Awwn, thank you for the dedication ma. The problem with this colour difference. I want Lori and Rob together. I love them already

Thanks for the dedication dear. I'm over honoured. Queenitee,ur lyk mtn o. Everywhere I go u dey already

EvaJael:
Thanks for the dedication dear. I'm over honoured. Queenitee,ur lyk mtn o. Everywhere I go u dey already

Ha, I b mtn ambassador for NL literature section ni. Lol

queenitee:

Ha, I b mtn ambassador for NL literature section ni. Lol

I see o

They pull up to Lori's house over an hour later and see something amiss immediately. Vaguely Rob notices a lone figure running away and disappearing

"Oh, dear Lord," Lori says, her voice shaky.

Rob stares for a moment at the two ugly red words spray painted across the front of her house. Movement catches his attention and he nearly leaps from his car, his sharp eyes fixed on another car, driving away at a suspiciously fast speed.

Lori is out now, too, still shaken. Rob turns to her, says, "I need to use your phone now, " and starts running towards the house. Rob high-tails it behind him, and as she comes up the steps, he stops her. "Be careful, Loretta, there's glass all over up here."

Lori looks and sees that her windows have been broken as well. Numb, she fishes her keys out and hands them to Rob with trembling hands, not trusting herself to fit the key into the lock.

Rob ushers her in inside, wandering through to the kitchen. He picks up the phone and dials a number from memory, fingers spinning the dial as fast as they can.

"Jim," he says after a moment, "Robert Carter. I need you to put an APB out on a car immediately. A battered blue 1960 Plymouth Belvidere with a bad muffler and a broken tail light, license plate starts with the numbers 256."

He pauses, waiting while the police officer relays the information. "Oh, sorry, 10th and Roosevelt, heading east on Roosevelt."

"What? Don't worry about that. Just tell them."

"Vandalism," he declares, "pretty certain he spray painted some hateful words on a fr— I mean a client's house. Broke a couple windows, too."

He almost called me his friend just there, Lori notes absently.

"Jim, if you catch him now, you'll get him while he still has paint on his hands and empty spray cans in his trunk. Call me when you get him."

Rob looks at Lori, his face a question. She quickly scribbles a number on a scrap of paper and passes it across the table to him.

"555-7231," he says, then hangs up.

He sits at the table beside Lori. "I'm sorry," he says quietly, reaching for her hand, then retracting it.

"It's not your fault, Rob," she says, sighing shakily.

"Where's your brother?"

"Out," she shrugs. "Lord only knows." Her face is closed, tight, her eyes wide and glassy.

"Loretta, you can let it out," he says, his voice impossibly soft. "It's only me. You don't have to be brave for me."

"I… I just… I don't… I never … just, why?" she says, her mind a jumble of confused thoughts.

"I don't ever presume to understand the actions of others," Rob says. "One thing I learned quickly when I joined my dad's practice. They'll get him, Loretta. And if it doesn't have anything to do with your case, I'll… I'll eat that dishtowel." He points to a plaid towel hanging neatly on the oven door.

Lori smiles a weak smile and wraps her arms around herself, suddenly cold in the warm night.

In the distance, they hear a police siren, and Rob makes a decision. He stands and reaches his hand down to her, much like he did the first time they met. Lori stares at it, and then at him.

"May I?" he asks. His voice is calm and polite, a true southern gentleman, but his eyes are pleading with her.

Saying nothing, she puts her hand in his and allows him to pull her to her feet and slowly, gently, carefully into his arms. He places his arms around her narrow back, one near her shoulder, one just above her waist.

Lori is tense at first, but then the dam breaks.

One sob escapes, then two, and she melts into his chest, her fingers curling into the material of his shirt as she cries. Ron wishes he could do more. The fingers of his right hand twitch, wanting to move up and plunge themselves into her soft curls, to cradle her head against his chest while she weeps.

"Shh, it will be all right. We'll fix it, I promise," he whispers, fighting the urge to place his cheek on the top of her head, to breathe in her honeysuckle fragrance.

