When You Were Mine (16/?)
Title: When You Were Mine (16/?)
Author: fortunata13
Pairing: Cara/Kahlan
Rating: R
Warnings: None
Word Count: 4194
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Most certainly, I do not own these characters.
Summary: Hold on to your hats. Jury selection is around the corner. There's also talk of a potential witness, and perhaps an opportunity for young Maxine to somewhat redeem herself.
A/N: As always, much gratitude to
statuepup for keeping me honest and to the wonderful
laurilee59 for the free legal advice. You two are awesome.
Kahlan stood before the mirror adjusting the collar of the crisp white shirt she wore under her beige Chanel suit. “Hair up or down?” she asked.
Cara thought for a moment before answering. “Down.” She leaned in and kissed the tops of Kahlan’s breasts. “The combo of the gorgeous hair and the epic boobs’ll have prospective jurors down on their knees begging you to command them.”
“If only it were that easy, baby.” She gave Cara a lingering kiss on the lips, and grabbed her briefcase as she walked toward the door. “I have to go, love, but I’ll call you as soon as I have a chance.”
Cara nodded and said, “I love you.” Kahlan smiled; it was exactly what she needed to hear.
This was going to be a long day for her. The first order of business was submitting all the documentary evidence, which included Dennee’s medical records, expert testimony from various sources, and a yet-to-be-disclosed statement from Demmin Nass. His attorney assured the judge the statement would be on record before the end of the day. Nass, Kahlan surmised, was out to save his own neck by playing both sides of the fence. The delay in producing the statement led her to believe that Nass was probably unsure as to how much information he should disclose. Kahlan wasn’t particularly bothered by it since she had every intention of tearing him apart on the witness stand. Nass was already sitting in a jail cell awaiting his own trial date so his options were limited - point the finger at a dead man or spin some wild tale that only an idiot would buy into. From her perspective, it was a win-win situation. He was already the most hated man in Aydindril and the pile of evidence against him was irrefutable.
She and Cypher had already agreed on the jury questionnaire, which somewhat simplified matters, but it didn’t make it any less exhausting. Kahlan took a deep breath as the judge walked into the courtroom. “Thank you all for your participation as prospective jurors in this case,” he said, before reading the remainder of the lengthy instructions. Kahlan listened intently and also peered over at the men and women who would perhaps decide Cara’s fate. She took in the nuances of their body language, and she attempted to discern how engaged they were in the process -- even at this early stage. Her ability to read people had given her an edge throughout her career. How many of them had seen Cara’s fourth-grade picture and felt a pang in their heart? Which of the prospective jurors, male or female, instantly cast beautiful women in the role of vixens? Did any of the men have knight-in-shining-armor complexes that would elicit in them an urge to save Cara? Kahlan had seen all of these possible permutations play out hundreds of times so she dutifully took mental notes.
***
Back at the apartment, Cara did her best to remain calm but it wasn’t an easy proposition. She turned the TV on and off at least a dozen times, then she attempted to read her comic books, but that didn’t help much either. As a last ditch attempt at calming herself, she scanned the apartment in the hopes of finding something to clean or organize but the place was impeccable. “Fuck, why is this my life?” she asked out loud.
Salvation, however, came in the form of an unexpected ring of the doorbell - not that she necessarily wanted company. What she wanted was something, anything, to jolt her out of the incessant stream of worst-case scenarios that were running through her mind. She pressed her eye to the peephole and for a few seconds debated whether or not she should open the door. In the end, a combination of stress and curiosity won out.
“Has the guilt made you suicidal? Because if Kahlan were here, she’d probably throw you out the window.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty pissed at me,” Maxine said. Since Cara hadn’t invited her in, she was awkwardly standing in the hallway with her computer bag hanging from her shoulder. “Can I come in? I’m not armed, I promise. You can frisk me if you want.”
Cara rolled her eyes, and gestured an invitation with her hands. “I should have handled things differently, I know that, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about your case. Please, just let me help you go through the rest of the footage. It’s the least I can do.” Cara didn’t answer. “Look, I get that this sucks, that I suck for having lied to you and Kahlan, but there’s no way around it. There could be evidence in the footage that’ll exonerate you. Please don’t let what I did potentially harm your case.”
Although she knew Kahlan wasn’t going to like it one bit, Cara decided that even if Maxine was doing it out of guilt, she could use all the help she could get. “Fine, we’ll watch some home movies, but listen very carefully, we-are-not-going-to talk-about-the-kid.” Maxine’s first instinct was to stand up for Griffin, but she realized that Cara’s unwillingness to talk about him stemmed from her own traumatic experience, not some sort of disdain for the boy.
“I really wish I could ID all of the players without your help. There’re some unexpected faces that could be important. This guy over here,” she said, pointing at her computer screen, “is a cop, and yet he was a regular at the Rahl mansion. All of their meetings took place in a room without windows, right off the garage. He drove directly into the service entrance every time. I looked into his files; he wasn’t moonlighting as a security guard for the estate. My best guess is that he was on the take.”
