Quentin Ingram paused halfway out his office door and gave Colin an engaging smile as they shook hands. “Good to meet you, Colin. Heard good things. Sorry, but I have to run. Due in court in seven minutes.” He waved over his shoulder as he strode down the hall. “Catch you later!”
Adylinn Clemons seemed friendly and likable, but as Colin and Sheila strode back to his office, she nudged his arm. “Be careful of that one,” she whispered. “She likes to run to the boss and snitch on everyone.”
“Thanks,” Colin told her.
“No problem. And listen, don’t hesitate to ask me if anything confuses you or if you need anything. You probably need me to talk to the clerk about scheduling a continuance for you in those two Class 1 misdemeanors on your docket.”
“Do you do that for me? Or should I do it myself?”
“I’ll do it for you if I have the time so don’t hesitate to ask. Sometimes the boss has me hopping, and at times like that you’ll have to do it yourself. I can introduce you to the clerks if that’ll help.”
Colin grinned at her. “I was a campus cop here for ten years,” he said. “I know all the clerks and most of the judges too as far as that goes. But I appreciate your offer.”
“Oh, that’s right!” Sheila said. “I forgot! That’ll be a big advantage for you.” She leaned over Colin’s desk and rummaged through his box of files. “OK,” she said finally, removing two folders. “These are the two Class 1s; both are possession cases. I’ll schedule the motions for continuance.” She backed toward the hallway holding the two manila folders. “I’ll pop back in later with your courtroom schedule for tomorrow. You’ll probably have a couple bail hearings in the morning, so you’ll want to read up on those.”
“Sheila, you’ve been great,” Colin told her. “Thank you!”
Alone in his office for the first time, Colin opened and closed all the drawers in his desk. In one drawer he found a petrified tuna fish sandwich and in another several dried-up ballpoint pens. The rest were empty. His file cabinet was also empty save for a box of legal pads and many hanging file organizers.
He shoved the legal pads into a desk drawer, then sat the box of files on the floor and looked around. The office was small, possibly measuring eight by eight feet, but the furniture had a professional sheen, and his chair was comfortable. He made a mental note to bring some of his legal reference books from home to fill the bookcase and to grab a picture of Joshua to sit on his desk.
He allowed himself a few minutes to let the reality sink in: He was a fully-authorized member of the Virginia Bar Association and was sitting in his own office in city hall as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney. He shook his head, still not quite able to believe it, then placed twenty or so of the manila folders on the desk in front of him and turned on the lamp. “That’s the dream,” he muttered, then opened the first case file. “This is the reality.”
By the time his day ended, he had poured over every file in the box. There were eighty-eight in all, all misdemeanors, and all way overdue for some kind of action from the court. He organized them by court date and read over as many as he could manage.
Sheila brought him a printed schedule listing the time, case number, judge, and courtroom where he was slated to appear the following day. His first hearing was at eight-twenty the next morning before Judge Anthony Robinson to set bail in a DUI case. He managed to reach Aldon Kennedy, the court-appointed attorney representing the defendant. Mr. Kennedy made it clear that he fully expected the judge to set bail at the absolute minimum. “I wouldn’t push for higher bail on this one,” he counseled Colin. “The guy’s a model citizen, and you’ll lose.’
Colin grimaced and hung up the phone, staring at the case notes.Lose huh, he thought, feeling his competitive hackles rising.That might be true, but not without a fight.
He had three other courtroom appearances also scheduled, two asking for a continuance in ongoing drug possession cases, and one to set bail for a reckless driving charge. Colin stared at the case files and blew out a breath. He’d appeared in court many times as a prosecution witness for the campus police. He was well-known to judges and courtroom staff and generally well liked. But this would be his first appearance as anything other than a witness, and he felt his stomach flutter with unexpected butterflies.
He stumbled out the door and down the steps of city hall that evening, unsure if he’d made any headway at all in the cases assigned to him. His mind was filled with thoughts of his upcoming cases, and he fell in the door that night feeling more unsure of himself than at any time in recent memory.
“Jesus, Josh,” he breathed out, collapsing into his husband’s arms. “Can you call off sick for me tomorrow?”
Joshua laughed and pushed him to arm’s length. “Bad form, Counselor,” he said, drawing Colin to the couch. “But come sit with me, and tell me about your day.”
Joshua listened intently as Colin described his office, his encounter with his formidable boss, his enormous stack of cases, and his nervousness at being scheduled for his initial courtroom appearance as an attorney first thing the next morning.
“OK,” Joshua said. “May I offer some advice?”
“Please!” Colin said, reaching to take his hand. “Christ’s sake, Josh, if you’ve got any good ideas don’t keep ‘em to yourself.”
Joshua walked Colin through a couple simple exercises intended to soothe nerves and create an appearance of confidence and authority.
“Take five seconds before you speak toconsciouslythink about your stance, like a baseball player does at bat. Square your shoulders and take a deep breath before you speak. And forgod’ssake do NOT emulate yourLaw and Orderhero, Ben Stone. The guy’s a klutz in the courtroom. He leans against railings, stands with his hands shoved into his pockets, and is constantly meandering around. It’s sloppy. You do what I said and you’ll not only project confidence and calm, but you’llfeelconfident and calm.”
Halfway through Joshua’s recommendations Colin had begun to take notes. “This will really help me, Josh,” he muttered.
“And if you’re going to have notes in the courtroom, don’t read them. Make sure you use a large font or bright colored ink so you can reference your notes quickly and easily just by glancing down at them.”
Colin threw his notepad to the coffee table and drew Joshua into his arms. “Thank you!” he said, his lips pressed to Joshua’s dark hair. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Even the administrative assistant, Sheila, said you sounded wonderful.”
Joshua laughed and leaned back to peer into Colin’s eyes. “Why wouldshethink I’m wonderful? Did you tell her what a hot and sexy lover I am?”
“I keep that kind of information to myself,” Colin muttered with a smug grin. “But I did show her my thermos and tell her that you always stuffed my briefcase and pockets with protein bars.” He nuzzled against Joshua’s cheek. “They havedoughnutsdown there!”
Joshua wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Stick with the protein bars.” He kissed Colin’s cheek, then rose. “Wait here a second. I have something for you.” He bounded up the steps and entered their bedroom, and Colin could hear him rustling around just above his head. When he came back down the steps, he had one hand behind his back.
