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“Mm-hmm,” I nod, at the same time as Brody tells him, “We’re all ears. What have you got for us?”
Brody’s hand strokes up and down my back, trying to soothe me when I’m in a million knots. He’s been my rock the last couple weeks. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him, even being home with my family wouldn’t have been the solace I needed. But he is all I need and could’ve ever wanted or wished for.
“It’s all good news today. You’ll have to wait for me to deliver it all before you say anything because it’s not what you were after, but in a way, I believe that it’s the best route to take.”
“What happened to good news?” Brody blows out a breath, his hand flattening to the small of my back.
“Damn, Brody, I just told you to give me a chance to talk you through it.”
“If it’s not what Rosie wants, it’s not good news. No matter how you try to spin it.”
“There’s no spinning, and if, when I’m done explaining everything, you guys still want me to throw the book at Ms. Cerna, I’ll do it.” The hesitant tone in Chase’s voice says it’s not something he recommends, and it makes me wonder what’s happened since the last time we spoke to change his opinion on the case.
“Bail has been set at two-hundred thousand. We tried to get aggravated assault, but it was impossible. Even when we tried to imply the drug as the weapon in this case. Good news is that we got assault on two counts. Actual and grievous.”
“What does that mean?” Brody asks. The strained edge to his voice making it hard to breathe past the lump in my throat.
“It means we’re looking at jail time regardless. However, the defense is claiming diminished responsibility.”
“The fuck?”
“Brody, I want to tell you we can one-hundred-percent quash that, but I can’t. They’ve had Ms. Cerna expertly assessed and confirmed by one of the top rehab facilities in the country. We could fight it, but it would be a waste of time.”
“It doesn’t change what she did to me,” I murmur, my heart falling to the pit of my stomach.
“No, it doesn’t, but we have other angles,” Chase reassures me. “We can prosecute as we intended and hope the judge favors us.”
“What does that mean?” Brody asks. His legs are jumpy and his frustration is palpable. It’s set in the hard press of his lips and the tightness in his jaw. “I don’t hear anything good right now.”
“We continue as we started and we’re looking at a possible five years max for Actual Bodily Harm, if we’re really lucky, we may get ten years for Grievous Bodily Harm.”
“But?” There’s a big ‘But’ coming, I can sense it in the way his voice lowers.
“The trial would be everything you’ve asked me to avoid. We wouldn’t be able to keep it quiet, and the defense would want to push public opinion with the Diminished Responsibility claim. If that works for them, we could end up with a twenty-six month suspended sentence served in a rehab facility.”
“Are you joking?” Brody’s snap remark is punctuated by a growl as he pushes to his feet.
“Hear me out,” Chase tells him quickly. “We stick with ABH, go for the top end of that sentence, the judge will be somewhat lenient with the testimony of the rehab doctor and the psychologist, but we can offer a deal or recommendation that at least half the sentence is custodial while the other half can be in a rehabilitation facility. On top of that, we can ask for an indefinite restraining order.”
“What does that mean?”
“Ms. Cerna will be out of your life quickly and for good with very little publicity. If she were ever to break the court order, she would end up behind bars, serving the full sentence.”
Brody looks at me, pausing while he digests what we’ve been told. His expression gives nothing away, and it makes my anxiety soar.
“That’s good then, right?” I ask. “She’s not getting away with it?”
“No, she’s not.”
“And this is the best we can do?” Brody growls.
“I told you, she may have tampered with your beverages, but the ibuprofen you took on top is what caused the overdose. In a case like this every technicality is scrutinized, and while we may get lucky enough to have a judge that sees it our way, we could end up on the other side.”
“What do you want, sweetheart?” Brody sits on the coffee table in front of me, his hands taking mine in a tight hold. Steady and dark, his gaze meets mine. “It’s your call. Your decision.”
Honestly, I don’t know what I want anymore aside from all of this to be over. I want to get back to my life and living it with Brody. “I don’t want this to drag.”
“Okay,” he nods at me. “Then we go with Chase’s suggestion?”