Cara chuckled. “Darken had half of the Aydindril PD on his payroll. If this cop had that kind of access, he was either disposing of dead bodies or bringing in girls.” She furrowed her brow and thought for a moment. “I remember a while back Darken and Nass were in Darken’s office for hours talking to two guys. It was something about ballistics and crime scenes. Darken, the idiot, left the intercom on for a few seconds but when he realized it, he shut it off.”
“Did you see their faces? Maybe we can ID them from the footage.”
“No,” Cara said. “I didn’t see them come in or leave. Darken was a sneaky fuck. He probably brought them in through some secret entrance. I’ll tell Kahlan about it when she get’s home.”
Cara got up to stretch her legs. “So what’s your story, Kalinda? Kahlan told me about your dad passing away, which sucks - trust me, I know. But you’re just a kid. Shouldn’t you be hanging out with beer-drinking college kids or something?”
Maxine considered the question. “Probably, but my Pop was my best friend. When he died, the one thing that made it easier was following in his footsteps. He helped a lot of people, and he was best father any kid could have.”
“Here,” she said, handing Maxine a sandwich she’d made for herself earlier but never got around to eating. “Why don’t you leave the hard drive with the footage? I’ll check out the rest of it myself. I’m not feeling too good about having you here. Kahlan and I don’t keep secrets from each other.”
Maxine shoulders slumped, and she looked down before nodding her head. “Yeah, it was probably a bad idea in the first place,” she said, placing the drive down on the coffee table.
Cara tipped her head as Maxine walked toward the door, and said, “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re evil or anything.” Maxine looked back at her over her shoulder and gave her a slight nod. The moment the words left Cara’s lips, she and Maxine heard the unmistakable sound of a key turning in the lock. “Fuck,” Cara said with a low groan.
Kahlan’s smile lit up the room but it quickly faded when she noticed Maxine awkwardly staring down at her own feet. She looked over at Cara then at Maxine. “Why are you here?” she asked in a thunderous tone that practically shook the room.
Cara immediately defused the situation by placing her hand on Kahlan’s shoulder and pointing at the hard drive sitting on the coffee table. “Kalinda stopped by to drop it off. There’s still a lot of footage that could be important.”
“If you guys need anything…,” Maxine said as she walked out the door.
“Thank you for bringing the drive,” Kahlan said dryly.
As soon the door closed, Cara pulled Kahlan into her arms and kissed her. “I missed you,” she said before kissing her a second time.
“Good, now get me out of these clothes and get you out of those. I think we should take a hot, soapy shower together. You can wash my back, and various other body parts in need of attention,” she said. “Being away from you is absolute torture.”
Cara had no objections to that plan. They stayed in the shower until the hot water ran out. “Mm, you are so delicious when you’re all slippery and wet. I can’t keep my hands off you.”
With a smirk on her face, Cara offered up a solution. “I could tie you up.” Kahlan blushed furiously at the suggestion. “Give it some thought. The offer stands. Once the trial is over, we’ll go to that shop on the corner of Fifth and Mercer. But we can talk about that later. How did it go at court today?”
“Mostly grunt work. Tomorrow morning we’ll go over the jury questionnaires and start picking jurors.” She paused for a long moment, knowing that what she was about to say was going to send Cara into a bit of a panic. “And,” she said at length, “you’ll make your first appearance before the prospective jurors.”
“I’ll do what?” Cara said, wide-eyed and looking as if she was about to run and hide under the bed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Baby, I know you; had I told you before, you would have been a ball of nerves for days. It’ll be fine.” She kissed Cara on the nose and smiled at her.
Cara crossed her arms and scowled. “Shouldn’t you train me or something? What if I mess it up?”
“Baby, I don’t see how I can train you on sitting quietly. Tomorrow on the drive to the courthouse I’ll give you a few pointers. Now, I just want you to relax. The jury selection’ll take several days.”
After dinner, Kahlan went over her notes while Cara rubbed her shoulders. Kahlan purred like a kitten as she felt all the tension of the day leave her body, yet she somehow managed to stay focused on her notes.
One decision Mike made, Kahlan was certain, would come back to haunt him. While he had interviewed Dennee quite thoroughly, he’d never bothered to pull her medical records- big mistake. Dennee was the second witness on his list. Once Kahlan cross-examined her, Mike would come off as an incompetent hack. Jurors in a murder case take their responsibility seriously. A prosecutor not doing his due diligence wouldn't sit well with them. Kahlan was banking on that setting the tone for the entire trial. Losing the jury’s trust this early on would cost him dearly. Kahlan had already decided that those records were the last piece of evidence she’d introduce.
Cara’s plan for the next few days was to be the best girlfriend on the planet. While it was her life that was on the line, she knew that Kahlan was doing all the heavy lifting. The next morning she surprised Kahlan with breakfast in bed. Kahlan rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and smiled. “Mm, that smells so good,” she said, “and so do you.” She sat up, and kissed Cara on the lips. “What did I do to earn this royal treatment?”
“Let’s see, you’re brilliant, you’re beautiful, you have epic boobs, and I happen to love you.” That earned her Kahlan’s most radiant smile.
