Page 23 of Jury Woman, Part 4 of 6

No.

Just once. Barely an inch in each direction. Anyone glancing over would have seen a man disagreeing with testimony he didn't like.

But he wasn't looking at the witness.

I dropped my eyes so fast the headband slid off my lap. I bent to retrieve it, and when I sat up again, I kept my face pointed at the easels.

No, what? No, don't believe it? No, don't write that down?

Or simply: No. I see you.

I found my place in the cable pattern. Counted the rows twice. Then a third time, because the numbers kept slipping away from me.

Along the back wall, Deputy Wells had taken one step forward. He gave me a questioning look, but I gave him a reassuring smile.

I might've imagined the "no." And even if I hadn't, I had no idea what it meant.

October 24, Saturday

WARREN CALLED from his car.

I recognized the tan leather headrest behind him and the dealership's logo on the key fob dangling from the ignition. He was parked at work, the engine off, one arm draped over the steering wheel.

"I've got fifteen minutes," he said. "Maybe."

"Then tell me what happened. All of it. Lily only knew part."

He blew out a long breath and stared through the windshield. "Tuesday morning, before first bell. Scott's at the trophy case with Ariana and a few of his lacrosse buddies. They've got a phone out, and they're passing it around, laughing. Turns out it was a picture somebody took Friday night through our front window. Lily sitting on the stairs in her dress, waiting." His jaw tightened. "Somebody drove by and snapped it. It was all over the sophomore group chat by Saturday."

My hand flew to my throat. "Oh, Warren."

"Josh saw it. Walked right up and asked Scott to delete it. Scott said something. Josh won't tell me what, but the vice principal says three different kids heard it, and none of them will repeat it either." He rubbed his forehead. "So Josh hit him. One shot. Scott went down, bled all over the carpet, and his mother had a lawyer on the phone before lunch."

"And you went over there."

"Wednesday night. Sat in their living room for two hours eating crow and apologizing for a kid who, frankly, I'm not sure was entirely wrong." He shook his head. "Their lawyer wanted an assault charge. I told them about the picture, about the group chat. Pointed out that a photo of a minor taken without permission and passed around a school might not look great for their kid, either."

I stared at him. For a moment, I saw the man who'd once talked a furious customer into buying a second car.

"And?"

"They agreed not to press charges. But there's a no-contact agreement. Josh and Lily both have to stay away from Scott. Different hallways, different lunch periods, no messages, nothing." He shrugged. "Not that Josh has to worry. He's expelled. The hearing's in two weeks. Until then, he's doing online modules at the kitchen table. Or he's supposed to be."

"How's Lily taking it?"

"Hard to tell." His gaze drifted somewhere past the camera. "She and Josh are glued to their rooms. They come down for food, grunt, go back up. I hear them talking through the wall sometimes. That's about all I get."

"You could knock."

"Don't." His voice sharpened. "Don't tell me what I could do. You have no idea what this week's been like. The school, the Hendersons, their lawyer, Josh's principal, the hearing officer. I handled every bit of it. By myself."

Heat rose in my throat. "Welcome to the club, Warren. Who do you think handled Josh's broken arm? Lily's ear infections? Every parent-teacher conference, every call from the nurse's office, every time somebody got caught with something they shouldn't have had? I did all of that by myself for years. You just never had to see it."

His nostrils flared. He started to answer, then gripped the steering wheel with both hands instead.

That was when I noticed the circles under his eyes. Not the puffiness of one bad night but real shadows, bruise-dark, carved in deep. He'd lost weight in his face, too. His collar gapped at his neck.

The anger drained out of me before I could hold onto it.