(𝟝𝟘𝟝) 𝟝𝟘𝟛 𝟜𝟜𝟝𝟝 ～ 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭

08 - Convicted

"Please, follow me Mr. Goodman," Officer Jones instructs and Saul obeys without any say in the matter. The lawyer looks into every police station cell with anxiety, searching for that kind familiar face he knows to belong to Geneva.

Officer Jones stops towards the end of the hallway and Saul rushes to the grasp the cell bars, while Geneva does the same.

"Jimmy, I'm so happy you're here! They're treating me like I'm a criminal," Geneva says with relief then annoyance, making the officer scoff.

"And you shall remain that way until further notice," Jones commented then walks off, leaving the two individuals to their privacy.

"Did you tell them anything at all?" Saul asks with nervousness.

"Well I'm not stupid so nothing other than I didn't freaking do anything but-" She stops suddenly then shakes her head, "Wait I'm not guilty, I can say what I want!"

"It's a precaution, nevermind that now. So why are you here exactly?" He questions.

"They said, and I quote, 'You've been arrested and accused, until further development, of breaking and entering into the home of Professor Jansen Bilby on Tuesday this week at exactly 21:20," She narrates from memory with irritation laced in her voice then grips the cell bars tightly, "What the hell?!"

"You didn't do all that correct?"

"Excuse me?!" She laughs with disbelief, "YEAH Jimmy, I thought burglary would be the PERFECT way to spend my Tuesday evening!"

"Sorry, I'm just... you haven't really helped me out this past week. Where were you? I left you so many voicemails my throat needs Strepsils now!" He whispers furiously and Geneva looks to the floor with shame.

"I was busy with work, sorry... But please you have to help me," She pleads with fear and Saul smiles softly.

"Of course, the innocent shouldn't be put in jail," He says and places his hand on top of hers.

Though deep in his mind, he is unsure about the whole situation.

Geneva is good at hiding things, but eight now Saul can see through her act. She was up to something, she still is but... he knows that this crime wasn't really done by her.

"Let's get you out of here, I'll use my charm," He winks at her but she grabs his shirt.

"Jimmy they have an arrest warrant. I'm not getting out of here any time soon. That guy's surely taking this to court. A felony like this has a minimum of a year sentence," Geneva explains hopelessly then sighs, "We need to think strategically and find out what we're working with."

Saul nods his head, she was saying the right thing. Her words make logical sense, it's what all lawyers would do if they really want to win a jury over.

"So you think someone framed you? Wait what is the crime exactly, What did you supposedly steal?" Saul interrogates further and Geneva shrugs her shoulder with vexation.

"I don't know, some valuable antique vase that the Professor has in his possession from generations. He lives in this big house, he's got this mini business empire... I did an article on him once," Geneva explains and Saul furrows his eyebrows.

"Well you don't have the vase with you, it should be at his-"

"Alright Miss O'Neill, to update you on the situation Professor Bilby will be seeing you in court. The judge has approved of it and your hearing will take place on a couple of days," Officer Jones informs and Geneva gulps, shaking her head constantly.

"Okay now we can put that guy to the ground..."

"Jimmy-"

"... I'll get all the dirt I can and..."

"James-"

"He's a professional but no one's ever purely professional-"

"SAUL!"

The lawyer shook his head with alarm, looking at the woman behind bars with surprise.

"Look I can't... I-I can't go to court. It's not going to w-work," She wraps her arms around herself and bites her lip with dread.

"Hey I'll do all the heavy lifting, you just-"

"I can't go to court!"

There's a moment of silence shared between them. Saul looks to his shoes while Geneva walks over to sit on the bench in the cell.

"What's wrong? We can't have anymore secrets Gen," Saul says with a hint of sympathy. He genuinely wants to aid her in anything he can but he needs access to her life... She's giving him a hard time with that.

"It's nothing I..."

Saul rolls his eyes discreetly then holds his forehead. "Okay I'll need to look at the evidence against you for this case then we need to discuss. You'll be okay here?" Saul asks her and she nods her head.

"Y-Yeah it's not like I have a choice huh?"

Saul smiles softly but sadly then starts to walk away but Geneva pulls him back by his shirt.

"Jimmy... Thank you for helping me and I promise I'll get all this cryptic-ness out of the way after this is all over," She clarifies and Saul nods his head, "My lawyer in shining armour."

Saul smiles shyly. He stands there, after she let's go of her grab on his shirt, wanting to say something but not being able to form a coherent dialogue in his head.

Geneva chuckles a bit with some sort of realisation. "Um one good thing about all this... I think I have a decent idea of who's caused it."

"Who?"

Geneva looks straight into his eyes, He can swear that he sees a glimpse of dear in her eyes.

"Thomas did it... Thomas Crowther."