Jury of His Peers, page 1
Jury of His Peers is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
2021 Debbie Macomber Ebook Edition
Copyright © 1986 by Debbie Macomber
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Debbie Macomber Books, an imprint of Debbie Macomber, Inc.
Distributed by Random House LLC.
Debbie Macomber Books is a registered trademark of Debbie Macomber, Inc.
Originally published in paperback in the United States by Silhouette Books, New York, in 1986.
Ebook ISBN 9780593159958
Cover design and illustrations: Kimberly Glyder
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Dedication
About the Author
Excerpt from It’s Better This Way
One
There was something vaguely familiar about him. Caroline Lomax’s gaze was repeatedly drawn across the crowded room where the prospective jury members had been told to wait. He sat reading, oblivious to the people surrounding him. Some were playing cards, others chatting. A few were reading just as he was. It couldn’t be Theodore Thomasson, Caroline mused, shaking her head so that the soft auburn curls bounced. Not “Tedious Ted,” the childhood name she had ruthlessly given him because of his apparent perfection. The last time she’d seen him had been the summer when he was fifteen and she was fourteen, just before her father’s job had taken them to San Francisco. It wasn’t him; it couldn’t be. First off, Theodore Thomasson wouldn’t be living on the West Coast, and second, she would have broken out in a prickly rash if he were. Never in her entire life had she disliked anyone more.
Determined to ignore the man completely, Caroline picked up a magazine and idly flipped through the dog-eared pages. If that was Theodore, which it obviously couldn’t be, then he’d changed. She would never openly admit that he was handsome back then. Attractive, maybe, in an eclectic way. But this man…If it was Theodore, then his eyes were the same intense blue of his youth, but his ears no longer had the tendency to stick out. The neatly trimmed dark hair was more stylish than prudent, and if Tedious Ted was anything, he was sensible, levelheaded, and circumspect. And rational. Rational to the point of making her crazy. Admittedly, her own father was known to be rational, practical, and at times even parsimonious. As the president of Lomax, Inc., the fastest-growing computer company in the world, he had to be.
The thought of her stern-faced father produced an involuntary smile. What a thin veneer his rationality was, at least where she and her mother were concerned. He loved his daughter enough to allow her to be herself. Caroline realized that it was difficult for him to accept her offbeat lifestyle and her choice to go to culinary school with the intent of becoming a chef, not to mention that she’d opted for a lower standard of living than what she was accustomed to. She knew he would rather see her in law school. Regardless, he supported her and loved her, and she adored him for it.
A glance at the round clock on the drab beige wall confirmed that within another fifteen minutes the prospective jurors would be free to go. Her first day of jury duty had been a complete waste of time. This certainly wasn’t turning out as she’d expected. Her mind had conjured up an exciting murder trial or at least a dramatic drug bust. Instead, she’d spent the day sitting in a room full of strangers, looking for a way to occupy herself until her name was called for a panel.
Fifteen minutes later, as they stood to file out of the room, Caroline toyed with the idea of saying something to the man who resembled Theodore, but rejected the idea. If it was him, she decided, she didn’t want to know. In addition, she needed to hurry to the Four Seasons Hotel. Her dad had a business meeting in Seattle with an export agency, and her mother had come along to visit Caroline, a plan that was derailed when fate decreed that Caroline would spend the day in a crowded, stuffy room being bored out of her mind. Tonight the three of them were going out to dinner. From the restaurant they would take a cab, and she would see her parents off on a return flight to San Francisco.
At precisely five, she walked down the steps of the King County Courthouse and glanced quickly at the street for the bus. She swung her backpack over her shoulder and hurriedly stepped onto the sidewalk. Thick, leaden gray clouds obliterated the March sun, and she shook off a sensation of gloom and oppression. This feeling had been with her from the moment she’d walked into the jury room, and she suspected that it didn’t have anything to do with the early spring weather.
A few minutes later she smiled at the doorman in the long red coat, who held open the heavy glass doors of the posh hotel. Moments later she stepped off the elevator, knocked, and was let into her parents’ suite.
Ruth Lomax glanced up from the knitting she was carrying, and her eyes brightened. Her bifocals were perched on the tip of her nose, so low that it was a wonder they didn’t slip completely free. “How’d it go?” she asked, as she sat back down.
“Boring,” Caroline answered, taking the seat opposite her mother. “I sat around all day, waiting for someone to call my name.”
A smile softened her mother’s look of concentration. There was only a faint resemblance between mother and daughter, which could be attributed mostly to their identical hair color. Although Ruth’s was the deep combination of brown and red that was sometimes classified as chestnut, Caroline’s was a luxuriant shade of brilliant auburn. Other similarities were difficult to find. A thousand times in her twenty-four years, Caroline had prayed that God would see fit to grant her Ruth’s gentle smile and generous personality. Instead, she had been pegged a rebel, a nonconformist, bad-mannered, and unladylike—all by her first-grade teacher. From there, matters had grown worse. In her junior year she was expelled from boarding school for impersonating a nun. Her father had thrown up his hands at her shenanigans, while Ruth had smiled sweetly and staunchly defended her. Ruth seemed to believe that Caroline could have a vocation for the religious life and the family shouldn’t discount her interest in this area. Caroline was wise enough to smother her giggles.