They stand together for several long moments, Lori allowing herself to be soothed by Rob's embrace.

I've never felt so safe, she realizes, and the realization gives her pause. She looks up at him now to find him gazing down at her, his face worried and, she realizes, a little angry as well.

Is he angry for me? "Rob," she whispers, suddenly acutely aware of how close he is, how warm and comforting. "He's not entirely wrong, Loretta. I have lost whatever shred of objectivity I had when it comes to you." His words drift back into her mind as her eyes meet his for a moment before dropping unbidden to rest on his lips.

"I care for you more than I should."

Lori's own lips part as she tries to find some air in the kitchen, and she realizes that she is lifting up on tiptoe, bringing her face closer to his, just as he is lowering his head to hers.

The harsh ringing of the phone snaps them back to earth and Rob releases her, clearing his throat awkwardly, so she can answer the phone. He looks at his shoes and rakes his hand through his hair. She swipes her hand across her face, wiping away the remnants of her tears.

"Hope that's the police," she mutters, smoothing her dress nervously. "Hello? Yes, one moment."

She hands the phone to Rob, turning to the cabinet to get some glasses and some distance.

"Jim," Rob says immediately. "All right," he says, nodding. Lori looks at him and he smiles. "Got him," he tells her.

"Who? Even better! This will only help the case I'm working on now. Get him to talk. Find out who put him up to it."

"Yes, I'm sure someone did, and I probably know who. Send a copy of the report to my office tomorrow. And don't let that son of a bitch out, even if Alined brings a wheelbarrow full of money to the station."

Alined? Lori thinks, setting two glasses of sweet tea on the table for them.

"What? No, actually. Leave him. I may be able to twist this to our advantage."

"Thanks, Jim. I owe you one. What? Oh, then we're square, ain't we?" he says, hanging up the phone.

"Dennis Trickler," Rob declares, turning back to Lori. "Name should be familiar."

"Of course. Daddy always said he was a right pain in the… well, you know. And other choice phrases that are not fit to be said by a lady."

"Alined's little toady. No doubt acting on Big Boss Man's orders. Trying to scare you away."

Lori picks up a glass and passes it to Rob.

"Thank you," he says and drinks. "Good Lord, this is the best sweet tea I've ever had. What do you do to it?"

"That'd be tellin'," she says, smiling now.

"There. A smile. That's what I like to see. Tell you what: I'll have my dad get his people over here first thing tomorrow morning to paint over that ignorant mess and fix your windows. Least we can do."

"Thank y—"

"What the Bleep? " Elliot's angry roar greets them now, followed by the slam of a screen door.

"Lori! Lori, you here? You all right?" he shouts, storming back.

"Back here, Elliot," she calls.

Elliott appears in the doorway, his face a mask of rage. He sees Rob sitting at his table, drinking sweet tea, and it pulls him up short.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Oh, so suddenly the front of the house is less important?" Lori snaps, saying a silent prayer of thanks that Elliot didn't arrive five minutes earlier. At least we've had time to recover from… whatever that was.

"What happened?" he asks.

"Rob gave me a ride home and when we got here, that greeted us," she says, handing him her tea and going to fix herself another.

"Gave you a ride home from where?" he asks suspiciously.

"We were discussing the case at Gareth's," Rob supplies. It's not a complete truth, but it's not a complete lie, either. "I told you my father gave it to Liam without my knowledge," he reminds Elliot, who looks away guiltily. "But one crisis at a time, here," Rob says. "The police have got the vandal and his actions are only going to help our case against Alined."

"Huh? How's that?"

"If I was a bettin' man, I'd wager that Alined is responsible for the new paint job outside."

"And the broken windows," Lori supplies. "It was Trickler, Elliot."

"That piece of cracka shit," Elliot mutters, taking a long drink of his tea.

"Accurate description," Rob says, and Elliot actually laughs. "And, so you and I are clear, I am still working on your case. And so is Liam. I talked to Pop, and I talked to Loretta, and we cleared everything up." He glances at Lori now and she meets his eye for a very brief moment before looking at her brother.

