudly on the cubical door.
"Aaron! Jackson! Get out here now, the jury are back." Cain's low, urgent voice reached them.
Breaking apart, moving, Aaron eased the door open, squeezing out, Cain was waiting for them, glaring around him, daring, just daring anyone to utter one wrong word.
Trying not to notice the eyes upon them, Aaron stalked from the gents without waiting for Cain or Jackson; he hadn't felt at all awkward walking in to the cubicle, his need to comfort Jackson pushing everything else from his mind, but walking out; that was different; now he just needed to get away; to get back to the public gallery, back to the end of his nightmare.
Seconds behind Aaron, Cain and Jackson caught up with him in the corridor. Going through the door into the gallery, they could already hear voices drifting upwards from the court below. Almost holding his breath with the effort of being quiet, Aaron moved towards their seats, slid in beside Chas, grateful for her reassuring smile of greeting.
Time seemed to have slowed down, stopped almost.
"Foreman of the jury, have you reached a verdict that you all agree on?"
Each word was an eternity as Aaron listened. Without realising, his hand moved towards Jackson, sitting next to him; without taking his eyes from what he could see of the court, he reached out, his fingers rising over the muscular swell of Jackson's leg, feeling, searching for the comfort of his hand. He felt fingers slide into his own; briefly taking his eyes from the scene unfolding below him, he looked at Jackson. Catching the movement, Jackson looked back at him, smiled, encouragingly, reassuringly.
"Yes, we have."
"And do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?"
Aaron bit his lip; he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. This was it; the moment he had been waiting for since the summer, since the attack, since the police told them they had taken suspects into custody. This should be the end of the nightmares that had haunted him for so many months, if only the next word was...
"Guilty!"
All around him; gasps of breath, taken in so sharply, some in relief at the verdict, just one or perhaps two, in despair.
Tighter now, Jackson gripped his hand tighter; he would have like to have turned, hugged him, but for the moment, returning the squeeze of his hand would have to suffice, wordlessly sharing their delight, their relief.
The Sheriff was still speaking, but Aaron was hardly listening to him; so great was the relief flooding through his body, an almost physical light-headedness that travelled from his head to his feet.
Suddenly everyone was standing, moving, beginning to file out of the bench seats; beside him, Chas gave a gentle push against his shoulder, gaining his attention, indicating that he needed to move.
Out into the corridor, caught up in the general swirl of people heading towards the exit, the desire to escape, be free of the oppressive atmosphere of the court was almost overwhelming.
"Aaron, Jackson," Paddy was behind them, but reached forward, just able to tap Jackson on the shoulder, making him stop. "Someone's calling you," he explained.
Pushing her way through to catch up with them, Angela MacKenzie hurried towards them.
"Can I have a quick word, Mr Livsey, Mr Walsh? Let's just pop in here," she indicated a door a few steps in front of them.
She led them into yet another faceless office, or maybe it was one they had already been in, Aaron couldn't be sure.
"It was the right verdict," she began, "but I'm sorry the Sheriff didn't pass sentence straight away,"
"Didn't he?" said Jackson, bemused. "I don't think I heard anything after the foreman said 'guilty'"
"He's going to wait to sentence him until he has heard the evidence in the other cases; the lads who are pleading guilty."
"How long will that take?" asked Jackson.
"Oh I imagine he will hear all the cases this afternoon; with the guilty pleas already lodged, it is more a case of hearing the evidence to judge the severity of the sentence.
"And do we have to be in court for that?" asked Aaron.
"No, that is what I wanted to tell you. If you can let me have mobile numbers for you, the Procurator Fiscal is quite happy for you to be outwith the court, however he would prefer you to be in the town, should you be needed."
"That's brilliant!" exclaimed Aaron, a feeling of relief washing over him.
"Then we can call you, either just before the sentencing, if you want to be in court for that, or afterwards, to tell you the sentences."
"I think I would like to be there for the sentencing," said Jackson thoughtfully. "I don't particularly want to sit through the presentation of the evidence, but to be there for the end, yes...I want that."
"That's fair enough," agreed Angela. "Write your numbers down for me and I'll phone you when I think it's getting close; give you what, fifteen, twenty minutes notice."
"Yeah that'll be fine," said Jackson, writing both their mobile numbers on the pad of paper she handed him. "Don't suppose we'll be that far away."
Angela nodded, trying to reassure them. "It'll be fine; they'll get a custodial sentence, I'm sure. If you okay with that, I'll show you out."
Minutes later they were outside; seeing the others waiting, they made their way towards them.
"Alright love!" called Hazel, seeing their approach. "What was that all about?"
"They didn't sentence him; they'll do that this afternoon, with the others," replied Jackson.
"Yes, I know; that's what the Sheriff said after the verdict came in; weren't you listening?"
"Apparently not," Jackson pulled a face at his mother. "We don't have to be in court for the next cases; they'll phone us just before the sentencing."
"So, lunch then is it?" asked Hazel.
"There's a pub just along the street," said Paddy, pointing. "The menu looked okay."
"You go ahead," said Jackson, "think we could do with a bit of air first," he looked at Aaron, getting his nod of agreement.
Cain and Hazel moved away, began walking down the street towards the pub Paddy indicated.
"Aaron!" Chas called him back as he and Jackson began to move away. "I was going to go back to court this afternoon, to see them..." she hesitated, "...to see them getting what they deserve for what they did to you and Jackson. Are you okay with that?"
Aaron looked at her for a moment; he knew what she was saying, what she was asking. That she would hear the intimate details of the attack, details that he had not told her, did he mind that? He thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No, it's fine mam, just..." he paused, "...just don't talk about it to me afterwards, okay?" He looked at her, biting his lip, waiting for her agreement.
"Of course, son," she said quietly, nodding. "Right!" she turned, "come on Paddy, lead me to the pub!"
Aaron and Jackson watched them go.
"D'you want anything to eat?" asked Aaron
"Not really, you?" Jackson turned the question back to Aaron; he shook his head. "Fancy a walk then?"
"Yeah, that'd be good, blow the smell of that place away."
They turned; away from the Sheriff's Court, away from the direction taken by Hazel and Cain, Paddy and Chas, away from the town, towards the last few hours of their nightmare.