Without Justice

by Carsen Taite

  “When I said you should socialize, make some friends, I meant you should do it to fit in. Chumming up to the most powerful family in the county will make you stick out like a sore thumb.”

  “Give me a break. I think you might be blowing this out of proportion.”

  “Seriously, Cade. The Sinclairs are very well connected. How did you even meet Emily?”

  Cade started to say she’d met her at the library. That wasn’t accurate, but she didn’t want to share anything about the instant, mutual attraction on the courthouse steps with Kennedy. Every encounter since had only served to reinforce her initial reaction. Emily Sinclair was someone she wanted to get to know, inside and out. Kennedy’s warning only made her less inclined to share the details of how she’d met Emily, let alone describe any specifics about their date Friday night, but it definitely piqued her interest in seeing Emily again. She settled on a vague answer. “We ran into each other around town.”

  She glanced at the clock on the dash. Too late to take back her no response to Emily’s invitation for dinner tonight, but she had a renewed desire to fight for what she wanted, and right now, all she wanted was Emily.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Emily stood at the tabletop podium in the conference room and took a moment to assess the eighteen grand jurors. The medical examiner, Dr. Narey, had spent the last hour describing the condition of Wade’s body at the crime scene, and his testimony and the accompanying photos were pretty gruesome stuff. This was the perfect time to take a vote, but she wanted to make sure none of the jurors had any lingering questions.

  “Do any of you have anything you’d like to ask?”

  She looked around while she waited for them to answer. Most of them were shaking their heads, and she’d about decided they were done, when Josh Howard tentatively raised his hand. Emily knew Josh and his family well. They owned a couple of drugstores in town—local places that had managed to stick around despite the invasion of the bigger chains. Josh’s family, like many in town, had contributed to her campaign, and she figured she could count on him to return the indictment she was requesting based on the fact that he’d backed her reputation in the past. “Mr. Howard, what’s your question?”

  “Has there been any progress on finding the gun?”

  “No, but the sheriff’s deputies are still looking for it and will do everything they can to locate it before the defendant goes to trial.” She cleared her throat. “Your task today is to determine whether or not there is probable cause to believe that a crime occurred, and whether it is likely that the defendant committed that crime. Basically, you are ratifying the decision Sheriff Nash made when he chose to arrest the defendant.”

  She knew many of the grand jurors respected Nash and would uphold his decision under any circumstance. “It is not your job to decide if the defendant is guilty, so you need not concern yourself with whether or not that’s been proven here.” She paused, hoping she’d delivered just the right balance of practical and authoritative. It wasn’t that she didn’t want them to ask questions, but she’d seen grand juries run amok in the past, getting bogged down with issues that didn’t have anything to do with the legality of their task. Even if they decided to start running down rabbit holes, she’d presented them with enough evidence to indict, and she wanted to have that indictment when she walked into Judge Burson’s court this afternoon. “Are you ready to take a vote?”

  A few minutes later, she had her true bill, signed by Josh. She thanked the group for their service on this case and turned the grand jury room over to one of her assistants to carry on the rest of the day’s docket while she made her way to Burson’s courtroom, stopping to make a couple of copies of the indictment on her way. Seth rushed her the minute she pushed through the courtroom doors.

  “Judge is about to take the bench. I was beginning to wonder if they’d gone rogue on you.”

  “Nipped that in the bud.” She handed him a copy of the indictment. “Not a chance in hell Miller’s getting out on bond. That one’s for Brody. I’ll let you deliver the bad news.”

  Emily settled in at counsel table while Seth walked over to Brody and handed him the indictment. To his credit, Brody didn’t look surprised. He glanced at the paper in Seth’s hand, and then waved it away as if it was a pesky insect. More likely than not, he was resigned to the fact his client was going to be spending the next however long in jail. She planned to approach him after the hearing to make the first volley in the inevitable plea negotiations. A quick and clean end to this case would be the best result for everyone involved.

