Chapter Twelve
Reggie knew she shouldn’t be surprised to see Harry Benton near the courthouse, but she could hardly believe he’d be caught dead in a parking garage. Men like him had drivers who got them as close to doors as possible, so they didn’t have to mess up their hair or their clothes or mingle with the masses upon whom they’d built their fortunes. But more surprising than where he was, was who he was talking to—Shirley Mitchell—and their conversation didn’t look particularly friendly.
She inched backward with Brooke in her arms, determined to stay out of sight, but desperately wanting to hear what these two Dallas power players were arguing about. She whispered in Brooke’s ear, “Don’t move.”
“I won’t.”
Was she imagining Brooke pressing closer against her? She wasn’t sure, but her body warmed to the touch, nearly threatening to distract her from what was happening a few feet away.
“What are you up to, Harry?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Benton smirked. “Don’t you have a trial to get back to?”
“Don’t you?”
“I’m not worried about my trial. It’s going well. I’ve got a whole fleet of attorneys on my side. Could you only afford the one?”
“Gloria Leland is a bulldog. You should see her go after the state’s witnesses.”
“We’ll see how she does when you’re on trial for jury tampering.”
Shirley’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
He laughed. “Don’t try to play coy with me. I know you better than most. You and I are cut from the same cloth.”
“That’s what you’d have everyone believe, but I never needed to resort to threatening a judge to get my way. And what about your daughter, Harry? You know there’s no statute of limitations for murder, right?”
“Don’t act like you know things you don’t, Shirley. The feds are on to you. You may skate on this trial, but they don’t mess around. You keep your mouth shut and I’ll take care of you. You have my word.” He clasped her on the shoulder and his smile turned feral. “And if you talk? You have my word there will be consequences for someone you love. If you have any doubt, just ask the girl who we picked to be in charge of making sure you don’t go to the pen.”
Shirley merely stared at him with her mouth open, and Reggie didn’t think there was any way she could be faking the shocked expression she wore. She looked down at Brooke and could tell she was thinking the same thing. How did Harry Benton know more about the threat on Brooke than the woman who stood the most to benefit?
“What have you done?” Shirley hissed the accusation.
“What I do best. Fix things. For you, for me. For all the people who depend on us to keep our business growing. I’m not going down, and if you stay in line, you won’t either. Keep your mouth shut and let me handle the rest. If you decide to talk to the feds, all bets are off. Understood?”
Shirley didn’t respond out loud, but Reggie thought she detected her head nodding in response to Benton’s question. Before she could fully process what she’d just seen, Benton headed to the elevators and a few seconds later, Shirley took the catwalk back to the courthouse. When Brooke turned in her arms, Reggie snapped back into the moment.
“What the hell was that?” Brooke asked, her eyes brimming with indignation.
“Good question. Sounds like you’re not the only one being threatened.” Reggie looked around. More people were starting to enter the garage, probably because other courts were just now taking their lunch break. “We should get out of here.”
Brooke eased out of her arms and backed a step away. Reggie stared into her eyes for a moment, wondering if she shared the empty feeling at the break of their embrace. Or was it just her, imagining an intimacy that was only present due to circumstance?
She shrugged the thought away. Brooke had made it clear she wasn’t interested in her and she wasn’t going to push the point. All that mattered right now was keeping Brooke safe, and to do that, she needed to find Sarah and Lennox to let them know about the exchange they’d just witnessed. “You go on. I’ll find Lennox and tell her about this.”
“I should come with you.”
She wanted nothing more, but she needed a moment alone. “Nah, Leroy will lose it if we’re both late. You go and I’ll be there in a few.”
Brooke looked like she wanted to say more, but she finally turned and headed to the catwalk. She was several steps away when she turned back. “Thank you. For everything.”