"If Rob hadn't been here, they wouldn't have gotten Trickler," she tells him. "He spotted the car, even got some of the license plate number.

How did you do that?" she asks Rob.

"Do what?"

"Get such a good description of the car. I would have gotten as far as 'blue,' and maybe the broken tail light."

Ron shrugs. "Street lights help. I know cars. And I pay attention. You have to in my line of work."

"Thank you," Elliot mutters, reaching his hand out now. Rob takes it and shakes it briefly. "We cool?" he asks.

"We cool," Elliot says. He looks towards the front of the house. "But now I gotta fix that," he sighs.

"Um, Rob said he'd have some men come over in the morning to take care of it," Lori says softly.

"Why? I can take care of my house!" Elliot protests.

"Elliot, we can't afford for you to stay here and fix our house when you should be out working payin' jobs," Lori says.

"My father has people. They'll have this mess gone in less than a day. After I take some pictures for evidence, of course," Rob says. "I know you are capable of doing it, Elliot. But this vandalism was a direct result of our investigations, so…"

"I don't want to be beholdin' to no man," Elliot says.

"You won't be. We're simply fixin' what we caused."

Lori smiles into her glass. He is smart, I'll give him that. Almost as smart as he is handsome.

She lets that last thought sink in for a moment, wondering where it came from. She stares into her tea, watching the ice cubes swirl as she jostles her glass. Then she yawns.

"Goodness, it's late, isn't it?" Rob says. He drains his glass and stands, setting the glass in the sink. "I should go."

"I'll walk you out," Lori says, setting her glass on the counter to usher him to the door.

"Thank you again, Rob. I don't know what I would have done if I had come home to find this alone, or, God forbid, if I had been here when it happened."

"You would have called the police and then you would have called me," Rob states authoritatively.

"Always so sure about everything, ain't you, Superman?" Lori shakes her head, smiling a little.

"Not always," he answers, his voice in that soft, low timbre again.

"Rob…"

"We don't need to talk about it Loretta," he says. "Nothing happened."

"Because the phone rang."

"So you would have let me…?"

Lori closes her eyes and nods, unable to look at his face when it looks so open and vulnerable like it does right now. She hears him sigh, almost a groan. She imagines he runs his hand through his soft blonde hair again.

"I'll be back in the morning to take pictures," he finally says.

She opens her eyes again. "All right."

"You're okay? You'll be all right tonight?"

"Yes," she says with a sigh. "I tell you, the least he could have done is spelled it correctly," she says dryly. "'Uppity' has two Ps."

Rob chuckles now and fights the very strong urge to pull her back into his arms. "There's my girl," he mutters quietly. Then he turns on his heel and almost runs down the steps and to his car.

Sorry for the missed updates.

Honestly I'm apologising . it would be so bad if I don't drop a comment .

And I see love blooming even in times of trouble ,between Rob and Lori.

Nnnena I know you want to show us what is happening in the scene but sometimes there is a little confusion in my head when am reading some parts .

like this " Saying nothing, she puts her hand in his and allows him to pull her to her feet and slowly, gently, carefully into his arms. He places his arms around her narrow back, one near her shoulder, one just above her waist."

I understand the events are in the present; but most of these lines are actions and as such should come clean as single sentences.

okay lemme try something for a change.

" She said nothing and puts her hand in his "

* Notice the "She said nothing " already happened as a single deliberate act but it's too short to make sense so we added "and ".

" She said nothing and puts her hand in his . She allows him to pull her up ( remove the feet and also the and ) slowly ; gently but carefully into his arms. He places his arms round her narrow back. One near her left shoulder ( show precision ) and the other arm a little above her waistline "


I'm just being a good reader and taking observations. But nevertheless , keep up the good work and keep writing.

You are talented and I love your use of English.

Creeza:
Sorry for the missed updates.

