Chapter 31

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"I really don't want to see his face," I groaned, slumping back in Nick's passenger seat as we drove to the Cook County courthouse.

Nick reached across the console, grabbing my hand and giving it a soft reassuring squeeze. I'd made somewhat of a scene back when he came to pick me up. I was torn between wanting to go because I wanted to see Derek get indicted, but I also didn't want to go so I wouldn't have to see his face - except maybe on the six o'clock news. Nick had talked me into going though, reminding me that I basically had to go due to the prosecution planning to call me as a witness. So far, I wasn't too thrilled about it.

I looked in the rearview mirror, seeing Monica's car behind us. Brianna was with her due to the authorities not allowing the local news stations inside the courtroom during today's hearing. Brianna was going to wait outside the courtroom with Monica for me to tell her what took place, and she would tell Jamie about it afterwards. Jamie wanted to be the first reporter to break the news that Derek had or hadn't been indicted. She wasn't going to reveal her sources though, which was the only reason I was helping.

I knew how this was going to go. Indictments are about as textbook at it gets. The suspect and their attorneys are rarely present. Prosecutors have the option to call suspects as witnesses, but they usually don't. If the suspect is present, they almost always refuse to testify, invoking their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, not wanting to incriminate themselves even more.

Nick had presented to the FBI the evidence he found in Derek's folders that Samantha had given him. The FBI had turned it over to the prosecution. I was surprised at how fast this case was starting to move. The US Attorney, Mike Flint, had made it pretty clear that he didn't want Derek's hot-shot lawyers finding a way to get him out of everything. He didn't want to allow them the time to try. Hence today being the day a jury would decide whether or not to indict Derek, a week and a half after his arrest. To everyone's surprise, Derek had not made bail. He'd been sitting in the sheriff's department for ten days.

"I'm not exactly anxious to see the fucker either," Nick said, slowing down due to the backed up traffic in front of us, all taking the same exit toward the courthouse.

The interstates around downtown had become slow moving parking lots. Ten in the morning looked like rush hour. It was cloudy and we were supposed to get thunderstorms by noon. It seemed ironic to me that the day Derek would most likely be indicted would be all dark and gloomy.

Due to Nick's heavy involvement in the case, the prosecution also wanted to call him as a witness. It didn't seem to bother him that his statements were going to be written down and the defense would most likely have access to the transcripts later. I didn't like the idea of saying something on the stand that Derek and his attorneys would read. The last thing I needed was them being pissed at me.

The courthouse was a mile from the highway. Heading for the parking lot across the street, we passed four vans with satellites on top that belonged to some of the local news stations. There were two reporters standing in front of the courthouse, recording part of their evening news stories. I didn't see Jamie anywhere.

Nick pulled into the parking lot, slowly driving through rows, trying to find a place to park. He pissed off the vehicle behind us when he decided to back into a space, taking his time. The man stuck his middle finger out the window and Nick grinned at him like he was so proud of himself, obviously amused by the angered driver. Monica parked beside us and the four of us began to walk to the courthouse.

Once we reached the courtroom, Monica and Brianna sat down on a bench outside in the hallway, while Nick and I found a couple spots close to the prosecution's table. The old wooden benches were uncomfortable and my ass started to go numb within minutes. The hearing was supposed to have begun at ten-fifteen and they were running late.

The jury entered the courtroom, taking their seats in front of the windows. Outside it looked like it was about to start pouring. I studied each juror. They all looked like they'd rather be anywhere else. Hell, I'd rather be anywhere else.

I felt a painful lump form in my throat and my heart sank to my stomach when two deputies walked in, escorting Derek to the defense's side. He was wearing his usual suit and tie, not wanting to be caught dead in the orange jumpsuit he'd been wearing for the past ten days. His hair was neatly combed back and his tie was a bit loose. I stared at the ugly grey carpet, trying to keep him from noticing me, only taking peeks through my peripheral vision. I tried to shrink back in my seat where I could kind of hide behind Nick's arm but it obviously didn't work the way I wanted when Derek's gaze landed on me. He looked like he was ready to strangle somebody. I was glad he was in handcuffs.

