Page 95 of Jon's Helter Skelter Cold Case

Anyone would agree Solomon needed help. A lead injection to the cranium would be my suggestion.

“People of the jury, please show some compassion today and give your verdict accordingly. Defense rests.”

Said a lot that the man couldn’t come up with a better closing argument.

“Counselor?”

The prosecuting attorney stood. Now, I’d known Mike Halward for as long as I’d been working, and he was a salt of the earth man. What made him brilliant at his job was his bulldog attitude when taking on tough cases and his charisma when speaking to an audience. I saw that charisma on full display today.

“People of the jury, I think we’ve all been in high-stress situations in our lives.” Mike walked up to stand in front of the jury, and he addressed them like he would a friend. He had that kind of tone to his words. “I mean, we’ve all been in danger of losing a job. Right? All worried about finding another one, being able to pay bills. We’ve all been in trouble with a boss at some point in our lives. Now, show of hands—how many of you thought to pick up a gun and point it at your scapegoat? What, none of you? Well, I think that pretty much says it all right there, doesn’t it? That’s the quality of man Detective Solomonis. He’d rather shoot an innocent man and threaten two teenage girls than own up to his mistakes. Now, the question I pose to you is: Do you want a man like this out there? Possibly hired on as a detective again? Are you going to let him get by with trying to murder people when he’s having a bad day? I certainly wouldn’t trust this man. I hope you see the wisdom of throwing him in prison. I can’t imagine any of you wanting him out free, considering how bad his judgment is. That’s all I have to say on the matter. Prosecution rests.”

“Jury, you have heard the closing arguments. You may retire to the other room and deliberate.”

Abby leaned in close to me. She was adamant about being here for the trial, and since it was a good learning experience for her, I had no problem with it. Besides, she deserved to see Solomon locked up. Skylar was on her other side, downright gloating.

“How long does a jury deliberate?”

“Totally depends on the case and the jury.” I shrugged. “I’ve seen them deliberate for hours. I’ve seen them do it for minutes.”

“What are they even doing? Just talking?”

“Talking to each other, looking over the evidence again, that kind of thing. They get to make up their own minds without hearing a lawyer trying to spin it.”

“Huh. I wonder how long they’ll take in this case?”

“Guess we’re about to find out. Usually the judge dismisses all of us if they’re going to take more than five minutes.”

The bailiff came back in and whispered something to Judge McClain, who smiled. There were some interesting things going on in her lines. I saw a lot of banked anger in the form of a light red, all mixed in with the bright yellow of pleasure. Uh? What had he just told her?

The jury marched back out and resumed their seats. Oh my god, are you kidding me?

Donovan, on my other side, whistled soft and long. “Wow. I don’t think they were in there even three minutes.”

He was right. Holy shit. If they only took three minutes, then Solomon was toast.

I quickly read through all the jurors’ lines and inner me cackled like a loon. Yeah, Solomon didn’t have a prayer.

“Jury,” Judge McClain drawled while looking them over, “that was a very short deliberation. Have you reached a verdict?”

The spokesman of the group stood to address her. “We have, Your Honor.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“We find the defendant guilty on all counts. We do not think there should be any leniency.”

“I understand, thank you.”

The foreman sat back down, looking quite satisfied with himself.

Judge McClain turned and pointed at Solomon. “Please stand to hear your sentencing.”

He stood, looking nervous as hell. As he should. Solomon’s life would never be the same after this. I, for one, was glad for it.

“This court finds you guilty on all charges. Your peers do not judge that you are due any leniency, and frankly, I agree with them. You cannot be trusted with any measure of power, not even the basic freedoms this country holds as self-evident. I am, sadly, restricted on how much prison time I can give you. Under TCA Title 39 and 40, I must give you one step below the maximum sentence. With that said, I sentence you to forty years in prison without the possibility of parole. This sentencing is done with prejudice.” She picked up her gavel and struck it sharply. “Dismissed.”

I didn’t do a happy dance, but damn, I wanted to. I’d known Solomon would get jail time. But Judge McClain was apparently done with his shit.

The bailiff called out, “All rise!”

---