Reggie didn’t have a chance to respond before she walked away. Brooke’s words were grateful and kind, but they fell like stones weighing down any feeling between them. Things were about to blow up in the courtroom and when it did, the trial would be over and so would the only thing that bound them together. All the things Reggie had wanted before she’d received the jury summons—peace in her life, freedom from this place, time to study—all faded in the background as she realized she’d never felt more alive than when she was helping, even on the fringe, root out an injustice by the side of a woman who made her feel things she’d relegated to the background of her life. The idea that tomorrow this might all be over, while a good thing for Brooke, left her feeling hollow and lonely.
She took a deep breath. Her feelings didn’t matter right now. What mattered was making sure Benton went down and she needed to make sure that happened. She walked back to the courthouse, but instead of going to Judge Hunt’s court, she went straight to Lennox’s office. The door was open and she could see Sarah sitting across from her desk. Lennox waved her in, and she shut the door behind her.
“We need to talk.”
* * *
Brooke was still trying to process everything that had just happened, but she was distracted by the fact Reggie still wasn’t back yet and Leroy looked like he was about to combust.
“She didn’t say where she was going?”
“No.” It was only a half lie since Reggie hadn’t been specific about the where, only that she planned to talk to Lennox and she truthfully didn’t know where Lennox’s office was.
“Okay, I’ll let the judge know, but he’s not going to be happy.”
Brooke wanted to say she wasn’t happy either, but she merely nodded and walked to the other side of the room to stay out of the line of fire. She was pouring a cup of coffee she had no plans to drink when Mark appeared at her side.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Nothing.” She didn’t want to have this conversation and hoped he’d take the hint and walk away. No such luck.
“I mean she used to work here. You’d think she’d know the rules.”
She whirled on him, ready to deliver a scathing speech about how he didn’t know anything about Reggie and should keep his mouth shut, but she bit back the words when she realized she didn’t really know anything about Reggie either.
Sure you do.
Her brain buzzed through a quick calculation of what she did know. Reggie was the kind of person who thought about other people’s safety before her own. Who dropped what she was doing to help others out. Who took an interest in a stranger who was in distress. She was funny and kind. She knew plenty about Reggie, and Mark’s implication grated on her nerves. “She had an important errand. I’m sure the judge will understand.”
His eyes narrowed and for the first time Brooke wondered if his inquisitiveness was more than a byproduct of awkward social skills. Was he someone she should be cautious about? Could he be the someone that the ominous voice on the phone said had eyes on her?
She shook the thought away. Her fears were getting totally out of hand. Mark seemed harmless and her imagination caused her to spiral. “I’m sure if she’s not here, she has a good reason.”
At that moment, Reggie burst through the door to the jury room. She met Brooke’s eyes, but quickly glanced away, walking over to the far side of the room and pouring herself a cup of coffee. Brooke watched her every move, willing her to look back again, come across the room, and pick up where they’d left off before she’d let things get weird between them. She’d explain to Reggie that it had been so long since she’d dated, she’d forgotten how to even deal with the ask, but maybe when this trial was over, they could give it a go.
Right. A hot commodity like Reggie wasn’t going to settle for snippets of time between her job, her studies, and a twelve-going-on-twenty-five-year-old son that consumed the balance of her free time. When thirty more minutes passed without Reggie even giving her a glance, her assessment was confirmed, and she resolved it was for the best.
“When do you think they’re going to start back up?” Mark asked.
Brooke stared at him for a moment, having almost forgotten he was standing next to her, and then glanced up at the clock on the wall. The lunch break had ended over thirty minutes ago, and while it wasn’t unusual for their breaks to last longer than the time the judge had ordered, Leroy had made it clear when he was asking about Reggie that the judge was raring to get started. “Good question.”
A few minutes later, Leroy appeared in the doorway, his face red and flustered. “Judge is adjourning for the day. Plan to be back at nine a.m. tomorrow.”
He remained in the doorway as the jurors filed out of the room. Brooke noticed Reggie didn’t line up with the others, so she hung back, hoping to get a moment alone with her before they went their separate ways, but when the line began to dwindle and Reggie still hadn’t moved, she started to the door only to have Leroy motion for her to stay put.
