Cutler gripped Jamie Simmons’s arm. Simmons gritted his teeth, but kept quiet.
“We’re ready, Your Honor,” Cutler said.
“All right. Bailiff, can you please bring in the jury?”
The side door next to the jury box opened. Each member of the panel filed in. Most of them looked at Simmons as they made their way to their seats.
I felt a tap on my arm. Sam was there. “She’s awake,” he whispered. “I’ve got a deputy with her now. She asked for it.”
“What’s going on?” I mouthed.
“Mr. Foreman,” Judge Saul called out. “Have you reached a verdict in this matter?”
“We have, Your Honor,” the foreman said. It was juror number seven. The retired plumber Hojo thought hated Dane Fischer.
Judge Saul’s clerk walked over to the foreman and took the verdict form from him. She brought it up to the judge. Vivian Saul slid her readers up her nose and read the form. She folded the paper and handed it back to the clerk.
I’d known the clerk for a long time. Janine Bosko was famous for her stoicism. You simply could not read the woman’s face as she held countless defendants’ lives in her hands before she read out their verdicts.
“Is your verdict unanimous?” Judge Saul asked the foreman.
“It is,” he answered.
“Read it into the record, please,” Judge Saul instructed Janine.
Janine brought a fist to her mouth and coughed into it. Then she unfolded the paper and lowered the microphone to her level.
“We, the jury in the state of Ohio versus James Baldwin Simmons, Case No. G-83010-CR-23109, on Count One of the complaint find the defendant not guilty of aggravated murder.”
I didn’t dare breathe as Janine read the verdict on the second charge.
“On Count Two of the complaint, we, the jury find the defendant James Baldwin Simmons guilty of murder.”
A rush of heat went through me, settling in my feet. For a moment, it felt like my legs didn’t work. I gripped the table. Hojo grabbed my arm and shook it. Behind me, Sam put a hand on my back.
“Oh God,” Hayden whispered. From my peripheral vision, I saw George Luke sink to the bench. Sam leaned over and whispered in George’s ear. They didn’t understand what they heard.
Murder. I hadn’t proved premeditation. But he was guilty of murder. It meant he would still be in prison for the rest of his life. I would see to it.
“What did she say?!” Simmons shouted. “You tell me. Right now. What did Erin say?!”
“Mr. Simmons, I’m warning you,” Judge Saul said. “You will be silent or you will be removed. Ms. Bosko, please continue.”
There were other counts. Kidnapping. Abuse of a corpse. Obstruction of justice. One by one, Janine read the jury’s decision.
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
“Mr. Foreman,” Saul said. “Is this verdict unanimous?”
“It is, Your Honor,” Juror number seven answered.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Simmons. He glared at George Luke and his own daughter. Cold hatred in his eyes. Only it didn’t seem to be about the verdict itself. Instead, he was more concerned about whatever he thought his wife might have said to them, or vice versa.
“All right,” Judge Saul said. “The jury is discharged for now with this court’s gratitude. Deputy Stryker, can I trust that you’ll ensure the members will be escorted safely to their cars?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Stryker answered.
“This case has garnered significant media attention,” Judge Saul continued. “You may be asked for interviews when you leave this building. Whether you choose to grant them is entirely up to you. Counsel, we will reconvene for sentencing in one week. Mr. Simmons is remanded back into the custody of the Maumee County Sheriff. We stand adjourned.”
