Tell Me Your Dreams by Sidney Sheldon

“Thank you, Your Honor. I appreciate it.”

In her cell, Ashley thought, They’ve sentenced me to death. A long death in an asylum filled with crazy people. It would have been kinder to kill me now. She thought of the endless, hopeless years ahead of her, and she began to sob.

The cell door opened, and her father came in. He stood there a moment, looking at her, his face filled with anguish.

“Honey…” He sat down opposite her. “You’re going to live,” he said.

She shook her head. “I don’t want to live.”

“Don’t say that. You have a medical problem, but it can be cured. And it’s going to be. When you’re better, you’re going to come and live with me, and I’ll take care of you. No matter what happens, we’ll always have each other. They can’t take that away from us.”

Ashley sat there, saying nothing.

“I know how you’re feeling right now, but believe me, that’s going to change. My girl is going to come home to me, cured.” He slowly got to his feet. “I’m afraid I have to get back to San Francisco.” He waited for Ashley to say something.

She was silent.

“David told me that he thinks you’re going to be sent to one of the best psychiatric centers in the world. I’ll come and visit you. Would you like that?”

She nodded, dully. “Yes.”

“All right, honey.” He kissed her on the cheek and gave her a hug. “I’m going to see to it that you have the best care in the world. I want my little girl back.”

Ashley watched her father leave, and she thought, Why can’t I die now? Why won’t they let me die?

One hour later, David came to see her.

“Well, we did it,” he said. He looked at her in concern. “Are you all right?”

“I don’t want to go to an insane asylum. I want to die. I can’t stand living like this. Help me, David. Please help me.”

“Ashley, you’re going to get help. The past is over. You have a future now. The nightmare is going to be finished.” He took her hand. “Look, you’ve trusted me this far. Keep trusting me. You’re going to live a normal life again.”

She sat there, silent.

“Say ’I believe you, David.’”

She took a deep breath. “I—I believe you, David.”

He grinned. “Good girl. This is a new beginning for you.”

The moment the ruling was made public, the media went crazy. Overnight, David was a hero. He had taken an impossible case and won it.

He called Sandra. “Honey, I—”

“I know, darling. I know. I just saw it on television. Isn’t it wonderful? I’m so proud of you.”

“I can’t tell you how glad I am that it’s over. I’ll be coming back tonight. I can’t wait to see—”

“David .. . ?”

“Yes?”

“David…oooh . ..”

“Yes? What’s wrong, honey?”

“…Oooh…We’re having a baby…”

“Wait for me!” David shouted.

Jeffrey Singer weighed eight pounds, ten ounces, and was the most beautiful baby David had ever seen.

“He looks just like you, David,” Sandra said.

“He does, doesn’t he?” David beamed.

“I’m glad everything turned out so well,” Sandra said.

David sighed. “There were times when I wasn’t so sure.”

“I never doubted you.”

David hugged Sandra and said, “I’ll be back, honey. I have to clean out my things at the office.”

When David arrived at the offices of Kincaid, Turner, Rose & Ripley, he was greeted warmly.

“Congratulations, David…”

“Good job…”

“You really showed them…”

David walked into his office. Holly was gone. David started cleaning out his desk.

“David—”

David turned around. It was Joseph Kincaid.

Kincaid walked up to him and said, “What are you doing?”

“I’m cleaning out my office. I was fired.”

Kincaid smiled. “Fired? Of course not. No, no, no. There was some kind of a misunderstanding.” He beamed. “We’re making you a partner, my boy. In fact, I’ve set up a press conference for you here this afternoon at three o’clock.”

David looked at him. “Really?”

Kincaid nodded. “Absolutely.”

David said, “You’d better cancel it. I’ve decided to go back into criminal law. I’ve been offered a partnership by Jesse Quiller. At least when you’re dealing with that part of the law, you know who the criminals really are. So, Joey, baby, you take your partnership and shove it where the sun don’t shine.”