Page 47 of Real Rocks
“Your solicitor is already here and wants to talk to you as soon as you’ve eaten,” the officer said as he placed the tray down beside me. “He says there’s no rush.”
“Forget food, I’ll go and talk to him now.” Suddenly I was awake. Whoever Jonas had found to represent me, I wanted to make a good impression.
“Whatever you want.” The officer inclined his head and I followed him out of the cell.
The solicitor was waiting in the interview room, a sheaf of papers spread out on the table in front of him. “Morning, Tris, I’m Giles Baron.” He stood up and held out his hand.
Giles had a much stronger grip than the duty solicitor and instilled confidence. Thank God for Jonas.
“Sit down.”
I did as I was told. If this man could change the course of the next few hours, I’d do anything he said. Giles sat opposite me.
“You need to be aware there’s some new evidence which was omitted from your girlfriend’s original statement. With that in mind, I’ll be pushing for you to be released on bail pending further investigation into Mr Doherty’s actions.”
“New evidence?”
Giles shuffled his papers until he found the right ones. “Apparently Doherty had been blackmailing Miss Barnes for several weeks until he met her the other night. There were various threats of extortion and revealing her unfortunate heroin overdose to the press, the latter of which I believe he has carried out.”
He slid a screenshot ofThe Gosswebsite over to me, which showed a grainy photograph of Saff inhaling smoke. I instantly recognised the room as the one from Barney’s party.
My fists balled. I wished I’d killed the fucker now, then I’d really have something to be going to prison for. My eye twitched. But why hadn’t Saff told me about any of this? She could have stopped it sooner and I wouldn’t be here now.
“Is this going to help my case?”
“It’s definitely evidence you were provoked.”
I slumped back into my chair. I hoped with all of my heart what he was saying was true.
Not two hours later, I walked out of Manchester’s Magistrates Court into the sunshine.
As instructed by Giles, I’d entered a plea of not guilty and a trial date was set for a few weeks’ time. He’d agreed to meet me back in London to discuss the case and we’d gone our separate ways.
During the brief hearing, I scanned the gallery, spotting Annie and Uncle Col along with Darren. There was no sign of Saff. My gut clenched as I thought of her possible reasons for not being there. I was fully aware of her habitual lateness, but surely even she wouldn’t have missed this.
Breathing in the fresh air - okay, the somewhat polluted air, but it was better than being inside a custody cell - I saw the three of them waiting for me. Giving them a small smile, I went over to them.
“Tris! Oh, my goodness, I’m so happy you’ve been let out!” Annie clutched me to her, almost knocking the breath from me. “How are you?” She held me at arm’s length.
I felt grubby, tired and in need of a hot shower and some decent food. And my girlfriend.
“Where’s Saff?” I asked.
Darren opened his mouth to speak, but Annie cut him off.
“She’s not here.” Her mouth was pursed in a firm, straight line. “She decided that some meeting in London was more important than being here to support you.”
“Wait,” interjected Darren. “That’s not what happened. You practically encouraged her to go.”
“That’s not quite true, is it, Darren? I think it was obvious she would rather be off chasing her career, otherwise she would still be here.” Annie’s face had taken on the expression of a schoolteacher who knew best. “Now are you ready to go, we’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”
I wasn’t convinced she was telling the truth about Saff. She wouldn’t have gone without good reason. “Darren, what do you…”
“Let’s get you home.” Annie tried to steer me away from the court building.
Darren looked at the ground, absently kicking a small rock with one foot. It seemed he was holding back. I wanted to talk to him alone - without any interference from my aunt.
“You know what I’d really like?” I announced. “A proper hot chocolate, with whipped cream and marshmallows. I’ve been craving sugar like you wouldn’t believe.”