Honestly I'm apologising . it would be so bad if I don't drop a comment .

And I see love blooming even in times of trouble ,between Rob and Lori.

Nnnena I know you want to show us what is happening in the scene but sometimes there is a little confusion in my head when am reading some parts .

like this " Saying nothing, she puts her hand in his and allows him to pull her to her feet and slowly, gently, carefully into his arms. He places his arms around her narrow back, one near her shoulder, one just above her waist."

I understand the events are in the present; but most of these lines are actions and as such should come clean as single sentences.

okay lemme try something for a change.

" She said nothing and puts her hand in his "

* Notice the "She said nothing " already happened as a single deliberate act but it's too short to make sense so we added "and ".

" She said nothing and puts her hand in his . She allows him to pull her up ( remove the feet and also the and ) slowly ; gently but carefully into his arms. He places his arms round her narrow back. One near her left shoulder ( show precision ) and the other arm a little above her waistline "

I hope this picture is clear to you.

I'm just being a good reader and taking observations. But nevertheless , keep up the good work and keep writing.

You are talented and I love your use of English.

i do understand dear. i would make sure i change

This is getting more serious o

Nnnena:
i do understand dear. i would make sure i change

You are good. just keep up the good work.

Nnena, can't wait for more updates

Nnena, hope all is well, this is unlike you.

Sis Nnenna, been long? How are you?

Nnena, hope you are good, its been so long

yea i know its being long. Am sorry i really apologize. Something happened in the family and i had to step aside from social network for a while. Am back now updates comes up tomorrow. Thanks to those who asked of me. yes y'all know its unlike me

Yipee, Nnena is back, can't wait for updates, hope everything is good now.

Nnnena:
yea i know its being long. Am sorry i really apologize. Something happened in the family and i had to step aside from social network for a while. Am back now updates comes up tomorrow. Thanks to those who asked of me. yes y'all know its unlike me

Yes. Thank God you are back. Welcome ma

Am dedicating this one to queenitee, evajael, creeza, amenaghwon and docmisstreasure.


9

"Robert Carter."


"Mr. Carter? My name is Keith Godwin.


I
was given a somewhat illuminating message
yesterday…"


"Ah, yes, Mr. Godwin. I have some information
that you might find very illuminating," Rob
says, leaning back in his chair.


"What are your
plans for this weekend, may I ask?"


Over lunch, Rob's phone rings again. "Robert
Carter," he answers, his mouth full of
hamburger.


"Rob?" Percy's hesitant voice greets him.


Rob swallows. "Sorry. Been eatin' lunch in my
office these days, since that's usually when you
or Loretta calls me. You caught me with a
mouth full o' burger."


"Sorry," Percy chuckles. "I got 'em.


Waited till
Alined went to lunch, since he always goes out
on Wednesdays, and they were right where he
said they'd be."


"And they're how we expect?"


"Yup."


"Good. Oh, I got called back this morning."


"Really?"


"Mmm-hmm. Everything's all set. You're safe."


"Thank you, Rob, really. I was pretty worried,
you know."


"I know. Call your mama tonight, Percy."


"I'll do that."


TBC

"Hello?" Rob answers his phone Thursday night. It's nearly nine, and his phone rarely rings this late.

"Rob?"

"Loretta," he says, smiling.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"It's not even nine," Rob says. Then he grins into the phone. "I'm allowed to stay up till eleven if I eat all my dinner, you know."

"Don't be usin' my own words against me, now, Superman," she snaps back, but he can hear the smile in her voice.

I'm beginning to love it when she calls me that. "What's on your mind?"

She pauses. "I'm scared."

"I know," he says. "I am, too."

"You are?"

"Scout's honor."

"Why should you be scared?"

"Lots o' reasons. I'm scared 'cause this is my first big trial, even though Liam's doin' most of the work now. I'm scared 'cause I don't know what kind of shit Boudreaux is goin' to try and pull. And most of all, I'm scared 'cause if we fail, then I'll have failed you, Loretta, And I don't think I could live with that."

