Jamie was not surprised when it was requested that he head to his local police precinct to give a more detailed statement regarding Sydney Davenport. He was surprised when he entered the conference room and saw her father seated with the Assistant District Attorney.
Making eye contact only with the ADA, Jamie was irritated. "I hope you're not setting me up so I will agree to something. As I told you before, I have no built up animosity towards Sydney. I am however fearful that my family will continue to be followed and harrassed. I want to see a resolution to the situation that is fair and ensures my family is left alone. I will not be signing off on anything, so do what you think will ensure that and own the decision yourself."
William Davenport rose slightly from his chair. "Jamie, I asked to be here and meet with you to thank you for just that. Your choice to allow the system to deal with my daughter's infractions without pressure from the victims has been greatly appreciated by her family. We have many regrets about how we have supported Sydney over the years. The breakup between you two was inevitable and for the best. Instead of helping her see that, we allowed her to revise the events to fit her narrative. We should have known she was headed down a path with alcohol that needed to be addressed. Instead we allowed ourselves to believe a change of scenery or familiar faces could solve the problem. I raised my daughter to be assertive and independent but I neglected to show her that everyone needs help sometimes."
James Davenport was older and more vulnerable than Jamie remembered. He was the one Jamie had been forced to deal with during the resolution of his financial dealings and division of personal belongings with Sydney. She had escaped to London, leaving her father to clean up after her.
At the time, William was secretly thrilled to be rid of Jamie, but angry his daughter was living in London. His driven daughter with a Harvard Law degree deserved more than the life of a cop's wife. His own wife despised Jamie for his change of heart regarding the law, because she wanted more for Sydney as well. With an unhappy wife, he was also unhappy. In reality, Jamie had followed his passion for law enforcement and he could clearly see it outweighed his passion for his daughter.
William Davenport had been ruthless where their combined finances were concerned and wanted Jamie Reagan to pay for the fact his beloved daughter was so far away. They had worked together quickly, efficiently and without emotion to settle the affairs. Jamie was left with little of the income from the sale of their loft and a lot furniture that he needed to unload. Sydney had walked away with a modest profit and no entanglements to deal with. Now, William could see he had misjudged the young man.
Jamie was not only an accomplished Sergeant, but he also did consulting work with a local law firm - a fact he found out when Jamie's colleague from the Boyle Law Firm had come to represent him and his wife in court. Too bad Sydney had not known about that before she walked away. His attorney had assured the judge that he worked closely with Sergeant Reagan in his spare time at the firm and could quickly and expediently represent his family in this matter. They wanted absolutely no further contact with Ms. Davenport but had no opinion about any decision made by the prosecutor. They would neither support nor contest any deals or sentence recommendations.
Seeing the older man in obvious pain softened Jamie's position slightly and he turned to face William Davenport. "Will, I truly meant what I said. My wife and child are my only priority here. I have nothing but sympathy for your family. If it makes you feel any better, I never saw any indication that Sydney was struggling with alcohol during our time together either. I'm grateful that she returned my mother's ring, and I respect her for showing the strength to end things between us. We all know we were headed in different directions. I just want her to leave us alone."
"Jamie, she has been in a residential rehab since a couple of days after her arrest. I think for the first time in her life she really is headed down the right path. I am hopeful that she can at some point recover her career. But at the very least, she will be healthy and supported by her family."
"That's good to hear, Will. I hope that for her as well." Turning to face the ADA he asked, "Is there anything more you need from me?"
The ADA said he felt it was important to him that Jamie be given the details of the deal reached with Sydney, even if the Reagans had no comment. He felt it was his duty to afford them a final opportunity to have input. After outlining the plea deal which was contingent on her completion of a treatment program and no further contact with the Reagans or anyone related to them either personally or professionally, Sydney would be given lengthy probation and community service. It left the possibility that she could still practice civil litigation after her suspension from the bar association was lifted.
After listening and showing no disdain for the plea deal, Jamie rose from the table and put his hat back on, returning to work. He only sporadically saw Sydney Davenport in coming years when they passed one another at their reunion or at one or two large bar association functions. He and Eddie never spoke with her again.
For her part, she was able to recover her career after a few years. She practiced contract law for a small firm in New York and Connecticut. She married but had no children. When someone who knew her well did ask about Jamie, they were never aware of the events that propelled her into rehab and saved her life. She simply said, she was grateful for his time in her life but hadn't kept in touch.