Читать книгу A Time To Come Home - Darlene Gardner, Darlene Gardner - Страница 8

CHAPTER FOUR

THE TRIAL KEEPING Tyler away from the community center had entered the second day of its second week. Diana knew this, because the front page of the Laurel County Times had faithfully reported each day’s events. Speculation was that the judge would hand over the case to the jury today.

The last time Diana had read the Times in any detail had been years ago when the prosecuting attorney had been Tyler’s father and the boy on trial the one who’d murdered her brother.

This trial also had a teenage defendant and sensationalist elements, but there the similarities ended. A different Benton was prosecuting this case, the teenager’s weapon had been a gas can instead of a knife and nobody had died.

Diana relegated J.D. to the back of her mind, from where he never left, and put aside the stack of registrations she’d been inputting into a computer spreadsheet. She stood up and stretched her arms overhead.

The hour hand on the wall clock had passed seven, meaning the pickup basketball game on the outside court was well underway. Since Tyler had finished presenting his side of the case, maybe he’d joined the game.

She reached into the pocket of her slacks, fingering the good-luck stone. For the first time in forever, it seemed as though things would work out. She enjoyed her job, and she was doing well in her classes. She’d also moved into the perfect place over the weekend: an affordable two-bedroom garage apartment in a neighborhood filled with children.

She’d yet to make contact with her mother but had tried calling twice, both times getting her answering machine and both times failing to leave a message. Baby steps, she reminded herself, even though she was poised to take a giant one.

All the ingredients had come together for her to tell Tyler about Jaye: tonight. Call her crazy, but she even looked forward to it.

She expected him to be angry at first, but he’d always been reasonable. Once she explained her belief that a baby would have dimmed his bright future, he’d come to understand why she’d lied.

She ventured into the twilight, following the sounds of young men chattering and a basketball bouncing until she reached the lighted court behind the community center. She kept close to the building, bracing herself for the sight of Tyler.