“Mr. Hovey. Is it Darnell Hovey? I got that right? You’ve had a prior incident with the Dallas PD?”

Whiteside used four of his strikes on the first call. Two black men and two black women were sent out of the courtroom, and the jury was reseated. The clerk, Greenfield, passed the questionnaires to Graybill. Anne sat perpendicular to Raleigh in the courtroom, looking straight ahead at him. He was balding in the tonsure pattern of a Trappist. He seemed frail, with large, melancholy eyes, the fires out, his lips ever so slightly tremulous. Anne sensed that his lawyers told him to avoid eye contact during the empaneling. I can’t even imagine what this must be like, Anne thought, to sit in this same room, unable to even look at the people who will decide your fate.

Whiteside passed the grid to Blackburn, who approached the jury box.

“Good morning, I just have a few questions for all of you. Mr. Raleigh is on trial for attempted murder. The Texas penal code defines that as a second-degree felony with a punishment of up to twenty years. Does anyone here have a problem with that? Just raise your hand if you don’t think that’s an appropriate sentence.”

No hands.

“Thank you. In this case, it is my job, the state’s job, to prove to you that Mr. Raleigh had the intent to kill his wife, Margaret Raleigh. There is going to be medical evidence regarding Mrs. Raleigh that’s rather grisly in nature. Anyone here have a problem with that?”

A woman behind Anne raised her hand and asked if there was anything related to rape or of a sexual nature.

“No, ma’am. Mrs. Raleigh was strangled by her attacker.”

Anne watched the reverend. Not a flinch.

Mr. Blackburn went on to define reasonable doubt, intent to kill, some other basic notions of what he hoped the jury would understand. He then glanced down to the grid and picked at the cards.

“So this is the voir dire. Anyone know what that means?”

“To speak the truth.” Anne couldn’t help herself on legal trivia.

“Thank you, Mrs. . . . Malone. What is your occupation?”

Here we go, he’ll try to get rid of me. “I’m a teacher.”

“Where are you currently employed?”

“St. Rita’s Catholic School . . . part-time.” Anne was high on the sub list for all grades.

“And, Mrs. Malone, did you know about this case before your jury summons?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How did you know about it?”

“From TV and the papers.”

“And did you read or see anything that you feel would prohibit you from judging the evidence of this case in a fair manner and at the instructions of the court?”

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so?”