“You will not plead guilty,” Eva said again. “I have the money in my retirement fund.”
“You’re letting your emotions run wild,” Scot said. “I can see that you’re a good person, and you want to do the right thing, but pleading guilty isn’t it. DUI vehicular homicide is a class-A felony, punishable by up to life in prison. Believe me, prison is not where you want to be, Lexi. And with the sentiment out there … we have to fight for your freedom.”
Could she stand up in court and say she wasn’t guilty when everyone knew she was? “We all know what’s right here. Don’t you want me to do the right thing, Aunt Eva?”
“You are too young to know what’s right here, Lexi. You did a terrible thing. I admit it. But is prison the answer? No. You were there; you visited your mother.” Eva moved closer. She cupped Lexi’s face in her chapped, dry hands. “I know you’re worried about me, but don’t be. We can afford whatever we have to.”
“Even if you pled guilty and we got a plea bargain,” Scot said, “the judge wouldn’t have to follow it. He can impose any sentence he wants, within the guidelines. And with the media out there, he may want to make an example of you. You could spend your life behind bars, Lexi.”
“I am an example,” Lexi said quietly. “I am the worst thing that can happen, and kids should know that. How can I stand in that courtroom and say I’m not guilty?”
“Hasn’t enough bad come from that night?” Eva asked.
“This discussion is over. You’re paying me for my advice, and this is it: you’re pleading not guilty,” Scot said firmly.
Lexi sighed. They were talking about the law and her future. That wasn’t really the point at all, but they were trying so hard to save her. She didn’t want to disappoint them, too. Especially not Eva. “Okay.”
*
Jude sat in the courtroom between her husband and her son. Zach sat perfectly upright, as she’d often begged him to do. Gone was the slouching, playful kid he’d been. Now he pulled his pants up and wore a belt and cleaned his room without being asked. She knew why, too: he was trying so hard to make her happy. He lived in fear of saying or doing the wrong thing around her, of making her cry. Especially here, in front of everyone they knew.
The benches in the courtroom filled up quickly. As soon as word had gotten out about Lexi’s arrest and arraignment, admittance to this courtroom had become the hottest ticket in town. People had lined up before dawn in the hopes that they would get a seat. Everyone had an opinion on the case: some thought Lexi was a victim; others deemed her a danger to society. Some blamed Jude and Miles for lackluster supervision and bad parenting; these were the parents who swore their own children didn’t drink. A few whack jobs even blamed the drinking age, saying that if it were eighteen, things like this wouldn’t happen.
Local reporters, and perhaps one or two national journalists, milled through the hallway outside. Jude didn’t look around, didn’t want to see the friends she’d made over her years here on Pine Island, the women she’d talked to during class parties or in the carpool lane or in the checkout line at Safeway. Many of them called her regularly, and she took the calls, but they rarely lasted long. Jude simply couldn’t think of what to say anymore. Neither did she care about representatives of MADD, who had conducted a press conference just this morning and were demanding prison time for Lexi.
Lexi.
Just the name was enough to send Jude spiraling into anger or despair. She did her best never to think about the girl who’d caused all of this, who’d killed her daughter. The girl her son had loved. The girl she’d loved.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” her mother said, taking a seat on Zach’s other side.
The judge cracked his gravel down and called for order.
The gallery quieted.