“Thanks,” he says. The tips of his ears are pink.
“Don’t ever be embarrassed that you find death distasteful.”
He seems encouraged. As I’m driving away I can see him joking with Detective Sanchez. It’s always good to keep your humanity.
I press the dial button on my steering wheel. After a couple rings, Angel’s voice fills my car.
“Are we still on for dinner?” she asks.
“I’m on my way. Do you want me to pick you up?”
“No. I got off early so I’m gonna head to the restaurant. I should be there in five minutes. I’ll get the table.”
“All right, darling, I’ll see you soon.”
Like I said, always important to keep a bit of humanity in your life.
Chapter Two
Angel
I pull off my glasses, putting them away in the case before rubbing my head. My head hurts. I had no idea when I decided I wanted to be a court reporter how hard some of my days would be. Sitting inside of a courtroom for hours and oftentimes hearing horror stories can take a toll on a person.
I’ve always been fascinated with all aspects of the law. I didn’t have a desire to be a lawyer or a cop so I decided on a career as a court reporter. It allows me to be in the mix of things but not really. I just hadn’t realized that it would be so stressful.
It is even worse when you know a person that should be behind bars is allowed to go free. It’s hard to watch these criminals get away with their crimes knowing there is nothing you can do about it.
I don’t know how Chad does it but the man never loses a case. I have no idea how he can live with himself. I’m guessing he finds comfort sleeping on the pile of money he receives every night. I often think that he’s worse than the men he represents in court. I shouldn’t judge him because that’s the way our judicial system is set up, but from what I’ve heard, he displays the same tactics outside of the courtroom.
I’m a people watcher by nature. While it may seem as though I’m only recording the words that are going on in court, I’m also taking everything in around me. I’m watching each movement and facial expression. Especially those of the jury.
It’s how I know when a case is going to be dismissed. You learn a lot by watching people. They say people are innocent until proven guilty but in my eyes most of the men Chad represents are guilty whether it’s proven or not.
Today was one of those unbearable days for me. I never do well on the days the jury returns their verdict. I know I’m supposed to be impartial but it’s hard to remain that way. I could tell that this not guilty verdict affected Judge Barnes too.
I could feel the anger rolling off of her when the jury came back with it. Her hands were tied at this point. I had to type the words down, and each keystroke felt like a slap in the face to the victim. Even as my fingers moved across the keyboard, it felt surreal.
He killed his wife. I know it. I also know that he killed the woman that he was married to before this one. That little fact wasn’t allowed to be brought up in court. I have no doubt that he’ll kill his next, too, if he isn’t stopped. When he does commit his next murder, would it make Chad guilty as well because he helped the man get away with this one? It would have never happened if Chad hadn’t represented him. It is almost like he is acting as the driver of the getaway car.
I scream when a hard knock comes down onto my window. I look over to see Chad standing there in his expensive suit. Not that I am one to judge. I don’t make anything near what he does but my husband is good with money. I have the luxury of owning the finer things because of it. I reluctantly roll down my window. I avoid Chad as much as I can, but the man is always finding a reason to talk to me.
“Hey.” I force a smile.
“Heading out early?” He gives me that smile that works well on jurors. It only pisses me off. He’d never know that, though. I’ve learned to keep my face as neutral as possible.
“Yeah. Meeting the husband for dinner.” My smile turns into a real one. Anytime I bring up my husband, Chad’s smile always drops away. Judge Barnes—Mary—says he has a thing for me. She, too, cut out early. Neither one of us wasted any time getting out of that courtroom today.
“I was just going to ask if you wanted to grab a quick bite.”