Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (3 page)

4

‘
Grac
e
,
i
s
the Antonio de Silva case continuing today?
’

It was nine o
’
clock Monday morning and the editorial staff at
The Sydney Star
sat around a large boardroom table for their first meeting of the week. Nick Monaghan
,
the editor-in-chief
,
was Grace
’
s boss and he was also a cold-blooded narcissist.

You know better than anyone the case is continuing.

Nick
’
s objective in life was to be the biggest selling newspaper in Sydney. The paper went to print on time daily
,
often at the cost of everyone
’
s frayed nerves and high-anxiety levels. It wasn
’
t that the staff couldn
’
t work to deadline
,
it was the way they were driven with a rodeo whip to get there. He was renowned for his ruthlessness when it came to interns and junior journalists. If
,
and it was a big
if
,
you were to make it in the cut-throat media world
,
you earned it the hard way. If you didn
’
t
,
and you showed any sign of weakness
,
simply put
,
you were ousted.

‘
Grace
,
you with us this morning?
’
Nick bellowed and everyone in the meeting drew in a sharp breath simultaneously.

‘
Yes
,
I
’
ll be there. We should have a verdict today
,’
she sunk lower in her chair. If it was one thing she hated it was a public scolding from Mr Fancy Pants.

‘
Great
,’
Nick said
,
sounding calmer.

He often pretended to be irritated with Grace to show his staff nobody was exempt from his rules. A seasoned journalist who had long ago paid her dues
,
everyone knew Nick had a soft spot for her. They saw him ogling her long legs and speaking to her chest. She ignored taunts from colleagues about Nick
’
s crush on her and refused to believe a word the others said when they teased her about her boss. Secretly
,
she hated it. It made her shudder with goose bumps. And not the good kind of goose bumps. They were the sort of goose bumps that made you want to throw up.

As Nick prattled on
,
Grace could not stop thinking about the unidentified man and his rich timbre voice. His words echoed in her mind
,
‘
Innocent children
,
childhoods stolen
,
people killed. I
’
ll help you
,
I trust you.
’
Grace had lost enough people in her life
,
she could not allow more to die when this time she could do something about it
,
especially children. She would definitely help The Voice piece it all together and break the story
,
whatever the story was about. She also had to figure out who attacked her and how he was connected to it all. Could it have been a random attack? And she hadn
’
t forgotten about the de Silva case
,
though it had slipped to the lower levels of her priority list since her unusual start to the day.

Back at her desk
,
Grace spotted Kate
,
her best friend and colleague
,
skulking over to talk with her.

Kate was the opposite of Grace
,
short and cute with a bewitching smile and mischievous
,
light-blue eyes that found her in more trouble with men than Grace had fingers or toes to count on. She was the
Star
’
s
assistant editor of the travel section and jetted off to exotic destinations to find fodder for her stories.

Grace was taller with long blonde hair and a face that stopped traffic. Her sparkling sea-green eyes were mesmerising. She lived for the hard-core news stories and was an animal lover. She wanted more than anything to be taken seriously for her work.

‘
Nick
’
s in fine form this morning. You alright?
’
Kate asked.

‘
I can handle him
,’
she said
,
looking over to his office.
‘
In fact
,
I think I
’
ll go in and sort it out right now.
’

‘
He won
’
t fire you
,
not in a trillion years. Little Miss Star of
The Star
. Go for it.
’

‘
Twinkle twinkle
,’
Grace said.

Kate laughed and skipped off before Grace
’
s attempted pinch on her friend
’
s arm made contact.

‘
No need to knock
,’
he said.

Grace ignored his sarcastic jibe.
‘
What happened there
,
Nick?
’
She allowed him no time to answer.
‘
Do you even care that you might lose me?
’

‘
If I take it easy on you
,
Grace
,
then the others will think they can get away with a smarmy attitude
,
too. Since you
’
re the best journalist on staff
,
I need you to set the example
,’
he said defensively.

‘
What example do you mean this time?
’

‘
Gracie
,
you know how much I admire you
,
don
’
t be mad
,’
he said as he shuffled paperwork on his desk.

‘
This can
’
t keep happening. You know Henry from
The Times
has contacted me
,
I know because he told me he rang you for a reference. Oh
,
don
’
t call me Gracie.
’

‘
Grace
,
your life is here at
The Star.
Your little friend
,
Kate
,
is here and you
’
ve been here since Adam was a bo
y
.
Y
ou
’
re part of the furniture. You
’
ll be here for a long time yet.
’

She struggled to suppress her anger at his flippancy and egotistical attitude.
‘
Sometimes I even wonder if there
’
s a heart beating in your chest
,
Nick.
’

‘
Grace
,
how could you say such a mean thing?
’
he looked directly at her and then he laughed.

‘
At the sake of sounding cliché
,
it
’
s not fair
,
Nick. I
’
m outta here if this happens again
,’
Grace threatened and slammed the door
,
harder than usual
,
on her way out.   

One day I
’
ll carry through on my threat.
She knew the rest of his staff wouldn
’
t ever get away with such lip. She had worked hard to get to where she was
,
often put in long hours to ensure the paper would have breaking stories and not once had she heard a kind word of praise from her stony boss.

