The next day, Jane sat at the head of the conference room table and explained the pros and cons of testifying before the grand jury to Trevor. Shelby was seated on Trevor’s right and Carly on his left, and Landon sat across the table, feeling like her presence was superfluous.
“I hate to come off like a dumb jock,” Trevor said, “But I could really use an explanation about what exactly a grand jury does.” He turned toward Carly. “How is it different from a trial? Do I get both?”
Jane nodded at Carly, who appeared eager to jump into the conversation. “Before the police arrested you,” Carly said, “they presented evidence to a judge to convince him that there was probable cause to believe you committed the crime. In Texas, whenever someone is arrested on a felony, the prosecutor is required to present evidence to a grand jury—a panel of twelve people—to let the grand jurors determine if the arrest should stand and if there is indeed probable cause to keep the charges in place. The prosecutor can present the same evidence as what the police gave the judge to support the warrant, or they might have new evidence. Sometimes, we present evidence to the grand jury to get them to no bill, or decline to indict. If you were to testify, your testimony would be the bulk of our evidence. We would also prepare a packet for the grand jurors with letters in support of your innocence.”
“Do you get to pick who is on the grand jury?” Trevor asked.
“No,” Carly replied, her tone gentle and even. “Unlike a trial jury, the grand jurors are selected by the chief judge of the county courts. These jurors don’t just hear your case. They hear lots of cases over the course of several months, so they will be fairly savvy when it comes to reviewing the evidence, but they will also likely have a good rapport with the prosecutors because they’ve been spending lots of time with them.”
“If the grand jury…” Shelby paused. “What’s it called when they decide to throw out the case?”
“No bill,” Jane said. “And that doesn’t mean the case is thrown out. It just means they’ve decided there is not probable cause to support the charges at this time.”
“Meaning they could charge me later?” Trevor asked.
Landon heard the trepidation in his voice. She couldn’t blame him for being a bit on edge since Jane had decided to let him make the call about whether or not to testify. If the decision had been left up to her, she would’ve been a bit more heavy-handed when it came to managing the client, basically telling him this was the way it was going down.
“The prosecutor could try to indict you again, but without some new evidence, she’d be facing an uphill battle.”
Landon coughed into her hand to cover her grunt of disagreement, but Shelby perked up and focused on her. “What? You don’t agree? What do you think will happen?”
Landon ignored Jane’s pointed stare and scrambled for an answer that would be authentic but would also keep her out of trouble with the boss. “It’s a gamble all around. The only thing that wouldn’t be a gamble would be if Trevor wanted to take a plea to a fixed prison term, and I think we can all agree that’s not up for debate?” She held Shelby’s gaze until Shelby nodded that she understood. “Okay, then we should explore all of Trevor’s options. This is just one of them.”
“Right,” Shelby said. “That makes sense. What would you do if it were you?”
Ah, the classic question every criminal defense lawyer had to tackle multiple times in their career. Landon looked around the table to see if anyone else wanted to weigh in, but it was clear Shelby had meant the question for her. Her stock answer, the one she gave at cocktail parties—it depends—would only beg the question, and Trevor deserved better than a theoretical discussion since his life was on the line. Maybe Carly was right. Maybe this was the time to take some risks. She folded her hands and focused first on Shelby, but then turned to Trevor and spoke directly to him.
“If I were accused of something I didn’t do, something this unthinkable, I’d take every opportunity I could find to proclaim my innocence. I’d have a press conference telling everyone who wanted to know that I didn’t do it. I’d show up for the grand jury and demand to tell them in my own words that I am innocent. If they indicted me, I’d demand a speedy trial so I could put this travesty behind me, and when the judge at trial asked me to stand up and enter my plea, I’d be out of my chair in a flash to say that I’m innocent of the charge.”
Trevor nodded, his eyes bright and flooded with confidence, and Shelby smiled broadly. Out of the corner of her eye, Landon caught sight of Jane, who stared at her like she’d grown another head, but Carly’s astonished expression was the one Landon lingered on, taking time to flash a grin her way before returning her attention to Trevor.