“I’d love to stay in bed all day listening to you say nice things about me, but we have to get to the court house.” They gulped down their coffee and ate their breakfast in a matter of minutes. Jury selection was starting in a couple of hours so she slipped into the shower, with Cara right behind her. Needless to say, it made for a very hot shower. “Oh baby,” she said, “that spot needs a bit more soap.” Cara tipped her head, and got to soaping. After a series of moans, she practically melted into Cara’s arms. “I love your version of showers,” she said as she pulled Cara into another kiss. “But we have to get dressed, or we’ll be late.” She’d laid out both their outfits the previous night, and Cara had organized Kahlan’s briefcase. After going through hair and makeup, she took a deep breath and said, “Let the games begin,” and she kissed Cara one last time as they walked out the door.
On the drive to the courthouse, Kahlan gave Cara a series of instructions. “The prospective jurors are going to scrutinize everything about you. Your job is to stay calm and attentive. Listen and remain engaged but don’t focus your attention on anyone in particular. At this stage, you have to think of them as a unit; it’s my job to connect with them as individuals. Mike will try to rattle you somehow, but as far as you’re concerned, he isn’t even there.”
Cara swallowed hard, and tried to take it all in. With a quick glance and a firm nod at each other, they entered the courthouse - opting for the rear entrance in an effort to avoid the press. Thirty potential jurors were already seated, awaiting the judge’s arrival. Kahlan and Cara sat side by side at their appointed table. Cara silently repeated Kahlan’s instructions to herself, and added an additional one - remembering to breathe. That would be her primary focus throughout the jury selection process, and probably throughout the entire trial.
“All rise for Judge Samuel D. Hammett,” the bailiff said, as the judge entered the courtroom.
“I’d like to thank all of you for taking your civic duty seriously enough to participate in this process. Today, Ms. Amnell, counsel for the defense, and Mr. Cypher, the prosecutor assigned to this case, will be asking you some questions regarding your ability to sit on this jury. There are many reasons why you may be disqualified as a juror - none of which are moral judgments. There may be logistical impediments, ideological reasons, or you may have read or perhaps have knowledge about this case that leads you to doubt your ability to be impartial. All that I ask of you is that you be honest with yourself, and with the court. Mr. Cypher, please begin.”
Mike rose to his feet and approached the jury box. “Good morning, Mr. Ames,” he said to the juror seated on the far right of the box. “Do you think women are capable of violence?” He turned slightly away from the jurors and looked over at Cara. Kahlan didn’t like it one bit, but Cara handled it like a champ.
Mr. Ames furrowed his brow, and said, “I suppose.”
“Can you give a few examples of those circumstances?”
“To defend themselves, or maybe out of fear or anger.”
“What about jealousy, and greed?” Mike asked pointedly.
The potential juror thought for a moment, and said, “Men and women aren’t all that different.”
“Do you have any further questions for Mr. Ames?” the judge asked.
“No, Your Honor.”
“Ms. Amnell, please proceed,” the judge said.
“Good morning, Mr. Ames. How are you feeling today?” she asked in a warm tone. The sharp contrast between Kahlan and Mike’s approach was notable.
He slightly tipped his head before answering. “A little nervous, to tell you the truth.”
“That’s okay,” Kahlan replied, “I’m a little nervous, too. Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself? What do you do?” She punctuated the statement with a smile.
“I’m a stay-at-home dad of three little girls,” he said, his face beaming with pride.
“Oh, that’s wonderful. What are their names?” Kahlan asked with genuine interest.
“Stacey, Gina, and Ali.” By then he had a huge grin on his face.
“Tell me, Mr. Ames, do you feel that there is anything that would bother you or make you uncomfortable about sitting on this jury? Once we are done talking to all of you,” she said, looking up at all the jurors, “Judge Hammett will ask all of you if there is anything that could prevent you from rendering an impartial verdict, but right now I’d like to know how you feel about being here, Mr. Ames.”
“I feel like it’s important. He looked over at Cara for a fraction of a second. Someone’s life is on the line.”
Kahlan nodded, and extended her hand to him. “Thank you, Mr. Ames, your girls are lucky to have you.” Mike gritted his teeth in frustration. After only interviewing one juror, Kahlan had won over most of the panel. The day had just begun, however; she wasn’t taking anything for granted.
She and Mike interviewed eight more jurors before the judge decided to break for lunch. She and Kahlan sat at the café across from the courthouse. “Is it wrong that all I could think about while you were interviewing the jurors was taking your panties off and having my way with you?”
Kahlan smiled. “It’s not wrong at all, but it’ll have to wait. What do you think about the jury selection so far?”
“People don’t make decisions based on what they think; they make decisions based on how they feel. Mike doesn’t get that, you do. That’s why we’re going to win. When that guy with the three little girls looked over at me, all he saw was his girls. I might as well be his fourth kid. You did that,” Cara said, “Once you asked his daughters’ names, he was in full-on dad mode.”
That was one of Kahlan’s many gifts as an attorney - she took people out of their heads, and into their hearts. “Very astute of you, my love. I actually learned that from your mother.”
“I know you did. That was her theory; the heart knows what the head can only guess at.”
“This is nice,” Kahlan said, covering Cara’s hand with hers.
“What? Me being on trial for murder?”
“No, us sitting at a café having lunch together like a normal couple.”