She knew Nick had been peeved when
The Times
ran with the story about Australia
’
s top swimmer
,
Andy Williams
,
caught in allegations of drug use. He had tested positive
,
though denied all charges. Nick knew Andy
’
s coach was one of Grace
’
s closest family friends and a good source for stories.

She hoped Nick felt the brunt of the newspaper
’
s board of directors
’
wrath. They raked him over the coals for the mistake. She had seen him through his office windows. He had the opposition
’
s paper in hand and had thrown it into the bin. She smirked at his self-centredness that caused this type of thing to happen regularly. If he hadn
’
t kept her in the office working on another story
,
one Grace felt was not as important as the William
’
s one
,
he would have had the story. However
,
it didn
’
t change him.

Grace strode back to her desk
,
plonked down on her chair and sighed. She would cool off over the situation eventually
,
however
,
she was at the end of her tether with Nick and she was barely hanging on by her fingernails.

‘
Don
’
t worry
,’
Kate said from behind her
,
‘
the staff are over his vanity and see him for what he is – a womaniser with too little heart and too much ambition.
’

‘
Yeah
,
you got it. You know
,
I love my job but I loathe my boss. Let
’
s talk about something else
,
please?
’

‘
You bet. What
’
s happening with de Silva?
’

‘
Oh man. I gotta go. Meet me for lunch at JJ
’
s?
’
Grace asked as she grabbed her bag and threw in her notepad
,
pen and phone then scanned her desk for other necessities.

‘
Of course
,
call me when you come out of court.
’

‘
Ciao
,
bella
,’
and she marched to the lift
,
praying the case hadn
’
t started without her.

5

Grac
e
’
s curiosity
and sense of justice welled within her and she quickened her step into the building where Antonio de Silva
’
s fate would be determined.

‘
Grace.
’
She heard someone behind her call her name as soon as she walked into the courthouse.

‘
H
i
Celia. Have you worked out your angle for the story yet?
’

‘
Oh
,
it
’
ll all depend
,
won
’
t it? Know anything I don
’
t?
’
the woman who wore her signature colour daily asked. Today
,
it was a red
,
woollen wrap draped around her shoulders. Celia had large brown eyes and the sort of hair Grace had come to covet. It fell in soft brown curls down her back and she knew it was natural and required minimal maintenance. She and Celia had rivalled it out at university. They were friends yet arch enemies. They were both intelligent and competitive with a bent towards injustice.

‘
I doubt it
,
you
’
re continually on your game
,’
Grace said.

‘
It all hinges on the verdict
,’
Celia cocked an eyebrow and lent in conspiratorially to her old friend.
‘
In all honesty
,
Grace
,
surely these people have seen those border security shows on television. I mean
,
fancy smuggling diamonds into the country in shampoo bottles. You know
,’
she whispered behind her hand
,
‘
they
’
re supposed to be undetectable.
’

‘
Desperate people do desperate things
,’
Grace said.

‘
Don
’
t we know it? So
,
Henry called you
,
huh? Going to join us
,
Grace?
’

Grace tried to speak though words failed her.

‘
Grace
,
we work in news rooms
,
word gets out. And besides
,
Henry tells me everythin
g.
’

And Grace knew why. She had a way with men. Without promising anything they would tell her everything she wanted to know. Grace had seen her work her charms on professors at university and corporate media suits during their internship together at a lesser known rag
,
CityLife.
All of them were unknowingly wrapped around her flirtatious nature.

‘
I can imagine. I
’
ll keep you informed re the job. In this game
,
ya don
’
t know
,
Celia
,
ya don
’
t know
,’
she said distractedly.

‘
See someone you know?
’

‘
I thought so
,
however
,
hmm
,
I
’
m not sure. Guess not.
’

Celia winked at Grace
,
said her goodbyes then made her way to a seat in the media section. While they were the same age
,
Celia had an air about her like an older woman who had experienced life beyond her years. Grace sat behind her and a millisecond later she stood up again as the judge entered the room and the bailiff said
,
‘
All rise.
’

That was too close. He turned his back towards her and pretended to be talking to a colleague about something important. She was closer to him now than she had been this morning. He had to be strong. He couldn
’
t let her see him
,
not yet. There would be too many questions and silence or lies would be the answer. It had to be this way
,
to protect her. He wasn
’
t ready to look into her eyes and he certainly hadn
’
t expected to see her so soon.

He couldn
’
t help feeling there was a greater force driving them to meet. It wasn
’
t even midday and this was the second time he
’
d seen her today. He had to come up with a plan and quick. As he sat down behind a large man
,
he ran his fingers over his groomed
,
three-day growth and stared at Grace around the man
’
s wide frame. She looked around and almost saw him. He pretended to turn and look at someone. When he turned back
,
she was facing the judge and lawyers. Standing
,
he came to a quick decision. He sent a text. The reply was swift. He sighed. This task would require some nimbleness.

