Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

Author:Jodi Picoult
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC000000, book
ISBN: 9781743433706
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd
Published: 2013-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

I guess I’m expecting a richly paneled courtroom, with a high bench that has a white-haired judge presiding. I’m pretty surprised to find out that, instead, a grand jury is a small clot of ordinary people in jeans and sweaters sitting around a table in a room with no windows.

Immediately I try to pull my sweater over my too-fancy pink dress.

There’s a tape recorder on the table, which makes me even more nervous, but I focus on Danny Boyle’s face, just like he told me to do. “This is Cara Warren,” he announces to the little group. “Does anyone know the witness?”

The people clustered around the table shake their heads. One, a woman with a blond pageboy that angles toward her chin, reminds me of one of my teachers. She stands up and holds out a Bible. “Can you raise your right hand . . . ,” she says, before she realizes my right arm is in a sling. There is a bit of uneasy laughter around the table. “Can you raise your left hand and repeat after me . . .”

This part is just like on television: I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

“Cara,” Danny says, “state your name and address, please.”

“Cara Warren. Forty-six Statler Hill, Beresford, New Hampshire,” I answer.

“Who do you live with?”

“My dad. Until a week ago.”

The county attorney gestures at me. “We can see that you’ve got your arm in a sling—what happened?”

“My father and I were in a serious car accident a week ago,” I explain. “I broke my scapula. My dad’s been unconscious since then.”

“In a coma?”

“A vegetative state, that’s what the doctors call it.”

“Do you have any other family?”

“My mom—she’s remarried now. And my brother, who I haven’t seen in six years. He lives in Thailand, but when my dad got hurt, my mom called him up and he came back home.”

“What’s your relationship with your brother?” Danny asks.

“What relationship,” I say flatly. “He left and he didn’t want to talk to any of us after that.”

“How long has your father been in the hospital?”

“Eight days.”

“What is the doctors’ prognosis for your father?”

“It’s too early to tell anything,” I say. Because really, isn’t it?

“Have you and your brother discussed your father’s situation?”

All of a sudden my stomach feels as empty as a pocket. “Yes,” I say, and even though I don’t want to, I can feel my eyes welling with tears. “My brother just wants this to be over. He thinks the outcome isn’t going to change. But me, I want to keep my dad alive long enough to prove him wrong.”

“Has your father contacted your brother during the six years he’s been in Thailand?”

“No,” I say.

“Does he ever talk about your brother?”

“No. They had a big fight, which is why my brother left.”

“Have you been in touch with your brother, Cara?” Danny asks.

“No.” I look at one of the members of the jury. She is shaking her head. I wonder if she’s reacting to Edward leaving, or to me not contacting him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.