Julian stared down at the floorboards and didn’t answer.

Judge Norris signed three official orders in quick succession, her pen scratching across the heavy bond paper.

“County officers are waiting in the outer hallway for Miss Sterling,” Judge Norris said.

“This session is adjourned.”

We stepped out into the cold gray linoleum hallway at eleven fifteen.

Two uniformed deputies walked on either side of Clara Sterling, her hands cuffed behind her back.

She twisted the emerald ring on her right hand, but the steel held her wrists tight against her coat.