The spying man slipped between standing people until he was in the row of seats behind her. When the words
,
‘
Please be seated
’
were announced
,
he pretended to drop something on the ground. Simultaneously
,
he reached into Grace
’
s open handbag under her seat
,
and snatched her phone. He excused himself and found his seat at the back. With agile fingers
,
he opened the back of the smart phone
,
stuck the location chip on the battery and closed it.

Appearances could deceive and this was the case with Mr de Silva. Sophisticated and smiling
,
the world admired him. In truth
,
his long work hours had turned into a habit he could not escape and his exhaustion had led to cutting corners and unwise business decisions. She knew the de Silva story was worthy of the front page. It was a juicy piece.

Grace rarely felt pity for people like Mr de Silva. However
,
unfamiliar feelings crept in and she questioned where her care for him had begun. She had been following his case for some months and had attended several court hearings regarding his case during that time. Although she was concerned for him
,
justice was her mantra and she felt fairness would be served today. On the down side
,
the word was they were all expecting a trial that could last all day.

With the high-profile case and rumours a verdict would be handed down imminently
,
the courtroom was packed to overflowing. People gathered at the closed doors in an attempt to hear the proceedings. Those inside sat in silence as sunlight streamed in through the windows and specks of floating dust could be seen floating in its rays. Everyone waited for opening statements.

The defendant
’
s lawyer argued the evidence against his client was circumstantial. Mr de Silva claimed he knew nothing about the diamonds and anyone could have put them into the shampoo bottles. They could have set him up to protect themselves.

On the contrary
,
the prosecution argued the smuggled diamonds were in de Silva
’
s possession so unless he knew who had concealed them
,
he was indeed guilty. They believed his plea of not guilty would work against him in the end.

The defendant had run out of evidence to acquit his client when a young man in a suit rushed into the courtroom. He followed protocol and approached the security guard. The guard headed to the court
’
s clerk who in turn advanced to de Silva
’
s defending solicitor
,
Michael Dawson.

The clerk took half a dozen steps to Mr Dawson and everyone fell silent at the click-clack of his shoes on the polished wood floors. He handed Mr Dawson some paperwork who immediately read it. Then he gave it to the barrister
,
David Foster. All eyes in the courtroom were on the pair of lawyers. Mr Foster looked at the judge and the jury.

‘
Excuse me
,
Your Honour. May I approach the bench?
’
he asked.

‘
You better come
,
too
,
Mr Bell
,’
the judge said as he motioned to the prosecutor. When the two barristers arrived at his desk
,
he spoke in a low tone.
‘
What is it
,
Mr Foster?
’

The judge listened to the defendant
’
s lawyer. The courtroom was silent and their mumbled voices made it impossible to hear what was being said.

‘
I see. I think we better talk about this in my chambers
,’
he said to the men standing at his bench. Then the judge addressed the jurors and the court.
‘
There
’
ll be a brief recess while we convene in my chambers. Please remain seated.
’

It was less than five minutes before the three men who had been in the
voir dire
returned to court. People waited as the judge and the lawyers returned to their respective stations. Grace could hear her own breathing as they waited for the judge to speak.

‘
A matter has been brought to the attention of the bench which will require this case to be adjourned. The date for recommencing the hearing will be two weeks from today at ten in the morning. I believe it will be the fifteenth of the month.
’
The judge banged his gavel.
‘
Court adjourned.
’

‘
All rise
,’
the bailiff said.

The courtroom erupted. The moment de Silva and his lawyer exited the building and gathered on the forecourt
,
photographers and cameramen rushed to take photos of them and de Silva family. Journalists from television
,
radio and print scrambled to obtain the prime spot for capturing the quote that would set their story apart from the others. Microphones and recorders were shoved under the noses of Mr de Silva and his lawyer. Questions were thrown at them in quick succession. Journalists were also yelling out questions in the hope Mr Foster would enlighten them.

‘
Why has the case been adjourned?
’
‘
What happened in the judge
’
s chambers?
’
‘
How did you get an adjournment?
’
‘
Will this change the way you defend Mr de Silva when court resumes?
’

All the eager media heard was a serious
,
‘
No comment
,’
from Mr Foster.

‘
What happened in the
voir dire?
’
another journalist called out.

‘
You
’
ll have to wait until the trial recommences
,’
Mr Foster said.

Grace had expected a guilty verdict. Her gut instinct had failed her this time. She checked for
The Star
’
s
photographer and saw he was in the throng determined to capture the emotion on de Silva
’
s and his lawyer
’
s faces. She had her phone recorder on and close to the action.

Eventually
,
Grace escaped the crowd
,
rang Nick at the paper and told him the news. With no verdict and no idea what had occurred in the
voir dire
,
she knew the story would not be worthy of the front page.

Amidst the frenzy of people gathering on the forecourt
,
he was thankful it was easy to slip the phone back in her bag as soon as she exited the doors. Immediately
,
he saw her retrieve her phone and make a call. He could almost sense the heat on his fingertips. Playing with this level of fire was dangerous. He consoled himself that this was like any job
,
this was work and it had to be done. He had to get over it. He had to force his intense emotions for her down deep and ignore them though it wasn
’
t easy. He longed to drink her in
,
to saviour the sight of her. He wished his actions didn
’
t make him feel sick.