Chapter 48 — Convictions

  A week in prison hadn't made it any easier on Hailey.

  She may have accepted her new fate, but Hailey still longed to fly. Every day was a grueling test of her willpower, stuck in a row of empty cells with the bright blue sky visible through the bars set high on the walls. The guards chased away a bird trying to build a nest at one point, and it felt so perfectly fitting to her emotional state, Hailey nearly burst into tears right on the spot.

  Every time, she remembered Jessica, and every time, she managed to steel herself.

  By Friday, Hailey's only transgression was a half-bent bar in her cell, twisted away in a moment of weakness on the second night after deciding to endure. The guards didn't mention it, to her relief, but Hailey still felt awful about it. It stood as a reminder, right in her face every waking moment, that she had almost broken again. She'd damaged something around her out of rage and frustration, just like everywhere else, because she felt so disconnected from the world.

  Jefferson was her lifeline.

  "Winscombe!" called the guard on her block. "Lawyer's here!"

  Hailey swung her legs off the metal bed and got to her feet. She still never needed to clean herself up, thanks to the rituals she and Jessica did in the offices of LRP nearly a month prior, but something about the routine of splashing water on her face and brushing her hair like she used to gave her some comfort. It felt like returning to normal—and normal was the goal.

  The guard held out the cuffs, though everybody knew they were largely ceremonial, and Hailey dutifully allowed herself to be chained up. They didn't subject her to the full treatment, just simple handcuffs, but there were cameras everywhere. No one wanted to give the impression she was getting easy treatment, least of all Hailey herself.

  "Why's every other cell still empty?" asked Hailey.

  The guard looked over her shoulder, shocked. Hailey never spoke to the guards, except for when she'd asked them to contact Jefferson on Tuesday.

  She shrugged. "Nobody else to hold yet. This block's only for people who got magic."

  Hailey was curious now, and the guard seemed friendly enough. "Did they give you special training or something to handle it?"

  "Nope."

  "Oh." Hailey was a little surprised, but she supposed there hadn't really been enough time to develop a training course or implement it to the guards. After all, everybody else only found about magic… a month ago.

  It's only been a month. Tomorrow, it'll be two weeks since… since she died.

  It still hurt. Every single moment of the day, it hurt, and Hailey didn't think it was ever going away. She clutched at the blue streak in her hair, remembering Jessica, her voice, her face, everything. It helped her focus again, kept her calm, kept her strong.

  The guard led her into the meeting room and closed the door. A moment later, the cameras clicked off, as usual, and Jefferson hurried in. He was usually here before Hailey, but today, he seemed a little rushed and off-balance—very different from the professional young man she was used to.

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  "Everything okay?" she asked nervously.

  Jefferson set a stack of papers down on the desk, along with the two coffees he'd brought—one for himself, one for her. Hailey sipped it gratefully, still curious how he managed to get them into the prison. As far as she knew, that wasn't allowed, but Jefferson still got around it somehow. She hoped that was an indication of a great lawyer, or at least, somebody who knew how to work the system.

  "Yes, I'm fine," said Jefferson. He took a seat, though he was clearly still distracted. "I have your pre-trial interview transcript. It looks great, Hailey. You… I'm sorry, it was right here…"

  He dug through his papers, looking a little lost.

  "...Seriously, Jefferson," said Hailey uncomfortably. "What's going on?"

  Jefferson looked up. "I'm sorry?"

  "You just called me Hailey, and you look totally lost. I think we're friends by this point, aren't we?"

  "As much as I can be with a client," said Jefferson. He sighed and stopped shuffling through papers. "I'm sorry. I've taken on a much larger caseload than usual while my firm is allocating more resources out here, and coordinating with other practices. Your case is complicated enough, and we've picked up another in the meantime."

  "You have?"

  "I can't give you any more details than what's available to the general public, but yes. We're now representing Rika Nishimura. I believe she's a friend of yours?"

  "Oh!" Hailey nodded. "Yes. So Alden must've given her your number?"

  "I believe so. I've just come from a meeting with her and Special Agent Ashe."

  "That's great!" Hailey smiled. "I'm glad you're working for her too. She needs it."

  "...Right," said Jefferson with a knowing look. "I sincerely apologize for the lack of professionalism here though. Your case is my top priority, as your lawyer. I'm merely acting point for Miss Nishimura until my firm can get more personnel out here."

  "Makes sense." Hailey grinned. "Guess you're not leaving D.C. anytime soon. How's the husband feel about that?"

  Jefferson coughed politely into a handkerchief. "Well, he's enjoying the museums for now. We'll see how long that lasts." He opened the folders again and shuffled through with much greater purpose than before. "Ah, here we are. Your pre-trial interview. As I said, excellent. I think this will play very well in front of the judge."

  "And this is part of the bail hearing, right?"

  "Precisely. We'll be going to the courtroom later today. Are you prepared for that?"

  Hailey nodded, not even slightly trying to hide her trepidation. She wanted to follow the rules, but if she had any chance of getting out until the trial date, she was going for it.

  Jefferson handed over another set of papers to Hailey. "You can take these back with you. I want you to review them as many times as you can until I come back later. The hearing is set for four-fifteen."

  She glanced down the list. It included the statements she'd worked out with Jefferson previously, an accounting of the crimes she was suspected or accused of, general court etiquette, and a list of support in favor of her temporary release until the arraignment and trial. As Hailey looked down the list, her eyes watered up, as a huge wave of emotion pressed up into her chest and throat.

  It was a list of people who had sent in official support or otherwise declared her a responsible and good-hearted individual. Her mother topped the list, followed by her father, Jeremy, Alden, Weston and Rupert, Cinza, Sheriff Jackie, Josh, and a whole long list of names she didn't recognize, stretching on and on down the page and onto the back.

  Jefferson spoke softly as a tear dropped off Hailey's face. "Residents from the building fire who owe you their lives, a few of those you rescued in the Tacoma hostage incident, and some residents of Seattle whom you saved on the streets."

  He gently lifted the paper up and showed a handwritten letter underneath. "This is from the young man you pulled from a collapsing house in Lakewood. He sent it to your mother, who passed it along to me."

  Hailey tried to read it, but her vision was so blurry, she couldn't make out a single word. "Thank you," she choked out.

  "And you don't even need to fix your makeup for the trial," added Jefferson with a smile. Hailey choked out a chuckle between the tears, too overcome with emotion to properly laugh. "I think you're ready. We'll be leaving here at four o'clock. Be ready, okay?"

  "Nowhere else to be," said Hailey with another pained laugh.

  Jefferson nodded. "See you later, Miss Winscombe."