Chapter 31

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" asked Judge Gunderson.

Maggie stood. "We have, your honor."

The bailiff took the folded piece of paper from her hand and walked it to the judge. He opened it. He looked at the jury, and then back at the paper. "Was this unanimous?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," said Maggie.

Gunderson handed the paper back to the bailiff, who returned it to Maggie.

"The defendant will stand," intoned the judge. Lacey and McDill stood. Lacey looked like she might fall back down, and McDill aided her in remaining standing by gripping her elbow. "The foreman will read the verdict," said Gunderson.

Maggie cleared her throat and looked at the preprinted form she'd been provided with. All she'd had to do was put down the verdict in two places.

"We the jury, in the matter of the State versus Fetterman, as to the charge of murder in the second degree, find the defendant not guilty. As to the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter, we the jury, find the defendant not guilty."

One could have heard the proverbial pin drop in the courtroom, for the following seven or eight seconds. Then people gasped as Lacey collapsed. She would have fallen to the floor if her attorney hadn't aimed her falling body at her chair.

Roger was sitting there stunned, his mouth hanging open. From the part of the courtroom where the other three alternate jurors were seated, there came the sound of one person clapping. An old man sitting in the gallery, who was only there because watching courts work was his entertainment, sighed, "Well I'll be damned."

Judge Gunderson looked at McDill. "Is she conscious?" he asked.

"I think so," said Matt.

Lacey proved he was right by moaning, "I don't understand!"

Gunderson said, "All you need to understand, Mrs. Fetterman, is that a jury of your peers has found you not guilty. You are free to go."

He turned to Maggie.

"I'd like a word with the jurors before I release you."

"Certainly," said Maggie, looking a little nervous.

Bob got over his own shock and went to help McDill get Lacey on her feet. She was staring around with a glazed expression. She saw Bob and lurched for him, pulling him into a frantic embrace.

Gunderson, who had come down from the bench, was about to poll the jury. It wasn't required in this situation, and neither attorney had asked for a poll, but the facts and circumstances of the case were such that the judge was concerned that a miscarriage of justice had just taken place. As he approached the jury box he heard Danny Baumgartner say, "See, I told you so." Reginald Bower said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hope you're happy." Both men were looking toward the defense table. The judge looked to see the exonerated woman in the arms of the man who had arrested her.

Once they were all in the jury room, the judge simply asked, "Why did you acquit her?"

Maggie gestured toward Danny, who unconsciously straightened up into what was almost the position of attention, as all eyes were turned on him.

"It all came down to what you said about us deciding about the reliability of all the witnesses. You said that was our job, and our job only. All the evidence against her was circumstantial, except for her confession. But the doctor explained that she had false memories. She had a false memory about the policeman being her boyfriend because she WANTED to think of him as a boyfriend. And we all agreed that just about anybody in her situation would WANT to kill her rapist. But that doesn't mean she did. What if that was a false memory? What if she believed she'd done it because she WANTED to kill him? It's perfectly reasonable to believe that a car involved in an accident, and which was leaking gasoline, might catch fire. We decided her confession wasn't reliable. That raised a reasonable doubt in our minds that she actually lit the car on fire."

"I see," said Gunderson, feeling much better, despite the fact that he didn't believe for a minute that her memory was flawed on that particular issue. At least their mistake was an honest mistake, and he didn't have a runaway or vigilante jury on his hands.

"Thank you for your service," he said. "You may all go now."

Lacey had expected to be led away to prison after the jury found her guilty. She had expected for her punishment to begin. Now, she had no idea what to do.

"Let's get out of here," said Bob into her hair.

"But..." she moaned.

"But nothing. I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"

She looked up at him with glazed eyes that were somehow also astonished.

"How can you be hungry?"

"It just happens," he said, his face straight. "About three or four times a day, actually."

"But..."

She looked around. Matthew McDill had a goofy smile on his face. His eyes looked a little glazed too. Claire was walking toward them. Her face was unreadable.

"Shit!" barked McDill suddenly as his whole body jerked. "He's polling the jury!" He burst into movement, saying, "Don't go anywhere!"

"Don't listen to him," said Bob, tugging on Lacey's elbow. "The judge said you can leave."

"He did!" agreed Lacey, clearly confused by that fact.

"We have some talking to do," said Claire, as she approached. "You have some adjusting to do."

"I'm hungry," said Bob, winking at Claire. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm famished," said the psychiatrist. "Why don't we begin the adjustment over dinner."

Lacey had to be herded, more or less, as they traversed the hallway, which was empty. Most other employees in the building had left at four-thirty. They had to wait for the elevator, during which Lacey just leaned against Bob. His arm tightened around her, and Claire took her hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

They almost made it out of the building. A uniformed security guard stepped forward to bar their way.

"Are you Lacey Fetterman?" he asked.

"She is," said Bob. "What's the problem?"

"Nothing," said the guard. "Her lawyer just called down and asked me to stop her. He's on his way down.

Bob nodded. "We can wait a minute or two," he said.

McDill appeared, jogging, his briefcase flopping in one hand.

"Don't you want to know what happened?" he panted, as he got to them.

"We already know," said Bob. "They found her not guilty."

"Yeah, but..." said Matthew helplessly.

"Talk to me first," said Claire. "She's still my patient, and she's very fragile right now." She looked over her shoulder. "Where?"

"Santini's," said Bob instantly.

"We'll meet you there," said Claire.

"Got it," said Bob.

He took Lacey to his car and she climbed woodenly into the passenger seat.

"I don't understand," she whispered.

"We'll figure it out," he said. "For now, just think of it as getting one more supper with me at Santini's."

She blinked. "Santini's," she sighed. "I never thought I'd get to see Donna and Vinny again."

"Well you do," he said.

She turned sideways in her seat, until the seatbelt he'd fastened for her impinged her freedom of movement.

"And YOU," she said, some volume coming into her voice for the first time since she heard the verdict read. "I get to see YOU again too!"

"If you want to," he said softly.

"Of COURSE I want to!" she yipped. "I LOVE you!"

"I arrested you," he said simply.

"You had to," she said back. "I murdered him."

"No ... you didn't," he said, staring straight ahead.

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