Back To The Beginning (Andy Barber)

9 - Innocent Until Proven Guilty

"Let me through you vultures" I snap as I make my way up the steps to the DA's office.

The reporters are immediately on me "Miss Canavan! Is it true you're going to be representing the Rifkins!"

"Do you think Jacob Barber is guilty!"

"Can you tell us anymore about the upcoming trial!"

The door shuts them out and I exhale with some slight frustration. It's like a Jacob Barber witch-hunt out there at the moment.

Making my way into the office, everyone is silent, the atmosphere not as it usually is. People are answering calls, but also don't look up from their desks.

I walk into Mom's office and see her sat there with Neal already.

Joy.

"Savannah". She gets up and comes over, hugging me. I can tell she really didn't want to let Andy go but what else was she supposed to do? He'd have only received even worse abuse than his family are getting already. "Thank you for coming".

I nod. "You sure you really want me to do this?"

Because I'm not...

Mom nods. "There's no one else, and I know you and Neal don't see eye to eye but..."

"Doesn't matter" I say and sit down on the chair next to him.

He looks across to me. "Savannah, congratulations on the promotion".

I roll my eyes, "Shut up Neal".

Mom takes her seat back behind her desk and looks at us. "I know this is gonna be hard. It's one of our own - but we need to focus and do our jobs".

I cross one leg over the other. "What evidence do we have other than a dead kid?"

She passes me a file and I leaf through it. My heart sinks on what I now read - there's more here than I imagined, but I suppose that's our job. To build our case against Jacob Barber. "And you're certain he wrote this?"

"IP address matches, gonna save that information for when we need it though. Element of surprise. One of Jacob's classmates is happy to take the stand to testify against him. He can validate that Jacob wrote it".

"His parents must be so proud" I condescend

Neal throws a look to me. "Do you want justice for the Rifkins or not?"

I glare back at him. "What i want is the fucking truth - Who's representing the Barbers anyway?"

Mom looks at me a little guiltily. "Joanna Klein..."

My face falls on hearing this and I quietly say, "What?"

"I was only informed this morning..." She begins

"Mom, you're asking me to go against my damn boss!"

I could've helped to represent Andy, but instead I'm the opposition. Neal now speaks. "Well if she's taught you well then we'll win the case".

"Shut up Neal!" I fire back through gritted teeth and then look back at Mom.

"Like I said on the phone Savannah - I need you..." Her eyes look into mine and I can see she's fighting the guilt behind them. But she has to do what she knows is right.

I sit back and glance back down at the evidence. "Right then...I guess we'd better get on with it before the trial starts and we have nothing".

"I want you and Neal to head off and work on this. Anything else comes up you let me know". Mom says. "Neal will take you through what I've discussed with him so far".

"Yaaaay" I let out an unenthusiastic cheer.

Neal now sighs. "Savannah, please- for the sake of the trial can we just get along?"

I weigh up my options of yes or 'go fuck yourself' and decide the first. "Yes, however just know that I will not hesitate to punch you if you so much as piss me off in the slightest".

"Savannah!" Mom snaps.

"Do we have an agreement?" I smile sweetly at the asshole sat next to me and he smirks.

"Agreed".

A 'lunch date' with Neal really wasn't on my agenda today but considering he's actually brought me coffee then I'll take it.

Still hate him though.

"I don't like this as much as you don't" He sits back on the chair across the table from me as we drink our coffee at a local cafe. "I may butt heads with Andy but at the same time we have to push aside the fact that he's a colleague, everything is pointing to Jacob and we need to prove it. No family is that picture perfect".

I roll my eyes. "So what, you're gonna turn the court room into some macho showdown between you and him? Because that's what it sounds like to me".

"And what are you gonna do? Because you sound like you'd rather defend the kid than help the Rifkins get justice for theirs". He stares hard.

"Don't you fucking assume you know what I want Neal, because you don't! I'm not the newbie that you knew a couple of years ago! So how about we just get this over and done with and then hopefully I won't have to work with you again".

Neal whistles to himself in disbelief and says no more. All I want to do is just hope that this is all over quickly, whether Jacob Barber is guilty or not.