Chapter 29

The jury room hadn't changed much, but the changes that HAD been made were obvious. At each of the twelve chairs around the long table, there was a cheap name tag, made of paper folded into an inverted V. Maggie's was at one end of the table and bore the title "Foreman."

It was almost lunch time and some faceless employee had provided a tray of sandwiches, individual bags of various kinds of chips, fruit, and pre-packaged salads from the cafe downstairs. There were also a dozen kinds of soda, as well as bottled water and several brands of pre-mixed tea in a refrigerator in the corner of the room. The coffee in the carafe was brewing as they trooped in, to begin their job.

"They must think we'll go through lunch," observed Waldo, who didn't think that would happen at all. Fetterman was obviously guilty and that was all there was too it. One vote should end things. He no longer thought of himself as the man they should have chosen as their foreman. They didn't even NEED a foreman.

"Never turn down a free meal," said Reggie, eyeing the sandwiches.

"Let's vote and get this over with," said Rick. "Then we can go get a real lunch."

"Aren't we supposed to talk about it first?" asked Judy.

"What's to talk about?" snorted Rick. "She's guilty as sin. End of story."

"Absolutely," said Waldo, righteously. "She did it. She's guilty."

Judy was shocked. Sure it LOOKED like the woman had done something wrong, but there was more to the story. These two men's rush to judgment took her aback. She felt frustration, because it looked like they weren't even willing to discuss things.

Another juror also felt a stab of emotion at the two men's casual assumption that all the others would simply fall in with them. Helen's blood always boiled when a man took it for granted that he was right, and that everybody knew it—especially women—and so should just bow down to his wish. She knew the woman was guilty, of course, but they should at least give her a fair hearing. She spoke up and couldn't hide the anger in her voice.

"I thought she was supposed to get a FAIR trial!" she said belligerently.

Waldo felt his religious roots tugging. Women didn't understand important things. They needed things explained to them. He was fully capable of doing that. He did it all the time.

"She did get a fair trial," he said calmly. "She was tried with full due process." He wasn't exactly sure of what "due process" involved, but the lawyers had made all those objections and the judge had ruled on them. That made things fair. "She confessed," he went on, and was taking a breath to go even further, but was interrupted by Helen.

"People make false confessions all the time!" she snapped. "And she was blown up, for Christ's sake! Who KNOWS how faulty her memory is?"

"I'll thank you not to take the Lord's name in vain, young lady!" lectured Waldo. "Sacrilege isn't necessary, or acceptable in decent conversation."

Helen stared at the man, openmouthed. Waldo felt a little thrill that he'd impressed her with his witness.

"Everyone sit down!" said Maggie, her voice raised. She hadn't wanted the job of foreman, and wanted it even less now. They hadn't been in the room for five minutes and there was already tension and discord. "We'll take an initial vote. If it's unanimous, we're finished. If it's not, then we'll talk about things in a civil fashion."

"Not unanimous?" Rick laughed. "How could it not be unanimous? She did it! She's guilty! We all know that!"

"Let's vote!" yipped Judy, who was itching to prove to the men that they didn't know everything, the way they thought they did. She might have only one vote, but it actually COUNTED in this. The judge had said so.

"Yes," said Kelsey. He was horrified. He'd gotten on this jury to strike a blow at rapists, but he had to admit he'd been foolish. The evidence was clear. He thought Lacey was a hero for what she'd done, but his hands were tied. Now he just wanted to put this all in the past. His pain would go on. His daughter's rape would be un-avenged, still. But it was obvious she'd killed the man when he was completely helpless.

People eventually settled into seats. There was a pad lying at Maggie's place. Each sheet had three boxes on it: Guilty; Not Guilty; and Undecided. She tore sheets off and passed them to the people sitting on either side of her, asking them to take one and pass it down. Each juror had a pencil and a pad of paper by his name plate.

"Mark your ballot and fold it in half, please," said Maggie.

"Ooooo," said Rick. "Secret voting, even. Have to make sure it's fair!" He snickered.

He didn't snicker when Maggie counted the votes, announcing each as she unfolded it, and placing them in two piles.

There were ten in the "Guilty" pile, and two in the "Not Guilty" pile. No one was undecided.

"You've got to be shitting me!" groused Rick Brown. "Who voted not guilty? This isn't funny!"

Nobody said anything, while everybody looked around.

"I've got business to tend to!" shouted Rick. "I don't need this shit. We've already wasted two days. Who voted not guilty?"

Maggie raised her hand.

"First off, I'll thank you to moderate your language." She meant to go on.

"Fuck you, Grandma," snarled Rick. "I didn't vote for you and I'll be damned if I'm going to listen to a stupid bitch who voted not guilty when that murdering cunt confessed to the fucking murder." He stood up. "Now, let's vote again, and THIS time, I expect everybody in the room to throw the bitch in prison where she fucking belongs so we can get the FUCK out of here. Is that clear?!"

He looked around. The faces in the room were either pale, or flushed brightly red. Maggie stood up. Instead of reaching for the ballots, however, she turned on her heel and left the room.

Rick spat and reached for the ballots himself. He tore one off and threw the pad toward Hank, who was on his right.

"Where did she go?" asked Judy timidly.

"She went to get the judge," said Danny.

"Why?"

"Because I'm about to kick," he leaned over to read Rick's name plate, "Rick's ass," he finished.

"You and what army," sneered Rick.

"Let me introduce myself further," said Danny calmly, standing up. "Staff Sergeant Daniel Baumgartner, medically retired, formerly a member of the seventy-fifth Ranger Regiment, with three tours in Iraq. I'm fully trained in ripping your beating heart from your chest while you stare at the bleeding lump, just before your worthless carcass falls to the floor."

"Fuck you, Hero," snorted Rick. "You can't threaten me."

The door opened and Judge Gunderson swept into the room. Maggie was behind him, wiping tears from her cheeks. He took in the belligerent stance that both standing men were in.

"Mister Brown, you are excused from jury duty," he said. "Please leave this room and wait outside. I'll be with you in a minute."

Rick snorted. "Fine by me," he said. "I've got better things to do."

"Don't leave," said the judge casually. "If you're not out there when I come out, I'll find you in contempt of court and have you found and given a room in the county jail until I get around to dealing with you. I'm a busy man, Mr. Brown, and it could take weeks to straighten out any misunderstandings."

Rick opened his mouth and then closed it. He stormed out of the room. The judge put his hands on the back of Maggie's chair, where it had slid when she fled the room and inclined his head toward it. He seated her.

"Each of you has one vote," he said. "It's your vote. Nobody has the right to demand that you vote in any particular manner. Is there anybody else in this room who feels they have the right to order people around?"

Most of the jurors shook their heads.

"Fine. I'll appoint an alternate juror to join you. Please bring him or her up to date and continue your deliberations." He left the room.

"That was interesting," said Tim Flynn.

"Damn, bro," said Reggie. "You got style, I'll give you that." He was grinning at Danny.

"You wouldn't really have hurt him ... would you?" asked Judy, looking wide-eyed at Danny.

"I went to war to protect America and The Constitution," said Danny tightly. "I lost good friends over there who were doing the same thing. I take this just as seriously as I took my duty when I was still in the army. Assholes like that don't deserve to live in America."

"Please," moaned Maggie.

"I'm sorry about the language, ma'am," said Danny formally. "It won't happen again."

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