Let Darkness Come by Angela Hunt

Author:Angela Hunt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 2009-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Eight

After leaving her car in the five-story parking garage across from the Cook County courthouse, Briley crosses to the hulking gray stone building at the corner of Twenty-sixth and California. A fleet of news vehicles is parked along the curb, each van sprouting cables that snake across the sidewalk and up the courthouse steps.

Briley slips on her sunglasses and keeps her head down, not wanting to attract media attention while she’s trying to focus her thoughts.

At the courthouse doors, a veritable flood of humanity merges from all directions, the somber suits of government employees and lawyers mingling with the street clothing of jurors, witnesses, and reporters. Briley lingers at the edge of the courthouse steps until she spies William Hughes in the crowd. Somehow he has obtained the firm’s permission to attend the trial. He won’t be entitled to sit at the defense table—an honor reserved for those who have passed the bar exam—but he can sit in the first row of the gallery and offer any assistance she might need.

She smiles, finding comfort in the sight of a familiar face. “William!” She waves to catch his attention, then falls into step beside him as they move toward the entrance.

“So?” He gives her an uncertain smile. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

She shakes her head. “I tried to put the trial out of my mind this weekend, but I couldn’t stop revising my opening statement. Last night I ended up drinking warm milk to help me sleep, then I dreamed of Napoleon and Waterloo.” She takes him in with one glance. “You look nice, by the way.”

“Thanks.” He lifts the edge of his overcoat and pats the lapel of the suit beneath. “Thought maybe it’d be best to leave the cardigan at home, seeing as how I’ll be representing the firm.”

They slow their steps as the crowd funnels through a single hallway that ends at a pair of metal detectors. The people around them begin to remove watches, shoes, and heavy jewelry. Anything metal must be placed in a plastic bin.

“Just like the airport,” William jokes as he takes off his belt. He pulls his cell phone from his coat pocket and drops it into the tray with his belt and shoes. “Americans strip down pretty easily these days.”

Briley gives him a quick smile, but she’s not feeling up to small talk. They probably won’t accomplish much more than seating a jury today, but the right jury can make all the difference. She’s never selected a jury for a murder case, but the firm still wouldn’t approve funding to hire a jury consultant. So she’ll be on her own, with only William and her instincts to help her choose the best jurors for this trial.

She slides off her shoes and drops them into a plastic bin, then sets it on the conveyer belt beside her briefcase. Ahead of her, a security guard barks commands and instructs all arrivals to remove their outerwear and jackets. She slips out of

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