Cara smiled. “Yeah, it is.” She paused for a moment lost in her own thoughts. “Normal isn’t something we’ve ever had. I think I’d like normal, I think maybe I’d even love it.” Normal had been long since forgotten by both of them- a faded memory of a protracted childhood that became the stuff of nightmares. The next words that left Cara’s lips almost caused Kahlan to fall off her chair. “Do you want kids?” The horrified look on Kahlan’s face sufficed as an answer. “Me neither,” Cara said, releasing a puff of air.
“I mean, we could get a pet - a small, quiet one.”
“How about a gecko?” Cara offered.
“Perfect,” Kahlan said, “A gecko would be perfect.” They both laughed, realizing that after all they’d lived through, they both just wanted to get through the trial, and enjoy a peaceful life together.
“I think we should do all the stuff we used to talk about.” Cara pursed her lips for a moment. “Maybe I’ll even start painting again.”
Kahlan’s entire face lit up. “That would be wonderful.” She was tempted to lean in and kiss her but the café was filled with lawyers and court employees - not to mention that it was time to get back to the courthouse. She walked in with a spring in her step and a renewed sense of confidence. That Cara was feeling hopeful about the future and revisiting her lifelong dreams made Kahlan more certain than ever that everything would be fine.
It took several more days, but they sat a jury that Kahlan felt was capable of rendering an impartial verdict. She had succeeded at developing a reasonable amount of rapport with the jurors, and while she and Mike had a few heated debates during the jury selection process, Kahlan remained equanimous throughout the entire process. Mike did a lot of teeth grinding and fist clenching as he made meaningful eye contact with several of the male jurors. In doing so, he inadvertently telegraphed his courtroom strategy. Mike’s plan was to paint Cara as a vixen driven by jealousy and greed.
“I’ve got this, baby,” Kahlan said to her, as she put her files in the briefcase and closed it.
Cara smirked, and said, “I know you do.”
***
On the drive back to the apartment, a rather persistent - and loud - reminder notification startled Kahlan. “What is that awful sound?’
“It’s an Evernote reminder I set for your overdue mail.”
“How do I make it shut up? It’s horrible.”
Cara shook her head and laughed. “I’ll do it,” she said, “but you have to promise me you’ll read it. Otherwise my organization scheme will go straight to hell.”
“A little dramatic, don’t you think?” Kahlan asked as they pulled into the parking garage.
“I’ll get dinner started while you read your mail. I suggest you hurry, otherwise the reminder notification’ll go off again.”
Kahlan rolled her eyes and walked over to her laptop. She read the letter three times before calling out to Cara who had already changed into her classic boy shorts and her Nirvana T-shirt. “Cara,” she called out, “come look at this. Have you ever heard of this place?”
Cara smugly crossed her arms and said, “Why yes, I have. San Marino is the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world. It has a land mass of 23.63 square miles and a population of approximately 30,000 people. The official language is Italian, but Spanish is also widely spoken, and their currency is the Euro.”
Kahlan’s eyes widened and she scratched her head. “And you know this because?”
“Clearly, because I’m a genius.” Kahlan tipped her head and waited for a more plausible reply. “Fine,” Cara finally said, “I have no life so while you’re working I play Trivial Pursuit on your iPad.”
“That explains why my iPad’s gone missing.”
Cara gave an apologetic shrug. “It’s all part of my master plan. By the time the trial is over, my brain’ll be stuffed with all the useless information I need to become Jeopardy champion. I’ll use part of my winnings to buy you a new iPad, of course.”
“Whatever you say, baby. Now can you please read it?” Much like Kahlan had, she read it several times.
“It looks pretty legit,” Cara said. Kahlan nodded in agreement. “But,” Cara said at length, “maybe we should have someone look into it before making up our minds.”
Kahlan released a deep sigh. “By someone I take it you mean Maxine?”
“I do, but not if it’s going to piss you off. She’s done a great job so far. You said so yourself. She made a bad decision, Kahlan, but she’s not a bad person.”
Firing her had been a knee-jerk reaction, and she knew it. “Her loyalties are divided, baby. Trusting her again could be a huge mistake. I just can’t be sure.”
“So don’t trust her. Let’s ask her to look into this letter as a one-time shot. If she does anything even remotely suspicious, we’ll have our answer.”
Kahlan’s instincts had never betrayed her before. She’d trusted Maxine from the very beginning and, truth be told, she still did. That Maxine had lied to her was undeniable but she had no reason to suspect that her intentions had been malicious. With a deep intake of air, she walked into the bedroom and made the call. At her request, Maxine would look into the matter immediately. It would be a one-time arrangement, as she was no longer retained permanently.
The letter in question was the one bearing the seal of San Marino that had briefly piqued Kahlan’s interest. It claimed that an unnamed witness wanted to come forward with important information regarding Cara’s case. Why someone from some obscure European country she’d never heard of before would step forward with evidence regarding Cara’s case at this late hour, mystified her. Cara, on the other hand, didn’t seem all that surprised. In fact, by the look of deep concentration on her face, it looked as if she were piecing together a puzzle -- one that she didn’t necessarily want to share with Kahlan, at least not yet. “Okay,” Kahlan said as she walked out of the bedroom, “Maxine is looking into it.”