  A loud knock shook her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see the bailiff rap his knuckles on the hard wood door that led back to judge’s chambers. He commanded everyone to rise as Judge Burson pushed through the door. When Burson took the bench, he motioned for them all to sit down, and then he spent a moment sorting through the file in front of him before calling their case. “Counselor,” he said to Emily, “where were we?”

  She stood. “Good afternoon, Judge. It was my understanding you continued the bond hearing to determine if an indictment would be returned against Mr. Miller. I can report the grand jury true-billed Mr. Miller’s case today, and a copy of the indictment has been provided to defense counsel and one has been filed with the court clerk.”

  Burson spent a minute flipping through the papers on the bench. While he did so, Emily looked around the courtroom. Seth had mentioned the victim’s family might be on hand for the bond hearing, and she wanted to be able to point them out for the judge if they’d shown up. Indictment or not, the judge would keep Miller in custody, but it wouldn’t hurt to have the sympathy factor in evidence to seal the deal.

  She recognized the only two folks in the courtroom. A reporter from the local paper and a student blogger from the Jordan College campus newspaper. She’d almost decided the family hadn’t been able to bear to hear more about the death of their loved one when the courtroom doors opened and a lone figure walked through the doors. A welcome face for sure, but not one she’d expected to see here, today or any other day.

  *

  Cade took a deep breath as she walked into the courtroom, memories of her own time as a prosecutor flooding her memory, but this room, with its ornate wood benches and soaring balcony, was nothing like the modern, more sterile environment of the courtrooms in Cook County.

  The room was eerily quiet, and she noticed right away court was already in session. Emily was standing in the well of the courtroom a few feet from the judge who was thumbing through some papers. She looked over at the defense table and saw a young man, probably late twenties, dressed in a suit, sitting next to an older guy wearing an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs.

  She probably shouldn’t have shown up like this, but she’d spent the morning waffling about whether she should see Emily again until she could no longer resist the urge. She told Monica she needed some personal time and left work after lunch. When she’d shown up at Emily’s office, she’d been thrown when her secretary said she was in court, and she almost abandoned her impromptu plan, but curiosity combined with attraction, and she’d wandered down to the courtroom, hoping for a glimpse of Emily in action.

  As Cade started to slide into the nearest seat, Emily turned and their eyes locked. Knees bent, she remained transfixed for a moment, trying to get a read on Emily’s expression. Was she glad to see her? Annoyed she’d shown up while she was working? Before she could process the look in Emily’s eyes, she heard the judge say, “I’m ready to make my decision,” and the spell was broken. Emily turned back to the bench, and Cade sat down, certain she’d caught a hint of a smile on Emily’s face before she turned away.

  The rest of the proceeding was like a mismatched tennis game.

  “Based on the evidence presented last week about the defendant’s history, and his lack of ties to the community, and the grand jury indictment today, I’m setting the bond at one million dollars. Please see my coordinator about an announcement setting, and we’
ll check in then to see where you are on the case.”

  Cade had done some reading on Texas court procedures and knew that an announcement setting was basically a check-in with the court to see where things stood, primarily regarding plea negotiations. Apparently, it was customary to have several of the settings to give the defendant time to review the evidence and consider any pleas before he or she made a decision about whether or not to go to trial. Considering this, she was shocked when the kid at defense counsel table stood up and addressed the judge.

  “Your honor, Mr. Miller would like to exercise his right to a speedy trial. Provided the prosecution produces discovery, we can be ready to go in a month. May we go ahead and get a date while we’re on the record?”

  The judge looked down at the kid, a surly frown on his face. “You sure about that, Mr. Nichols?”

  “Yes, sir, I am. Absolutely.”

  The judge shook his head and looked over at Emily, who didn’t bother trying to hide the look of surprise on her face. “Ms. Sinclair?”

