Capturing Cara

Prologue

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 his eyes flew around the room. A small clearing of a voice drew his attention to the tiny figure standing next to a well-dressed woman of about forty. He briefly closed his eyes when he saw the small girl waving back at him.

A huge grin lit up the little girl’s face as she called out, “Hi, Uncle Wilfred!”

Wilfred Randall Tineman let out a groan as he stared at his nine-year-old goddaughter. Glancing down at the paperwork again, he saw she had been caught speeding down Main Street—on a riding lawn mower. It wouldn’t have been so bad except she had modified the engine and had been caught doing fifty miles an hour in a twenty-five mile an hour zone.

This wasn’t the first time he had seen his goddaughter in court, and he had a bad feeling it wouldn’t be the last. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and remembered his promise to Cara’s dearly departed mother. He had promised to help Cara’s dad, James, any way he could in making sure Cara was raised in a safe, happy home.

Wilfred cleared his throat and looked over at Bill who was trying to act like he wasn’t there. He then fixed a stern gaze on Cara. “Hi, honey. Now, do you want to tell me what in the hell you were doing driving fifty miles an hour?”