Chapter Fifteen
Reggie walked out of the jury room, thankful they’d adjourned early for the day and determined to get as far away from the other jurors as possible. She’d managed to avoid Brooke all day, which was hard to do in the small jury room with only eleven other people—a mission made easier by Brooke’s apparent desire to steer clear of her as well. What she really wanted was for this trial to be over, but Judge Hunt had made his decision—they were going to press on as if nothing had happened.
Mark Landon had sidled up to her at one point to ask if everything was okay between her and Brooke, and she barely resisted the desire to punch him in the face. Apparently, she’d used up all of her cool last night at Brooke’s place when she’d pretended she didn’t care about the out-of-the-blue brush-off right on the heels of the amazing kiss they’d shared.
She tried to tell herself she shouldn’t care. A week ago, she’d been single and happy about it, content to focus on her new career and determined not to let anything get in the way of her new path. But meeting Brooke had changed all that, and now she could hardly focus on anything else. She’d wound up ditching her damn flash cards for a couple of beers after she’d left Brooke’s place, which only made things worse.
She walked down the hall to the courtroom where Harry Benton’s trial was still in full swing, but she was only halfway there when Skye Keaton called out to her.
“Hey,” Skye said. “Lennox is looking for you.”
“It’s not like I’m hard to find. I’m stuck on a jury, pretending that this process means something.”
Skye frowned. “Not following.”
Reggie glanced around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. “I’m sure you heard about the break-in at Shirley Mitchell’s house last night.”
“I did. She lives down the street from us.”
Reggie narrowed her eyes. “You must do really well in the private eye game.”
Skye laughed. “I do okay, but my wife’s the one who makes the big bucks. We live in Highland Park because that’s where most of her real estate clients are, not because I’m footing the bill.”
“Well, we’re in trial acting like nothing’s wrong, but meanwhile, I’m certain Harry Benton has threatened Mitchell and that’s what the break-in was about,” Reggie said. “I don’t get it. Why this trial is still happening since any good attorney will be able to figure out how to get it tossed on appeal.”
Skye rolled her eyes. “Come with me.”
Reggie followed her, silently grousing as they rode the elevator to the tenth floor. She was being shut out on so many levels, first with Brooke and now with her pals at the courthouse. Whatever this was about, it better involve some answers.
When they turned left out of the elevators toward the public defender’s office, she hung back for a moment. “What’s up?”
“Your presence has been requested. I hope you like coffee.” Skye nodded to the receptionist and led the way behind the counter to the suite of offices used by the PD. She stopped a few feet in and rapped on one of the doors. Two quick knocks followed by two slower ones.
Reggie stepped back. “Seriously, Skye. What’s with the spy knock?”
“Trust me.”
The door opened and Lennox’s girlfriend, Wren, was standing on the other side. She motioned for them to join her inside where Lennox and Sarah were seated around her desk. “I’m pretty sure we decided on three quick knocks followed by two slow ones,” she said to Skye.
“Then why did you open the door?” Skye asked.
“Because I’m also pretty sure no one in this building is trying to decode your secret knock to get into my office.”
“They might if they knew what you were brewing in here.”
Reggie cleared her throat. “Would someone mind telling me what the hell is going on?”
Wren pointed at an empty chair. “Have a seat. Do you take cream and sugar with your coffee?”
She fought the urge to scream. Coffee service wasn’t even close to the first thing on her mind right now, but Wren was staring at her intently, waiting for her response, so she decided to play along for now. “Cream, no sugar.”
“Good choice.” Wren reached for a mug on the shelf behind her desk and poured from a French press. She added a splash of creamer and stirred it in with an expensive-looking silver spoon. When Reggie took the mug from her outstretched hand, Wren motioned for her to try it, so she dutifully complied. The brew was smooth and rich, and for a brief moment, she focused solely on the moment.
“It’s good, right?” Skye said.
“It’s probably the best coffee I’ve ever had,” Reggie said.
“I heard a ‘but’ on the end of that compliment,” Wren said.
Reggie sighed. “Yep. How about this— but as much as I’m enjoying this coffee, I’m still wondering what I’m doing here.”
“Plotting, of course.” Wren motioned to the rest of the group. “We do our best plotting right here and we’re inviting you to be a part of it. It has to be secret because you’re on a jury right now and Lennox and Sarah shouldn’t be telling you what they’re about to tell you.”
Reggie wanted to know how a PI, a PD, an ADA, and an FBI agent had all wound up plotting together, but more than that, she wanted to know what they had to tell her, so she simply nodded.
Sarah shoved an envelope across the desk at her. “Take a look at this.”
Reggie folded back the flap and slid the note out of the envelope and instantly recoiled. The mismatched tape and glue letters formed an ominous message: Cooperate and die. The message was simple, to the point, and delivered in the form of haphazardly placed letters cut from a magazine. She dropped the note on the table. “Where did you get this?”