Author: fortunata13
Pairing: Cara/Kahlan
Rating: R
Warnings: None
Word Count: 4194
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Most certainly, I do not own these characters.
Summary: Hold on to your hats. Jury selection is around the corner. There's also talk of a potential witness, and perhaps an opportunity for young Maxine to somewhat redeem herself.
A/N: As always, much gratitude to
statuepup for keeping me honest and to the wonderful
laurilee59 for the free legal advice. You two are awesome.
Kahlan stood before the mirror adjusting the collar of the crisp white shirt she wore under her beige Chanel suit. “Hair up or down?” she asked.
Cara thought for a moment before answering. “Down.” She leaned in and kissed the tops of Kahlan’s breasts. “The combo of the gorgeous hair and the epic boobs’ll have prospective jurors down on their knees begging you to command them.”
“If only it were that easy, baby.” She gave Cara a lingering kiss on the lips, and grabbed her briefcase as she walked toward the door. “I have to go, love, but I’ll call you as soon as I have a chance.”
Cara nodded and said, “I love you.” Kahlan smiled; it was exactly what she needed to hear.
This was going to be a long day for her. The first order of business was submitting all the documentary evidence, which included Dennee’s medical records, expert testimony from various sources, and a yet-to-be-disclosed statement from Demmin Nass. His attorney assured the judge the statement would be on record before the end of the day. Nass, Kahlan surmised, was out to save his own neck by playing both sides of the fence. The delay in producing the statement led her to believe that Nass was probably unsure as to how much information he should disclose. Kahlan wasn’t particularly bothered by it since she had every intention of tearing him apart on the witness stand. Nass was already sitting in a jail cell awaiting his own trial date so his options were limited - point the finger at a dead man or spin some wild tale that only an idiot would buy into. From her perspective, it was a win-win situation. He was already the most hated man in Aydindril and the pile of evidence against him was irrefutable.
She and Cypher had already agreed on the jury questionnaire, which somewhat simplified matters, but it didn’t make it any less exhausting. Kahlan took a deep breath as the judge walked into the courtroom. “Thank you all for your participation as prospective jurors in this case,” he said, before reading the remainder of the lengthy instructions. Kahlan listened intently and also peered over at the men and women who would perhaps decide Cara’s fate. She took in the nuances of their body language, and she attempted to discern how engaged they were in the process -- even at this early stage. Her ability to read people had given her an edge throughout her career. How many of them had seen Cara’s fourth-grade picture and felt a pang in their heart? Which of the prospective jurors, male or female, instantly cast beautiful women in the role of vixens? Did any of the men have knight-in-shining-armor complexes that would elicit in them an urge to save Cara? Kahlan had seen all of these possible permutations play out hundreds of times so she dutifully took mental notes.
***
Back at the apartment, Cara did her best to remain calm but it wasn’t an easy proposition. She turned the TV on and off at least a dozen times, then she attempted to read her comic books, but that didn’t help much either. As a last ditch attempt at calming herself, she scanned the apartment in the hopes of finding something to clean or organize but the place was impeccable. “Fuck, why is this my life?” she asked out loud.
Salvation, however, came in the form of an unexpected ring of the doorbell - not that she necessarily wanted company. What she wanted was something, anything, to jolt her out of the incessant stream of worst-case scenarios that were running through her mind. She pressed her eye to the peephole and for a few seconds debated whether or not she should open the door. In the end, a combination of stress and curiosity won out.
“Has the guilt made you suicidal? Because if Kahlan were here, she’d probably throw you out the window.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty pissed at me,” Maxine said. Since Cara hadn’t invited her in, she was awkwardly standing in the hallway with her computer bag hanging from her shoulder. “Can I come in? I’m not armed, I promise. You can frisk me if you want.”
Cara rolled her eyes, and gestured an invitation with her hands. “I should have handled things differently, I know that, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about your case. Please, just let me help you go through the rest of the footage. It’s the least I can do.” Cara didn’t answer. “Look, I get that this sucks, that I suck for having lied to you and Kahlan, but there’s no way around it. There could be evidence in the footage that’ll exonerate you. Please don’t let what I did potentially harm your case.”
Although she knew Kahlan wasn’t going to like it one bit, Cara decided that even if Maxine was doing it out of guilt, she could use all the help she could get. “Fine, we’ll watch some home movies, but listen very carefully, we-are-not-going-to talk-about-the-kid.” Maxine’s first instinct was to stand up for Griffin, but she realized that Cara’s unwillingness to talk about him stemmed from her own traumatic experience, not some sort of disdain for the boy.
“I really wish I could ID all of the players without your help. There’re some unexpected faces that could be important. This guy over here,” she said, pointing at her computer screen, “is a cop, and yet he was a regular at the Rahl mansion. All of their meetings took place in a room without windows, right off the garage. He drove directly into the service entrance every time. I looked into his files; he wasn’t moonlighting as a security guard for the estate. My best guess is that he was on the take.”
