Court Out - By Elle Wynne Page 0,73

shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” I hiss as discretely as possible.

Without turning round he shakes his head and stands up, walking back towards the door behind the Judge’s chair. Silently, I follow him and in turn, Quinn and Rivers follow me. We walk along a narrow corridor with unflattering fluorescent lighting past the doors that lead into the other courtrooms. Finally we reach a door that is open and we all walk in to the Judge’s Chambers.

It’s quite a large room with a huge hand-carved wooden desk at one end with a regular conference table in front of it. The walls are dark red with various landscapes hung on them. There’s a small kitchen area with a kettle, mugs and packets of biscuits. I feel my stomach rumble slightly and hope that they get offered round.

The Judge invites us to take a seat at this table and he takes his place behind the older desk. I sit next to Corr opposite Quinn and Rivers and wait expectantly.

“There has been an allegation that someone has attempted to bribe one of the jurors,” says Mr. Justice Wynne with a sigh.

What! My eyebrows shoot up into my hairline. This is a major scandal. I can’t believe that Hobbs has tried to buy his freedom! Talk about the last refuge of the damned. Wow, the shit is really going to hit the fan now. Jury bribing is a really serious offence, so either way, he’s off to prison for a really long time now!

“What exactly has happened?” asks Quinn in a grave voice.

“A juror was stopped in the street and told to ensure a particular verdict. A cheque for five thousand pounds was handed over,” replies the Judge solemnly. “I was made aware of this last night when the juror raised the matter with one of the court staff.”

“Fucking hell!” exclaims Quinn before quickly adding, “Sorry Judge, I just wasn’t expecting that! Do you have any idea who’s responsible?”

The Judge lets out a deep sigh. “Yes. The cheque has been recovered and the police have recovered CCTV of the alleged meeting.”

I’m totally speechless. Things like this are really rare because everyone knows that if you get caught trying to do something like this then the consequences are often a million times worse than the case in the first place.

“The police are waiting outside to detain the suspect and interview them about their involvement. I have no choice but to discharge the jury as I understand the juror spoke about this with some others in his number; further I cannot be sure that other jurors have not been contaminated in the same way.”

What? What! No! This means he’s gotten away with it. He knows we can’t try him again for the murder. I can only take comfort in the fact that we can nail him for this stunt.

Rivers interrupts my thoughts.

“Sorry Judge, did you say that the police were waiting outside? As in outside the courtroom?”

Mr. Justice Wynne bows his head.

“No. Not outside the courtroom. Outside the door to this room. Perhaps it’s best if they come in now.”

I sit motionless with shock. What on earth has been going on? This really is like something off the television. Surely neither Quinn or Rivers could have been involved. Maybe they just want to ask us all some questions about the trial.

The door opens and two of the uniformed officers that were in court earlier enter. They both look pretty similar: mid-forties, dark hair, not bad looking actually. The only real difference between them is that one has glasses and a few days worth of stubble. As they walk towards the table, I notice they’re both staring at me.

“Lauren Chase?” asks the scruffier looking one. I nod. “Lauren Chase, I’m arresting you on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”

I think I’m going to black out.

“What?” I croak.

“You’ll have to come with us now,” says the other officer.

I’m barely able to feel my legs but somehow, push myself to my feet. I’m visibly shaking all over and I can’t make my brain connect to my mouth to try and either explain or understand what is happening.

“But, me? What, I haven’t done anything! No idea...” I trail off. I try to breathe and start again. “You think I did this? You think