“Now, that said—” she started to say, but Shelby cut her off.
“Yes!”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s the spirit we’ve been waiting to hear,” Shelby gushed. “I’m so glad you’re on the team. Trevor, don’t you agree?”
“Absolutely,” he replied. “Sounds like we’ve got a plan. I’m going to testify. What do we do next?”
Shit. Apparently, she’d been a little too heavy-handed, but in the opposite direction. Landon bit her bottom lip, considering whether she should counterbalance her impassioned speech, but then decided screw it. She and Carly could prep Trevor well enough, and if he crumbled in front of the grand jury, they’d deal with the fallout.
“We prepare,” Jane answered for Landon. “Carly and Landon will work out a schedule with you. The key is to be ready for any question they might throw at you, but still appear natural.”
A few minutes later, they all filed out of the conference room. Before Landon could reach the door, she felt a light tug on her arm and looked back expecting to see Carly ready to give her an earful about the sudden change of heart. But Shelby was standing behind her, crooking her finger to motion Landon back into the room. Landon cast a look over at Carly who shook her head and kept going. When she and Shelby were the only ones left in the room, Landon asked, “What’s up?”
“I like your style.”
A simple phrase, and it could have been innocent, but Landon wasn’t getting innocent vibes. Sensing that asking Shelby what she meant would only invite extra, unwanted attention, Landon simply said, “Thanks.”
“Who do I need to talk to to make sure you’re the lead on Trevor’s case?”
Shelby moved closer as she spoke, and Landon tried really hard not to run for the door. Normally, she welcomed being the focus of a good-looking woman, but Shelby’s aggressive approach turned her off. It shouldn’t. She should welcome a chance to have the client, or at least the client’s representative ask Jane to have her take the lead. Carly wouldn’t be able to fight the client’s choice, and it would give Landon an advantage in their race for partnership.
But it felt off, like Shelby was going to want something from her in exchange for the favor. Again, not normally something she’d mind from a gorgeous woman, but a voice in her head told her Carly would think less of her for it. To her surprise, she cared more about what Carly thought of her character than taking advantage of this opportunity. She backed toward the door. “No lead here. Trevor has a team of good attorneys, and we’ll all work hard to make sure justice is served.”
Before Shelby could respond, Landon ducked out of the room and walked swiftly down the hall, not caring about rudely ditching a client. When she walked through the door of her office, Carly was leaning against her desk. Landon broke out into a smile. “Hey, you—”
“When did you change your mind about the grand jury?”
Carly’s question was more like an accusation than a casual request for information, and it took Landon off guard. “What’s up?”
“What was with the rousing speech about proclaiming innocence? You sounded like Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men. You know if we really are going to work as a team, it makes more sense that we get our act together ahead of time.”
“Wait. You’re mad at me for agreeing with you?”
“No, I’m annoyed that suddenly my idea became your idea served in a brighter package. It’s like you swooped in and took all the credit in hopes you’d win the client into thinking you’re taking the lead on his case.”
Landon started to protest but couldn’t deny that was exactly what had happened. But hey, that was what was supposed to happen, right? They were in a contest. If she just so happened to come around to Carly’s way of thinking about the case, and it bought her brownie points with the client, then bonus for her. “Maybe I actually just realized that you were right all along.”
“And this flirting thing you have going on with Shelby had nothing to do with your sudden change of heart?”
“It didn’t.” Too late Landon realized she hadn’t denied the flirting. “It’s a good idea.”
“I know it is. Maybe I just wished you’d given me some credit when you decided to jump on board.” Carly stalked toward the door. “I’m going back to my office to work on another good idea. I’ll let you know when it’s ready for you to reject and then embrace.”
She was out the door before Landon could respond. Carly was right. The whole thing had been Carly’s idea, and Landon had as much as called her crazy for it. If she was going to change her mind and jump on board, it was only right to give Carly credit for coming up with it in the first place. The best thing she could hope for right now was that Trevor’s case got kicked by the grand jury to put an end to this stupid contest. It couldn’t happen fast enough.