The hallway outside Courtroom 5B smelled like coffee and floor polish. A printed docket was taped to the door with blue painter's tape: **STATE v. WARD, FIONA**.
Caroline stood a half step back from the cluster of people reading names. A reporter with a foam mic mouthed headlines at his cameraman and then lowered his voice when he clocked her.
“You okay?" her mother asked, soft.
“I'm steady," Caroline said.
A bailiff pushed the door open. “All rise for the Court of Common Pleas, Judge Rowe presiding."
They rose. Wood creaked. The judge took the bench, glasses low, expression that said she had run out of patience two careers ago.
“Case number—" the clerk read. “People of the State versus Fiona Ward."
“Appearances?" Judge Rowe asked.
“Assistant District Attorney Patel for the People.
