City. But once actually there in the courthouse an unexpected sense of civic duty had made him stay.
“Added to the prospect of a fortnight coming into close contact with you, Jess,” he’d added, with a grin.
Jess had taken this with a pinch of salt. Simon was a charmer, and she liked him, but she also liked Edward, the ex-headmaster, and June, the office cleaner, and most of her fellow jurors. However, she longed for this particular trial to be over. The young woman in the dock, Prosecuting Counsel alleged, had knowingly smuggled drugs into the country in her luggage. Like Jess she was in her mid-twenties, but with eyes dark-ringed in a pale, strained face, and from the evidence there seemed little doubt that she was guilty.
Previously Jess had preferred to eat a sandwich lunch in the jury restaurant with the others. But today she had given in to Simon’s coaxing, glad to escape from the memory of the defendant’s hopeless eyes. Now Jess wished she’d stayed put as usual. The fascinating stranger’s interest had intrigued her, and in other circumstances she would have liked to meet him. But not when he came as one of a package with Roberto Forli and Prosecuting Counsel.
Jess waited in trepidation as the afternoon session began, fully expecting the judge to stop the proceedings. But to her vast relief everything went on as usual, and instead of pointing a dramatic finger at her Mr Jeremy Lonsdale merely got to his feet to make his closing speech for the prosecution. When the barrister sat down at last Simon gave a discreet thumbs-up sign. Afterwards Defence Counsel’s speech proved to be mainly a criticism of Prosecution’s case, with interminable reminders to the jury about burden of proof and miscarriages of justice. Long before he finished Jess bitterly regretted the reckless volume of water downed before coming into court. Hot with embarrassment, she was forced to raise a hand at last when the barrister paused for breath. With the judge’s permission the usher escorted all members of the jury from the box to lock them in the jury room where eleven of them waited while Jess, crimson-faced, retired to their private cloakroom. Afterwards they all filed back into the court again to hear Defence Counsel come to a conclusion. When he achieved this at long last the judge ruled that it was time to finish for the day. He would leave his summing up for the morning.
“Not to worry, love,” whispered June afterwards. “Don’t be embarrassed. Nature calls everyone—even the judge.”
The June sunshine was warm as Jess drove home through rush hour. Moving from one set of traffic lights to the next in slow progression, she was so preoccupied with the thoughts of the fascinating stranger she almost shot a red light at one point, and glued her attention to the traffic afterwards instead. The hot, crowded city streets filled Jess with sudden longing for Friars Wood, the cool house perched on the cliffs overlooking the Wye Valley, and the meal her mother would be concocting for the family at that very moment. Just one more day to go, she consoled herself, then she could go home for a break.
Jess managed to park near her flat in Bayswater, then trudged along the terrace of tall white houses, glad to get back to a home far more peaceful these days, since Fiona Todd had moved out to live with her man. Jess and her remaining flatmate, Emily Shaw, were now the only tenants, an arrangement which worked very amicably.
When Jess got in Emily was lying on the sofa, watching television. “Hi,” she said, turning the set off. “My word, you look done in. What’s up?”
Jess groaned. “Have I had a fraught day!”
“Is it desperately hush-hush, or are you allowed to tell me?”
“This bit I can! I ran into Roberto Forli in a pub at lunchtime.”
Emily’s big eyes widened. “Really? Your sister’s ex from Florence? What’s he doing here in London?”
“No idea. Whatever it was I wish he’d been doing it somewhere else,” said Jess irritably.
“Why?” said Emily, astonished.
“It’s a long story.”
“But jolly interesting, by the sound of it.”
Jess took a deep breath. “Simon Hollister, the marketing bloke on the jury with me, asked me out for a swift lunch. By sheer bad luck we hit on the same pub as Prosecuting Counsel.”
“No!”
Jess described the incident with Roberto Forli to her riveted friend. But, for reasons she wasn’t quite sure of, made no mention of the stranger. “We’re forbidden contact with anyone connected to the court, of course, so when I saw Roberto all chummy with Prosecuting Counsel I shot out of the pub like greased lightning and did a runner back to the courthouse.”
“Did Roberto see you?”
“You bet he did.” Jess collapsed into a chair, grateful for the fruit juice her friend handed over. “Wonderful. I needed this. Thank goodness you were home early today.”
Emily Shaw worked for an executive in a credit card company, and it was rare that she was home at this hour. “Mr Boss Man’s away, and I’ve been slaving like mad to get everything shipshape before I take off on my hols. I developed a nasty little headache after lunch, so I knocked off early for once.”
“I should think so.” Jess eyed her closely. “You look horribly peaky. Have you taken any painkillers?”
“Yes, Nurse. And I’m going to bed early.” Emily grinned. “You should do the same for once.”
“I probably will.” Jess smiled ruefully. “Pity I had to offend Roberto like that. You should have seen his face when I bolted!”
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense—what happened when you went back into the jury box? Did the judge excommunicate you, or whatever?”
“No, thank goodness. But while Defence Counsel was droning on I realised I shouldn’t have drunk so much water.” Jess giggled as she described the trooping out of the entire jury on her account. “There’s only one loo in the jury room, and it’s not exactly soundproof. I think I’m still blushing.”
“Oh, bad luck!” Emily laughed, then eyed Jess speculatively. “I wonder why Leonie’s ex is in London?”
“No idea.” Jess sighed. “Pity he was with Prosecuting Counsel. In any other circumstances I’d have enjoyed a chat with him very much.” And, more to the point, achieved an introduction to the interesting stranger at the same time.
“Never mind,” consoled Emily. “Perhaps Leo will know when you go home for the wedding.”
Jess brightened. “Which now seems plain sailing, thank goodness. I was getting a bit tense about the way things were dragging on, in case I had to dash straight back after the wedding to go to court on Monday, but with a bit of luck the case will finish tomorrow. Lucky for me, anyway,” she added, sobering.
“Cheer up—the weekend forecast looks good.” Emily grinned. “The sun is sure to shine for Leonie on Sunday, anyway. The minute I set foot in a plane to fly away from it Britain always swelters in a heatwave.”
“Since you’re off to sunny Italy it doesn’t matter.” Jess sighed. “I wish I was going with you. After seven years apart Jonah and Leo were all for dashing off to a register office right away, of course, but when they were persuaded to wait for a conventional June wedding I hadn’t the heart to say the date clashed with my holiday.”
“You know nothing