“It turned up at Shirley Mitchell’s house after the intruder was there last night.”
Reggie thought back to the conversation she’d witnessed in the parking garage between Shirley and Harry Benton. “She must’ve been pretty spooked to share it with you.”
“She didn’t and I’m not sure she ever would’ve, but one of her kids found the note and gave it to the nanny,” Sarah said. “Nanny called the cops who should’ve found the note when they were there to investigate the break-in.”
Reggie stared at the note a moment longer. “It sure looks like the ones Brooke’s received.”
“Exactly.”
“You think Harry Benton is leaving threatening notes around town?”
“I think he’s having it done.”
It tracked. And she could understand why Benton might be sending notes threatening to harm Shirley Mitchell, but why would he also be sending notes to a juror on Mitchell’s trial that were designed to help her? Unless…
“He’s desperate for her to be found not guilty.” Her thoughts churned faster now. “He’s scared if she’s found guilty or thinks the trial is going south, she might offer up some of the inside information she has on him for a plea or at sentencing in a last-ditch effort to avoid prison time. So, he set up this plan—tamper with the jury to change the outcome.”
“Which might have worked had you not told us about what happened to Brooke’s son,” Lennox chimed in. “Once Judge Hunt knew about the threats against Brooke, they were no longer effective, so Benton stopped threatening Brooke and risked going straight to the source.”
“Okay, but how did Benton find out the judge knew?” Reggie asked. “I thought Judge Hunt had a meeting in chambers with just the attorneys and Sarah.”
“Any one of them could’ve talked.”
“Johnny Rigley is one of my best prosecutors,” growled Lennox. “He didn’t talk.”
“Can’t say the same about Gloria Leland though, can you?” Wren asked.
“True.”
Reggie rapped on the table to get everyone’s attention. “Let me get this straight. What you’re saying is that when Benton figured out threatening Brooke wasn’t going to work anymore, he decided to frame Mitchell for jury tampering which isn’t that hard considering he’s the one who has all the evidence since he arranged the whole scheme.”
“Exactly,” Lennox said.
“I guess that would make it less likely anyone would believe anything she had to say if she then tried to flip on Benton.” Reggie started to wrap her mind around the idea. “She’d only look like she was desperate to avoid prison time.” She looked around the room. “So, what do we do know?”
“I think it’s time we bring Mitchell back in,” Sarah said. “Now that her own family has been targeted with threats, she might be more willing to talk.”
Reggie flashed back to the conversation between Benton and Mitchell in the parking garage. “I don’t know if that will be enough. Based on what I saw, those two have a really disturbing dynamic. They might take each other down, but I doubt either one of them would want to involve law enforcement to do it.” An idea started to churn in the back of her mind, but it was too crazy to say out loud.
“What are you thinking?” Lennox asked. She rolled her hand in the air. “Out with it.”
Reggie faced the intense gaze of the others in the room. Yeah, her idea might be crazy, but she was in a safe space here. “Mitchell knows I overheard her conversation with Benton, but what if she thought I knew even more?”
Sarah looked skeptical. “Like what?”
“Like what if there was another note—just like the others, and another juror being coerced to vote not guilty? At some point, when the evidence starts to pile up, it becomes undeniable. Maybe then she can be convinced there’s no way out for her other than to give up whatever she’s got on Harry Benton.”
“And this other juror is you, right?”
“Yes, but let’s do things differently this time. Instead of her attorney getting hauled into chambers and her getting threatened with legal action, what if I try and coerce her into telling me about Benton’s involvement in the shooting in exchange for my silence?”
“You said yourself, they have a strange dynamic,” Lennox said. “She’s not going to rat Benton out to you.”
“I said it was strange, but it’s not perfect. She would love nothing more than to put Benton away, but she’s not going to come clean with you people—why would she trust the DA’s office when you indicted her?
“And you, Sarah, she’s never going to implicate herself in a conspiracy when everyone knows all the bad actors are going to do time, it’s just a matter of how much. But I can appeal to her not only as someone who can shore up the tampering case, but also a victim of Benton’s atrocities.” She rubbed her injured arm to emphasize the point.
Skye was the first to speak. “She has a point.”
“And if Mitchell goes running to Benton and asks for his help to get rid of the problem?” Sarah shook her head. “It’s dangerous. We need a more controlled plan.”
“Sarah, you’re great,” Lennox said, “But you’ve got to lose the fed mentality. Sometimes you have to go rogue to get stuff done.” She turned to Reggie. “If you get caught talking to Mitchell, the plan falls apart. Are you sure you’re up for this?”
Reggie paused for only a second, knowing if she took too long to respond, her answer might change. But in that flicker of time, she thought of Brooke and Ben, and she knew she had to do something to end this once and for all. “A hundred percent.”