Prologue
“All stand for the honorable Judge Tineman,” the bailiff said in a deep, booming voice that echoed around the nearly empty courtroom. The five people in the small room that served as a courtroom in Tinville, Tennessee stood as an older man came into the room pulling a dark robe over his T-shirt and jeans.
After the judge had seated himself behind the huge podium, he pulled out a pair of reading glasses and glanced down at the papers in front of him. “What’s the first case, Bill?” he bit out to the prosecutor, who traveled from county to county in the poorer communities just as he did. They had been weaving their dance for the past twenty years.
“Case 101-283, the City of Tinville vs. Cara Jean Truman,” the squeaky voice of the prosecutor said.
Judge Tineman’s head jerked up as