"That's a lot to be scared of," she says after a moment, choosing file his last statement under Deal With that Later. "I'm mostly scared for Duncan and Ezra. Especially Ezra. I think he should talk to someone. Like a doctor or somethin'. And I know you said that you weren't going to call me to the stand, but what if Boudreaux does?"

"Then you go up there and be your normal charming and beautiful self, and most importantly, do not let him make you nervous."

"I wish you wouldn't say things like that," Lori says quietly.

"Like what?"

"You said I was charming and beautiful." "Well, you are."

"Even if that's true, I wish you wouldn't."

"Sorry."

"I mean, thank you, but… it just does funny things to me when you say things like that," she admits.

"And the last thing you need right now is more stress," Rob realizes. "I don't mean to… make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry. I'll try to… rein it in."

"I don't know if I should say thank you or tell you not to."

"Well, I don't even realize I'm doin' it most of the time, so I can't really make any promises," Rob says.

Lori just sighs, and Rob can tell if it's a sigh of contentment or exasperation.

"Is Elliot coming tomorrow?"

"I think so. He ain't home right now."

"He goes out a lot."

"I think he doesn't like bein' home because it reminds him of Daddy. His absence is very loud for him, I think."

"Are all of Tom's things still there?"

"Some. We gave his clothes to Duncan to give out to anyone who needed them at the warehouse. I told Elliot he should redecorate, or at least move the furniture around. Make the place his now."

"That's good advice," Rob nods.

"Yeah, but honestly I don't know if I'd be able to make that step myself.

It's easy for me to sit up here in my own space and tell him what he should do, but if I was in his place, would I be any better, I wonder?"

Rob smiles sadly. "You're very smart, Loretta."

"Stop complimenting me, Rob."

"Sorry."

"I should let you go. Sleep well."

"You, too. Try to get some rest, Loretta."

Dream of me.

"Is this all right?" Lori asks outside the courtroom. She is dressed in a simple lavender sleeveless dress with a matching pillbox hat on her head. Her hair is gathered into a very dignified bun at her nape.

"Perfect," Rob smiles. "Mrs. Kennedy would be envious."

"Stop," she tells him, but she is smiling despite herself.

"Ready?" he asks just as Liam joins them.

"No," she answers, the smile slipping from her face. "Let's go."

"Where's Elliot?" Rob asks.

"He'll be here. Trial starts at two; he'll be here at 1:59," she sighs. The three of them walk into the courtroom, Liam in the lead, followed by Lori and then Rob.

"Is this all right?" Lori asks outside the courtroom. She is dressed in a simple lavender sleeveless dress with a matching pillbox hat on her head. Her hair is gathered into a very dignified bun at her nape.

"Perfect," Rob smiles. "Mrs. Kennedy would be envious."

"Stop," she tells him, but she is smiling despite herself.

"Ready?" he asks just as Liam joins them.

"No," she answers, the smile slipping from her face. "Let's go."

"Where's Elliot?" Rob asks.

"He'll be here. Trial starts at two; he'll be here at 1:59," she sighs. The three of them walk into the courtroom, Liam in the lead, followed by Lori and then Rob.

Awwww...thanks for the dedication dear. I almost love you more than my snickers chocolate

Liam finishes his opening remarks, then Duncan takes the stand. He is sworn in and sits, folding his hands in front of him to keep them still. He does not look at Alined, as he has been instructed.

"Would you state your full name please?" Liam asks.

"Duncan Isaiah Matthews."

"And what is your job at Alined Paper?"

"I oversee the loading dock in the warehouse."

"What does that involve, exactly?"

"I take care of the shipments what comes in, checkin' that what's unloaded matches the invoice – the sheet that tells what's s'posed to be on the truck. I tells the other men where to put the supplies. On the shipments that goes out, I tells the men where to find the order and make sure that what's loaded matches the order."

"So you have a fair amount of responsibility there," Liam comments.

"Yessuh."

"How long have you been with the company?"