Cara chuckled. “Darken had half of the Aydindril PD on his payroll. If this cop had that kind of access, he was either disposing of dead bodies or bringing in girls.” She furrowed her brow and thought for a moment. “I remember a while back Darken and Nass were in Darken’s office for hours talking to two guys. It was something about ballistics and crime scenes. Darken, the idiot, left the intercom on for a few seconds but when he realized it, he shut it off.”
“Did you see their faces? Maybe we can ID them from the footage.”
“No,” Cara said. “I didn’t see them come in or leave. Darken was a sneaky fuck. He probably brought them in through some secret entrance. I’ll tell Kahlan about it when she get’s home.”
Cara got up to stretch her legs. “So what’s your story, Kalinda? Kahlan told me about your dad passing away, which sucks - trust me, I know. But you’re just a kid. Shouldn’t you be hanging out with beer-drinking college kids or something?”
Maxine considered the question. “Probably, but my Pop was my best friend. When he died, the one thing that made it easier was following in his footsteps. He helped a lot of people, and he was best father any kid could have.”
“Here,” she said, handing Maxine a sandwich she’d made for herself earlier but never got around to eating. “Why don’t you leave the hard drive with the footage? I’ll check out the rest of it myself. I’m not feeling too good about having you here. Kahlan and I don’t keep secrets from each other.”
Maxine shoulders slumped, and she looked down before nodding her head. “Yeah, it was probably a bad idea in the first place,” she said, placing the drive down on the coffee table.
Cara tipped her head as Maxine walked toward the door, and said, “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re evil or anything.” Maxine looked back at her over her shoulder and gave her a slight nod. The moment the words left Cara’s lips, she and Maxine heard the unmistakable sound of a key turning in the lock. “Fuck,” Cara said with a low groan.
Kahlan’s smile lit up the room but it quickly faded when she noticed Maxine awkwardly staring down at her own feet. She looked over at Cara then at Maxine. “Why are you here?” she asked in a thunderous tone that practically shook the room.
Cara immediately defused the situation by placing her hand on Kahlan’s shoulder and pointing at the hard drive sitting on the coffee table. “Kalinda stopped by to drop it off. There’s still a lot of footage that could be important.”
“If you guys need anything…,” Maxine said as she walked out the door.
“Thank you for bringing the drive,” Kahlan said dryly.
As soon the door closed, Cara pulled Kahlan into her arms and kissed her. “I missed you,” she said before kissing her a second time.
“Good, now get me out of these clothes and get you out of those. I think we should take a hot, soapy shower together. You can wash my back, and various other body parts in need of attention,” she said. “Being away from you is absolute torture.”
Cara had no objections to that plan. They stayed in the shower until the hot water ran out. “Mm, you are so delicious when you’re all slippery and wet. I can’t keep my hands off you.”
With a smirk on her face, Cara offered up a solution. “I could tie you up.” Kahlan blushed furiously at the suggestion. “Give it some thought. The offer stands. Once the trial is over, we’ll go to that shop on the corner of Fifth and Mercer. But we can talk about that later. How did it go at court today?”
“Mostly grunt work. Tomorrow morning we’ll go over the jury questionnaires and start picking jurors.” She paused for a long moment, knowing that what she was about to say was going to send Cara into a bit of a panic. “And,” she said at length, “you’ll make your first appearance before the prospective jurors.”
“I’ll do what?” Cara said, wide-eyed and looking as if she was about to run and hide under the bed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Baby, I know you; had I told you before, you would have been a ball of nerves for days. It’ll be fine.” She kissed Cara on the nose and smiled at her.
Cara crossed her arms and scowled. “Shouldn’t you train me or something? What if I mess it up?”
“Baby, I don’t see how I can train you on sitting quietly. Tomorrow on the drive to the courthouse I’ll give you a few pointers. Now, I just want you to relax. The jury selection’ll take several days.”
After dinner, Kahlan went over her notes while Cara rubbed her shoulders. Kahlan purred like a kitten as she felt all the tension of the day leave her body, yet she somehow managed to stay focused on her notes.
One decision Mike made, Kahlan was certain, would come back to haunt him. While he had interviewed Dennee quite thoroughly, he’d never bothered to pull her medical records- big mistake. Dennee was the second witness on his list. Once Kahlan cross-examined her, Mike would come off as an incompetent hack. Jurors in a murder case take their responsibility seriously. A prosecutor not doing his due diligence wouldn't sit well with them. Kahlan was banking on that setting the tone for the entire trial. Losing the jury’s trust this early on would cost him dearly. Kahlan had already decided that those records were the last piece of evidence she’d introduce.
Cara’s plan for the next few days was to be the best girlfriend on the planet. While it was her life that was on the line, she knew that Kahlan was doing all the heavy lifting. The next morning she surprised Kahlan with breakfast in bed. Kahlan rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and smiled. “Mm, that smells so good,” she said, “and so do you.” She sat up, and kissed Cara on the lips. “What did I do to earn this royal treatment?”
“Let’s see, you’re brilliant, you’re beautiful, you have epic boobs, and I happen to love you.” That earned her Kahlan’s most radiant smile.
