Chapter Sixteen
Brooke tried her best to appear casual as she walked up and down the hall outside of Judge Hunt’s courtroom, but she could tell by some of the looks she was drawing that she looked more lost than nonchalant.
Accurate. She was lost and she’d been that way since last night when Reggie had delivered the most incredible kiss she’d ever had in her life. Strike that. She’d been anything but lost in the throes of the kiss, but afterward when Reggie left her house, she’d never felt more alone, and the feeling persisted still.
Reggie had barely looked at her all morning, exchanging only a quick hello before burying her head in a book, studying no doubt, which was another painful reminder of last night’s abrupt ending. Not for the first time, Brooke wondered what was wrong with her that she couldn’t let someone like Reggie get close. Ben liked her and, based on what she’d seen, so did everyone here at the courthouse. Reggie had done nothing but be kind and helpful to her and all she’d done was push her away.
“Where’s your friend?”
Brooke turned to see Mark standing directly behind her, a little closer than she preferred, but she wrote it off to his social awkwardness. “Hi, Mark. Are you as tired as I am of sitting?” She hoped he wouldn’t notice she hadn’t answered his question.
“I saw her earlier, but then she disappeared.”
Brooke sighed. “I’m sure she had some things to do on the break.”
“Wanna get some lunch?”
She hadn’t planned to, partly because she had no appetite despite skipping dinner the night before, and partly because she’d hoped to run into Reggie if she continued to pace the hallway. Both reasons were dumb. She would never make it through the afternoon if she didn’t eat, and wherever Reggie was, she wasn’t interested in joining her. Mark wasn’t the company she wanted, but listening to him jabber was better than playing back all the stewing thoughts in her head. “Sure.”
A few minutes later, they were in Mark’s car headed down Riverside Drive. While Mark focused on the road, Brooke looked around the car and rubbed her hand on the supple leather interior of the BMW. “Nice car,” she said.
He glanced over and smiled like he was proud of himself, but all he said was “thanks.”
Brooke fished around for something to talk about, but she wasn’t interested in small talk, so when Mark brought up the trial, she didn’t try to steer him away from the subject.
“Do you think Shirley’s going to take the stand?”
She hesitated, leery about whether this was some kind of ethics test, but eventually she gave in to the desire to break down their experience. “Good question. What do you think?”
“I kind of think she will. She’s a tough person, but she’s not going to like the fact all these people are trying to make her out to be some kind of weakling who has to pay people off to get her way.”
Brooke replayed his words in her head, trying to figure out what he’d said that bothered her, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. “I know we’re not supposed to talk about the case, but I’m finding it fascinating how many contractors think they have to pay off city officials to get anything done. I’m not sure I’d last long in their line of business.”
“It’s the way deals are done,” he said as if it was nothing. “Might not be how I prefer it, but if everyone’s on board, what’s the harm?” He pulled into the parking lot in front of a row of food trucks and stopped the car.
She stared at him and he stared back. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
“You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“It’s no different than consensual sex.”
“Okay, now you’ve lost me.”
“Two people doing whatever they want to be happy—might involve some play that I wouldn’t find appealing but doesn’t matter if it’s not me doing the deed.”
And he’d suddenly made the whole thing sound even more sordid. “Yeah, not making the connection there. What two people choose to do in the privacy of their home is a lot different than conspiring to break the law.”
“I guess so.” He pointed to the food truck. “You hungry?”
She wasn’t really, and hadn’t been since last night, but it seemed weird to say so now that they were here. “I could eat something.”
They ordered sliders and Mark insisted on paying despite her initial resistance. Truthfully, she was grateful not to have to shell out for lunch, considering she was feeling the pain of not working this week. She’d hoped after the break-in at Shirley Mitchell’s house last night that the trial might get delayed or canceled altogether, allowing her to pick up some shifts, but apparently nothing was going to derail the proceeding.
They picked up their food and sat at one of the picnic tables by the truck. Mark tucked into his meal with gusto, but Brooke’s first bite tasted like sandpaper and she nibbled around the edges to be polite.
After a few minutes of awkward small talk, Mark said, “I don’t think she’s guilty.”
Brooke stared at him for a moment, watching him wipe his fingers carefully on a napkin and feeling a bit like she was being tested. “Is that right?”
“Yes. The people who’ve testified against her all carry grudges for one reason or another. Seems to me like they all decided to make her the target to avoid being in trouble themselves.”
“So, you think she didn’t do anything wrong, and she’s being set up?” Brooke fought hard to keep her tone neutral. She shouldn’t be letting herself get sucked into this situation in the first place, but now that it was happening, she needed to watch what she said.
“Of course. Isn’t it perfectly clear?”
“I don’t think anything is perfectly clear,” she responded, keeping her voice low. “Besides, we won’t be making any decisions until after we’ve heard all of the evidence and discussed the case as a group.”
He smirked. “Right. Got it.” He placed a finger over his lips. “The case will be decided by a jury of Shirley Mitchell’s peers after careful deliberation.”
He rolled his eyes as he spoke, and the singsong lilt of his voice set off alarm bells in Brooke’s head. What had seemed like garden variety social awkwardness now came off a bit more sinister, and she was ready to be back at the courthouse with a crowd of people to serve as a buffer. She opened her mouth to say she was ready to go, but Mark’s phone rang and, after glancing quickly at the screen, he stepped away to take the call.
While he was gone, Brooke looked at her own phone, half expecting a missed call or at least a text from Reggie, but there were no messages of any kind. It was silly of her to expect Reggie to reach out when she’d been the one who’d pushed her away, but she couldn’t help but wish she’d pushed for a pause instead of a full on break between them.
“We need to go,” Mark said. He gave his phone a final look and shoved it into his pocket.
