The Jury Has Spoken (A Legal Thriller Short Story)

By R. Barri Flowers

In this legal thriller short story, a group of criminal justice practitioners gamble on the jury's verdict. The dramatic ending will shock readers...

PRAISE FOR R. BARRI FLOWERS:

"A police procedure of the highest order, mixing equal parts Sue Grafton and Jeffrey Deaver with a sprinkling of Patricia Cornwall at her best MURDER IN MAUI is Hawaii 5-0 sharpened to a dark edge beneath the brilliant sunshine." — Jon Land, internationally acclaimed, bestselling author of Strong Justice on MURDER IN MAUI

"Flowers delivers the goods. An exotic setting, winning characters, and realistic procedural details make MURDER IN MAUI a sure hit with crime-fiction readers." — Bill Crider, Edgar Award winner and bestselling author of Murder in the Air on MURDER IN MAUI

"It gets no better than this! R. Barri Flowers has written another thriller guaranteed to hold onto its readers! It was so gripping that I forgot to breathe a couple of times!" — Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews on DARK STREETS OF WHITECHAPEL

“Flowers once again has written a page-turner legal thriller that begins with a bang and rapidly moves along to its final page. He has filled the novel with believable characters and situations.” — Midwest Book Review on STATE'S EVIDENCE

“Justice Served is a model of crime fiction.... Flowers may be a new voice in modern mystery writing, but he is already one of its best voices.” — Statesman Journal on JUSTICE SERVED

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. Barri Flowers
• Release date: Sep 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465962706

R. Barri Flowers

R. Barri Flowers is the award winning author of romantic suspense, mystery, thriller and crime fiction with thirteen Harlequin titles published to date. Chemistry and conflict between the hero and heroine, attention to detail, and incorporating the very latest advances in criminal investigations, are the cornerstones of his crime and thriller fiction. He enjoys travelling around the country and abroad to scope out intriguing settings for future storylines, books, and miniseries.

Book preview

THE JURY HAS SPOKEN

A Legal Thriller Short Story

By R. Barri Flowers

Copyright 2011 by R. Barri Flowers at Smashwords. All rights reserved.

Cover Image Copyright 2011 by Gina Sanders

Used under license from http://www.shutterstock.com

The Jury Has Spoken is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ALSO BY R. BARRI FLOWERS

NOVELS

State's Evidence (A Beverly Mendoza Legal Thriller)

Persuasive Evidence (A Jordan La Fontaine Legal Thriller)

Justice Served (A Barkley and Parker Mystery)

Murder in Maui (A Leila Kahana Mystery)

Dark Streets of Whitechapel (A Jack the Ripper Mystery)

Dead in the Rose City (A Dean Drake Mystery)

Killer in the Woods (A Psychological Thriller)

Ghost Girl in Shadow Bay (A Young Adult Haunted House Mystery)

Danger in Time (A Young Adult Time Travel Mystery)

SHORT STORIES

Gone But Never Forgotten

The Phone Call

Vandals

PRAISE FOR R. BARRI FLOWERS

A police procedure of the highest order, mixing equal parts Sue Grafton and Jeffrey Deaver with a sprinkling of Patricia Cornwall at her best MURDER IN MAUI is Hawaii 5-0 sharpened to a dark edge beneath the brilliant sunshine. — Jon Land, internationally acclaimed, bestselling author of Strong Justice on MURDER IN MAUI

Flowers delivers the goods. An exotic setting, winning characters, and realistic procedural details make MURDER IN MAUI a sure hit with crime-fiction readers. — Bill Crider, Edgar Award winner and bestselling author of Murder in the Air on MURDER IN MAUI

It gets no better than this! R. Barri Flowers has written another thriller guaranteed to hold onto its readers! It was so gripping that I forgot to breathe a couple of times! — Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews on DARK STREETS OF WHITECHAPEL

Flowers once again has written a page-turner legal thriller that begins with a bang and rapidly moves along to its final page. He has filled the novel with believable characters and situations. — Midwest Book Review on STATE'S EVIDENCE

Justice Served is a model of crime fiction.... Flowers may be a new voice in modern mystery writing, but he is already one of its best voices. — Statesman Journal on JUSTICE SERVED

DEDICATION

To fans of my crime, mystery, and thriller novels

* * *

The four men and two women sat around the table, a nearly empty bottle of bourbon and half-filled bottles of red and white wine between them, along with a bowl overflowing with cash. A smooth jazz CD was playing in the background, but no one was paying attention to it.

Guilty as charged—murder in the first degree, said prosecutor Jay Penchant. I had the jury eating right out of my hands.

Hell, if they'd known where your hands had been, they would've thought twice, remarked Judge Walter Armstrong.

Penchant laughed humorlessly. "Yeah right, Your