The Justice Game

86

Jason checked his rearview mirror constantly, though the oceanfront area was humming with tourists and so much traffic it was impossible to tell if he was being followed. Just to be safe, he parked a few blocks from the Courtyard Marriott. He strapped on his gun, threw his suit coat on over it, and half-walked, half-jogged toward the hotel. The temperature was in the nineties, and by the time Jason hit the lobby, he had worked up a good sweat. His ribs were still sore and hurt each time he took a deep breath.

He checked behind him one last time and turned left down a hallway to Conference Room C. He entered without knocking and quickly took inventory. Everyone except Melissa Davids had already arrived. Jason shook hands with Case, Kelly Starling, and Blake Crawford. Andrew Lassiter and Bella were standing behind the others.

“I guess everybody has already met,” Jason said. They nodded and spent time in awkward small talk until Melissa Davids arrived.

The deal had been finalized by phone the night before, shortly after midnight, just twelve short hours ago. On Sunday, in a meeting with Case McAllister, Jason had explained that he had been blackmailed into leaving Jurors 3 and 7 on the panel and calling Chief Poole as an expert. Brad Carson had been in that meeting as well, acting as Jason’s attorney, and would not let Jason share the particulars of the leverage the blackmailer had used. But Jason and Brad had a plan that they proposed to Case.

Case listened carefully and handled the entire situation with a level of grace and understanding that had Jason hoping he could one day be just like the man. “Trust me,” Case said, “when you’ve been in this business as long as I have, you’ve seen it all.”

Case had called Melissa Davids, who was considerably less sanguine about the whole affair. She exploded on the phone, threatening to fire Jason and maybe even Case along with him. “Why don’t we just expose the fraud of our own lawyer and demand a mistrial?” Melissa suggested. “This has the Coalition’s fingerprints all over it.”

But Case wouldn’t let it go. He talked Melissa through her initial anger and helped her see the benefits of Jason’s plan. MD Firearms would still get an unbiased verdict-up or down. The company would be seen as more than fair to Blake Crawford. The media coverage would be unprecedented.

“So what you’re saying is that our little Benedict Arnold has actually done us a favor?” Melissa asked.

“You could look at it that way.”

“I don’t,” snapped Melissa. “But I guess this plan makes the best of a bad situation.” There was a pause on the phone line. “But Case, if I agree to this, we’d darn well better win.”

After the call, Case had relayed the conversation to Jason and Brad, including Melissa Davids’s final warning. “No pressure,” Case said. “But if this thing goes south, I hope one of you will need a law partner.”

Melissa had flown into Norfolk late Sunday evening in no better spirits. She had barely spoken a word to Jason all day Monday. And even now, as she finally arrived at the conference room, Jason could tell she was in no mood for introductions.

Jason grabbed some paper napkins sitting on the conference table and wiped the sweat from his face. His mouth was dry, and he was so tense he could hardly think straight. He hadn’t been half this nervous even during his closing argument.

“Bella and Andrew, I’m sure you’re wondering why everyone’s here. Thanks for getting the shadow jury settled in.”

The night before, Jason had given Bella strict instructions. “Assemble the shadow jury at 11:30. Don’t let them watch Chief Poole’s testimony or the closing arguments until I say so.”

Jason cleared his throat and continued. There was no easy way to say this-he could hardly bear to look at Bella and Andrew. “This weekend, I’ve been in discussions with opposing counsel about some problems in our trial caused by my own misconduct. Those problems were severe enough that they would have justified a mistrial and perhaps my own disbarment. I told Kelly I was ready to make a motion for a mistrial first thing this morning unless we could find some other way to resolve the matter.”

Because everyone in the room except Bella and Andrew had already heard Jason’s confession the night before, he forced himself to focus on them now. Bella looked crestfallen and wounded-the look of a mom who had just found out her son was on drugs. Andrew wouldn’t even return Jason’s eye contact; his face showed the pain of a betrayed friend.

But Kelly nodded her encouragement, and Jason took another deep breath. Melissa Davids pierced him with her intensity as he continued. “The trial has been tainted from day one. Without going into details, let me just say that I have been pressured into putting Chief Poole on the stand and keeping two jurors on the panel who should never have been there in the first place.”

Jason stopped and looked at Andrew. “I’m sorry, Andrew.” His friend looked at him, pursed his lips, and nodded, though he couldn’t hide the disappointment on his face.

“I told Kelly about the shadow jury and about the fact that we’ve been very careful not to let them know which side of the case impaneled them. I suggested that we dismiss the two members of the shadow jury who were chosen to mimic Jurors 3 and 7 on the real panel. I also suggested that we not let this shadow jury hear the testimony of Chief Poole or any comments the lawyers made in their closing arguments about Chief Poole.

“To cut to the chase-we’ve all agreed to be bound by the verdict of the untainted shadow jury, not the actual jury. If the shadow jury comes back with its verdict before the actual jury, we’ll inform Judge Garrison that the case has been settled. If the shadow jury comes back after the real verdict, we just settle the real case then. Either way, we ignore the real verdict even though we decided to let that case run its course this morning because…” Jason paused. “Well, for reasons I can’t disclose, it’s best that the real case continue.”

Kelly piped in, her voice far more upbeat than Jason’s. “My only caveat was that I wanted a chance to eyeball these jurors and ask them a few questions, like my own private voir dire. Jason can ask questions as well if he wants. I just need to make sure they haven’t been influenced by something other than the evidence in the case.”

Heads were nodding. Bella was still wide-eyed, trying to take it all in.

“One other thing I didn’t mention last night,” Kelly said. “I would like to leave someone here to monitor things.” She was speaking to Jason. “You’ve got Bella and Mr. Lassiter. The rest of us may be called back to court. My dad’s in from out of town, and he can be trusted to keep this confidential. If we decide to move forward with this, I’d like to have him stay with this jury and your team as part of the monitoring process.”

Jason shrugged and looked at Case. He knew better than to seek Melissa’s approval on anything right now.

“It’s fine with me,” Case said. “If you can’t trust a minister, we’re all in trouble.”

Other logistical details were discussed, and a stunned Bella and Andrew Lassiter were dispatched to prepare the jurors for a meeting with the real attorneys and real parties in the case.

A few minutes later, Bella came back and directed traffic. She was already taking to her new role, a kind of shadow judge for the shadow jury. She explained to the litigants that the jurors were in the hotel’s largest conference room, right down the hall. They were seated around a conference table, and Bella had put some chairs in front of the table for the lawyers and their clients.

She had Kelly and Blake enter first, followed by Jason, Case, and Melissa. There were astonished looks on the faces of the shadow jurors, as if the actors from a TV show had just walked into their living room. Bella introduced the parties and their lawyers and asked them to take a seat. Then she turned to her jury.

“Folks, the lawyers are going to ask you a few questions to make sure you’ve not been biased by some outside source in this case. The actual case has had a few-” she searched for the right word-“hiccups. It’s now going to be incumbent on you to render a fair and impartial verdict in this case. And the parties have agreed to be bound by whatever you decide.”