Chapter 34- Prelims Part 3

Part three

Confusion, guilt, disbelief and fear.

That was all that was going around the room as the lawyer presented Tami’s logs on the screen.

Raphael looked over his shoulder in pure innocence as he silently asked Tami what those were.

When the police came to him and told him that they had a warrant to search his house on the island a few days ago, he didn’t resist, seeing that they already made it public that they were staying there.

He didn’t expect them to find anything.

But this and the smug look on his prosecutor’s face told him that this was something that could have him screwed. Not to mention the look of fear on Tami’s face.

Her logs further down in the month became more positive, but only the first three were enough to confirm the question of whether she was kidnapped or not.

“Tami? Are you okay? What are those?” Amy asked in a whispery voice when she noticed Tami’s worried state.

However, Amy didn’t receive a response from her sister, seeing that she was too busy having a mini panic attack.

She wanted to cry, scream and shout. It couldn’t end like this. She refused to.

Tami tried to think fast on her feet as the woman scrolled through her personal belongings. And then it occurred to her. This is personal.

Jumping from her seat, she immediately caught the attention of everyone in the room.

Annoyed and confused gazes fell on her as she rushed to the front. Raphael didn’t even know what to think or how to feel, as he himself didn’t know what the hell was going on.

“Ms. Knowles, please sit down,” Judge Stennet said in a stern tone as she grabbed her laptop from the woman.

Mrs. Richman glared at the younger woman as she reached for the laptop, but Tami swung it out of her reach.

“Ms. Knowles….” The judge growled, and the bulky policeman started moving towards her, but she quickly held up her hand to stop him.

“Wait!” she said in desperation. “First of all, whatever I have on this laptop is personal, and I did not give permission for this to be made public.”

Everyone watched her as if she had grown another head. Nobody understood what she was talking about.

“It’s evidence,” Mrs. Richman pointed out in annoyance, but Tami threw her another glare.

“It might seem like evidence, but its not.” She snapped. “It's something I was working on. It's why I have been so secretive with my family, and why I even stayed away so long. But if you read these without my permission, I swear you will hear from my lawyer.”

The attorney raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at Tami and the judge had enough.

“Ms. Knowles if you do not sit down right now…”

Tami bit her lip. She didn’t know what else to say, but she was making these stuff up as she went. She eyed Raphael for a second who was silently asking her what was going on, and then to her mom and sister, to her once best friend and finally, back to Mrs. Richman.

And then it hit her.

“But I cannot, Your Honour. Please forgive me. But since this is all one big misunderstanding, I have to make things clear.”

“You can, but in an orderly fashion!”

“So put me on the stand,” she demanded before seeing how rude she sounded. “Please,” she added sheepishly.

The judge was still annoyed, but one look at Tami and he knew she wouldn’t go down without a fight. So, he sighed in defeat and waved his hand in the direction of the podium.

“Your Honour if I may- “

“Have a seat, Mrs. Richman,” Judge Stennet cut her off by saying, and Tami bit back a smile as she sat in the uncomfortable chair.

Raphael's questioning gaze never dropped from her, but she tried to communicate with him to play along, and so he did.

He leant back in his chair and listened to what she had to say.

“The news that brought us back to Nassau was something unexpected and horrible, and so we left in a rush, not bothering to pack anything. Which is why I didn’t bring my laptop back. I apologize for the confusion, but what you saw on this laptop is not evidence, but a start of what would be my novel,” Tami started as the whole room buzzed in small conversation.

Her mother and sister were the most confused, since they knew Tami has never talked about writing a book before.

“Yes, it is true that I hadn’t seen Raphael in sixteen years, as my friend here so boldly pointed out.” Tami paused for a second to give Malik a stern look. “But what he didn’t know, was that I had always wanted to be an author, as I love reading. I was struggling to find what I wanted to write about, and when I saw Raphael, I thought, what could be a better story than reunited childhood sweethearts?”

She was slowly winning over some of the people present, as their interests got piqued in this story of hers.

Tami noticed this and felt satisfied. She continued in that very tone with the same expression, so that she doesn’t give anything away.

“Just like any author, inspiration comes from the strangest aspects of life. Mine walked into Peaches’ Pub over a month ago. When Raphael told me he was returning home to The Grand Bahama, I asked him to take me. It so happened that we fell in love in the process.”

She giggled a little at this as he winked at her. Even the judge cracked a smile for a quick second.

“The night when I ‘went missing’, I spoke to Raphael about this concept. I laid down my idea for the book and oddly, he didn’t oppose it. He has always been supportive, and he suggested that to make it easier, I could put myself in the position of my female protagonist, since everything was inspired by our reunion after all- “

“-And it might sound crazy,” Raphael added, cutting off Tami. “But I suggested that living it would make it easier for her to write.”

He sent her a smirk, and she winked in thanks to him before continuing with her very convincing lie.

“I know the video seems convincing, but Raphael did not kidnap me that night,” she said, using air quotes. “As I have said and said and pleaded for everyone to believe me, I went with him willingly. No crime was committed.”

