Chapter Eleven
Chris woke Danny early the next morning, giving him time to wash and dress to look his best in front of the judge. The more like a person and the less like an animal he looked, the better.
“Will is bringing a suit for you to change into on the way. We’ll meet him and the rest of my team near the Dale County border. Some officers from Dale County are going to escort us to the courthouse.”
“But I’m in your custody, right? Not theirs?”
“That’s right. We’ll be with you the whole time. Keeping you safe from them just as much as they believe we’re keeping them safe from you.”
“Little old me?” Danny asked, feigning wide-eyed innocence.
He and Danny got into their car, with Doctor Hollis’ car following them. The hospital’s lawyer would meet them there. As they drove, Chris tried to calm Danny’s nerves, putting on the radio, chatting about random things, but as they neared the meeting point, there was something he knew he had to warn Danny about.
“You know the way people,” he was careful not to say human, knowing Danny was touchy on that subject, “can have very strong feelings about what things mean? Like, if you lock your doors at night, people think they’re safe, even though someone could just as easily get into their home by breaking a window or picking the lock?”
“Right,” Danny said, giving him a look that said he was wondering where this was going.
“Well, we need to play into that with the Dale County cops and at the courthouse. Make them feel safer.”
“What does that mean for me?”
“Handcuffs.”
Danny nodded, looking out the window, swallowing hard before he turned back to Chris. “Okay. I’ve… I’ve never.”
“It’ll be okay. I’ll be right with you the whole time, Will too. We’re there to keep you safe, but if the cops see you in cuffs, they’ll perceive you as less dangerous.”
“Because I’ll be less dangerous.”
“The average shifter could break out of cuffs like they were made of matchsticks.”
“I’m not a—”
“I know,” he interrupted. “But they believe you are. It’s just psychology. We know you’re not dangerous, but we need to make you appear even less so to them.”
“Okay, I guess. If it means they’re not going to just shoot me.”
“Not going to happen, Danny. Not on my watch.”
Will and the rest of the team were already there when they reached the meeting point. They stood around, finalizing their plan while Danny changed into the clothes Will had bought. When he fumbled with his tie, Chris turned to help, deftly coaxing it into order.
“There’s a knack to it,” he said, folding Danny’s collar down. He didn’t miss the look Will gave him as he watched his and Danny’s interaction.
The next part was not his favorite. “One last touch,” he said, holding out the metal handcuffs.
“How…” Danny asked.
“Behind you. It makes it harder for you to do any damage. Turn around.”
Danny did, biting his lip and putting his arms behind his back. He jumped when Chris set a hand on his arm. “Easy. Remember, this is just for their benefit. They’ll be a lot more relaxed. But there’ll be six of us between you and them.”
He slipped the first metal bracelet around Danny’s thin wrist, then the second, tightening them a fraction.
“There. Not too tight are they?”
Danny wriggled his arms around.
“No, not too tight. What if the pain comes?” He’d had one episode during the night and the nurse had given him a top-up dose of pain relief.
“I’ll give you another dose now. And if there’s time at the courthouse, a second one there,” Doctor Hollis said, setting his bag on the car roof.
The medication had the added benefit of relaxing Danny.
When they switched vehicles to the four-wheel drive with tinted windows, they sat Danny in the center seat in the back, Will and Chris either side of him while Tony drove and Lyssa rode shotgun. Lee and Robin drove Chris’ car ahead of them and Doctor Hollis followed behind.
When they reached Dale County, Robin went out to speak to the officers, and they watched as Sheriff Banes walked a slow line along their convoy. They rolled down their windows as he neared. Chris could feel Danny go tense beside him, ducking his head and shuddering. A moment later, the sheriff had passed by and began issuing instructions. One of his cars pulled up in front of the group with its lights on and two more took up the rear.
“What if the judge doesn’t believe Doctor Hollis’ evidence?” Danny’s words were barely above a whisper.
“We’ll deal with that eventuality if and when it happens,” Chris said, sounding more confident than he felt. He didn’t know which judge was sitting, or their reputation, but he knew that small rural counties like this didn’t always produce the most open-minded judicial officers.
Their arrival at the courthouse was somewhat of an anticlimax as they drove inside and the gate closed firmly behind them. He didn’t miss Danny’s flinch at the sound of the gate clanging shut. Getting Danny out and into the courthouse took longer than it should have when Sheriff Banes tried to argue Danny should be in leg irons.
