Indicted (Bad Judgment #1) by Leigh James Page B

on purpose. I did not show any outward sign of acknowledgement, but it was such a relief to be with him, to have him near me, to have him almost acknowledging our secret-secret. That he didn't know about. That I hadn’t actually acknowledged to myself.
    And he was still here. Not behind bars. Not yet. Not on my watch.
    I hoped.
    “Trial is going to be set for September 15th,” the Judge said, the clerk coming up next to him so they could review an electronic schedule together. “Discovery to be completed by August 15th. Dispositive motions to be filed by September 2nd.” He looked up at us. “Any questions about that?”
    “No, your honor,” said Marnie and David, simultaneously. Any summer vacation plans were all out the window, and everybody knew it.
    “Moving on,” Judge Alvarez said, “the government has requested that the Defendant be held without bond until trial.” He looked up at Marnie. “What’s the basis for this request, Attorney Edmonds? Mr. Walker seems like a nice enough fellow, pending charges aside.”
    Marnie stood. “Your honor, the government submits that the Defendant is a serious flight risk. Mr. Walker is a wealthy man. The charges against him are very, very serious. Life-altering serious,” she said, pausing, looking over at Walker and then at Judge Alvarez. “His Board has put him on administrative leave, so he has no involvement in the day to day operations of Blue Securities anymore.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Walker's left hand ball into a fist. “He’s single, and has no wife or family to tie him down here.” I watched his fist turn red.
    His sister, I scribbled on my legal pad, and shoved it in front of David. He looked down and then back at Marnie, frowning.
    “With no family, no access to work, and a vast fortune, the government submits that the Defendant is the epitome of a flight risk. He also has extensive experience living in various foreign countries, due to his military service. This is a man who could run and hide. I don’t believe we want to get into a situation where that happens and we’re trying to extradite someone before trial.”
    Now we’re punishing people for their military service? I scribbled furiously, shoving the pad back towards David. He shot me a warning look.
    Down girl, I thought. Sit. Stay. But all I really wanted to do was get up and shout all my points at Judge Alvarez.
    “The government respectfully submits that these factors make for the perfect storm. The Defendant is exactly the type of candidate who should be held pending trial: he’s been charged with serious crimes, plural,” she said, and I balled my hands into fists, too. “The Defendant has the wealth, the experience abroad, and the lack of family bonds tying him here. Therefore the government respectfully requests that the Defendant be held without bail until trial.”
    “What does the Defendant say to this?” the Judge asked, turning his thoughtful gaze our way.
    David stood and cleared his throat. “My client is in no way a flight risk,” he said, pacing back in forth in front of our table. The man really couldn’t sit still. “He’s pleading not guilty to all of these charges because he’s innocent, and he will vigorously defend his innocence. Broden Walker wants to clear his name so he can get back to doing what he does best, what he loves — running his company. Innovating and creating security measures that have helped our country for over a decade. My client wants to see this through — not run and hide, Your Honor.”
    I bounced my knee up and down as I looked down at my checklist. Hit all the highlights, David, I thought. Get them all. I tapped my pen nervously on my pad.
    “I would like to take the government's supporting points one at a time. First of all, your honor, the defense vigorously objects to the government’s citation of my client’s military service as something negative — something that should factor into him being kept behind