Chapter Fifty Four

Stephen

Trinity and I walked into the building to meet Lachie. As we moved towards him, I felt her hand tighten around mine.

“Don’t worry, baby,” I reassured her. “We can trust Lachie.”

“I know, Stephen,” she replied, her voice shaky. “I’m just... really scared.”

“I get it,” I said, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. “It’s hard to believe something you don’t understand.”

“Thank you for understanding,” she said, her voice soft.

“Of course, doll,” I replied, pulling her closer. “I’ve got you. I always have.”

We reached Lachie, who was already moving towards us.

“Stephen, good to see you again. And hi, Trinity,” he greeted us.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Trinity replied, her voice steadier now.

“I’m Lachie, the FBI agent assigned to your case,” he introduced himself.

“Thank you for your help,” Trinity said, her voice sincere.

“My pleasure,” Lachie replied. “I just wish we could’ve stopped this before it happened to you.”

I was impressed with how Lachie was handling the situation. He didn’t once hint that he and Trinity had met before, letting her lead the conversation at her own pace. I appreciated his tact.

“Why don’t we sit in one of the offices?” Lachie suggested. “I can get you both some coffee and we can go over what you need to know. Maybe I can answer some of your questions, Trinity.”

“That sounds good, thank you,” Trinity replied. “But I’d prefer tea.”

Lachie looked at me, surprised. He was used to our usual coffee orders.

“Black tea with one sugar,” I clarified. “My wife is pregnant.”

“Oh, congratulations to you both,” Lachie said, his surprise replaced with a warm smile.

“Thank you,” we both replied.

Lachie led us to one of the offices and opened the door for us. As he left to get our drinks, I turned to Trinity, my arm draped over the back of her chair.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“You were right about him,” she replied.

“How so, darling?”

“He’s very sincere. Easy to talk to.”

“He’s one of the good guys, momma,” I assured her. “Benji and Lachie are close, and I trust Benji implicitly.”

Lachie returned shortly after, taking a seat across from us.

“Trinity, what we’re about to discuss might be a lot to take in,” he began. “I won’t bring up anything that might trigger bad memories for you. Is that okay?”

“Yes, I guess,” Trinity replied. “But won’t they do that anyway when I have to testify? That’s what Stephen explained to me.”

“They will, Trinity,” Lachie confirmed. “But you don’t remember what happened, do you?”

“No, I only know what Stephen has told me,” she admitted.

“So, this is a good thing,” Lachie said.

Her eyes widened. “It is?”

“Yes, because when you’re asked about it, will you be able to answer?”

“Well, I don’t know how I would answer,” she admitted.

“You wouldn’t be able to, would you? And that’s an advantage for us,” Lachie explained.

“How so?” Trinity asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Trinity, my goal is to have these charges dropped at the Grand Jury so you don’t have to face trial,” Lachie revealed.

“Seriously?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes. I believe that given your amnesia, we have legal grounds to argue your competency to stand trial,” Lachie explained.

“How so?” Trinity asked, her voice filled with curiosity.

“How can you or a defense lawyer effectively argue your innocence on a crime you can’t remember and defend yourself against?” Lachie asked.

I was stunned. I knew Lachie had a plan, but I never imagined he could get the charges dropped for Trinity.

“As you know, given Benji’s involvement in the cross trial of the CPD, he can no longer represent you due to a conflict of interest,” Lachie continued. “However, Benji and I have been in touch with another close friend of ours who we believe can represent you effectively. I hope you’ll trust our decision to assign him as your legal counsel.”

“We trust any recommendation you and Benji make, Lachie,” I assured him.

“Thank you for your trust,” Lachie replied. “I assure you, we’re committed to ensuring you all walk away from this unscathed.”

“Thank you, Lachie,” Trinity and I said in unison.

“Right, I’ll arrange for Arlo to meet with you both tomorrow,” Lachie said.

“Our home will be fine if he’s comfortable with that,” I offered.

“Excellent. In the meantime, I’ll assist him in obtaining a subpoena for your wife’s medical records and her specialist to testify. I just need you both to sign here and consent for Arlo to obtain these,” Lachie said, handing us the paperwork.

We both quickly signed the documents.

“Trinity, do you have any questions for me?” Lachie asked.

“None that I can think of right now, thank you,” Trinity replied. “But I’ll write them down if I think of any and let you and Arlo know.”

“Please do,” Lachie encouraged.

“Before we go, may I use the bathroom?” Trinity asked.

“Of course, follow me,” Lachie said, leading Trinity to the bathroom.

Once they were gone, Lachie turned to me. “You okay with all this?”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, Lachie,” I replied. “There’s one thing you should know, though.”

“What’s that, Stephen?”

“Trinity is slowly starting to get some of her memories back.”

“Right! I’ll expedite all of this as a priority,” Lachie said. “I’ll talk to Arlo about pushing for an earlier hearing date. We can argue for this on medical grounds. We’ll figure it out.”