Rason & Eliza - Cee Bowerman Page 0,59

prosecutor say?” I asked Rason as he sat down next to me on the bench.

“He said he thinks it’s going well, but he really can’t read how the judge is leaning as far as sentencing.”

“Come on,” I told Rason as I stood up quickly. “I need to do something. I can’t just sit here and wait on someone else to decide things. I need to act.”

“I’m not sure what you’re planning, babe, but . . .”

“Just do me a favor. Keep your face blank and don’t say anything unless someone asks you a direct question, okay?” I was almost dragging Rason down the hall. “It’s a poker move I learned from Hank.”

The courtroom and chambers I was headed toward was at the very end of the hall. I’d wandered around this morning and realized just how close I was to something I’d often dreamed about. But, while I’d wandered, I’d realized that the only other man I’d ever need in my life was Rason.

I might need the man behind this glass door here in this courthouse, but it would be for one single thing, and then I’d avoid him at all costs.

I pushed through the heavy glass door and stood in front of the receptionist. She finished the call she was on and smiled up at me.

“Can I help you?”

“I apologize, but I don’t have an appointment. It’s urgent that I see Judge Nelson as soon as possible. It’s a family matter of great importance that concerns him.”

“If you’d like to leave your name and number, he’ll have someone call you.”

“I believe that he’ll see me, even if it’s only for a minute. I assure you, he really wants to see me.”

“Ma’am,” the receptionist retorted, shaking her head, but I wasn’t going to take no for an answer so I interrupted her.

“My future is hanging by a thread, ma’am. Just tell him it’s a close family matter. Please. Just a few minutes.”

“Let me speak to him.” The receptionist pushed away from her desk and headed down a short hallway to a massive wooden door.

“What are you doing, Eliza? Are you going to complain about one judge to another? This isn’t . . .”

I put my hand up and shook my head. “Remember - keep your expression blank and only answer the questions that are directly asked of you, okay?”

“Ma’am, Judge Nelson will see you now.”

I squeezed Rason’s hand and led him down the hall. He reached around me and pushed the door open and then waited for me to walk in before he came in behind me.

I kept my shoulders back and my head high as I walked straight up to the desk.

“Hello.” I smiled at the judge behind the desk. “Thank you for seeing me today.”

“Have a seat,” he said as he motioned toward one of the chairs in front of his desk. “My secretary said you were insistent that this was an urgent private matter about a family member. I’ve got three minutes until I need to prepare for my next appointment.”

“My name is Eliza Sidwell and this is my boyfriend, Rason Harper.”

“Well, I’m Judge Harlen Nelson.” He nodded at me first and then Rason. “Pleasure to meet you both. You’re down to two minutes now.”

“The name my mother gave me at birth was Elizabeth.”

Judge Nelson leaned forward and stared closely at my face, examining my features. I realized that he had the same blue eyes as me and both of my siblings. He pushed a button on his desk phone and spoke calmly, “Cynthia, reschedule my next appointment and hold my calls, please.”

“Yes, Judge,” the woman I’d seen at the front desk responded.

“Elizabeth.”

“Judge.”

“How did you find out?”

“My brother told me.”

“Hank.” Judge Nelson smiled. “How is he? How is Mesha?”

“They are both well,” I replied. “I need to speak to you about a legal matter that is going on in a courtroom down the hall.”

“Hank had a child recently, didn’t he?”

“He did. The case that’s being tried down the hall isn’t going in the direction it should and I need your input and possibly your help.”

“”I’ve heard some details about the trial. The judge on that case is a golfing buddy of mine. Do you have any children?”

“No, I don’t. The woman on trial down the hall has been in trouble with the law twice before for the same type of crimes, but both times she was found incompetent and released after just a few months of treatment. She was a suspect in two other cases, but the