Page 27 of Trial Run

“There’s a lot to sift through here.”

“Indeed,” Leland said. “But I made sure to organize the files you provided to the ADA.” She pointed at a tab. “The list of cases you worked with Ms. Mitchell is right there. Please read it to the jury.”

The next few moments were painful as Ross reluctantly recounted deal after deal he’d worked with Shirley Mitchell during the last decade, and Brooke had to admit she admired Leland’s technique. If Ross had simply admitted the amount up front, it wouldn’t have had the same impact as his painfulrecitation. As he droned on, Brooke focused her attention on Shirley Mitchell and wondered how deeply Shirley was involved in the threats she’d received. Voice-changing device or not, she didn’t think this powerful, confident woman had called her on the phone or cut out letters in a magazine to frame a threatening missive, but she had to be aware someone was working to sway the jury on her behalf, right? Was that why she looked so cool, so calm—because she knew her fate and it was freedom?

Ross finally stopped reading and Brooke refocused her attention to the front of the room where Leland was practically salivating.

“I counted twenty-four deals,” Leland said. “Does that sound about right to you?”

“I guess so.” Ross spoke with quiet defeat. Brooke looked over at the prosecutors who looked like they were trying too hard to hide their disappointment, and a nagging question surfaced.

If things were going so well for the defense, then why was she being threatened into swaying the jury to find Shirley Mitchell not guilty?

Chapter Ten

Reggie saw Brooke walking toward her and started to duck out of the jury room, but Brooke spotted her before she could make her escape.

“Hey,” Brooke said.

“Hey.” Reggie stuck her hands in her pockets and glanced toward the door while Brooke followed her gaze. Lennox had set up a meeting with the FBI agent she knew, and she only had a few minutes to make it downtown. She should’ve prepared for this moment. After all, she’d driven Brooke to the courthouse that morning, it was only natural for Brooke to assume she’d drive her home, but it was too soon to loop Brooke into her plan.

“I called for an Uber.”

“Oh.” Brooke’s words should’ve released her guilt, but instead she felt worse. Brooke hadn’t assumed they’d ride home together, maybe didn’t even want to spend more time with her. She’d been a jerk to assume she would.

“You seemed distracted today,” Brooke said. “I figured you needed to deal with some stuff on your own and I can take care of myself.”

“Look, I want to talk more about what you told me this morning.” Reggie looked at the door again. “But I need to take care of something first. Can I call you later?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Brooke backed away and almost struck the wall behind her before she veered toward the door. “Thanks for the ride this morning and for being there for me last night, but I’m good now.”

Reggie watched her walk away, anxious to correct the misunderstanding, but knowing it was even more important to keep Brooke safe while she tried to subvert the threat she was under.

Twenty minutes later, she arrived at the FBI office on the third floor of the federal building downtown and checked in with the receptionist. Lennox showed up a minute later.

“Tell me you did what you promised,” Reggie said before Lennox even crossed the threshold of the reception area.

“I said I would and I did.” Lennox signed the visitor log and sat down next to her. “I had to call in a few favors, but she’ll have a cop assigned to keep an eye on her place at night. It was the best I could do.”

“And they’ll be discreet?”

“Yes.” Lennox cocked her head. “Are you sure you didn’t know this woman before you wound up on a jury together?”

Reggie shook her head. She’d known Lennox a long time—they’d even briefly dated at one point—and she knew she could trust her discretion, but she didn’t have a good answer for what Lennox really wanted to know which was why she was so invested in Brooke’s fate. It definitely went beyond a desire to see justice be done, but she wasn’t ready to try other reasons out loud.

“Look,” Lennox said. “I get it. We’ve been through a lot the last few months. It would be nice to see someone have to pay for what they’ve done.”

“Yes, it would.” Reggie fished for another subject. “Any word on your brother’s case?”

“There’s a hearing scheduled in a few weeks, but I don’t know that it’ll go anywhere.” Lennox sighed. “I know in my gutthat Harry Benton had something to do with Daniel being set up, but I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to prove it. If only Gloria hadn’t talked Daniel into taking a plea, we’d be in a much better position to overturn the plea and get him a trial.” She paused. “Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t be bad-mouthing my ex when you’re a juror on a case she’s defending.”

“I think we’ve crossed so many lines already, that one barely matters.”

Before Lennox could respond, a dark-haired woman poked her head through the door next to the reception desk. “Lennox, you ready?”

“You bet.” Lennox stood and motioned to Reggie. “This is Reggie Knoll. Reggie, meet Special Agent Sarah Flores.”

They followed Sarah back through the offices to a small room in the corner and sat down around a tiny desk. “I thought the ADA’s offices were small,” Reggie said. “I would expect you to have better digs.”

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