“You know who I thought I saw today?”
“Who, dear?” Folding her glasses, Ruth set them aside and gave her full attention to her daughter.
“Theodore Thomasson.”
“Really? He was such a nice boy.”
“Mom!” Caroline exclaimed. “He was boring.”
“Boring?” Ruth Lomax looked absolutely shocked and smiled gently. “Caroline, I don’t know what it is you have against that boy. You two never could seem to get along.”
“Being with him was like standing in a room and listening to someone scrape their nails down a blackboard.” Irritated, Caroline yanked the backpack off and tossed it carelessly aside. “I suppose you’re going to want me to wear a dress tonight.” Her usual jeans and T-shirt had been a constant source of aggravation to her father. However, tonight Caroline wanted to keep the peace and do her best to please him.
Ruth ignored the question, her look thoughtful as she set aside her knitting. “He was always so well-mannered. So polite.”
“Stuffy is the word,” Caroline interjected. “It’s the only way to describe a fifteen-year-old boy who takes dancing lessons.”
“Lots of people take dance lessons, dear.”
Caroline opened her mouth to object, then closed it again, not wishing to argue. As a boy, Theodore had been so courteous, charming, and full of decorum that she’d thought she would throw up.
“He was thoughtful and introspective. As I recall, you were dreadful to him that last summer.”
Caroline shrugged. Her mother didn’t know the half of it.
“Sending him all those mail-order acne medications was outrageous.” She wasn’t able to completely disguise a smile. “Cash on delivery at that. How could you, Caroline?”
“I wanted him to know what it was like not to be perfect in every way.”
“But his skin was flawless.”
“That’s just it. The guy didn’t have the common decency to have so much as a pimple.”
Slowly, her mother shook her head. “And you had pimples and freckles.”
“Don’t forget the braces.”
“And he teased you?”
Caroline tossed her jacket over a chair without looking at her mother. “No, he wouldn’t even do that. I’d have liked him better if he had.”
“It sounds to me as if you were jealous.”
“Oh really, Mother, don’t get philosophical on me. What’s there to like about a kid whose favorite television program is Meet the Press? Believe me, there’s nothing to envy.”
Although her mother didn’t comment, Caroline felt her frowning gaze as she busied herself pulling out a skirt and sweater from the backpack. “What ever became of him, Mom, do you know?”
r /> “The last I heard, he was working for the government.”
“Probably the Internal Revenue Service,” Caroline said with a mocking arch of her brow.
“You may be right.”
That secret smile was back again, and Caroline wondered exactly what her mother was up to. “He’s the type of guy who would relish auditing people’s tax returns,” Caroline mumbled under her breath, running a brush through her thick hair until it curled obediently at her shoulders.
“By the way, Caroline, your father and I are definitely getting you a bed for your birthday.”
“Mom, I don’t have room for one.”
“It’s ridiculous to pull that…thing down from the wall every night. Good grief, what would you do if it snapped back into place in the middle of the night?”
Caroline smiled. “Cry for help?” It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the offer, but her apartment was small enough as it was. Having a fold-up bed was the most economical use of the limited space. The apartment was cozy—all right, snug—but its location offered several advantages. It was close to Pike Place Market and the heart of downtown Seattle. In addition, her school was within walking distance. As far as she was concerned, she couldn’t ask for more.
“You need a decent bed,” her mother argued. “How do you expect to find a job if you don’t get a good night’s rest?”
“I sleep like a baby,” Caroline returned, hiding a smile. “Now, about dinner tonight. Would you prefer to take a taxi to meet Dad, or are you brave enough to try the backseat of my scooter?” She only suggested this for shock value. The scooter was safely tucked away in the basement of her apartment building.
“Your scooter?” Ruth’s voice rose half an octave as she turned startled eyes toward her daughter.
“Don’t worry, I can see you’d prefer the taxi.”
Since Charles Lomax was tied up later than expected in a meeting, Caroline and her mother took a taxi directly to La Mer, an elegant Seattle restaurant that overlooked the ship canal connecting Lake Union with Puget Sound. A large stone fireplace with a crackling fire greeted them. As they checked their coats, Caroline glanced around the expansive room, seeking her father’s burly figure. When she caught sight of two men rising from a table in the middle of the room, her heart dropped. Next to her father was the same man she’d seen in the jury room, and something told her it really was Theodore Thomasson. So this was the reason for her mother’s strange little smiles. Everything fit into place now. This business deal with the export outfit was somehow linked to Theodore.
“Ted, how nice to see you again.” Ruth Lomax embraced him and stepped back to study him. “You’ve grown so tall and good-looking.”
