Intrusion by Cynthia Justlin Read Free Book Online Page A

courtroom.
    The vacant chairs should have comforted her—at least no one would bear witness to her humiliation—but combined with the weighty hush that blanketed the room, her stomach jumped.
    “Ms. McCain?”
    Her gaze snapped away from the gallery and settled on the woman at the defense table.
    She stretched out a hand, her brown-eyed gaze bouncing from Audra’s disheveled appearance straight to the floor. “Jennifer Oberhaus, Sutter and James sent me over to handle your case.”
    Audra shook the attorney’s hand. The cuffs jingled on her wrists and rattled her nerves further. “I’m not—I didn’t do this. It’s all a mistake. A—a terrible mistake.”
    “I’m not here to talk about your case, Ms. McCain.” Ms. Oberhaus tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. “I’m here to make sure you have a proper arraignment.”
    “Yes, but—”
    The judge at the bench cleared his throat. “Have a seat, Ms. McCain.”
    Audra flinched at the gruff timbre of his voice. Here was the man who held her fate in his hands, the grim reaper where she would’ve preferred the fairy godmother. She swallowed hard and lowered herself into the chair, a stiff back her only semblance of strength. Her hands shook, rattling the cuffs again. She buried them between her knees.
    “Let’s get to the charges.” The judge plucked a document from the top of his stack. “You’re being charged with theft, alleged to have occurred in the early morning hours of January fourteenth. Due to the value of the item in question, you’re also being charged with grand larceny, and as an employee of the company where the item was stolen, you are further charged with fraud for the alleged intent to deliberately deceive Nanodyne Corporation.” He peered at her through the thick lenses of his glasses. “Do you understand these charges?”
    No. She understood their meanings, but not the intent behind them. She wasn’t guilty, damn it, so why did she feel like a convicted criminal?
    A terrible ache thickened her throat. “Yes, your Honor.”
    “You have the right to be represented by an attorney at all stages of the proceedings.”
    Her attorney stood. “I will be representing Ms. McCain in this matter, your Honor.”
    “Fine. I’ll note for the record, Ms. McCain, that Ms. Oberhaus of Sutter and James will be representing you. And I’ll enter a plea of—”
    “Not guilty.” She dug the words up from deep in her gut and they took on a life of their own reverberating in the courtroom far louder than she’d intended.
    Ms. Oberhaus shot her a raised brow, its arch clearly meant as a warning to zip her lip.
    The judge pulled off his glasses and rubbed a hand down his face. “Based on the serious nature of these charges and the fact that the defendant’s alleged accomplice is still at large, it is in the best interest to both Ms. McCain and the court to deny bail at this time.”
    The blood drained from Audra’s face. Her best interest? How could forcing her to return to jail ever be considered good for her? She sprung to her feet, gripping the table to keep from swaying.
    “No, please.” She reached out her cuffed hands to the judge. “I can’t go back there. I’m not going to run, and I don’t have an accomplice. I didn’t do this.” The bailiff pushed away from the wall and took a step toward her. She knew she should shut up but she couldn’t stop the stream of words that fell from her mouth. “I just want to go home and cooperate with the police so they can find out who did this. I’ll sign whatever I have to sign. Put me under house arrest, I don’t care. Just don’t make me—”
    Her attorney grabbed her arm and nudged her into the bailiff’s custody. “Thank you, your Honor.”
    The same guards who’d escorted her to court returned and took over for the bailiff. Her knees buckled. They tightened their grip to steady her, but didn’t bother to slow down as they ushered her out of the Court and back down the