“The judge wants to see you both in chambers.”
His words were gruff, but she couldn’t tell if he was perturbed with them or the situation overall. Either way, it didn’t look like she was going to get that alone time with Reggie anytime soon. She followed Leroy and Reggie followed her down the hallway behind the courtroom to an office with Judge Hunt’s nameplate on the door. Leroy rapped on the door and announced them and then headed off in the opposite direction.
Judge Hunt rose from behind his desk and motioned for them to have a seat. “Sorry for the drama, but we need to talk to the two of you.”
Brooke looked around for the “we,” but didn’t see anyone else in the room. As if he could read her mind, Judge Hunt pointed to the door where Leroy had returned escorting the prosecutor and defense attorney into the room, along with Agent Flores. Brooke tried to catch Reggie’s eyes, but she was focused on the judge.
Once everyone was settled, Judge Hunt shook his head. “It seems we have a situation the likes of which I’ve never encountered before. Agent Flores, would you like to bring us up to speed?”
Sarah scooted to the edge of her seat. “Yes, Judge. We received a report from Ms. Knoll this afternoon that she overheard Harry Benton engaged in a heated conversation with Ms. Mitchell. Apparently, Ms. Dawson also heard this conversation, during which Mr. Benton implied that he was the one who’d orchestrated the attempted jury tampering previously reported by Ms. Dawson.”
She turned and gestured to Gloria Leland. “Benton threatened Ms. Mitchell and her ‘loved ones’ with harm if she cooperated with law enforcement regarding the allegation of jury tampering or anything having to do with their shared business arrangements which may or may not be involved in the current charges against Ms. Mitchell.”
Gloria rose from her chair. “My client has no reason to cooperate with the government because she not only didn’t do anything wrong, but she doesn’t know anything about these accusations.”
“That’s a lie.”
Brooke immediately covered her mouth with her hand. She hadn’t planned to say the words out loud, but it was too late to take them back now. She looked over at Reggie who gave her a hint of a smile which she took as encouragement to press on. “Harry Benton was in the parking garage this afternoon standing as close to Shirley Mitchell as I am to you now and he said ‘I’m not going down, and if you stay in line, you won’t either. Keep your mouth shut and let me handle the rest.’”
“You remember his exact words?” Gloria asked, her tone sarcastic.
“You would too if you’d received similar threats,” Brooke retorted.
“Your Honor, if Harry Benton threatened my client and that’s a big if, that doesn’t make her culpable of any wrongdoing. But I will acknowledge that it seems like someone is certainly out to get Ms. Mitchell, and they will do anything, including trying to set her up for a crime she didn’t commit, to take her down. I’d like to renew my motion for a mistrial.”
Judge Hunt sighed and looked over at the prosecutor. “Mr. Rigley, do you have a response?”
“I don’t know, Judge. It’s clear the jury has been tampered with, but if you grant a mistrial, then the person who would’ve benefitted from the tampering is getting a pass.”
“If your evidence is so great, you can simply retry the case,” Leland shot back.
“You and I both know that retrials come with all sorts of issues—witness memory fades, witnesses disappear, evidence gets lost.” Rigley shook his head. “I’m inclined to keep going.”
“Not with a juror in the box who is predisposed to believe my client is guilty,” Leland said.
“Didn’t sound like she thought your client was guilty,” Rigley retorted. “Sounded like she thought your client is a coward.”
Hunt slammed his hand on the desk. “That’s enough, both of you. Save your theatrics for the courtroom. Leroy, please escort Ms. Knoll and Ms. Dawson back to the jury room for now.”
Brooke rose reluctantly from her seat. She wanted to know what was going to happen and she wanted to know now, but it wasn’t like she could defy the judge and stick around. Nobody seemed to care that she was more exposed than ever now that Mitchell’s attorney knew she’d heard Mitchell being threatened, not even Reggie. She’d wanted time alone with her, but now she wasn’t so sure that was the best thing for either of them since Reggie seemed to care more about the outcome of this case than how it affected her.