“The years have only enhanced your beauty.” He looked beyond Ruth to Caroline. “I wondered if that was you today.”
So he had noticed her. Caroline’s throat felt scratchy and dry. On closer inspection, she was forced to admit that Theodore had indeed changed. The boyish good looks of fifteen had matured into strikingly handsome sculpted features that were the picture of both strength and character. Theodore Thomasson was attractive enough to cause more than a few heads to turn. And Caroline was no exception. Her bemused thoughts were interrupted by his deep male voice, which was as intriguing as his looks.
“Hello, Caroline.” His eyes moved with warm appraisal from her mother to rest solidly on her. Then the friendliness drained from the brilliant blue gaze as his eyes sought and met hers. “It’s good to see you again, Hot Stuff.”
Caroline fumed at the reference to that last summer and the incident she sincerely hoped her parents never connected with her. With an effort, she managed to shrug lightly and smile. “Touché, Tedious Ted.”
With a hearty laugh, Charles Lomax pulled out a chair and seated his wife. Before Ted could offer her the same courtesy, Caroline seated herself.
“I see you’re not intimidated by my daughter,” her father told Ted with a smile.
Silently, Caroline gritted her teeth. Theodore Thomasson wasn’t getting the best of her that easily. Her chance would come later.
Her gaze was drawn to the huge windows that provided an unobstructed view of the ship canal. Sailboats, their sails lowered, glided past, with the brilliant golden sun setting in the background.
Inside the restaurant, the tables, covered in dark red linen, were each graced with a single long-stemmed rose. La Mer was rated among the best restaurants in Seattle. She had never eaten here before, but the elegance of the room assured her that no matter what the food was like, this was going to be a special treat.
“I understand you work for the government. The Internal Revenue Service, is it?” Caroline asked Ted with mock-sweetness, then turned away to study the elaborate menu. She hoped the dig hit its mark.
“And exactly what is it that you do?” From beneath dark brows he observed her with frank interest. She noted that he hadn’t answered her question. Although his eyes didn’t spark with challenge, there was an uncompromising authority in the set of his jaw that wasn’t the least bit to Caroline’s liking.
Her mother spoke up quickly. “Caroline graduated cum laude from—”
“I’m training at the Natalie Dupont School,” Caroline interrupted. Unsure that he would recognize the name of the nationally famous culinary school, she added, “I’m a chef—or I will be shortly. I’ve just completed a year’s apprenticeship.” Her father had had a difficult time accepting the fact that she’d chosen a career as menial as cooking. Ambition and hard work had driven Charles Lomax to the top of his profession. Caroline didn’t doubt that she would have to work just as hard making a name for herself, but though he rarely argued the point with her, she knew her father didn’t agree.
The aggressive vitality in Ted’s eyes demanded that she look at him. “So you didn’t grow up to be a fireman,” he said with a smile.
Caroline felt a cold sweat break out across her upper lip. Her family knew nothing of the fireworks display she had rigged outside his bedroom the night of July third.
“No.” She forced her voice to sound as innocent as possible, as if her memory had blotted out that unfortunate chain of events that had set the balcony on fire.
“Shame,” he responded casually. “You displayed such a talent for pyrotechnics.”
“What’s this?” her father asked, his gaze swinging from Caroline to Ted.
“Nothing, Dad.” She gave him her most engaging smile. “Something from when we were kids.”
Ted’s mouth quirked in a half-smile.
Caroline tilted her chin and haughtily returned his gaze. “You were such an easy target,” she whispered.
“Not anymore, I’m not.”
Smoothing the starched linen napkin over her lap, Caroline gave him a cool look. “I never have been able to turn down a challenge.”
“Am I missing something here?” her father demanded.
“Nothing, Dad,” Caroline answered. “Tell me, Theodore, what brought you to Seattle? I always thought you’d think of Boston as home.”
“Most people call me Ted.”
“All right…Ted.”
“Seattle’s a beautiful city. It seemed a nice place to live.”
“Are you always so vague?” Caroline’s voice was sharp enough to cause her mother to eye her above the top of the menu. Unbelievable! She actually found Theodore—Ted—as irritating now as she had when they were teenagers. Worse, even.
“Only when I have to be,” he taunted lightly, doing a poor job of disguising a smile.
Caroline itched to find a way to put him in his place and was surprised at the intensity of her feelings.
The meal was an uncomfortable experience. Countless times Caroline found her gaze drawn to Ted. In astonishment, she noticed the way his eyes would warm when they rested on her mother and immediately turn icy cool when they skimmed over her. He didn’t like her, that much was obvious. But then, he had little reason to do anything but hate the sight of her.
Through the course of the conversation, Caroline learned that though Ted might have worked for the federal government at one time, he didn’t now. From the sound of things, her guess had been right and he was employed by the export company that had brought her father to Seattle. She didn’t want to ask, for fear of sounding interested.
