A week after they met with ADA Perez to go over the plea deal and her father signed the paperwork, Emily saw herself getting ready to go to the courthouse with all of the Reagans for his sentencing, even though the plea deal was very clear that he could serve no less than life without parole.
Emily put on one of her favorite new outfits that she got when she and Eddie had gone shopping and finished brushing her hair now that she could do it with little to no pain in her side. She quickly brushed her teeth and met her parents in the living room. They'd already had breakfast and were now all ready to meet up with the rest of the family outside of the courthouse.
She was very happy that her father's case was one of the first on the docket this morning so that she didn't have to spend hours worrying about it. She had prepared a victim's impact statement and would be declaring it in open court before the judge gave the final ruling.
Once they got into the car and were on their way to the courthouse, however, Jamie and Eddie had even more good news. They had just gotten off the phone with a representative of the adoption court within the family court system and there was a cancellation that afternoon, due to previously unknown circumstances, late enough that they would be able to make both the sentencing, and the adoption hearing. Eddie and Jamie jumped at the chance and gladly said they would be there.
"Hey Em, can we talk for a minute?" Eddie asked as she turned slightly in her seat while Jamie continued to weave his way through traffic.
"Yeah, what's going on, Mom?" She asked.
"The representative from the adoption court called us while you were finishing up this morning and something happened with one of the cases that was supposed to go in front of the judge this afternoon and now they can't make it, they asked if we would be willing to show up instead. Jamie and I told them yes." Emily smiled so big her cheeks hurt.
"Really? Will we still make it to the sentencing?" She asked with happy tears running down her face.
"Yeah, it's late enough this afternoon that we'll make both." Eddie replied, her own tear falling as well. Emily nodded but didn't say anything else. She didn't have to, the smile on her face said it all. As Jamie parked the car they wiped their tears and just sat in silence basking in the joy that was starting to overtake Emily's life and theirs. After all of the tribulation and trauma she had been through, she was finally getting to experience the good things life has to offer.
"Alright, girls, they're here, we gotta go catch up with them." Jamie said wiping his own tears away.
"Can we tell them?" Emily asked as they got out of the car.
"Yeah, you go, we'll catch up," Eddie replied knowing that Emily would want to be the one to tell them. They watched her run ahead and tell the family about the family court hearing. They reacted as expected and soon Emily was swept into hugs from each of them. Eddie and Jamie caught up with them and they walked into the courthouse as a united front.
They went through security and while it was fairly easy for the kids to get through each of the adults had to go through the process of identifying themselves with their credentials and shields in order to carry their guns with them. Luckily they planned for this and arrived early enough. They followed Erin as she led them to the correct courtroom and they sat directly behind the prosecutor's table Frank sat on the far end from the aisle and they all filed in as follows, Frank, Jack, Sean, Erin, Nicky, Danny, Henry, Emily, Eddie, and Jamie. Frank's detail sat behind them alongside Garrett and Gormley.
His detail, which includes Baker, was required to be with him, but Garrett and Gormerly had decided to show up just in case their presence was needed. Frank did not disagree with their idea. At least Garrett could interfere with the media if they decided to be assholes today. Emily didn't need that. At least it was a closed courtroom because Emily was a minor and the press couldn't be there so that they couldn't identify her in the media. But the rest of the courthouse, including the front steps were another story.
There were a few uniformed officers scattered throughout the rest of the courtroom and the detectives who had worked the case were sitting directly behind the defense table. Almost as if they expected him to try and get to Emily. They just wanted to cover their bases.
The bailiff entered with her father and brought him to his seat before removing the cuffs. The judge entered and the proceedings began. Emily sat as still as she could but still fidgeted nervously as she listened to the judge speak to the attorneys and then it was her turn to speak before the judge would officially give her ruling.
Emily stood and shuffled past Eddie and Jamie to stand in the aisle and waited for the judge to address her like Erin had told her to do.
"Young lady, I understand that you would like to address the court with a victim's impact statement?"
"Yes, your honor." Emily replied.
"Whenever you're ready," The judge replied with a smile.
"Thank you, your honor," Emily started and she was already shaking. She took a deep breath and remembered the adoption court hearing in just a few hours and was easily able to calm herself.
"The defendant, Mr. William John Walsh, is my biological father. I can't recall a moment where I ever felt safe with him. For as long as I can remember he was always drinking and beating on my mother, Ms. Jelena Elira Hasani Walsh, and I. There have been dozens of times he sent one or both of us to the emergency room. I was only four when he started coming into my room to rape and further brutualize me at night after he had beaten my mother either into submission, or unconsciousness," Emily paused to catch her breath and wipe her tears, "She did everything she could to stop him especially after she learned that he was doing those things to me. As narcissistic and controlling as he is though, she had no way to contact the police or anyone else for that matter. We are here because my teachers and the school nurse finally recognized the signs of abuse that I exhibited and reported it to the authorities and when they knocked on the door, he blamed my mother. I could do nothing but scream as I watched him stab my mother half a dozen times and listened to the detectives attempt to break down the door. I don't know exactly what he did but he reinforced it somehow. The majority of the abuse charges may have been dropped for this plea deal to go through, but he is still charged with the capital murder of my mother, and for that I am grateful, because there is irrefutable evidence, and he deserves nothing less than to take responsibility for his actions, whether he wants to or not. I only agreed to the plea deal because it states very clearly that he will serve no less than life without parole. And I will never have to worry about him coming into my room again." Emily finished and went to sit back down between Jamie and Eddie.
As the only two who had known what happened to Emily, and this was still only an overview, they were better off than the rest of the family. Reagans were crying silently and holding onto to each other as Emily recalled the heinous things that had been done to her mother, and to her. Frank's detail, Garrett, and Gormley were no better off.
The judge nodded and let Emily settle before she pulled out the paperwork regarding Emily's foster care placement, and she was impressed that Emily had somehow managed to be placed with the Police Commissioner's son and daughter-in-law, she saw it as a full circle moment. She noticed that Emily was very comfortable with all of them and was pleased to see that.
"Thank you, for telling your story today," She starts by addressing Emily and turns to her father, "Mr. Walsh, have you agreed to this plea deal on your own, without coercion, or reservation?"
"I have, your honor."
"I'm glad to hear that. I hereby sentence to lifetime imprisonment without the chance parole in the New York State Penitentiary System." She replied almost tersely, and banged the gavel on the table.
Jamie and Eddie immediately stood and brought Emily into the hallway and everyone else followed as the bailiff cuffed Walsh and brought him back to the court's holding cell as he awaited transfer upstate.