I was mortified that Derek was there. That meant the prosecution was going to call him to the stand. More so, I was horrified at the idea of taking the stand in front of him, if they decided to call other witnesses too. I started contemplating whether or not I should plea the fifth for the sake of keeping my anxiety from skyrocketing. I didn't want to make anyone's hit list and I was pretty sure Derek knew people who could make sure I didn't take the stand again. At the same time though, I wanted to rub it in his face that I was a witness in a case against him. I was just worried that the jury would decide not to indict him and then he would get revenge on me for speaking out against him. I was getting a headache just thinking about it.

Behind us, the doors squeaked as an attorney I recognized as George Deverman, a large bald man in a mustard-stained brown suit walked in, making his way to Derek. George said something to the deputy standing beside Derek and my discomfort increased as the deputy removed his handcuffs and walked across the courtroom to talk to the bailiff. I recognized the bailiff as the same man who was at Regina Evans' hearing a couple weeks prior. I made a mental note to call Regina and see how she was doing.

I watched George and Derek whisper to each other, George taking a seat next to him and pointing out things that he'd written in a black binder. Anger settled in the pit of my stomach when I saw Derek smile wickedly in response to something George had told him.

I nudged Nick's arm, gesturing to the conversation taking place between the two men. They were about thirty feet from us. He nodded, glancing around the room and tapping his thumb on his knee impatiently.

"I don't like this," I whispered, staring at Derek's back. "I don't think I want to testify anymore."

Nick placed a comforting hand on my thigh, slowly rubbing back and forth in a soothing manner. "It'll be alright. Just relax."

"All rise," the bailiff bellowed and everyone stood in unison as Judge Matthews, a man in his mid-forties with giant black eyebrows entered the room. He looked almost bored to tears as he took his seat at the bench and instructed us to be seated again.

I'd seen Judge Matthews enough times to recognize him but I'd never been in his courtroom or seen the way he conducted a proceeding. I hoped he would take this case incredibly seriously and not allow the Hampton family's friendships with several judges and legislators to sway his decisions.

Sitting up in front of us was the prosecution team consisting of a tall, skinny man, a brunette woman I did not recognize, and the assistant district attorney, Emily Richards, with her bright red hair pulled back into a neat bun.

As Judge Matthews was about to speak, the courtroom doors slammed behind us. Nick and I turned to see a tall, thin woman about thirty years old with long brown hair and red highlights. Her black heels clicked loudly on the portion of flooring that wasn't carpet as she walked toward the defense's table in a form-fitting light grey blazer and black dress. She tossed the folders she'd been carrying on the table beside George's binder, indicating to everyone that she had an attitude and she was proud of her not-so-fashionably late entrance.

"My apologies for interrupting, Your Honor," she said in a tone that made it obvious she wasn't sincere.

She sat down next to George who looked surprised by her demeanor. Judge Matthews didn't respond but shook his head, not at all surprised by an egotistical attorney showing up late.

"Who is she?" Nick whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my neck.

I glared at the woman beside George, sitting with her arms folded and her legs crossed while she impatiently waited for Judge Matthews to speak. "Veronica Dashwood."

Over the next two hours Emily, the ADA, spoke to the jury more than anyone else. She identified her partners on the prosecution as Michelle Lovetts and Randy Cartwright, who both worked with the DA. I envied Emily. She was beautiful and clearly talented and had the job that I hoped to someday have. She was also a Harvard graduate, like me. I was fairly confident that if I worked extra hard to achieve my goals, I might get to be an assistant district attorney someday. I didn't want to be the DA, but I wanted to be pretty close.