They eventually won the argument when Lyssa took the manacles from the sheriff and bent them out of shape in one neat movement. It meant their handcuffs didn’t look so reassuring but Chris felt the fact that there were four of them surrounding Danny as they moved limited the potential for anything untoward to happen. It also prevented any gung-ho officer from trying to shoot Danny as they brought him in. They were ushered straight into the courtroom and Chris was surprised to see a familiar face on the bench.
“Good morning. I’m Judge Andrea Winters and I’ll be presiding over today’s case. Judge Antwerp is on leave at present and I’m on loan from Eden City Court. I have been specially asked to oversee this hearing due to my knowledge of similar cases and my familiarity with the relevant case law. This will be a closed hearing, at the request of Department of Health. Can we clear the courtroom of all non-essential personnel, please? Sheriff, your men can wait outside. The shifter crimes team are more than capable of keeping this prisoner under control.”
The sheriff was disgruntled at that but he didn’t argue.
“Now, Sheriff Banes, if you’d like to take the stand and present your evidence, we’ll get started.”
The sheriff, the medical examiner, and a scientist from their technical laboratory all presented evidence that the death of Danny’s family was the result of a shifter attack and that Danny was seen fleeing the scene. Chris was called to give evidence about what happened after, including Danny being apprehended in the woods and their encounter with the other Alpha. The technical scientist from Eden went through the results of Danny’s clothing and Danny’s blood tests taken by Heidi. Up until this point, Sheriff Banes was looking confident, smug even. His every glance at Danny suggesting he believed it was only a matter of time before they got their hands on him.
Doctor Hollis’ testimony was like a bucket of cold water, albeit one wrapped in a host of terminology that even Chris struggled to follow.
Danny started to fidget restlessly next to him, and Chris remembered they’d never had a chance to give him a second dose of medication. Wanting to avert Danny rolling around on the floor screaming in agony, he bent his head close to Danny’s ear. “Where?”
“My right elbow,” Danny murmured, head bowed.
Surreptitiously, Chris reached for it, wrapping his hand around it, placing his thumb in the crease. He could feel the fluid, shifting movement of the joint under his fingers and started to knead it firmly.
Judge Winters was asking Doctor Hollis questions, trying to get a clearer understanding of the information he was presenting. While his terminology might have been confusing, he was very clear on his conclusions, repeating consistently that Danny could not have been responsible for his family’s death if they were killed by a shifter in its animal form.
They broke for a recess while the judge deliberated on all she’d heard so far. Chris called Doctor Hollis over who insisted they remove Danny handcuffs for a few minutes while he administered more pain relief. Chris sat next to Danny on a bench at the back of the court, Will on his other side while they waited for the medication to take effect.
“How are you holding up?” he asked. Danny shrugged, wincing at the movement. “Do you think it’ll be enough?”
“I hope so. Luck is on your side, what with it being Judge Winters. She has more knowledge of shifters than all the surrounding county’s judges put together.”
“One of the court officers told me they had to go through three counties just to get a judge to hear the case. No one else wanted to touch it,” Lyssa said.
Judge Winters returned, and they quickly got Danny’s handcuffs back on and returned him to their table. Danny was more relaxed now, the medication easing the pain, though Chris could see from Danny’s face that it hadn’t gone away.
“Doctor Hollis has presented some very compelling information to the court, but I’m afraid, with no prior knowledge of his research, I will need more time to consider it and come to my decision. We’ll resume in one week’s time to hear my ruling on this matter. Mr. Adams will remain in custody until then.
Sheriff Banes turned towards them, a look of triumph on his face as he took in Danny’s hunched form.
“I’m placing him in the custody of the Shifter Crimes unit, to assure both the safety of the public, and of Mr. Adams himself.”
The sheriff’s expression hardened, his eyes turning steely.
“Judge Winters, if I may address the court?”
All eyes turned as Doctor Hollis spoke.
“Of course, Doctor.”
“Mr. Adams is suffering some ongoing effects from his childhood illness. It would be beneficial for him to be returned to my hospital for treatment.”
Chris had seen his idea of treatment, there was no way he wanted Danny in the hands of that man.
“And Mr. Adams, you’re agreeable to this?” the judge asked.
Chris felt his heart sink as Daniel nodded readily. “Yes, your honor. I want to be treated.” It was the first time he’d spoken aloud since they’d stepped inside.
“Then you will be remanded to Oak Hospital for treatment, in the custody of Shifter Crimes officers. I assume that can be arranged, Officer Ferris?”
“Yes, your honor,” Chris said, tightening his hold on Danny and trying to block the screams of those other shifters from his mind.