  Before she could answer, the kid piped in. “Judge, I’m not sure the DA’s office should be consulted about this. My client’s right to a speedy trial is not something they get a say in.”

  “Maybe so, Mr. Nichols, but I still want to hear their position, and since we’re in my courtroom, I think we’ll do this one thing my way, if that’s okay with you?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Emily seemed to be watching the exchange with a touch of amusement, her lips turned up in the tiniest trace of a smile. “Judge, we have no problem granting the defendant’s wish.” She reached down and grabbed a binder from the table. “I have my calendar and I’m happy to set a date right now.”

  Cade watched as they worked out a trial date a mere thirty days away. Without knowing much about the case, other than it was a murder trial, she was stunned. In all her years as a prosecutor, she’d never seen a defendant rush to trial on such serious charges, and she wondered if the kid in the suit knew what the hell he was doing. Obviously, the state didn’t have a problem with the quick date, so they were either confident in their own evidence, or certain the kid didn’t have the skills to mount a proper defense.

  Before she could give what she’d just seen more thought, the judge smacked his gavel and the proceeding was over. She rose as he left the bench and stood at the back of the courtroom while Emily packed up her things, trying not to bore holes in her as her own anxiety grew. She hadn’t planned this part. How would she explain her abrupt departure the other night and her curt decline of last night’s dinner invitation?

  “Are you here for the defendant?”

  Cade looked over her left shoulder to see a young woman standing beside her dressed in a hooded sweatshirt, low-slung skinny jeans, and Chuck Taylors. She looked vaguely familiar. “No, I’m not.”

  “Damn. I was hoping maybe someone was here for him that I could talk to and get a personal angle.” She cocked her head. “Don’t I know you?”

  Cade edged away, “I don’t think so.”

  “Wait a minute. You work at Jordan College, don’t you? In the library?”

  Relief. “Yes, that’s me. Are you a student there?”

  “Yep.” She stuck out her hand. “Asher Risley. You’ve probably heard of my campus blog The Risley Report.”

  Cade nodded, a small lie. She hadn’t heard of the blog, and she didn’t read the campus paper, although now she wondered why she hadn’t. If she was going to really fit in with this community, she should really take some time to try to get to know it. “Let me guess, journalism major? Are you reporting on this case?”

  “You bet I am. Do you know the last time there was a murder case in this county?”

  “Matter of fact, I don’t.”

  “It was three years ago, and then it was some dude whacking his wife’s boyfriend. Nothing like this where a guy murders somebody for no reason. Well, other than to steal his money. Crazy, right?”

  “Crazy.”

  “Anyway, I’m hanging out, hoping I can get a quote from Ms. Sinclair. Maybe get her to explain what just happened.”

  Cade opened her mouth to offer her own explanation, and then shut it again. She could explain plenty, but she wouldn’t be able to explain how she knew so much about what had just transpired, and the best route would be to keep her mouth shut. Luckily, Emily appeared at her side and saved her from comment.

  “Asher, nice to see you again.”

  Cade looked between them. “You two know each other?”

  “Asher covered my entire campaign,” Emily said. “For a while there I thought she was collecting one of every bumper sticker, but then I realized she was really lying in wait with tough questions. Right, Asher?”

  “You know it. I’ve got some questions about this case if you’ve got time now.”

  Cade sighed. She’d hoped she could catch Emily for a few minutes at least. See if they could pick up where they’d left off, before Kennedy had yanked her back into her past, but she’d been silly to think coming here, where Emily worked, was a good idea. Of course, she probably had things to do, and talking to a reporter, even a kid like Asher, would take precedence. She started to tell Emily she’d see her later, but Emily surprised her.

  “Asher, I’m happy to talk to you, but I’ve got to be somewhere right now.” She scrawled a note on a piece of paper and handed it to the young reporter. “Call Janice, she’s my secretary, and let her know I want to schedule a meeting with you tomorrow. Does that work?”

  “Absolutely, thanks!”

