Sugar and Salt: a Novel by Susan Wiggs

Author:Susan Wiggs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-07-26T00:00:00+00:00

When Landry Yates finally got her a court date, Margie felt sicker than ever. She cleaned herself up as best she could. Ninfa lent her a hair tie and found her a clean jumpsuit. A deputy took her to court from the jail. Given the climate in town, the rage, Landry didn’t want her to be stuffed into a police car and marched into the courtroom.

“You’re nervous,” Margie said to him. They were waiting on a hard bench in the marble hallway outside the courtroom. The air smelled of furniture polish, and the soaring dome over the lobby magnified the tick tick tick of the ceiling fans. Landry looked even worse than she felt. “I can tell by the way you keep studying that sign on the wall.” It was a glass case with a list designating the presiding judges for the day.

“It’s not the judge I was hoping for. This one—Shelby Hale—ran on a platform of being a law-and-order guy. Likes putting people behind bars. Plus he plays golf at the Hayden Country Club.”

“Let me guess. The Hunts are members of the country club.”

“Octavia Hunt is on the board of directors there.”

“Isn’t that like a conflict of interest?”

“You’d think.”

She wished he had more confidence, but come to find out, he was so busy that he didn’t have time to be confident or anything else. With all the folks he had to help, a public defender got no rest. Landry was juggling cases and hearings and pleadings, and he was short-staffed and there was nothing she could do about it.

In the courtroom, the gallery was full, more than usual to hear Landry tell it. They all wanted to see the monster who had gunned down their favorite son. Deputies and bailiffs moved through the room, intent on keeping order. Landry made a breathy noise that sounded like shitfire.

“What’s the matter?” she whispered.

“I figured they’d send an ADA—an assistant. Looks like we got the DA—Ursula Flores.”

“Is that bad?”

He pressed his mouth into a thin line. “She’s a good DA.”

Margie eyed the woman at the long table in front of the bar railing. She was perfectly groomed, with shiny dark hair and a fitted suit, her movements deliberate and efficient as she organized her materials on the table.

“Don’t we want a good one?” Margie asked.

“Not if she’s in charge of bringing an indictment against you. A good DA can indict a ham sandwich.”

A few minutes later, Ms. Flores was joined by an associate, a tall guy with a military bearing and a politician’s falsely earnest expression, which couldn’t hide a tinge of hostility. He shot Margie a seething glare, as if trying to roast her alive by will alone. He looked familiar.

He looked like Jimmy Hunt.

My big brother, Briscoe, is a lawyer. Gonna be state’s attorney general one day, just you wait. Maybe even governor. He’s that smart.

She noticed a couple with their heads together, murmuring. The woman looked familiar. Margie had seen her at Cubby’s every Tuesday. “Jimmy’s parents?” she asked in a whisper.

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