“And you, Rory,” he said, and the sternness had gone completely out of his voice.
“You are one of the bravest people I have had in this courtroom, and I have been doing this a long time.” He paused.
“But I want you to hear me on something.
Starting today, you do not have to keep any more secret notes.
You don’t have to watch the door.
You don’t have to protect anybody.
Your only job now is to be eight years old.
Can you do that for me?”
Rory looked up at him, and a smile came over his face, slow and then whole, the first real one I had seen on him in longer than I wanted to admit.
“Yes, sir,” he said.