Liam asks, consciously choosing his words carefully.

"Ten year."

"Hmm. But Alined Paper has only been in existence for eight years…"

"Yessuh. Before that it was Blue Mountain Paper."

"So you worked for Blue Mountain Paper for two years before Eugene Alined took over, is that correct?"

"Yessuh," Duncan nods.

"And Blue Mountain Paper was owned by a mister… Hank Powell," he says, consulting a sheet of paper. Mainly for show. He knows exactly who and what and why.

"Mr. Powell, yes," Duncan nods again.

"And eight years ago, Mr. Alined purchased the company from Mr. Powell, is that correct?" Liam asks.

"Not really, sir, no."

"Care to explain?"

"Well, the public word is that it was a straight purchase. But everyone knowed that Mr. Powell had a bit of a problem when it came to playin' cards."

"Continue."

"Well, his last day, he come in stinkin' o' gin, spoutin' off about how he lost his whole company to this… beggin' your pardon… ugly, cheatin' bastard. Then he started cryin', sayin' that he was sorry that we's gonna have such a bad boss."

"Objection, your honor," Alfred Boudreaux speaks up for the first time now. "How is this relevant?"

Judge Rodor looks questioningly at Liam.

"My witness is giving background on the general work environment at Alined Paper, specifically in the warehouse. Explaining the workplace atmosphere."

"Overruled, for the moment. But you'd better get to your point soon, Mr. Winters," Rodor says.

"And what happened when Mr. Alined took over?" Liam asks.

Duncan furrows his brow a moment. "Not much. That is to say, things stopped happenin'. We had orders goin' out, shipments comin' in, but we was all feelin' like we was treadin' water.

Doin' lots o' work and gettin' nowhere, you see."

"Not very rewarding," Liam nods. "And what can you tell us about Paul Baker?"

"He was the old warehouse manager, before Mr. Andersen. Left all sudden-like in the middle of the day about a year and a half ago."

"Do you know why he left?"

"Yessuh. He wa'n't quiet about it nohow. He slammed out o' the office, spoutin' off things like… excuse my language again, please… 'cheap asshole' and 'this place is gon' fall down inside o' two year' and 'someone's gon' get killed.'

Then he stormed out."

"And what were these colorful comments in reference to?"

"Well, things break down and need fixin'. I sees the things that need fixin', and I tells the boss.

He fills out a form and gives it to the big boss.

But nothin' was gettin' fixed. Mr. Baker got to the end of his rope, I reckon."

"How long was it before Percy Andersen arrived?"

"Five, six months. We had all been thinkin' that Tom Thompson was goin' to be made manager.

He'd been kinda runnin' things durin' that time.

Then one day Mr. Alined brings Mr. Andersen in, announces that he's our new manager, and leaves."

"Was Tom upset?"

"No. He was the only one who didn't think he'd be put in charge o' the warehouse," Duncan says, chuckling a little. He meets Lori's eye and she smiles fondly at him, understanding completely. "And Mr. Andersen has proved to be a good boss, so after a month or so we stopped bein' difficult." Duncan grins a little now and sees Percy sitting in the crowd, chuckling and shaking his head.

"Does Mr. Andersen submit the repair requests you give him?" Liam asks.

"Yessuh, he does. I knows he does," Duncan nods.

"And do the repairs get done?"

"No. That's somethin' that hasn't changed."

"I see. What can you tell us about Tom Thompson? Was he a good worker?" Liam steers the testimony in a slightly different direction.

"Yessuh. Like I said, we's all expectin' that he was gon' be our boss. He'd been there as long as me. Little longer, actually. Always on time, followed the rules, and made sure we all followed them, too. Everyone liked him. Had a… a way about him. Tom could tell you you did somethin' wrong and you'd find yourself wanting to thank him for correctin' you." He glances at Lori again. She is looking a little wistful now, thinking of her father.

"Never did anything… reckless or dangerous?" Liam asks.

