Brenda glanced toward me once.

I looked down at my notes.

The judge addressed procedural issues and conditions, not final guilt.

The case would continue.

It was all slower and less dramatic than the television trials I had imagined.

Outside, a reporter approached with a microphone.

Someone had heard about a child injured in a yard, and the local news was interested.

I declined to speak and asked that Hailey’s privacy be respected.