Salvation Row by Dawson Mark

Author:Dawson, Mark [Dawson, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781505627459
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2015-01-07T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Eight

MILTON SAT on the bench outside the courtroom for two hours. He got up after the first hour to stretch his legs and, curious, he opened the outer door and went through into the small lobby that separated the courtroom from the corridor. There was a narrow vertical window in each of the leather-padded double doors, and they offered a view of the interior. The room was large, with a vaulted ceiling and black polished marble wainscoting. There were six rows of wooden pews for members of the public and the lawyers, a passageway cutting through the middle and then, at the front, desks for the judge and the clerk. Old Glory and the Louisiana state flag were hung behind the desk. The carpeting was a distasteful mauve, patterned with fleurs-de-lis, and the walls were in need of a fresh coat of paint. The benches and desks looked old and unloved, too. It was shabby and unimpressive and, in that drab context, Isadora looked dazzling.

She was on her feet, speaking with furious animation, her hands punctuating her points with broad gestures and sudden stabs. Milton couldn’t hear what she was saying, save the occasional word, but her vehemence was as obvious as the anger in her face. He turned to the phalanx of lawyers she was facing. Dubois was behind them, his face clouded with annoyance. Whatever she was saying, Milton thought, it was causing him concern.

Milton was outside again when the proceedings drew to a close. Babineaux’s lawyers emerged first. Two men and a woman, each immaculately dressed. Behind them came a small team of clerks and juniors. Milton counted ten people in total. They were discussing what had just happened as they swept by him, so he couldn’t make out much of the conversation. The tone was self-evident: angry and indignant. Dubois came out after them, a phone pressed to the side of his head. He glanced at Milton, but walked on without stopping.

Isadora emerged into the corridor five minutes later. She immediately set off down the corridor, so wrapped up in whatever had just happened that she walked right by him.

Milton stood and caught up with her. “Hello,” he called out.

She stopped. “Sorry.”

“Well? How did it go?”

“As well as I could’ve hoped.”

“Meaning?”

“I got an adjournment. Three days. The judge wants to see a lot more evidence of why the development is for the good of the public. A full report, plus an environmental survey. They’re both going to be very expensive.”

“But they can get them to say what they need?”

She shrugged. “Of course. If you’ve got money, you can get anything you want.”

“You’re not concerned?”

“It’s three more days, John. A lot can happen in three days.”

#

MILTON DROVE Izzy to the Comfort Inn. He told her to stay there, get an early dinner in the restaurant maybe, and she said that she would. He waited outside for five minutes, acclimatising himself to the atmosphere, and then, satisfied that there was no immediate threat, he took the damaged Encore back to Hertz.

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