Page 23 of Trial Run

“Let me guess. It says something about me breaking the rules, not doing what I’ve been told. There will be consequences.”

“Pretty much. I’m thinking this is not the first message like this you’ve received.”

“It’s not.” Brooke leaned forward, reaching for the note and Reggie handed it to her. Brooke read it several times before setting it on the coffee table. “Before you ask, I don’t know who’s sending these. It’s probably the man who you saw me talking to in the parking garage, but his face was hidden, so I wouldn’t be able to ID him.”

“Do you know what it means?”

“Yes. It’s about the jury. I’m supposed to sway the jury to find Shirley Mitchell not guilty and if I don’t, whoever sent this message is going to kill Ben.”

Chapter Nine

Reggie dropped Brooke off at the door to the courthouse before parking her Jeep in the garage. She’d stayed up all night thinking about the threats Brooke had received and wondering what they were going to do about them because doing nothing wasn’t an option. Over coffee, she’d gently encouraged Brooke to take the notes to the police, but Brooke had vehemently stated there was no way she was going to risk that move.

They’d had a lively conversation about the subject all the way to the courthouse. Brooke kept pointing out that if she’d simply followed the instructions she’d been given and not been talking to her outside of court, Ben and his friend Mia wouldn’t have been in danger. No matter how hard she tried, Reggie couldn’t get her to see that whoever was threatening her wasn’t going to stop no matter what she did to comply. Anyone who would threaten a child had no moral compass and there was nothing to prevent them from taking further action. Brooke had remained unswayed.

Which meant she’d have to act on her own and she knew exactly where to start.

She started by calling Leroy and telling him she had an emergency this morning and she would be about an hour late. He groused, but he’d known her a long time and took her at her word.She felt a little guilty about that, but not guilty enough to change her course. Next she sent a text to Lennox.Need an emergency consult. You, Judge A, Skye. Off campus. Name the place.

She set the phone down and waited. A full, agonizing minute later, Lennox texted her back.Riverside Diner. See you in ten.

She started the Jeep and headed to the diner which was less than a quarter mile from the courthouse. It would be packed by lunchtime, but at this time of day, most of its clientele were already at the courthouse deep into the morning docket. She drove around the parking lot three times to make sure she didn’t spot anyone suspicious, and finally deciding it was safe, she parked her Jeep and headed inside setting up at a booth with a full view of the parking lot.

“Coffee, hun?”

She didn’t recognize the waitress, but she looked like all the others who worked here—mid-fifties, pen nestled in a big bun, notepad at the ready. She turned over the mug on the table. “Yes, please. Black. I’m waiting on some people.”

While the waitress fetched her coffee, Reggie scoped out the place. Besides a woman with a baby sitting across the room, she was the only one there. Her phone pinged with a text.

Where are you? The bailiff said you had an emergency.

She wanted to answer Brooke, but there was nothing she could safely say in a text to her to explain her absence and a lie could get them both in trouble, so she stowed her phone in her pocket and hoped she’d have some answers by the time she saw Brooke again.

A minute later Lennox, followed by Wren, Skye, Judge Aguilar, and her girlfriend, Franco burst through the door. The waitress appeared with a pot of coffee at the same time they reached her table.

“These your people?” she asked. Reggie nodded. “Then you’re going to need a bigger table.” She motioned for the groupto follow her to the other end of the restaurant, even farther from the other occupied table and she pointed at a large booth. “That should do. Menu’s on the table.” She poured coffee for everyone who wanted it and hustled back to the kitchen.

“I see you brought reinforcements,” Reggie said to Lennox.

“You said it was an emergency. This is the best group of folks I know when it comes to emergencies. What’s up?”

Reggie took a deep breath. It was one thing to think about enlisting her friends’ help, but it was entirely different now that they were sitting in front of her waiting to hear what she needed and why. Whatever she said next, she was breaking her promise to Brooke to keep her secret, but surely Brooke had known she wouldn’t be able to sit by and do nothing. It was a risk she had to take. “Let’s start with a hypothetical. Say a juror is being intimidated to vote a certain way and also influence other jurors to do the same.”

“You should report it,” Lennox said.

“It’s not me.”

“Doesn’t matter. If you know about it, you should report it to the judge.”

“Okay.” Reggie drew out the word. “Now, let’s say that the juror has received a threat against a family member if the juror doesn’t comply.”

“Same,” Lennox said, folding her arms across her chest as if the matter was closed.

“Wait,” Wren said, placing a hand on Lennox’s shoulder. “Take a breath, Crime Crusader. Reggie’s right, the threat changes things. Reggie, tell us more about these threats.”

“Altered voice on the phone, cards with serial killer style notes delivered to the juror’s house or left in the juror’s belongings.”

“That definitely makes it more complicated,” Wren said. “And this juror, they think the threats are real?”

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