"Never. I don't think he would even think of it. Even when we was, um, breakin' in Boss – Mr. Andersen, I mean – he was always tryin' to get us to go easy on him."

"So then, the events of September 18, then… he wasn't behaving recklessly or in an unsafe manner?"

"No. He was just doin' his job, same as Ezra Johnson was just tryin' to do his."

"How would you classify what happened that day?"

Duncan takes a breath. "It was a terrible accident that wouldn't have happened if the repairs had been seen to on that forklift truck."

"Thank you, Mr. Matthews, I have nothing further," Liam says and sits.

"Mr. Boudreaux?" Judge Rodor turns to Alfred.

Alfred stands and saunters over towards the witness stand. "Mr. Matthews, how is it you seem to know so much about my client's acquisition of Blue Mountain Paper?"

"Well, sir, it's like I said. Mr. Powell came in and pret' much tole us that Mr. Alined done won it off him in a poker game."

"You also said that Mr. Powell stank of gin at the time."

"Yessuh. He was drunk at the time."

"So you believed his drunken ravings?"

"Anyone that's been around anyone who's had a few too many could prob'ly tell you that the drink makes a person more honest than they normally would be."

"Sounds like you know something about liquor," Alfred says, insinuation clear in his voice.

Duncan glances at Liam and Rob, remembering Leon's words. "If he's resortin' to trickery, that means he doesn't have a case." They do not look worried, so he answers. "I have had a drink or two in my day, but so have half the people in this courtroom, I reckon."

"But especially you," Alfred says. He produces a sheet of paper. "Police records. You've had some tangles with the law due to your taste for alcohol, Mr. Matthews."

Duncan lifts his chin, refusing to be baited. "If you look at those reports, sir, you'll see that the most recent charge was fifteen year ago. I haven't touched a drop since then and I never will again."

Alfred's eyes flash briefly, then, and Duncan can't quite gauge the emotion. He knows it's anger, but he's not exactly sure of the reason. "I have nothing further," he snaps, sitting.

Apparently that was his only card for this hand, and it was trumped before he could even play it.

EvaJael:
Awwww...thanks for the dedication dear. I almost love you more than my snickers chocolate

yea i know you still love your Snickers chocolate bar more than me like who wouldn't.

Ezra's turn is next, and Lori finds she is very nervous for him.

"I hope he does okay," she leans over and whispers to Rob as Ezra makes his way up.

"I'm so worried about him."

"We recommended a psychiatrist to him," Rob tells her. "If we win, he should get a part of the settlement as well. Alined should pay for Ezra's therapy."

Lori stares at him, struck by his thoughtfulness. She smiles at him, and he feels her smile burrowing into his heart and making itself comfortable.

Liam starts much the same way with Ezra. Full name, his position at the warehouse.

"Ezra, I know you have been struggling since Tom's death, but would you be so kind as to tell us what happened that day?"

"Yessuh," Ezra nods. His voice is soft, and the courtroom goes completely silent as he starts to talk.

"I just took a pallet to the row where Duncan tole me. Was makin' my way back to the truck, and let me tell you, it wa'n't easy. I turn the wheel left, it go straight. I hit the brakes, it don't stop. 'Fore I knew it, I was headin' down the wrong aisle with the forks stuck half up. I seen Tom ahead of me, checkin' another pallet, and I right away knowed he was trapped."

Ezra pauses, swallowing hard.

"Can you continue, Mr. Johnson?"

He nods. "I stomped on them brakes like they was a big ol' spider. I tried turnin' the wheel, but there was nowhere I could go and… the truck don't stop…"

He closes his eyes, squeezing them shut, and when he opens them again he looks at Lori and sees her dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief.

"In the end I just put my hands over my eyes. I thought about jumpin' from the truck but I knew I'd get hurt, too, if I done that. The truck only stopped when it hit the wall. Tom was stuck between the truck and the wall. One o' the forks, it… it went right through him…" his voice breaks off and he wipes at one of his eyes. "I kilt him. I'm sorry, Miss Lori, you know I am, but I couldn't…"

"It's all right, Ezra," Liam says quietly. "Miss Thompson has already stated that she does not hold you responsible."

