So it was the symbol on the back of Rushman's head that had set Stampler off on the witness stand. The case had obviously been settled in the judge's chambers. When the trial reconvened, Shoat had announced that an agreement had been reached between the state and Vail. Aaron Stampler was sent to the state mental hospital at Daisyland until such time as the state rules that he is capable of returning to society.'
What was settled in chambers and why? St Claire wondered as he started to gather up his notes. A methodical man, he arranged them in order, scanning each of the pages as he put them in a file folder. Then he stopped for a moment, staring down at a section from early in the testimony. Suddenly his mouth went dry.
My
Jane Venable stared south from her thirtieth-floor office window in the glass and steel spire towards the courthouse and thought about Martin Vail. It had been a long time since she felt such passion or been as comfortable with a man. Throughout the day she kept having flashbacks of the night before, fleeting moments that blocked out everything else for an instant or two. Now, staring into the late-afternoon mist in the direction of the courthouse, she wondered if Vail was having the same kind of day.