She shoved aside her plate of barely eaten food, too grateful to be heading back to the courthouse to ask why he was in such a hurry all of a sudden. Maybe once they got back, she’d find a moment to have a word with Reggie, explain away her actions, and ask for a chance to start again when this trial was over.
She was so lost in thought about what she’d say to Reggie when she saw her that she didn’t notice they were headed in the wrong direction until they were almost to Oak Cliff. She glanced over at Mark who was hunched over the wheel, staring intently at the road ahead. “Uh, where are we going?”
“I forgot something at my place. I just need to run in real quick. It’ll only take a minute.”
That explained why he’d been in such a rush to abandon lunch, but the change in plans left Brooke feeling on edge. She started to pull out her phone and send a text to Reggie, but stopped when Mark pulled into a driveway in front of a yellow bungalow house with beautiful, well-tended garden beds. Convinced she was agitated over nothing, she relaxed as he exited the car and closed her eyes for a moment to fantasize about changing her life once this trial was over. She needed to switch to night classes only, online where possible, and tell her boss she needed a regular schedule instead of switching from days to nights from week to week. She needed to spend more quality time with Ben and she needed to find time for her own needs, starting with exploring her feelings for Reggie. She was laser-focused on her newfound determination when her door jerked open and a hand, rough and hard, covered her mouth. Her eyes shot open and the last thing she saw before she faded into unconsciousness was Mark standing over her, smirking once again.
* * *
When the judge recessed for the lunch break, Reggie dodged the other jurors on her way out of the jury room, determined to get to where she knew Mitchell’s car was parked as quickly as possible. She ducked into the restroom in the basement of the courthouse, retrieved a ball cap from her jacket pocket, and tugged it low over her forehead before she dashed out of the building. She found Mitchell’s driver exactly where Sarah said he would be—on the opposite of the courthouse from where all the regular folks entered. Typical.
She glanced around and, convinced no one was watching, she strode right up to the door of the car and rapped on the passenger side window. The driver lowered the window and glared when he saw it wasn’t the person he was expecting, but she reached in and opened the door before he could raise the window.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
She ignored him and slid into the seat next to him and placed her hand on his as he reached for his phone. “Don’t. I need to speak to your boss and it’s urgent. Trust me, she’s going to want to hear what I have to say.”
He wasn’t falling for it. She could tell by the pucker of his mouth and the way he narrowed his eyes, but at that moment, the back door opened, and Mitchell slid into the seat behind her apparently not noticing there was an extra passenger up front.
“I’m starving, Elgon. You know any place that can serve a steak in less than an hour?”
Reggie turned and leaned over the back of the seat. “What about the jurors who are getting paid a measly forty bucks a day to decide your fate? Are you going to let them eat steak too?”
It only took a second for Mitchell to recognize her, but Reggie didn’t wait for her to speak. “Tell Elgon to start driving. You and I need to have a conversation.”
Mitchell nodded at Elgon who was staring at her in the rearview mirror and he pulled away from the curb. “Drive us someplace where we can talk in private,” Reggie commanded, injecting her voice with more authority than she felt at that moment.
At Mitchell’s nod, he drove across the Commerce Bridge, toward Oak Cliff and, at Mitchell’s instruction, pulled off the road near the Trinity River Park—an unlikely place to run into fellow jurors or courthouse personnel on their lunch break. When he parked the car, Mitchell told him to get out and leave them alone.
“Are you that abrupt with all of your employees?” Reggie asked, genuinely wanting to know the answer.
“I’m whatever I have to be to get things done.”
“Good to know.” She turned in her seat, trying to find a comfortable position where she could face Mitchell and look like she was in control of the situation. “How about you and I take a little walk outside?’
“How about you fuck off? I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but whatever it is, it’s not appropriate for us to be seen together.”
“Right,” Reggie said a little taken aback by the outburst from Mitchell who usually appeared to have a calm demeanor. “Because you only threaten jurors, not hang out with them.”
“I never threatened anyone.”
“I know.” Reggie watched Mitchell’s indignant expression turn curious. “I know it’s Harry Benton who’s forcing your hand, but if these keep showing up during your trial, no one else is going to believe that.” She brandished the note she’d been carrying around in her pocket all morning—the copy Wren had made for her using the specifics Sarah had provided from the real ones that were in the FBI evidence locker. Mitchell flinched at the sight of the note.
“I had nothing to do with that.”
“Like I said, no one is going to believe that you don’t have anything to do with these notes that keep popping up. You’re the only one that benefits from jurors being threatened to vote not guilty. Unless…”
A moment passed and Mitchell’s anxiety was palpable. “Unless what?” she finally blurted out.
“Unless someone is trying to set you up or make it so you keep your mouth shut about something bigger than your case—something someone might kill for to keep quiet.”
Mitchell laughed, but the sound was more nervous than mirthful. “You’re crazy.”
“I’m not.” Reggie stared hard at Mitchell, enjoying the way she struggled not to squirm. “I heard him threaten you in the parking garage. He’s got big secrets to hide and I bet you know exactly what those are. I bet you know more about his involvement in the shooting at the courthouse and he’ll do anything to keep you quiet.” She held up the note again. “If delivering you a not guilty doesn’t work to ensure your silence, he may decide it’s best to keep you quiet another way. A more permanent method.”
“You really think Harry Benton would kill me because he’s afraid I’ll tell the police what I know?”
Reggie tried to raise her left arm and winced at the pain that lingered still. “See that?” she asked, pointing to her shoulder. “I can’t lift my arm because a bullet went through it. I know in my heart Harry Benton was behind the shooting, but I bet you know it for a fact which is why he’s working so hard to help you out.”
“Even if I did know anything, why would I tell you about it?”
“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.