I was already grabbing my keys.

The morning air over Greenville carried the sour smell of damp leaves.

I parked behind the courthouse at six thirty and walked past the statue of the unknown soldier without looking up at it.

Courtroom 2A was small and smelled of floor wax and old paper.

Robert sat in the front row with his attorney, a thin man in a charcoal suit who kept glancing at his watch.

Robert didn’t turn around.