Everyone was confused, seeing that they had no idea what this ‘book idea’ was even about.

“Mrs. Richman might’ve seen my daily logs and believed that they were genuine, but they were only a cry from my character, not me. You see, my story entails a man and a woman, who finds their way back to each other after being apart for so many years. The male protagonist abducts her in fear that he’d lose her forever, and naturally, her attitude at first wasn’t the most…welcoming.”

She blushed sheepishly as she remembered her first days with him.

“Overtime, they fall in love. It’s crazy how I found what I planned for my characters in Raphael. He stole my heart, and thus I lost focus on my writing for a while and simply enjoyed him.” Her smile then fell as a thought nudged her mind. “But then my father died, and I had to return home in such a rush. We knew about what was happening back home, which is why I tried to tell my mother that I was okay. But I knew that once we’re home, I could clear the air.”

“And you did, for a while,” Steven added, seeming intrigued.

Tami nodded. “I dropped the ridiculous charges against Raphael. And even when the case was reopened and I tried to tell everyone that he did nothing wrong, nobody listened. I apologize for the trouble, I really do. But if you had only listened.”

She ended with a deep breath as she analyzed the crowd, seeing if anyone bought her story. Luckily, everyone seemed to have.

She was afraid to face her mom, knowing that she told them a completely different story, and if she was really writing a book, she wouldn’t have hidden it from them.

But Tami’s mom read between the lines and saw that they were only two young lovers fighting dearly for love. This surely confirmed that she was indeed kidnapped, but unlike three weeks ago, she was willing to let it go.

Raphael made her happy, and even though the aspects of their love didn’t start in the right way, it still happened. That was all that mattered now.

There wouldn’t be any sense in causing them both hurt by causing a ripple in Tami’s very convincing story.

When Tami met her mother’s eyes, she relaxed instantly when she saw that she surprisingly had her approval. She was more than grateful.

“So if this is true, why are you just saying this now, Ms. Knowles?” The judge asked after a moment of silence.

Tami bit down on her lip to prevent herself from laughing. “It wasn’t my time to testify, Your Honour. But I simply couldn’t let Mrs. Richman read portions of my work. Not when I am nowhere near finished.”

Judge Stennet nodded with a look of annoyance on his face. To him, this was a waste of a perfectly good preliminary hearing. If this were true, then this could’ve been dealt with and sorted out at the station.

He didn’t want to waste another minute on this case when the ‘victim’ isn’t a victim at all. He knew this case was a lost cause from the start. After examining it and seeing how many times Tami denied being kidnapped, he wanted to drop it then.

But his duty called, and hence why he held the prelim. Now, it could finally be closed.

Forever.

“Very well then. With the testimony of the witness and the presentation of evidence that is now null, this case is dismissed.”

The gavel slammed against the hardboard, signaling the end of the hearing and the beginning of their future.

A wide smile stretched on Tami’s face as she springs from her spot and flung herself in Raphael’s arms.

“We did it,” she sobbed in his chest. She didn’t even realise she was crying until she heard herself talk.

Raphael rubbed her shoulder and kissed her forehead with his eyes glued shut. “I know, baby. Thank you.”

“I’m so sorry about the logs. I was gonna tell you- “

“Sshh.” Raphael quickly cut her off by bringing his lips to hers. “It's okay. And I actually like the idea of a book.” He smirked down at her as she let out a loud roar of laughter.

“Maybe someday.”

Without another word, he hugged her to his chest to simply appreciate the feeling of having her nearby. The people filed out one by one. Malik caught Tami’s eyes from across the room, and she quickly diverted her gaze.

Maybe someday in the future they could be friends again, but it wouldn’t be now.

They simply had to see what the future holds.

“Well, it was good doing business with you.” Steven’s voice broke the two apart as he appeared in front of them. Raphael rolled his eyes at his friend, knowing that they communicate regularly, considering that he was a powerful man with a lot of money. A lawyer at his beck and call is a must.

“Thanks again Steven,” Raphael said with a chuckle and a firm handshake.

“Anytime. Keep him safe, little missy.” He winked at Tami before walking around them. Tami knew that Steven knew it was all a lie. But it made his job easier, so he didn’t mind either.

Amy and Sarah then appeared with smug looks of their own. Tami tensed at this. She dreaded confronting them, knowing that they would figure it all out with that ‘novel’ lie.

“A book huh?” Amy questioned as she folded her arms over her chest.

“Mom, Amy I can explain- “

“I’m looking forward to it,” Amy added as she cut her sister off. She then kissed her cheek and headed for the exit. Sarah did the same, leaving Tami both shocked and relieved.

The courthouse was now empty with the two lovers.

Tami smiled up at Raphael with that glint in her eyes that he always loved.

“Did we really just pull that off?”

Raphael nodded with a small simper on his lips as he caressed her cheek. “We did. Now we only have forever to go.”

Tami returned his smile, loving the way he said ‘forever’.

She laced her fingers through his and proceeded to lead him outside and into their new life, never once letting her smile fall.

Forever? That didn’t sound too bad at all.