One Wild Night (Hollywood Chronicles #1)(57)

“Ready?” Ted calls to me from the bedroom.

“Almost,” I answer him and open my eyes.

I reach for the diamond tennis bracelet on the vanity and fasten it around my wrist. One last look in the mirror and I meet Ted in the bedroom where he's been waiting for me.

Tall with dark hair just starting to gray at the temples, Ted is the epitome of striking. Wearing his custom charcoal gray suit, his blue eyes stand out against his tan skin. If he weren’t a lawyer, he would be gracing the covers of a men’s fashion magazine—he's that beautiful.

“You look stunning,” he says with a soft smile. “The cameras are going to eat you up.”

I shake my head and blush. “That’s not what this is about. I want the guilty verdict. I want justice for those families—”

“And you’ll get it,” he cuts me off. “I’m so damn proud of you.” He walks across the wood floor, wrapping himself around me. “You never cease to amaze me, Frances.” He presses his lips to my temple. “I was disappointed when you left the firm, but now I understand why you did it. I think I get it—it just fits you.”

I smile at his acceptance. “You know that the public sector was where I always wanted to end up.”

He nods and runs his hands up and down my arms.

I lean into him and wrap my arms around his waist. His embrace is where I always find comfort. “I will always be grateful for my time at the firm. The experience I received there was immeasurable…and it led me to you.” I pull back and stand on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his soft lips.

With his arms wrapped tightly around me in return, he releases a long sigh and mumbles against my lips. “As much as I could stand here and kiss you all morning, we need to get going or you’re going to be late. You look great. Get your nerves in check and walk with your chin held high.” He releases me.

I nod at him with a shaky smile. Ted always knows how to calm me. I grab my purse from the bench at the end of our bed and follow him to the car.

The morning is a blur as my stomach twists and turns in the hours leading up to the verdict. I busy myself by reading my closing argument over and over—even though I’d memorized it weeks ago and presented it to the jury three days ago.

We finally got word late yesterday afternoon that a verdict had been reached. The jury deliberated for two and half days…two and half of the longest days of my life. How selfish, I think to myself as I turn around and look at the Morrison and Longmire families sitting behind me. The loss of a child will truly destroy you.

I’ve waited two and half days for a verdict, and they’ve been waiting for two years. It took us two years to build the case we needed to bring Terry Nelson to trial for the sexual assault and murder of their two beautiful little girls, Sadie Morrison and Eva Longmire. Two six-year-old girls who were best friends and in the same kindergarten class. Two little girls who had their entire futures ahead of them, gone at the hands of a vicious predator. Two families that will never be the same again, ever.

Mr. Longmire nods once at me and offers a tight smile. I’ve seen him age significantly in these last two years, more than a man his age should. His hair is now graying and his skin is ashen. I've never seen a pair of eyes that hold as much sadness as his. He's worn, and tired, but hanging on for his baby girl. Losing a child in the most brutal of ways will do that to a man.

I turn back to my notes just as the defense team arrives. I have to tuck my hands underneath the table to hide the shaking. The defendant, Terry Nelson, is brought into the courtroom and placed at the defense table. I glance over my shoulder just in time to catch an encouraging smile from Ted as the bailiff enters with the jury. My heart pounds wildly as we all rise and Judge Vincent arrives and takes a seat.

When everyone sits, I inhale sharply, pulling the air deep into my lungs, and scan the faces of each of the twelve jurors, looking for the slightest signs of what the verdict may be. Twelve jurors, men and women, young and old, who have spent the last five weeks of their lives listening to me present evidence, question witnesses, medical examiners, and detectives in hopes of bringing the Morrison and Longmire families the justice they deserve—for Sadie and Eva.

Judge Vincent addresses the jury before finally asking the foreman if the jury has reached a verdict. Blood rushes to my head, momentarily deafening me as the foreman speaks. A single piece of paper is passed between the foreman, bailiff, and onto the clerk. The clerk inhales and her eyes scan the paper in her hands. The very piece of paper that could send a murderer back onto the streets, or send him to prison for the rest of his life where he belongs.

My case was rock solid—or so I believed. The DNA and the evidence I presented told the story of the gruesome and violent murders of those two little girls; in my eyes, evidence doesn't lie…but the puzzle I had to weave together to convince the jury of those facts could say otherwise.

I hear the swooshing sound of my heart racing, but I’m unable to make out the words as the clerk begins to speak. I see her lips moving and her eyes dance between the defense team and myself. The piece of paper in her hand shakes slightly as she speaks.

It’s only when my head clears that I’m finally able to register the words the clerk spoke.

“Guilty.” On two counts of first-degree murder.

"Guilty." On handfuls of other charges, but the one that matters, first-degree murder is all I hear.