Chapter 29
The short break is over at eleven, and I swear I’m so nervous for Reese that I feel like I’m the one about to deliver a closing. I have to force myself to sit, and when Reese finds his way to his table and his eyes meet mine, that connection between us is more powerful than ever. He lets me see the nerves that no one else in this room can see, and I watch them transform into hard determination. Somehow, in that brief moment, a million words pass between us without one spoken.
The court is called to order, and Dan takes center stage. His closing is a short twenty minutes, but despite this conciseness, at its conclusion, I can say that it is far better than I expected. He uses words like “dead baby” and “young woman kept from motherhood.” He talks about the brutal hit to her head as she was pushed to her death. And the real kicker that he plays on over and over: A rich, powerful man who didn’t want his business and his life destroyed by a pregnant mistress. A rich, powerful man that didn’t know the baby wasn’t his.
I’m feeling pretty worried until Reese stands up. He speaks for forty minutes exactly in what is a powerful, intelligent delivery of the critical points. He recaps the key points about no evidence and details the only evidence in the crime: Fingerprints on a door that could have been left at any time.
“If I,” Reese says, “visited the victim two days before her death, should it be assumed I killed her? Is that the way you would want our justice system to work if you or your loved one was innocent and sitting on the stand? Let’s talk about reasonable doubt. Did the prosecutor prove to you that my client put his fingerprint on that door the day the victim died? If not, if you aren’t sure he was there that day, that’s reasonable doubt. If you have reasonable doubt, you must acquit.”
He ends his statement with a list of suspects. “If you have any inclination to believe one of these people I’ve presented as suspects killed the victims, then you also have reasonable doubt about my client. Reasonable doubt equals acquittal. Guilty until proven innocent is another country. This is America. Here we are innocent until proven guilty.”
The jury is attuned to him, listening, nodding, scribbling notes. I didn’t see them doing that with Dan. By twelve, all eyes are on the judge. “The jury foreman has spoken on behalf of the jury and asked that they begin deliberations this afternoon rather than Monday morning, in hopes they can end their sequestration. We will reconvene at four thirty, at which time we will either read a verdict or adjourn for Monday morning.” He bangs the gavel.
When I would exit the courtroom with the rest of the crowd, a bailiff catches me. “This way, miss.” I follow him to a private hallway, and it’s not long before I’m in a private office with Reese, who immediately kisses me.
“Well?” he asks.
“It was as brilliant as I knew it would be.”
His hands settle on his waist under his jacket. “Did you watch the jury?”
“You had them.”
“Dan?”
“Not like you. And you ended the trial. You have this. What do Elsa and Richard think?”
“I don’t debrief with my team. I don’t want opinions when I can’t change history.”
But he asked for mine. “Where is Nelson Ward?”
“With my team. He forbade me from entering. He has his panties in a wad over Kelli.”
“After all you’ve done for him, he forbade your entry?”
“Fuck him. I defended the hell out of his ass.” He puffs out a breath. “Let me go check with my team and let’s get some air. I need air.”
Fifteen minutes later, we are at a coffee shop around the corner with an outdoor area and heaters, talking nonstop about everything but the trial while Reese’s phone blows up with text messages and calls, most of which he ignores. “Anything on the publishing deal?”
“No, but when a board has to approve money, it takes time.”
He glances at his watch. “It’s been almost an hour.”
“Do you think they will even call us back until four thirty?”
“I was hoping they’d walk into a room, cast a vote, and be done.”
“One and done,” I tease.
“That’s right, sweetheart. This time, I wanted a one and done.”
“What’s next after this trial?”
“I actually have a case that I have a junior partner working on, but it’s my client and someone I went to school with.”
“So it’s personal.”
“Not personal but he’s a casual friend and like I said a good guy in a bad situation that hit him right as I went to trial. I actually need to go to the office tomorrow and catch up on the case, so I can hit the ground running Monday.”
“Tomorrow? You are a beast, aren’t you?”
He laughs and nuzzles my neck. “You ain’t seen nothing yet, sweetheart. After I have that meetup with him, though, I’m decompressing. No anything.”
I have this sudden realization that after this trial, I don’t know what comes next for him or me. Or us. I’m only staying with him until the trial is over, and it’s basically over. His phone rings and he glances at the number, a strange look on his face. “I need to take this,” he says. “I’ll be right back.”
He stands up and leaves me here alone to take the call in private.
I’m dumbfounded. I don’t even know what to think. He’s never acted like something was too private for me to be privy to it. I feel odd. I feel out of place. I feel like I have never felt with Reese. Maybe the ride is over. Maybe I just got too serious. He’s gone for almost fifteen minutes. I watch the news on a television nearby after ruling out working. I can’t write. I’m too off right now.
Suddenly, Reese is rushing back. “The jury is back.”
“Oh God,” I say. “That was fast.”
“The Friday night cure for a long deliberation,” he says. “Let’s go see if we’re drinking to celebrate or wallowing.”
I grab my coat and he helps me slip it on, and it’s not long before we’re running toward the courthouse. Fifteen minutes later, I’m holding my breath as the judge reads the jury’s ruling. “We the jury find the defendant not guilty on the charge of first-degree murder.”
Reese, his team, and Nelson Ward all slump forward in relief.
The formality of the jurors verbally confirming their vote begins, and then I’m led to the back room again with Reese, who grabs me, picks me up, and spins me around. I’m laughing with his team in the hallway when Nelson comes up to Reese and holds out his hand. “Thank you. Thank you.”
Reese shakes his hand. “Do what’s right now. Justice is in your hands.”
“I’m going to,” he assures Reese. “But I need an attorney to protect me while I do.”
“You’re untouchable now,” Reese says. “But if you want to hand over a killer, I’ll proudly represent you through that process. Where is she now?”
“I don’t know, and I have concerns she might flee.”
Reese grabs his phone and dials. “Royce. Yes. Thanks. Make sure Kelli doesn’t get out of your sight.” He gives Nelson a pointed look and adds, “Nelson Ward needs a detective we can trust to talk to about Kelli. Can you make that happen? Right. Got it.” He ends the call. “Royce Walker will be here with law enforcement when the press conference ends. Let’s go do this.”
His team heads for the door, and he stops beside me. “I’m going to have to deal with the police and Kelli.”
“I know.”
He pulls me close. “Meet me at my place. Okay?”
“Yes. Okay.”
He kisses me and presses his cheek to mine to whisper, “I can’t wait to get you alone again.” And with that he walks away.
I don’t. I stand there feeling awkward, like the kind of awkward I never felt after the first night, the one and done that is yet to be one and done. I don’t like how this feels.