Page 7 of Trial Run

She looked back at Rodriguez who was only halfway up the aisle. He stopped and grabbed the back of the row in front of him for balance, but his face was ashen, and she could hear the labored breathing from across the room.

“Mr. Rodriguez, are you okay?” the judge asked, his face reflecting genuine concern.

“Sure, Your Honor. Just a little out of breath.” With those words, his knees buckled, and he wilted to the floor. The bailiff rushed up the aisle and held everyone back.

“Give him some space.” He pointed at two big guys in the closest aisle. “You two, help me get him up.”

Brooke watched, stunned like the rest of the panel, while they carried him toward a door in the back of the room. The judge lightly rapped his gavel to get their attention. “While we check on Mr. Rodriguez, please wait here in the courtroom. Counsel, I’d like to see you all in chambers.”

As he and the lawyers walked out of the room, Brooke contemplated her options. Now might be the perfect time to duck out. But what if whoever was keeping an eye on her was here in the courtroom? She glanced around. No one seemed to be paying particular attention to her, but when she looked back toward the front of the courtroom Reggie was staring directly at her with her eyebrows drawn in close. Crap. She never should’ve made eye contact—now she’d missed her chance.

It didn’t matter anyway since Judge Hunt and the attorneys chose that moment to walk back into the room. Both sides looked stressed, which was to be expected, and the judge was somber. He asked for everyone’s attention and waited until the room was still.

“I’m sorry to say that Mr. Rodriguez will not be able to carry out his duties with us today. That said, we will be continuing to trial.” He looked over at the court reporter who sat posed and ready to type. “Taking into account the preemptory strikes already entered by both the prosecution and defense, the next person in line to be selected is Brooke Dawson. Ms. Dawson, please join the rest of the jurors in the box.”

Brooke’s stomach clenched, but she rose and started walking toward the front of the room, acutely conscious everyone’s eyes were on her. She shouldn’t be surprised by this development since she’d come here fully expecting to serve. Yet, she’d let herself hope it was all an unfortunate misunderstanding, never intended for her.

She slid into the only open seat that happened to be right next to Reggie. While she tried to wrap her mind around the fact she was stuck here and part of some crazy plan, completely too out of her control, Reggie leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“Guess we get to have that lunch after all.”

Chapter Four

Reggie led the way to the cafeteria in the basement of the building wondering what the hell had just happened. In what world did both the prosecution or defense leave a shooting victim and a courthouse employee on the jury of a criminal case? Yeah, okay, she was aformercourthouse employee, and this case didn’t involve any violence, but still. She was a wild card and attorneys hated those. They liked nice quiet people who could be cajoled into the verdict they wanted and who wouldn’t shake things up in the jury room. Then again, these attorneys had let Mr. Rodriguez on the jury despite his overly enthusiastic contributions during voir dire.

The trial was supposed to last a full week, maybe two, which meant she was going to have to pull a bunch of all-nighters if she was going to be ready for her licensing exam. The only upside to this gig she could see was the fact she’d spend the next week or two in close proximity to Brooke. She turned to make sure Brooke was still behind her. Judge Hunt had only given them an hour to grab lunch. “Food here is simple, but good. Plus, by the time you get your car out of the parking garage and drive to the closest place, you’d barely have time to eat before you have to head back.”

“Once again, I defer to your tour guide skills,” Brooke said, and Reggie spotted a hint of a smile. Rare, but powerful with promise. Brooke Dawson, juror number twelve, could definitely be a distraction. She’d have to be very careful not to let that happen.

“Hey, I think that woman over there is trying to get your attention.”

Brooke pointed over Reggie’s shoulder and Reggie turned to see Judge Aguilar at a nearby table.

“Um, I’m going to go over and say hello. I’ll be right back.”

She hesitated for a moment and Brooke waved her away. “It’s all good. I promise I can get my own lunch. I’ll save you a seat.”

Reggie reluctantly edged away and walked over to the judge’s table. She’d been filling in as a court coordinator for Judge Aguilar on the day of the shooting and they’d bonded over the experience, but the same circumstance that bound them together also made it painful to be in Nina’s presence. Proximity provoked memories and she’d rather forget.

“Hi, Judge.”

“Hi, Reggie.” She pointed to the empty chair across from her. “Have a seat.”

She eyed the chair, scrambling for an excuse, any excuse why she couldn’t take a moment to sit across from her old boss and catch up, but nothing came. She slid into the chair but stayed on the edge of the seat. “It’s good to see you, Judge.”

“It’s good to see you too, but ‘judge,’ really? After everything, I think Nina will do just fine.”

“Okay, Judge.” Reggie ignored Nina’s eye roll. No one called judges by their first name at the courthouse—it was a sign of respect she planned to observe even if they had endured a shooting together.

“Are you here for Benton’s trial?”

Reggie shook her head. “As much as I’d like to see him rot in prison for the rest of his life. I’m not sure I’m up for that. What about you? Are you watching any of it?”

“Can’t.” Nina took a sip of her drink. “I’m getting called as a witness.”

Of course. When Benton was in fear the police were on to him for hiring a gunman to shoot up the courthouse in an attempt to kill off his daughter’s boyfriend, he’d shown up at Nina’s house and tried to intimidate her into calling off the investigation. Instead, she’d chosen to press charges and the DA’s office had gladly complied. Their investigation led them to look into his business ventures as well. “Sorry, that was a dumb question.”

“It wasn’t dumb at all.” Nina’s eyes were kind. “The whole thing is stressful. I hear his defense plan is to say that he merely came to my house to talk to me and the stress of losing his daughter caused him to be overly emotional. Supposedly, I overreacted to his veiled threats.” She rolled her eyes. “I only hope the jury doesn’t buy into his charm.”

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