Ezra nods, and he looks at Lori again. Her eyes are red but she is attempting to smile encouragingly at him.

"Did you sustain any injuries in this accident, Mr. Johnson?" Liam asks.

"Some bruises, mainly."

"And?" he presses.

"Nightmares."

"Objection, your honor. A nightmare is not an injury," Alfred huffs.

"Mr. Winters?"

"Recent research states that mental trauma after an accident such as this should indeed be considered an injury. Mr. Johnson suffered great mental trauma, as you can plainly see, and these nightmares are a manifestation of this."

"Overruled, Boudreaux."

Liam changes direction. "What can you tell us about this faulty forklift truck, Ezra? When you are able."

Ezra takes a deep breath, wipes at his eyes again, and speaks again. "We have two forklift trucks in the warehouse. One o' them works pretty well, and the other one, well, we'd gone to flippin' a coin to see who had to drive it each day."

"What was wrong with it?"

"Um, the brakes was goin'. The steerin' was…" he searches for the right word, "unpredictable.

Tires bald. The hydraulics, what makes the forks go up and down? They was startin' to malfunction. The forks would get stuck."

"Would they get stuck in any particular place?

All the way up? All the way down?"

"No. We never could tell where they was gon' get stuck. Oh, and every once in a while there'd be this squealin' noise comin' from somewhere."

"So quite a few things, then," Liam says, nodding. "And requests were made for service?"

"Yessuh. Still waitin' on the maintenance people to come."

"You have no on-site maintenance?"

"No. Mr. Alined got rid of the one we had when he took over. Said we didn't need them and he'd hire in men when we needed things fixed."

"And did you ever see any of these hired maintenance men?"

"Once or twice. It's been two years since I last saw one, I reckon."

"Thank you Ezra, I know this has been difficult for you. I have no further questions." Liam goes to his seat, silently praying that Ezra can hold it together through Boudreaux's questioning.

Judge Rodor looks at Alfred. "Your witness, Boudreaux."

Alfred does something surprising then. "I don't believe I'm gonna ask this witness any questions, your honor."

Liam and Rob look at each other across Lori, puzzled. Ezra visibly relaxes.

Then Boudreaux continues. "No point in questioning the mentally unstable."

"Of course," Rob mutters. "Asshole."

"You may step down, Mr. Johnson," Rodor says. "That was very…" Lori says quietly.

"Go ahead and say it Loretta," Rob says.

"Shitty," she finishes.

"Atta girl," he nods. Then he glances over her at Liam. "And now, for our next trick?"

Liam stands again. "Prosecution calls Jack Aredian, your honor."

"Shit." From the other side of the aisle, Liam smirks as he just barely hears Alfred curse under his breath.

TBC later

Thanks, Nnena for the dedication and updates. Lori and Rob I'm watching you

Nnnena:
yea i know you still love your Snickers chocolate bar more than me like who wouldn't.

Lol....lawyers and cunny cunny ehn

Thanks for the dedication. Don't mind Evajael, I love this story more than I love Korean movies

queenitee:
Thanks for the dedication. Don't mind Evajael, I love this story more than I love Korean movies

U love the story and I love nnenna..o kpari

EvaJael:

U love the story and I love nnenna..o kpari

Abi, I love Nnenna too nah

queenitee:

Abi, I love Nnenna too nah

See all of u mouth.
Nnenna don't mind dem love both the story and u :Ddont mind me dat I did nt ask after u ooo. Hope all problems been resolved.
Evajael hope u ave updated . Before I ccchange it for u

stephenGee12:

See all of u mouth.
Nnenna don't mind dem love both the story and u :Ddont mind me dat I did nt ask after u ooo. Hope all problems been resolved.
Evajael hope u ave updated . Before I ccchange it for u

Ye..ye..yessir

EvaJael:

Ye..ye..yessir

is dat one update.....