Find Them Dead

98 Tuesday 28 May

There had been speculation in the jury room earlier this morning that the judge’s summing-up might take several days. The reality was, according to Meg’s watch, just under three hours.

It left her in panic, she wasn’t prepared for this. She had hoped for at least a night clear to study her notes and get her arguments ready for the jurors.

Bleakly, thinking hard, she followed her colleagues back into the jury room and took her place at the head of the table. As she sat, she decided her best chance was to be assertive and take immediate control. She also needed to buy herself more thinking time.

‘As it is now lunchtime,’ she announced, ‘may I suggest we take a short break? Some sandwiches and drinks have been provided for us. Let’s resume with clear heads in half an hour’s time.’

Her suggestion was greeted by universal assent and to her relief everyone found their own space around the room. She got straight on with her plan, scanning through all of her notes and numbering them in a sequence she felt might work best for her — just her hunch. Her tiredness was long forgotten. She felt alert and increasingly optimistic the further she read through her notes.

She could do this, she realized, it was no longer an impossible task — she actually could pull this off.