“I’d love to stay in bed all day listening to you say nice things about me, but we have to get to the court house.” They gulped down their coffee and ate their breakfast in a matter of minutes. Jury selection was starting in a couple of hours so she slipped into the shower, with Cara right behind her. Needless to say, it made for a very hot shower. “Oh baby,” she said, “that spot needs a bit more soap.” Cara tipped her head, and got to soaping. After a series of moans, she practically melted into Cara’s arms. “I love your version of showers,” she said as she pulled Cara into another kiss. “But we have to get dressed, or we’ll be late.” She’d laid out both their outfits the previous night, and Cara had organized Kahlan’s briefcase. After going through hair and makeup, she took a deep breath and said, “Let the games begin,” and she kissed Cara one last time as they walked out the door.
On the drive to the courthouse, Kahlan gave Cara a series of instructions. “The prospective jurors are going to scrutinize everything about you. Your job is to stay calm and attentive. Listen and remain engaged but don’t focus your attention on anyone in particular. At this stage, you have to think of them as a unit; it’s my job to connect with them as individuals. Mike will try to rattle you somehow, but as far as you’re concerned, he isn’t even there.”
Cara swallowed hard, and tried to take it all in. With a quick glance and a firm nod at each other, they entered the courthouse - opting for the rear entrance in an effort to avoid the press. Thirty potential jurors were already seated, awaiting the judge’s arrival. Kahlan and Cara sat side by side at their appointed table. Cara silently repeated Kahlan’s instructions to herself, and added an additional one - remembering to breathe. That would be her primary focus throughout the jury selection process, and probably throughout the entire trial.
“All rise for Judge Samuel D. Hammett,” the bailiff said, as the judge entered the courtroom.
“I’d like to thank all of you for taking your civic duty seriously enough to participate in this process. Today, Ms. Amnell, counsel for the defense, and Mr. Cypher, the prosecutor assigned to this case, will be asking you some questions regarding your ability to sit on this jury. There are many reasons why you may be disqualified as a juror - none of which are moral judgments. There may be logistical impediments, ideological reasons, or you may have read or perhaps have knowledge about this case that leads you to doubt your ability to be impartial. All that I ask of you is that you be honest with yourself, and with the court. Mr. Cypher, please begin.”
Mike rose to his feet and approached the jury box. “Good morning, Mr. Ames,” he said to the juror seated on the far right of the box. “Do you think women are capable of violence?” He turned slightly away from the jurors and looked over at Cara. Kahlan didn’t like it one bit, but Cara handled it like a champ.
Mr. Ames furrowed his brow, and said, “I suppose.”
“Can you give a few examples of those circumstances?”
“To defend themselves, or maybe out of fear or anger.”
“What about jealousy, and greed?” Mike asked pointedly.
The potential juror thought for a moment, and said, “Men and women aren’t all that different.”
“Do you have any further questions for Mr. Ames?” the judge asked.
“No, Your Honor.”
“Ms. Amnell, please proceed,” the judge said.
“Good morning, Mr. Ames. How are you feeling today?” she asked in a warm tone. The sharp contrast between Kahlan and Mike’s approach was notable.
He slightly tipped his head before answering. “A little nervous, to tell you the truth.”
“That’s okay,” Kahlan replied, “I’m a little nervous, too. Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself? What do you do?” She punctuated the statement with a smile.
“I’m a stay-at-home dad of three little girls,” he said, his face beaming with pride.
“Oh, that’s wonderful. What are their names?” Kahlan asked with genuine interest.
“Stacey, Gina, and Ali.” By then he had a huge grin on his face.
“Tell me, Mr. Ames, do you feel that there is anything that would bother you or make you uncomfortable about sitting on this jury? Once we are done talking to all of you,” she said, looking up at all the jurors, “Judge Hammett will ask all of you if there is anything that could prevent you from rendering an impartial verdict, but right now I’d like to know how you feel about being here, Mr. Ames.”
“I feel like it’s important. He looked over at Cara for a fraction of a second. Someone’s life is on the line.”
Kahlan nodded, and extended her hand to him. “Thank you, Mr. Ames, your girls are lucky to have you.” Mike gritted his teeth in frustration. After only interviewing one juror, Kahlan had won over most of the panel. The day had just begun, however; she wasn’t taking anything for granted.
She and Mike interviewed eight more jurors before the judge decided to break for lunch. She and Kahlan sat at the café across from the courthouse. “Is it wrong that all I could think about while you were interviewing the jurors was taking your panties off and having my way with you?”
Kahlan smiled. “It’s not wrong at all, but it’ll have to wait. What do you think about the jury selection so far?”
“People don’t make decisions based on what they think; they make decisions based on how they feel. Mike doesn’t get that, you do. That’s why we’re going to win. When that guy with the three little girls looked over at me, all he saw was his girls. I might as well be his fourth kid. You did that,” Cara said, “Once you asked his daughters’ names, he was in full-on dad mode.”
That was one of Kahlan’s many gifts as an attorney - she took people out of their heads, and into their hearts. “Very astute of you, my love. I actually learned that from your mother.”
“I know you did. That was her theory; the heart knows what the head can only guess at.”
“This is nice,” Kahlan said, covering Cara’s hand with hers.
“What? Me being on trial for murder?”
“No, us sitting at a café having lunch together like a normal couple.”
