Directed Verdict by Randy Singer

Author:Randy Singer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Christian / Suspense, FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
ISBN: 9781414333489
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2014-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

25

THE SUN SMILED BRIGHTLY on the brisk October morning that greeted the first day of the trial. A cool northern breeze gently buffeted Norfolk and chased a few puffy white clouds quickly across the sky. A perfect day for protesting.

The demonstrators started arriving at 7:30 and arranged themselves neatly on the sidewalk in front of the massive stone federal building on Granby Street. On one side of the courthouse steps, and stretching down the sidewalk, were about one hundred fifty Christians from every walk of life led by the Reverend Jacob Bailey and a loyal band of prayer warriors.

While Reverend Bailey and his team prayed, others turned the vigil into a picnic, enjoying coffee and doughnuts and all sorts of other fast-food breakfast treats. They did have a few signs, mostly quoting Bible verses like John 3:16 or urging the court to “Stop the Torture.” And at precisely 8 a.m., when the national morning news audiences peaked, they all stopped eating and joined Reverend Bailey in spontaneous prayer for persecuted Christians everywhere.

On the other side of the steps was a group of about eighty Muslims, there to support the freedom of the Saudi people to choose their own religion, free from Western interference. These protesters stayed entertained by a barrage of rhetoric from a small group of fiery leaders. Occasionally, they would break into chants, goading the more docile protesters on the other side of the steps. The press congregated with the Muslims, who tended to give more passionate interviews that lent themselves to better sound bites.

Not fitting into either group, but determined to exercise their First Amendment rights on such an important occasion, were a handful of miscellaneous protesters representing a half-dozen other causes. By far the most colorful of the bunch was the gentleman in a well-worn, bright yellow chicken suit carrying a sign that read “Jesus was a vegetarian.” Most assumed he was with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and everyone gave him plenty of space as he roamed the sidewalks, goose-stepping so that he would not trip over his own large webbed feet.

As usual, the media seemed to outnumber the folks they were covering, and the reporters had the best seats in the house. Cameramen, talking heads, and a bevy of print reporters dominated the sidewalk directly in front of the courthouse. Local and national news trucks, with satellite dishes on top, jammed the streets.

At precisely 8:30, a black stretch limo arrived in front of the courthouse steps carrying Ahmed Aberijan and Frederick Barnes. Barnes parted the way for his infamous cohort, and Ahmed looked perplexed at all the English-speaking journalists who shoved microphones under his nose and shouted questions.

Mack Strobel, Winsted Mackenzie, and several of their partners arrived next, each carrying only one small briefcase. The associates from Kilgore & Strobel had already hauled neatly numbered boxes of documents and exhibits into the courtroom. Mackenzie stopped at the top of the steps for an impromptu press conference. Mack and the others stood and watched for a moment, unsmiling, then slipped into the courthouse.

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