Between her extensive education, experience, and natural-born instincts, she had the eyes of a lawyer. She knew the all the important signs to look for in a jury. Little ticks and tells letting her know they either believed what they were being told…or they didn’t.
A fidget here. A small shift there. The breaking of eye contact or a slight tilt of their head. A scratch of an arm, or a hand absentmindedly rubbing over a tensed up jaw.
Each one of those tiny, subconscious movements was like a tell in a game of poker. Only the pot at stake in this game wasn’t a fat stack of cash. It was the additional innocent lives that would most certainly be lost should the jury set George Ray Harvey free.
Ellie slid the accused a hidden, sideways glance. Harvey’s fit, formidable stature—combined with salt-and-pepper hair that was sheered so close to his scalp—almost made her think of a soldier.
Not one who protected others’ freedoms but rather one who took those freedoms away. A soldier of death who stalked his prey for days, taunting them with notes, phone calls, and even acts of vandalism. And then…when the moment was right…
The sick, twisted asshole struck.
“Therefore, you have no choice but to find my client innocent of all charges,” Defense council completed his final statements. “Thank you.”
Ellie nearly choked on the man’s words.
Innocent my ass.
Sitting quietly, she waited as Judge Watkins gave the jury their final instructions. With the ball now officially in their court, Ellie knew she wouldn’t get a moment of peace until they came back with the verdict.
The shortest turnaround time she’d had on a case so far was nine hours. The longest…seventeen days.
Praying this one fell closer to the former, Ellie pushed herself to her feet and began gathering her things. She reached toward the thick stack of files in front of her, sliding each folder one by one into her leather briefcase.
A low humming of conversation mixed with the sounds of people standing and making their way out of the courtroom. Tuning it all out, Ellie’s mind was already five steps ahead with thoughts of preparing for an appeal should the jury come back with a not-guilty verdict.
It was crazy to think that could even be possible, but she’d been in the courtroom long enough to know it was. Though it didn’t happen often, thank God, she had first-hand knowledge that sometimes…sometimes…killers managed to walk free.
That can’t happen this time. Not with this man. Not this killer.
Ellie shoved the yellow legal pad filled with scribbled notes into a different section of her briefcase. With a haphazard toss, she was reaching for her cell phone and pen when a loud commotion sounded from somewhere to her left.
So many things happened all at once that her shocked brain couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing until it was too late.
George Ray Harvey had just stabbed his attorney in the side of the neck with something. Was that an ink pen? Ellie couldn’t be sure.
She didn’t have time to see what weapon Harvey had used because, in the very next seconds that followed, the deputy who’d been charged with escorting the murderer to and from the courtroom raced forward.
The man’s face was red with fury, a large vein in his forehead bulging with rage as he yelled at Harvey to stop. The deputy pulled his department-issued weapon free from its holster. At the same time, Harvey lunged, the man desperately reaching for the gun. Though the deputy tried with all his might to keep his weapon secured, Harvey managed to yank the pistol free.
And that’s when all hell really broke loose.
Frozen in place by fear, Ellie had no choice but to watch with horror as Harvey turned the gun toward the deputy and fired. The sound of the blast was deafening as it echoed all around her, and her ears began to ring.
Screams and cries of terror came from those shoving their way through the courtroom’s large, double doors as people raced to escape the threat. Another shot rang out, and Ellie turned just in time to see the judge fall to the floor as she’d tried running to safety. A pool of blood instantly formed beneath the poor woman’s unmoving head.
Ohmygod!
The maniac had just stabbed his own attorney in the neck before shooting the guard and the judge. And now…now he was headed her way.
“Get down!” someone yelled.
But it was too late. Harvey was already there.
Ellie’s heart raced with fear and a desperation of its own. Damn it, she wasn’t ready to die! Not now. Not yet.
I’m only twenty-seven!
But with nowhere to go and no weapon at her disposal, there wasn’t anything she could do to—