Eleanor opened the paper beneath the cover of her legal pad and read.
She looked up immediately.
“Your Honor,” she said, rising fully, “the defense requests a brief recess.”
“Counsel?” Judge Harlan said.
Eleanor stepped toward the bench as he motioned her up.
Reid stood too. “Your Honor, the State would like to be heard.”
Judge Harlan held up a hand. Then, with one finger, he pushed his microphone aside and lowered his voice.
“Why do you need ten minutes?”
“Your Honor, some new information has come to light, and I promise this won’t take more than a few minutes.”
He studied her face for one long beat.
Then he nodded once, straightened, and pulled the microphone back toward him.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll take a short recess. Remember my instructions. Do not discuss the case. Do not conduct any outside research. Do not consume any media related to these proceedings.”
The jurors filed out.
Danny remained on the stand under the bailiff’s eye.
Eleanor stepped into the hall with Deck at her shoulder.
Reid stayed where he was for one beat too long, watching Harper disappear through the side door with O’Rourke behind her.
Interesting.
He gathered his notes slowly, then moved into the hallway in time to see Harper speaking to a woman he couldn’t quite place.
Mid-fifties, maybe. Plain cardigan. Purse clutched tight in both hands. Familiar in the irritating way old case faces sometimes were.
Harper stood very still while the woman spoke.
Whatever had happened in the last two minutes had knocked her clean off her original path and onto another one.
Terrific.
Some buried lead O’Rourke had held back until the last possible second.
Harper would not be doing this unless she thought she could prove it.
Before he could move any closer, the bailiff called counsel back in.
Something was coming.
He just didn’t know what.
When the jury returned, Eleanor walked back to the podium and picked up her legal pad.
Across the aisle, Reid sat back slowly.
The woman in the cardigan settled into the row behind the defense table beside O’Rourke.
