A Matter of Doubt

There was clearly more to these proceedings than met the eye

- Enid Reece

Well, I’m glad that’s over with,’ Laura said to Dora Podbury as they sipped their coffee. The last three weeks had been exhausting. Doing jury service was something she didn’t want to do again.

They were just waiting for the clerk of the court to summon them back.

‘I’ll be glad to get back to normal,’ Dora said, putting her mug down and rummaging in her red plastic handbag for a tissue.

The only other woman was Hayley Williams, a vain youngster who was constantly filing her nails or checking her appearance. Combined with the regular flirting with the male jurors, Laura had reached the conclusion that they had very little in common.

‘Tom can’t believe I’ve been chosen,’ Dora said on the first day of deliberation when everyone introduced themselves. ‘He thinks I never see the bad in anyone.’

Laura and Dora sat next to each other on the first day of deliberations, and Laura began to learn all about Tom. He’d just retired and was obsessed with travel, although neither of them had ever spent time abroad. He’d promised Dora it would happen one day. Laura noticed that she looked a little worse for wear. There didn’t appear to be a lot of spare money for holidays, if her observations were anything to go by.