Page 44 of Trial Run

“Because we’re both in the same boat—being threatened by a man with no scruples or sense of loyalty. The moment he thinks you’re not on his side, he’s going to take you down. But if you tell me what you know, I can do your dirty work for you.He never has to know you were involved.” She paused. “Let me have this justice. He practically ruined my life.”

Mitchell stared at her for a moment, and Reggie was just starting to think she’d gotten through to her when Mitchell said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about and I need you to get out of my car.” She pointed at the door. “Right now.”

Reggie shook her head but did as she was told and climbed out of the car. Elgon, who was standing sentry a few feet away passed her on his way back to the car. “Have fun,” Reggie said as he walked by.

She watched as the car drove away and then she pulled out her phone and ordered a ride. While she waited, she called Lennox who answered on the first ring.

“How did it go?”

“About how we expected.”

“Did you get everything done?”

“I did.”

“Now we wait,” Lennox said. “Where are you?”

“Trinity River Park. I called for an Uber. Be back in a few.”

Reggie disconnected the call and spent the time waiting, wondering what Brooke was doing right now. Was she having lunch with Lisa and Jenny or was she taking time on the break to study? When this was all over, would she reconsider her desire not to get involved with her or would they never see each again?

She shook her head. Whatever Brooke decided, she had no control over it. All she could do was make sure Brooke was safe from the likes of Harry Benton and that Benton went away for a long time for the things he’d done.

Chapter Seventeen

“They are going to wonder where we are,” Brooke said, trying to keep her voice calm. She was groggy from whatever Mark had used to drug her, which helped her keep her composure, but it also made it hard for her to think her way out of her predicament.

“Only you. I’ll be back at the courthouse in a flash,” Mark said as he fastened her hands together with zip ties. He stepped back to examine his work while she tried without success to see something, anything, but the blindfold covering her eyes was firmly fixed in place. She smelled something vaguely familiar, lavender maybe, but other than that she didn’t have a clue as to her location.

“What’s your plan?” she asked, half hoping he was egotistical enough to brag about what he was up to. Her bet paid off.

“You didn’t get the hints I gave you about what to do on the jury, so I decided a little mistrial is in order.” He paused for a moment and then the singsong voice was back. “It was so odd. Juror number twelve went to lunch and never came back. I’ve never heard of anything like it.”

She grew cold at his laugh and quietly wrestled against her bonds while she struggled to come up with something to say to get out of this situation. “Wait, there’s an alternate. If I don’t show up, they’ll just substitute him in for me. The trial will go on and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

He laughed again. “Nope. Mr. Alternate has dropped out. Word is he met the same fate as dear old Mr. Rodriguez.”

Brooke swallowed a gasp as she remembered Rodriguez, the juror whose dramatic collapse in the courtroom had sealed her fate as one of the twelve. Whoever was behind the attempt to rig this trial had enormous reach. Much bigger than she or even Reggie had anticipated.

Thinking of Reggie caused her to wonder what she was doing right now. Was she at the courthouse, finishing up a sandwich at the cafeteria in the basement or was she with her friends who worked there, sharing a meal, maybe even laughing about the woman who couldn’t even commit to a simple date?

No, Reggie wasn’t the kind of person to kiss and tell or make fun. Reggie was kind and loyal. She’d pushed Reggie away for no good reason. If she got out of her current situation alive, she vowed to make it right, which made her even more determined to escape whatever this was. “Are you seriously going to keep me here until the trial is over?”

His laugh sounded patronizing this time and before he could answer, her mind filled in the blanks. She knew who’d abducted her and knew his motive. He wasn’t just going to keep her here until the trial was over—he couldn’t risk leaving her alive.

But if that was the case, why didn’t he simply kill her now and get it over with? Maybe, there was someone else charged with doing the real dirty work and Mark was merely a cog in the machine of Benton’s evil enterprise.

As if in answer to her question, Mark gagged her. “I have to go since two missing jurors would be super suspicious. Don’t worry, someone will be by to look in on you soon. It was nice knowing you, Brooke.”

She heard his footsteps and the sound of the door closing. She counted to thirty before struggling against her bonds, full force, but she succeeded in doing nothing more than cutting herwrists against the hard plastic of the zip ties. She screamed, but only muffled sounds emerged, and it was unlikely any neighbors were home in the middle of the day to hear her distress. After a few minutes of sustained effort, she took a deep breath and considered her plight. She was stuck here until help came or she came up with a solid idea for escape, and all she could hope was that Ben was okay, and that when she didn’t turn up at the courthouse, someone, hopefully Reggie, would realize that she wasn’t flaking out, but was in real danger. After what seemed like forever, despair settled in with the lingering effects of whatever drug Mark had used, and against her will, her eyes fluttered closed and she surrendered to a dream of Reggie bursting through the door to save the day.

* * *

Reggie pushed through the door and walked down the hall behind the courtroom, ignoring the instructions about staying in the jury room. Brooke wasn’t back from lunch and no one professed to have seen her during the break. Mark hadn’t shown back up either and she couldn’t help but wonder if Brooke was with him.

“Hey, Reggie,” Leroy said as he walked toward her on the opposite side of the hallway. “You’re not supposed to be out here.”

“We’re also supposed to start back up at one o’clock and it’s almost two. What’s going on?”

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