Page 24 of Trial Run

Reggie shook her head. “Absolutely. With good reason. The family member who was threatened wound up in a car wreck with a hit-and-run driver last night that didn’t sound much like an accident.”

“Are you okay?” Judge Aguilar asked. “Are you the juror?”

Reggie shook her head. “I swear it’s not me. I’m fine.” She paused. “There’s another thing.” She waited until she had their rapt attention. “They started getting the threats before they showed up for jury duty. Right after they got the summons.”

“So, someone knew they’d been selected to be on the panel,” Nina said. “That narrows it down a bit, but there are still quite a few people who might have access to the list of people who’d received a summons for any given day.”

“True, but how would they have any way of knowing they’d get called to Hunt’s court and actually make the cut?” Wren asked.

“That’s the thing,” Reggie said. “They didn’t. Not at first.” She described how Mr. Rodriguez had collapsed on his way to the jury box, opening the last spot for Brooke, and as she recounted the story, her heart started pumping as her blood pressure started to rise.

“You think someone tried to take out a juror to give them a spot?” Lennox asked. “That’s pretty ballsy and a huge risk. How would they have known she’d be next in line? It’s almost like someone had to be in the room, calling the shots as it went down.”

They all sat in silence for a moment, digesting Lennox’s words. Reggie had been turning the same thought over and over in her head since Brooke had told her everything the night before, but no matter how many times she went over it, she couldn’t come up with how someone had made it happen.

“New question,” Franco said, waving her hand in the air. “Does this juror have any idea why they were singledout, assuming they are the only one being intimidated on this particular jury?”

“They don’t, but I have a theory.” Reggie hesitated for a moment and then decided to go ahead and say what she knew. “Single parent, trying to finish a degree while working a full-time job. More vulnerable than most. When their kid is threatened, they didn’t have anyone close to turn to, so it’s easier to comply.”

“Makes sense,” Judge Aguilar said. “This person is on the same jury as you?”

“Yes.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, that’s kind of why I asked you all here. I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to put them in danger, but I know this has to be reported. Does me telling you count?”

Nina laughed. “Nice try. You’re in the middle of a trial and both sides have a right to know if the other is tampering with the jury. You’re going to have to tell the judge.”

“Wait a minute,” Skye said. “Wouldn’t it be better if you caught whoever this is in the act? What if you let the trial keep going and lay a trap? The trial’s going to end up in a mistrial anyway. What’s a few more days so you have a chance to heap on bigger charges?” She turned to Lennox. “Can’t the DA’s office run an investigation without anyone knowing about it?”

“It’s complicated. Someone could say we did it to tank this particular case. We could report it to law enforcement and let them lay the trap.” She turned to Nina. “Judicial opinion, please?”

“You’re right,” Nina said. “It is complicated. Judge me says you should report it to Judge Hunt right away, but former prosecutor me knows that’s going to result in a mistrial and the offender might never be caught. Lennox, what if you call the local FBI office to see if they can put someone on it—that way it’s as far removed from your office as possible?”

Lennox nodded. “That’s actually not a bad idea.”

“Hold up.” Reggie leaned forward. “I invited you all here for advice not to sit back and watch this turn into a federal agent shit show. Besides, she was specifically told not to contact law enforcement. What happens when whoever’s watching her finds out the freaking FBI is on the scene?” She shook a fist to emphasize her point, but her friends merely stared at her in silence. “What?”

Lennox was the first to speak. “‘Her’?”

Damn. She’d let the pronoun slip. She kept her mouth shut to avoid revealing more.

“Are you sure it’s not you,” Nina asked, her eyes narrowed with skepticism.

“A million percent. Can we focus on the ‘in danger’ part of the equation, please?”

“You like her, don’t you?”

“Knock it off, Lennox.” Reggie said the words with a low growl.

“I get it,” Lennox said as she put her hand on Wren’s. “Now fess up that you like her and we’ll move mountains to keep her safe.”

She hadn’t called the posse here to bail out a girlfriend and this conversation was taking a turn she hadn’t prepared for. She’d come here looking for help for a fellow human being who was in trouble, not for the personal gain that would come from helping someone she was crushing on because she definitely wasn’t crushing on Brooke. Not even.

Well, maybe just a little bit.

It was kind of hard not to.

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