“You said if my case comes to trial?” Hannah felt her spirits rise. “Is there a chance it won’t?”

“There’s a very good chance it won’t. A lot can happen in the time between filing the charges and scheduling the trial. Judge Fleming could come back from vacation and decide to dismiss the case against you. Chad Norton’s boss could get back from his daughter’s wedding, take one look at the case, and tell Chad to drop it. Then there’s Chad’s plans to consider. He could get so much negative publicity for prosecuting you, he could decide the time wasn’t right to run for his boss’s job and drop your case like the hot potato it is.”

Everything Howie had said made Hannah feel much better, but there was still one important question to ask. “If they don’t drop the case and it does go to trial, do you think you can get me off?”

“Nothing’s a sure thing when it comes to a jury trial, but I’m fairly certain I can. In the meantime, I want to schedule a meeting with you tomorrow so that you can tell me everything that happened. I need to have every detail that you can remember. ”

“Okay,” Hannah said, standing up when Howie did and wishing that he’d stay so that she wouldn’t be left alone with her thoughts.

“I almost forgot,” Howie said, handing her the bag he’d carried into the cell. “Kitty sent these for you. Rick already inspected everything and said you could have it. The only thing he wouldn’t let you have was the handgun.”

“What?!”

“Just kidding.”

Hannah laughed. “You really had me going there for a second. Please thank Kitty for me. It’s very sweet of her.”

“She said to tell you that it’s a care package. You should find some things in there to make you more comfortable while you’re here. She’ll drop by tomorrow afternoon to see you, and if there’s anything else you need or want, just tell me when I see you in the morning and she’ll bring it when she comes.”

“Thanks, Howie.”

Hannah felt a bit like crying as Rick came to let Howie out and they walked down the hallway together. It was strange how a little thing like walking down a hallway could mean so much when you were denied the opportunity to do it.

At least she had something to divert her. Hannah sat back down on the cot again and picked up the bag that Kitty had sent. She felt a surge of excitement that was surprisingly like opening presents as a child on Christmas morning.

“Wonderful!” Hannah breathed as she pulled out five paperback novels. There were two mysteries, a film star biography, a civil war history, and what looked like a very steamy romance. She flipped a few pages of the romance and then put it at the bottom of the stack she set by the head of the cot. It was true that she wanted some diversion but perhaps not quite that much.