Free 1 A Small Case of Murder by Lauren Carr

wrong with him?” Donny asked.
    “From what I hear, not a thing,” Tad said. “I know his first doctor. Doug Longstreet. Walker kept saying he was in pain and couldn’t walk. Longstreet said there was nothing wrong with him. Walker is now suing him for malpractice. Then, Walker found a doctor who would say he had some nerve damage in his back.”
    “But if Vicki Rawlings hit him, then why is he suing her father?” Donny wanted to know.
    “Because,” Joshua answered, “her father has all the money and the van was registered to him.” He wondered how long Wallace Rawlings had been the prosecuting attorney.
    Tad told him Wallace had been in office three years. “Before that, he was struggling. He’s not that good in a courtroom. He comes across as slimy, and juries hate him.”
    Joshua said, “Daddy’s money doesn’t guarantee you free admission on all the rides.”
    “Not when you’re a defense attorney and your acquittal record is only thirty percent. However, Daddy’s money and influence was a big help in his election campaign.”
    In a turquoise suit, Tess Bauer’s appearance was so polished that she looked out of place amongst the local media gathered on the other side of the courtroom.
    “Tess graduated from Oak Glen about…” Tad paused to recall, “I think about eight years ago. She comes from a family of six kids out by Birch Hollow. Her younger sister was friends with Vicki.” He added sadly, “Talk about gorgeous. After Diana died, Tess tried to get Vicki arrested. Everyone knew she was Diana’s supplier, but Tess couldn’t prove it. She declared war on the Rawlings. They haven’t been able to make a move without her covering it ever since.”
    Jan slipped into the seat across the aisle from Joshua. She had taken special effort that morning to apply new cosmetics. She had also spent some time with the hair dryer and curlers, something she hadn’t used since her cousin’s wedding months earlier.
    Joshua noted, “You look different,” before he realized that she was wearing make-up.
    Jan was as flustered as she had been when she wore her first bra to Sunday school. Noticing the strap peeking out from under her sleeveless baby blue sundress, Joshua announced her new undergarment to the class. Maturity prevented her from reacting the same way she had back then. Instead of giving him a bloody nose, she demurred, “Do you like it?”
    “It takes some getting used to.”
    Before Jan could retort, Beth Davis staggered down the aisle between them. More frazzled than when Joshua had seen earlier, she squinted against the lights in the courtroom and tried unsuccessfully to cover up her lack of balance while making her way to the front of the gallery.
    Tad jumped up to take her by the arm. “Come on, Beth. Let’s go get some air.”
    The guard brought Vicki Rawlings, her hands cuffed behind her back, into the courtroom.
    “All rise!”
    Everyone in the courtroom rose for the judge’s entrance.
    Vicki regarded those around her with disdain.
    Tad shoved Beth down into a vacant chair and draped his arm across her shoulders to keep her still.
    For Joshua, it was not unlike the average bureaucratic procedure he had witnessed and participated in for the last decade.
    Marjorie Greene read through the list of offenses with which Victoria Rawlings was charged. Mannings declared that she pleaded not guilty and requested bail. The prosecution objected to bail being allowed, saying the defendant was a menace to society. Mannings then pleaded that the defendant was a misunderstood child in need of psychological help. Claiming she suffered from a chemical imbalance, he said his client was in need of medical examination and treatment.
    Tess Bauer glared at Vicki. Leo Walker laughed out loud.
    While slapping his palm with his driving gloves, Reverend Orville Rawlings watched the proceedings like the captain of a ship supervising his underlings in a clean-up operation after an accident.
    In her role of