The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (8 page)

Jason
slid into th
e seat beside
her.
“
Fancy seeing you here.
”

She smiled
and
adjusted her hair
. One thing she hadn’t taken into consideration was
Jason
being
here.
He’d been unexpectedly attentive all week
, and she’d grown to
enjoy
their encounters
.
“
Andy insisted.
”

His lips parted in a lazy smile.
“Same here.”

Everything about him was
exceptional
, from his dark
complexion to his sapphire
eyes, and it did
n’t hurt that he’
d
quickly
earne
d a reputation in Miller’s Creek
as an expert defense attorney and
p
hilanthropist
.

Just as she gathered
the gumption to initiate
further
conversation
,
a heavy wooden
door
swung
open
.
J
udge Clark
entered
,
his
black
robe billowing behind
as he made his way to the bench
.
Everyone rose to their feet
, and
the hollow thud of shoes against
aged wood
floors
echoed like
icy
bars of jail cell doors
slammed shut.

Though Grac
e
stood
behind
the accused—who today looked more like an altar boy than a criminal—
somew
here in the gallery
was
a
grieving family
for whom
every fiber of
her
being cried out for jus
tice
.
The thought dumped a bad taste in her mouth.

“
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, y
ou’re about to hear
the opening statements
in the case
of the State of Texas
against David Simmons.
”
T
he judge
rattled off
the words
routinely
d
espi
te the gravity of the situation,
as if his life
’s work
had become
a
creek
which had long since gone dry
in the drought of life’s pressures
.
“T
his man is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Your job is to discern the truth by
the evidence and testimony
presented during the course of this trial and to
respond with a just verdict.”
He raised his gaze
to the gallery
, the bags beneath his eyes
like those
of a sad hound dog,
and
turned his attention to the opposite table. “Is the prosecution ready?”

A stylish woman, probably in her thirties, stood.
“Yes,
Your
Honor.”
Though slight in stature, everything else about
Elena Delgado was larger tha
n life.

Grace
eyed
the prosecutor’s de
signer suit
and shoes and then
glanc
ed down at her
own
thrift store bl
ouse and skirt. Far from perfect,
but all she could afford at the moment.
Hmm, m
aybe she sh
ould use part of her next paycheck
to purchase
a new outfit or two
, like the
flouncy skirt
and fitted suit jacket
Elena Delgado wore
.
After all, if she wa
nted to make a good impression i
n the legal community she needed to dress the part.
She
glanced at Ja
son
from the corner of her eyes
. H
is
attention
riveted on
Elena,
and his face
glowed
with a curious light.

“Is the defense ready?”

Andy Tyler rose to his feet
in front of her
, his jaw set with the determination of someone intent on seeing justice done. How could a ma
n as kind as
him
represent
scum like David Simmons? “Yes,
Your
Honor.”

“Then let’s begin. We’re ready for the prosecution’s opening statement.”

Elena’s
Christian
Louboutin
heels
cla
cked against the
floors
as she made her way to the jury box
.
S
he came to a stop
in front of them
,
somewha
t like a humb
le schoolgirl. “Good morning. Thank yo
u for giving
time
away from
your loved ones to provide
justice for a
family
who lost
t
he
i
r
only child
at the hands of a negligent driver
.”

Grace’s admiration for El
ena’s legal skills
skyrocket
ed. In a few
words
, s
he’d delivered the heart of the case flawlessly, and in a way that complemented the jurors.

Elena
paused in an obvious effort to cont
rol her emotions and
gestur
ed to
ward
the screen
. “This photograph
of
the victim,
Michael
B
edford
,
was taken a week before
he was to return ho
me
for Christmas break
. A time
he was especially looking forward to because it h
ad been four long months since he’d seen his
family.”

The screen
flashed to a ver
y different picture, and bile r
ose in Grace’s throat
.
An involuntary shiver
crawled down her spine
.
This shot
reveal
ed a
darkened road
and authorities
hovered over
a
lifeless
body.

A hushed gasp rose from the crowd
, and a low murmur
sprea
d across the room
.
“This
. . .
” Elena’s
voice wavered
. “This is
the result of an irresponsible joy ride that ended in death
.
”

A w
ave of nausea swept over Grace as
unbidden memories flashed to the front of her mind.
She brought a shaky hand to her lips.

The air
tingl
ed with electric anticipation
as
Elena
moved behind the lectern, removed
her
designer
glasses
, and made
eye contact with the jurors. “The evidence will prove that on
the evening of December
twelfth
of last year
, David Simmons
recklessly took the life of one of his classmates,
leaving
a hole in this family
that can never be filled.
”

She turned to
the t
able where Andy
sat
with David Simmons
. “
The
defense will
have you believe
the defendant
w
as
o
ut enjoying an evening with
friends, that he wasn’t responsible
.
They want you to
think
Mr.
Simmons
has been falsely accused
, but
evidence will
prove
otherwise.” She faced the jury once more, her voice full of conviction. “
Your task is a hea
vy one
, but I trust
your common sense will wi
n out. After hearing the facts
, you’
ll have no other
re
course but to find this monster,
”
s
he gestured with an outstretched arm toward
David Sim
mons,
“
guilty
of
vehicular homicide
.”

Her
words seemed to gain a life of their own as they
hung
in
the air.
The defendant
furtively
whispered something in Andy’s ear
. Her boss
merely patted
him
on the back
and shot
a
n encouraging
smile before
he turned
his attention to the bench.

“
The defense may now make an
opening statement.”

Grace watched in fascination.
Andy’s approach to the jury box was altogether different than Elena’
s. In
typical
laid-back
style, with hands in pockets
,
he slowly raised his
eyes
to the
screen
.
“
I saw the look
s
of horror on your faces when Ms. Delgado fl
ashed this picture
.
What you see is clearly
the result of a terrible tragedy
. We’d all agree—
me
included—
that someone should pay
.
But only if Michael Bedford’s death was intentional, which it wasn’t.
”
Andy spoke the words in his usual Texas drawl.

An
unlikely
mix
ture of
respect
and disgust
rose inside Grace. Her boss had easily bridged
a seemingly impossib
le gap. It was clear to see
that
the jury
hung
on his every word.

Grace sighed
and lowered her head
. S
he couldn’t just ignore the
likelihood
th
at David
Simmons was guilty
.
She’d seen his type before
,
and on more
than one occasion,
the stereotypical
over-
indulged son of
wealthy parents who could
afford to buy justice to cover whatever crimes their “innocent” child had committed.
He’d
most likely
grown up with every advantage and was used
to getting what he wanted. W
hen anyone was bold enough to tell
him “no,” he took
it anyway or made them pay
.

Andy
leaned his weight against the table and crossed his arms and legs, his gaze n
ow focused on the jurors. “
We’ll show that M
r. Simmons was not responsible.”
He waved an arm toward the screen. “
Ms. Delgado knows
her best chance of indicting my client is to make you
think he’s
a monster. In fact, she’s already
labeled
him
as
such
. I
n a subtle way, the prosecution
has already
toyed with
yo
ur emotions
and dislikes.
”

An immediate frown sprung to Grace’s forehead.
Some of the members of the jury turned their gaze toward Elena Delgado, as if seeing her in a new light.

Andy’s voice brought their attention back
to him
. “
I’m asking you to put
all
that
aside and give
David Simmons
the benefit of a doubt until after you’ve seen the evidence and heard
the testimonies. Prove
to
him
that you’re better
and smarter
than Ms. Delgado gives you credit for.
”