Sunday Snippet: Justice is Served

Yeesh, another crazy-busy week. And it's allergy season for me, so… yay. Not.

I had a particularly lengthy manuscript with formatting issues so my viewing schedule dwindled again this week. As usual, I caught marathons of Murder, She Wrote and In the Heat of the Night as background for much of the week.

I caught a CW Seed pilot called Cupid's Match. Gotta say that one looked kind of interesting. Also watched Pensacola: Wings of Gold and another episode of Lexx.

I ended up starting and not finishing another Hallmark Movie. I apparently like the mysteries way better than the meet-cutesy ones. Still… I'll keep sampling.

On DVD, I caught two Batman movies. Bad Blood and The Killing Joke. Both were pretty decent and I enjoyed the more adult-oriented storyline.

Finished season four of Strike Back and I'm geared up for season five. Looking forward to seeing if I like the new cast as much as I loved the previous one.

I'm almost finished with season six of Chicago Fire. I truly love where the cast is right now. Of course, there's a major shake-up for season seven so I'm not sure how I'll like that.

Caught a sci-fi marathon of original series Battlestar Galactica, Kolchak, the Night Stalker, Lost in Space, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea last night. I love revisiting some of those classic shows.

And that's it for television this week. I'm behind on Wynonna and Killjoys, but should catch up this week. Fingers crossed. Tonight's post is from Justice is Served, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of writing a story where the main character is wrongly convicted of a crime and the other main character is part of the legal firm that helps on the case.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Derby Stack is a cold-blooded killer, but not by choice. She's convicted for her crime, but Nate Mobius's specialized legal firm takes an interest in her case. Nate gradually wins Derby over and together they uncover a sinister trail leading back to her childhood therapist.

And a snippety peek…

Nate Mobius stood outside the boardroom, waiting for his next assignment. At twenty-seven, he never dreamed he'd be one step away from full-partner status in a law firm. Then again, Overwatch didn't exactly do anything by normal standards.

Probably why Nate landed on their radar five years ago.

His right-place-right-time luck had him finished with his undergrad courses by twenty and law school by twenty-two. Not the usual path for hopeful attorneys.

The doors opened and Mac Douglas greeted Nate. "We're ready for you." He ushered Nate into the conference room and closed the regular world out.

Here… in the private chambers on the top floor of Overwatch's building, regular blended with fantastically covert. Nate appreciated the ability to work behind the scenes within the bounds of the law. Secretive didn't have to mean illegal.

He took his place at the small table facing a three-seat semicircle of partners. Mac settled into his spot in the center of the group. Peter Lang and Sam Straight flanked Mac on either side.

The shades lowered on the windows and a projector flashed the image of a young woman on the paneled wall.

"This is Derby Stack, twenty-two, convicted of seventeen counts of murder." Mac's voice captured the severity of the crimes. "We've taken an interest." On a split screen, he moved through a series of pictures showing clean kills, but gruesome nonetheless.

Nate tried to reconcile the lean woman depicted in the photo with the still shots of death. His brain whirred. Interest could mean anything from believing Derby innocent to wanting to recruit her for a position at Overwatch.

Nate opened his attaché case and pulled out a legal pad. "What's the interest here?" He glanced at the photo of Derby.

Dark, wispy hair framed a face with deep-set brown eyes. He pictured being snared in her gaze, which appeared sharp, intelligent, and watchful at the same time. She didn't look big enough to commit the crimes she had, but Nate discounted the initial impression. Small in stature didn't mean light of strength.

Mac steepled his fingers. "She's not a typical hard case." He brought up a series of childhood images.

Peter put up several documents, showing court-ordered evaluations and other discovery items. "No mental issues discerned by the psychologist, but she's a victim of the system. Bounced around foster homes until she finally settled into one six years before she aged out." He nodded approval when Nate jotted the notes down.

Sam took over. "Her case fast-tracked through the courts and the conviction came back quick."

Nate had plenty of experience with the fast track. He'd been recruited by Overwatch, specifically by Mac Douglas, before he'd passed the bar. In Nate's situation, the interest of the partners provided him opportunities he wouldn't have received on a traditional path.

Derby's experience showed how the opposite. The wheels of justice moved with an almost inhuman speed to imprison her. The big question? Why?

Nate's gut instinct kicked in. "Is there coverage from the trial?" If the partners had an interest, there had to be more to the story.

Peter shot Mac a quick glance and a knowing smirk. Nate resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He's passed another unknown test.

Mac gave a nod to Sam, who depressed a button on the table. A television glided out from a recessed area in the wall. A travesty of injustice unfolded on the screen during a surprisingly short-lived trial.

When the footage ended, Nate sat convinced Derby Stack had been railroaded into a prison term with a death penalty verdict. So much had been wrong with the way her defense handled the court proceedings. No wonder the partners had an interest in her case.

Nate picked up his pen again. "What's my objective?"

The three men gave him wide smiles.

I'm having so much fun writing this one, I'm hoping to write versions for my alter egos, ML Skye and Skye Ritchey. We'll see what the sages come up with.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin