Chapter 459

The ‘courtroom’ was already set up on the stage, and you had to guess that there must have been some sort of courtroom drama play that had happened at some point in the past for the venue to have some perfect furniture. Two long, heavy desks were set up near the front for the plaintiffs and defence, while the bench desk was set up near the back of the stage for the judge, along with a court clerk and even a court reporter - though you doubted the firms had gone that far.

The rest of the hall was big and dominated the building from side to side, its tall vaulted ceiling matching the one in the lobby. It was slightly angled, leading down towards the stage, and had bench seating in the back half and then movable rows of chairs in the front, presumably for more raucous concerts. The only disruption to this was a bar along the back wall in between the two big double doors and a pair of stairwells that led up to balcony seating that hovered over the back third of the seating area and down both walls.

“Five-hundred and fifty-person capacity,” Garrison said as he led you down the aisle towards the stage. “Not that you’ll have more than a few of us lawyers here to watch. Why don’t you folks get yourselves set up, I’ll check on your opposition.”

You, Eric, Gemma and Sabrina all headed to the stairs on the side of the stage and walked up onto the platform, your feet feeling like they were extra loud on the wood panelling. Both Gemma and Sabrina were wearing heels, and they were even louder.

“Alright, let’s get sorted,” Sabrina said, heading for the table on the right. You were representing the Defendants in the case as the insurance company, with the plaintiffs suing because of the refused coverage.

Soon files were hitting the tables and getting organised, and the four of you were arranging things and murmuring to each other. You were pretty much alone in the entire hall, and yet it felt like you were in a library or some other sacred space where you were supposed to be subdued in your volume.

You were just getting the evidentiary files organised on the desk for easy reference when the doors at the back of the hall opened with a soft thoom through the space and you all looked back to see Garrison and an older woman, maybe in her late forties or early fifties, entering and talking as they lead a group of younger people.

“The opposition has arrived,” Gemma murmured.

Garrison seemed to be giving them the same spiel about the history of the place, and you wondered if maybe he’d worked in the building in his youth or something - or if he’d even performed there in a band or as an amateur stage actor. His passion for the place was palpable.

Then your opponents were directed to the stage to get ready as Garrison and the woman headed towards the back again, talking more quietly.

There were five of them to your four, though you had to admit that if Andy had been part of the team he wouldn’t exactly have been adding anything helpful - and possibly even would have hindered you. That reminded you that you needed to ask Eric if he’d ever followed up with the unfortunate stoner, but you were a little busy sizing up the competition.