Emily, Michelle and Randy gave a very detailed explanation to the twelve jurors who looked like they were all about to fall asleep. Nick had been intently listening the entire time and all I could think about was how badly I didn't want to take the stand. Veronica and Emily had begun to argue over whether or not there was enough evidence presented to the jury to bring forth the charges that the prosecution wanted. I knew there was but I wasn't allowed to speak up. Veronica decided to play the you're a liar card, accusing the prosecution of falsifying evidence against Derek because they knew they didn't have a case. This was obvious bullshit to everyone, but Veronica wasn't ready to back down. By the looks of it, the judge was about to kick her out of the courtroom if she didn't shut the hell up.

"There will be order in my courtroom!" Judge Matthews yelled, breaking up the argument. "We'll take a forty-five-minute break for lunch. Be back here at 1:30. Do not be late."

I breathed a quiet giggle, amused by the judge glaring at Veronica when he instructed everyone to not be late. Nick and I stayed in our seats, waiting for everyone to get out of the way before we tried to leave the room. We met up with Monica and Brianna in the hallway, who had already gone to the makeshift food court down the hall and gotten sandwiches, chips and sodas. I was anxious to hurry up and eat and get back to the courtroom.

"I'm really surprised Matthews hasn't kicked Veronica out," Monica said between bites of her ham sandwich. "She's unbelievably annoying. We could hear her out in the hall."

Brianna began to giggle, gesturing for us to look down the hall where Veronica and George were talking. Veronica was glaring at us, having heard what Monica said. Monica continued to antagonize her, waving with a sarcastic grin.

"If she didn't hate us already, she certainly does now," I laughed.

Brianna and Monica followed Nick and I to get food. I really would have preferred leaving the courthouse to get a burger or a waffle and eggs, considering I hadn't had time to eat breakfast before we left the house. I settled for a turkey sandwich. Nick got the same and paid for both of us.

The four of us sat down on a bench near the elevators and ate. Brianna and Monica went on about their opinions on the case while I tried to ignore the growing anxiety over the possibility that I might be called as a witness once recess was over.

Nick wrapped his arm around me, pulling me against him, and I rested my head against his chest, nibbling at the remainder of my sandwich. I didn't want to be here anymore. I wanted to go home.

Minutes later, everyone filed back into the courtroom. Veronica was sitting down, reading over the notes in her folder and glancing back and forth from her folder to George's binder which appeared to have similar notes. Nick and I sat down in the same spot as before and watched as Derek was escorted back into the room. He didn't take his focus off me until he sat down beside Veronica. George was nowhere to be found.

I started to tap my foot anxiously. Judge Matthews returned a couple minutes later looking like he wanted to get this over with so he could leave. I couldn't blame him. I didn't want to be in the same room as Veronica for that long either.

"I don't understand. Isn't the defense supposed to be absent for this part?" Nick whispered in my ear.

"Generally they are, but since it's such a high-profile case, I'm sure George and Veronica are trying to cover every base," I explained. "The judge isn't usually here either, but he's trying to keep everything civil. Probably the DA asked him to oversee the proceeding." I slapped my mouth shut when Judge Matthews caught me talking.

Emily spent ages relaying evidence to the jury and Nick and I were about to start snoozing. I'd allowed my eyelids to fall shut, only listening to bits and pieces of the conversation until a loud scoff startled me out of my daze.

Veronica retrieved her folder and promptly pranced out of the courtroom. George whispered something in Derek's ear and his face went white. I could feel my blood pressure rising, anxious to know what had the defense rattled.

Not long after Veronica's episode, the proceeding came to a close and Nick went to speak with Emily while I went outside to wait with Brianna and Monica.

"What happened in there?" Monica immediately asked me. "We saw Veronica storm out. She looked pissed!"

"I wish I knew. Something's got them uneasy."

"That's good for the prosecution though," Brianna chimed in. "If she's that upset to make a spectacle, that tells me the prosecution has the upper hand big time."

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