  Cade watched Asher head over to the defendant’s side of the courtroom. Kevin Miller had already been taken back into the holdover, but the young attorney was gathering up his things. Asher approached him and he waved her off, a scowl on his face. She had no doubt whatever Asher wrote about this case, it was going to end up one-sided if he declined to talk to her.

  “You interested? She’s cute, but a little young.”

  Cade swung back around to face Emily. “You’re funny. She’s a student at the college, but I guess you already know that since you seem to be pals.”

  “Hardly. She dogged me worse than anyone in the professional press. She’s a tiger, that one.”

  “Uh-huh.” Cade was tired of talking about anything other than the reason she’d shown up here. “You have to work tonight?”

  “Matter of fact I don’t.”

  “You have plans?”

  “I might now.”

  “Is that so?”

  “I was thinking I might make dinner for a certain librarian I know.”

  “Sounds great.” The whole exchange was going way better than Cade could’ve hoped. “Should I bring anything?”

  “Just you.” Emily paused, and her expression became serious. “There is one thing, though. Kind of a deal breaker.”

  “Uh-oh.” Cade hoped she was kidding around, but she braced for whatever Emily was about to say. “Spill.”

  “This time I need you to check your cell phone at the door.”

  Emily leaned in close as she delivered the whispered demand, and Cade couldn’t help but read the promise of something more than dinner into her words. If the memory of Emily’s lips on hers was enough to leave her breathless, the anticipation of more was almost paralyzing. Almost. “Can’t wait.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Emily opened the oven and peered one last time at the lasagna bubbling in the stoneware baking dish. Satisfied the lasagna was done, she switched the setting on the oven to keep it warm. Cade wouldn’t believe she’d whipped it up after work, but at least it wasn’t a Lean Cuisine from the freezer, which, aside from the salad on the counter, was the only other food in the house. In a panic, she’d called Clara from work and asked her to save the day. Clara had commandeered a portion of the food her parents’ chef was preparing for dinner, placed it in a smaller dish, and now she had a mini lasagna—perfect for two. She sniffed the air, drinking in the rich aroma and stifling her guilt. She was going to serve Ca
de a homemade meal, even if it wasn’t made in her home.

  But food was really the last thing on her mind. Her invitation to Cade had been a swift and sudden reaction to seeing her tall, sleek self standing in the back of the courtroom. For all her doubts after Cade’s abrupt departure the other night and her curt decline of Sunday’s dinner invitation, the fact that she’d shown up this afternoon brought back, full force, the rush of arousal she’d experienced the first time they’d met. All she wanted to do tonight was explore those sensations and see if the reality was anything like the fantasies she’d played out in her head.

  The sound of the doorbell signaled Cade’s arrival. Emily glanced around the kitchen in a last-minute check to make sure everything was just right. Bottle of Chianti decanting, salad ready to be dressed. Clara had even added a beautiful vase of lilies to the mix. Perfect.

  She swung open the front door and faced a smiling Cade holding a bouquet of Gerbera daisies. “Hi.” She pointed at the flowers. “Hey now, I told you not to bring anything.”

  “Sorry. Actually, no, not sorry. I saw these and thought of you.”

  “You just happened to be wandering through the only florist shop in town. Browsing?”

  “Yes. You never know when you might need flowers on a moment’s notice. Pays to see what’s out there.”

  Cade stretched out her hand, offering the bouquet. “They’re my favorite,” Emily said. “Lucky guess.” She feigned shock. “Unless you’ve been spying on me or reading my diary.”

  Cade clutched her chest. “How dare you question my honor. The woman at the shop recommended them.”

  “That would be Nancy. They’re perfect.” Emily took her hand. “Get in here.” She led the way back to the kitchen. While she opened a cabinet to retrieve a vase, she watched Cade out of the corner of her eye, walking around the room, checking out the dinner preparations.

  “I see you already have flowers. Big, beautiful flowers.”