Cara smiled. “Yeah, it is.” She paused for a moment lost in her own thoughts. “Normal isn’t something we’ve ever had. I think I’d like normal, I think maybe I’d even love it.” Normal had been long since forgotten by both of them- a faded memory of a protracted childhood that became the stuff of nightmares. The next words that left Cara’s lips almost caused Kahlan to fall off her chair. “Do you want kids?” The horrified look on Kahlan’s face sufficed as an answer. “Me neither,” Cara said, releasing a puff of air.
“I mean, we could get a pet - a small, quiet one.”
“How about a gecko?” Cara offered.
“Perfect,” Kahlan said, “A gecko would be perfect.” They both laughed, realizing that after all they’d lived through, they both just wanted to get through the trial, and enjoy a peaceful life together.
“I think we should do all the stuff we used to talk about.” Cara pursed her lips for a moment. “Maybe I’ll even start painting again.”
Kahlan’s entire face lit up. “That would be wonderful.” She was tempted to lean in and kiss her but the café was filled with lawyers and court employees - not to mention that it was time to get back to the courthouse. She walked in with a spring in her step and a renewed sense of confidence. That Cara was feeling hopeful about the future and revisiting her lifelong dreams made Kahlan more certain than ever that everything would be fine.
It took several more days, but they sat a jury that Kahlan felt was capable of rendering an impartial verdict. She had succeeded at developing a reasonable amount of rapport with the jurors, and while she and Mike had a few heated debates during the jury selection process, Kahlan remained equanimous throughout the entire process. Mike did a lot of teeth grinding and fist clenching as he made meaningful eye contact with several of the male jurors. In doing so, he inadvertently telegraphed his courtroom strategy. Mike’s plan was to paint Cara as a vixen driven by jealousy and greed.
“I’ve got this, baby,” Kahlan said to her, as she put her files in the briefcase and closed it.
Cara smirked, and said, “I know you do.”
***
On the drive back to the apartment, a rather persistent - and loud - reminder notification startled Kahlan. “What is that awful sound?’
“It’s an Evernote reminder I set for your overdue mail.”
“How do I make it shut up? It’s horrible.”
Cara shook her head and laughed. “I’ll do it,” she said, “but you have to promise me you’ll read it. Otherwise my organization scheme will go straight to hell.”
“A little dramatic, don’t you think?” Kahlan asked as they pulled into the parking garage.
“I’ll get dinner started while you read your mail. I suggest you hurry, otherwise the reminder notification’ll go off again.”
Kahlan rolled her eyes and walked over to her laptop. She read the letter three times before calling out to Cara who had already changed into her classic boy shorts and her Nirvana T-shirt. “Cara,” she called out, “come look at this. Have you ever heard of this place?”
Cara smugly crossed her arms and said, “Why yes, I have. San Marino is the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world. It has a land mass of 23.63 square miles and a population of approximately 30,000 people. The official language is Italian, but Spanish is also widely spoken, and their currency is the Euro.”
Kahlan’s eyes widened and she scratched her head. “And you know this because?”
“Clearly, because I’m a genius.” Kahlan tipped her head and waited for a more plausible reply. “Fine,” Cara finally said, “I have no life so while you’re working I play Trivial Pursuit on your iPad.”
“That explains why my iPad’s gone missing.”
Cara gave an apologetic shrug. “It’s all part of my master plan. By the time the trial is over, my brain’ll be stuffed with all the useless information I need to become Jeopardy champion. I’ll use part of my winnings to buy you a new iPad, of course.”
“Whatever you say, baby. Now can you please read it?” Much like Kahlan had, she read it several times.
“It looks pretty legit,” Cara said. Kahlan nodded in agreement. “But,” Cara said at length, “maybe we should have someone look into it before making up our minds.”
Kahlan released a deep sigh. “By someone I take it you mean Maxine?”
“I do, but not if it’s going to piss you off. She’s done a great job so far. You said so yourself. She made a bad decision, Kahlan, but she’s not a bad person.”
Firing her had been a knee-jerk reaction, and she knew it. “Her loyalties are divided, baby. Trusting her again could be a huge mistake. I just can’t be sure.”
“So don’t trust her. Let’s ask her to look into this letter as a one-time shot. If she does anything even remotely suspicious, we’ll have our answer.”
Kahlan’s instincts had never betrayed her before. She’d trusted Maxine from the very beginning and, truth be told, she still did. That Maxine had lied to her was undeniable but she had no reason to suspect that her intentions had been malicious. With a deep intake of air, she walked into the bedroom and made the call. At her request, Maxine would look into the matter immediately. It would be a one-time arrangement, as she was no longer retained permanently.
The letter in question was the one bearing the seal of San Marino that had briefly piqued Kahlan’s interest. It claimed that an unnamed witness wanted to come forward with important information regarding Cara’s case. Why someone from some obscure European country she’d never heard of before would step forward with evidence regarding Cara’s case at this late hour, mystified her. Cara, on the other hand, didn’t seem all that surprised. In fact, by the look of deep concentration on her face, it looked as if she were piecing together a puzzle -- one that she didn’t necessarily want to share with Kahlan, at least not yet. “Okay,” Kahlan said as she walked out of the bedroom, “Maxine is looking into it.”