It was only after the three of them were seated in the tired little restaurant, with the scent of salty water, fresh fish and creamy cheese teasing their noses, that anyone spoke again.
“Well,” Jurgis asked, watching the waitress as she attempted to walk while balancing the heavy plastic tea pitcher and three glasses of ice, “do you think they’ll get their conviction?”
Catherine didn’t answer until the server deposited her bounty and took the group’s order for lobster chowder and fresh bread. But as the woman turned to leave Catherine pulled a packet of disinfectant wipes from her leather bag and began to wipe down the plastic veneer of the table as she continued. “The sheriff told me it was as close to a slam dunk case as he’d ever seen. They found a body in the trunk of his car, remember.”
“Hey, Cath,” called a female voice from somewhere behind Erik. “Saw you on TV.”
Catherine flashed a quick smile in the direction of the voice and threw up her hand in a quick wave. “I hope this whole local celebrity thing doesn’t last too long,” she whispered. Leaning in she asked in an even lower voice, “How much coverage did the trial get up here?”
“The local channels covered it in the evening but, of course, that court channel went wall to wall with it,” said Jurgis. He started, as though hit with a bolt of remembrance and turned to Erik. “You’re an attorney. Tell Catherine what you thought of how the news covered her case.”