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51
VERDICT

I was barely awake the following morning when the time came for the guards to put me in the transport van. But I was calm. The money that Rusty had collected and that my tourist friends had sent from around the world wasn't enough but we had done all that we could. What happened from now on was no longer up to either of us.

Rusty was waiting for me in the corridor of the courtroom. He looked like he hadn't slept either.

'Didn't you get my messages?' he said worriedly, but my police escorts wouldn't let me talk with him. They led me towards the holding cell. Rusty followed us as far as they would let him.

'Don't worry,' I said to him. 'It will all turn out OK.'

Rusty wasn't reassured by this. He was convinced they were going to convict me.

The judges wouldn't look at me when they came in to read out the verdict. I was having trouble paying attention as they began the formalities of restating the charges and the evidence that had been presented to them. I only heard one word of what they said: 'inocente'. I couldn't believe it.

'Gracias a Dios,' someone said loudly. Cheers went up on the other side of the room. I looked over and saw the Velascos hugging each other, still with their handcuffs on. Their lawyer patted them on the shoulder and smiled.

I was free! Suddenly, I had another thought and panicked: what if the finding of innocence only applied to the charges against the Velascos? I began listening intently to the rest of the judgment, but then Jorge Velascos winked at me and I knew I had got off too.