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CHAPTER 22

THE SOUND INSIDE courtroom 2A was one loud discordant scream as everyone, including the judge and court officers, dove under something: chairs, tables, even the judge’s bench. Once the turmoil died down and silence returned, court officers Louis Menges and Brad Fleishman, who had been in the corridor, rushed in through the courtroom’s double doors, yelling, “It’s safe. You can come out.”

Yuki pulled herself out from under the counsel table. The court officers were panting but uninjured.

“Everything is all right,” Menges shouted. “But the corridor is full of smoke.”

“It was just a smoke bomb, Your Honor,” Fleishman told Judge Orlofsky. “I spotted a small cardboard box under a bench between courtrooms 2A and 4A. I was five feet away and heading over to pick it up when it went off. Looks like someone put together a combo of a flash-bang and a smoke grenade. Gave off fifteen seconds of sound and fury. Still, I’ve called the bomb squad to take a close look and do a sweep of the floor, other rooms, and so on.”

The Honorable Judge Orlofsky took charge, speaking to the court officers and the bailiff. “Court officers, please return the defendant to his cell on the sixth floor. Bailiff, please clear the courtroom. People in the gallery, please exit through the double doors behind you and go home. Members of the press, use good judgment. It was a smoke bomb. A scare tactic, but not harmful.”

Orlofsky instructed the jurors to return to the jury room.

He added, “As before, do not discuss the case. I’ll be with you shortly.”

Nick Gaines dusted himself off and called out to Menges, “Did you see who left the box?”

Menges said, “No, but we’re getting the surveillance footage.”

Yuki asked, “Did you look inside the box?”

Menges said, “Yes. Hang on.”

He left the room and came back with a plain cardboard box, about a foot square. He put it in the middle of the room and held up the remnants of a grenade. “This is a flash-bang. Police use them for riot control, or to create a diversion, and they operate on a delay timer.”

Orlofsky yelled angrily, “Why don’t you let the bomb squad do that?”

Too late. Menges had opened the box and upended it. A small flurry of colored cards, like index cards, fell out.

Menges called out, “Your Honor, it’s just colored cards.”

Fleishman picked up a few, looked them over, and said, “Judge. There are names and addresses on the cards. Should I bring them to you?”

Judge Orlofsky said, “Leave them for the bomb squad. Attorneys, please come to my chambers.”