Southern Lights: A Novel

Jack and Alexa hurried up the courthouse steps and into the grand jury room, just as Quentin was escorted in through a separate entrance. They had both been there many times before, with good results. It was rare, almost unheard of, for Alexa’s indictments to be dismissed. And her paperwork and motions were all in order. She wanted no procedural mistakes on this case.

They took their places at the counsel table assigned to the DA’s office, while the public defender sat down at the table across the aisle and Luke Quentin was brought into the room. Alexa was surprised to see that he was wearing a suit. She had no idea where the public defender had gotten it for him, but he looked good. She wondered if maybe it was his own. It seemed unlikely. He glanced across the aisle at Alexa then, and this time he didn’t smile. His eyes bored into her and through her, like white-hot power drills that drove right through her head. There was pure hatred in his eyes, and then he turned away. She could all too easily imagine that same look in his eyes as he raped and killed some young girl. She had no doubts whatsoever about the case.

The grand jurors convened quickly and heard the evidence from Alexa’s side. There were no witnesses to refute it. They were the only people in the room. Jack supplied enough evidence to support the indictment, without giving any major secrets away. He said there were investigations under way in other states about fifteen more potential victims, and they were still developing the case, but they had four sure victims so far. The jurors spoke to the defendant briefly, and asked him a few questions about his whereabouts and the forensic evidence that had been found against him, and then they thanked everyone for coming, and said that they would hand down their decision later that day, after they voted on it. But Alexa knew from their faces, as did everyone else in the room, that they would vote to indict. There was no other choice, with four dead women and blood on Luke Quentin’s boots.

“So much for that,” Jack said, as they went back to their offices upstairs. “Now we get to work.” Alexa nodded, and they parted in silence, each thinking of all they had to do. The burden was on the investigators now to give her the evidence she needed to win the case. She trusted him completely.

Alexa got the call from the grand jury late that afternoon. They had come back with an indictment in the Quentin case, four counts of rape, and murder in the first degree. They were off and running. She knew the coming months would be increasingly stressful until they tried the case. She called and asked the public defender if they would agree to a speedy trial, which she did. Joe McCarthy agreed with Alexa that the public’s best interests would be served by trying and convicting him as quickly as possible and putting it to rest. The public defender admitted that she was not looking forward to trying this case. They set the date for May, which gave them four months. And by Friday night, after organizing all their files, clearing her desk, and setting the wheels of justice in motion, Alexa was wiped out.

She and Savannah ordered pizza for dinner, and after that Savannah went out with friends, and Alexa emptied her briefcase and went to work. She knew now that with the Quentin case scheduled for trial in May, she would have no social life whatsoever in the coming months, but she didn’t have one anyway.

Savannah had plans with friends all weekend, which allowed Alexa to work without feeling guilty, and finally on Sunday afternoon they looked over Savannah’s college applications together. She had finished the last ones.

“Looking good,” Alexa said, smiling at her proudly. As usual, Savannah had met the deadline right on time. “Let’s stuff them in a bunch of envelopes and get them out.” Savannah agreed, and they each filled several envelopes, put stamps on them, and addressed them to the admissions offices. Alexa said she’d take them downstairs and stick them in the mailbox, since she needed some air anyway. She hadn’t left the apartment since Friday afternoon and had worked straight through the weekend.

She was just about to leave the apartment when she saw an envelope that had been shoved under the door. The handwriting was stilted and awkward and looked like that of a child as Alexa picked it up.

“What’s this?” she said more to herself than anyone else. It was addressed to Savannah, and had been delivered by hand. She walked it into Savannah’s room and handed it to her. “Looks like you’re getting love notes from very young children,” she teased her, and was about to leave the room as Savannah opened it and looked confused. The letter inside had been written on a computer and printed out. If it had been written by a child, it was one who owned a computer, but most children these days did.

Savannah looked faintly unnerved as she handed it to her mother without comment. It said, “I love you, and I want your body.”