Chapter 4 - The Shadow in the Mirror
A chaotic roar swept the courtroom. Spectators gasped, reporters leaned forward frantically scratching notepads, and bailiffs immediately shifted their hands to their utility belts.
""Quiet! Silence in this court!"" Judge Vance roared, striking the block three times in rapid succession. The wood shivered under the impact. He glared directly at the boy, shock and anger warring in his weathered face. ""Son, making a false accusation against an officer of the law inside a court of justice is an intolerable offense. Are you certain of what you are saying?""
Toby shrank against Hayes’s dark suit coat, burying his cheek into the fabric before finding the courage to look back up. ""I saw him under the streetlamp,"" Toby cried, tears tracing hot tracks down his jaw. ""When Daddy ran down the stairs to chase the truck, I looked out my window. The streetlamp right in front of our mailbox was flickering. The man backed the truck out fast, and he had his window rolled down to look behind him. He looked right up at my window.""
Detective Donald Vance—the judge's distant nephew and a twenty-year veteran on the metropolitan force—stood up from the wooden bench, his jaw set in stone. ""Your Honor, this is an orchestrated smear. The defense coached this boy to sabotage a legitimate conviction.""
""Nobody coached my son!"" Mark shouted, rising from his chair despite the bailiff placing two firm hands on his shoulders. ""Toby hasn't spoken to an attorney alone for more than five minutes!""
""Counsel, approach the bench immediately,"" Judge Vance barked, waving Croft and Hayes forward with an authoritative sweep of his arm.
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As the lawyers huddled beneath the bench in heated, hushed argument, Toby stood isolated in the center of the room. He felt the suffocating glare of Detective Vance drilling into his back. When Toby dared to look back over his shoulder, the detective did not look surprised or angry.
Instead, Vance’s lips parted into a slow, merciless smirk, and he tapped the face of his watch—a subtle signal that promised Toby’s time was running out.
