Knight 02.5 - If I'm Dead (8 page)

Manny, momentar
ily nonplussed, sputtered, “What the…?”

I mouthed
sorry
at Eric and again smiled pleasantly. Eric raised a suspicious eyebrow but moved off down the hall.

I waited a couple of beats to make sure he was gone, then curtly answered, “I’ll be down in fifteen seconds.” I snatched my file and scrambled out the door, strategically heading for the hallway less traveled.

I’d made it down two corridors and was just about to dash out to the bank of elevators when a voice behind me said, “In a hurry, Knight?”

I abruptly downshifted and turned back to see Eric standing at the other end of the hall, his arms folded.

Exhaling through my nose in a futile effort to hide my recent sprint, I forced a calm tone. “No, but I figured I should go see what’s happening, just to be on the safe side.”

He shot me a knowing look, turned, and walked into his office.

I trotted out to the elevator, wondering why on earth I’d ever thought I could fool Eric. Four stops and twelve additional bodies later, the elevator bumped to a halt on the fi
fth floor. I pushed through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd and made my way to court.

About the Author

Marcia Clark is the author of
Guilt by Degrees
and the national bestseller
Guilt by Association
. A former Los Angeles deputy district attorney who was the lead prosecutor on the O. J. Simpson murder case, she cowrote a bestselling nonfiction book about the trial,
Without a Doubt
. Now a special correspondent for
Entertainment Tonight
and a frequent commentator for CNN and HLN, Clark provides coverage of high-profile trials. She also contributes a column for the
Daily Beast
.