Jury of One

PRAISE FOR JURY OF ONE “In Jury of One, John Warley takes on the ultimate moral dilemma: a judge in a small Southern town, a decent and highly respected man of honor, is torn between doing what is right and doing what is just. His decision will not only affect the lives of others but also change the kind of person he sees each time he looks into a mirror. This fast-paced, skillfully rendered courtroom drama is filled with all-too-human characters who speak to the struggles all of us face in the age-old battle between right and wrong, justice and injustice.” —Cassandra King, author of Tell Me a Story: My Life with Pat Conroy “John Warley’s Jury of One is a penetrating tale that entertains while at the same time requiring us to reflect on our lives and the oft-stated maxim ‘There but for the grace of God . . .’ The story is built around a trial judge’s idea for transforming the death penalty in an intriguing way that creates for him a potential path to South Carolina’s highest court. But that path is clouded by one night’s dalliance with an attractive woman that changes their lives forever. As the plot unfolds, you can see the inexorable finale coming in the judge’s courtroom, but you have no idea how that fateful moment will arrive. John Warley is a master of his craft, as you will readily agree while turning the pages of this compelling story of people captured by their choices.” —Wyatt Durrette, Virginia trial attorney “A promise made over a dead body conjoins two disparate lives in a compelling novel that’s equal parts taut legal thriller and thought-provoking moral quandary. Jury of One keeps readers on their toes to the very end. A welcome addition to masterful storyteller John Warley’s oeuvre.” —Jonathan Haupt, coeditor, Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy “From the first page to the last, Jury of One is a page turning thrill of a ride. Atmospheric and compelling, John Warley knows how to immerse the reader in a southern world where trust, betrayal, and secrets collide. Suspenseful and absorbing, Jury of One is your next can’t-put-down legal thriller.” —Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis ““Give me five minutes to clear out, then call 911,’ says Judge Daniel Borders. ‘It’s best we keep our distance.’ And thus begins John Warley’s powerhouse new novel. Part legal thriller, part excavation of life in the South Carolina Low Country, all moral quandary, Warley is as good at evoking a courtroom as he is the rural backroads of Beaufort. A page-turner in the spirit of John Grisham and Greg Iles, you won’t put this one down until the very end.”.” —Mark Powell, author of Lioness “Jury of One tells the story of two people whose futures each PRAISE FOR JOHN WARLEY’S BOOKS “John Warley’s marvelous novel A Southern Girl is the best book I’ve ever read about Charleston’s mysterious and glittering high society. Its affirmation of the enduring power of parental love vying against that enigmatic realm is reverential and stunningly original, as stylish as a novel by John Irving and as tightly written as one by John Grisham. I wish I’d written this book.” —Pat Conroy Jury of One by John Warley © Copyright 2023 John Warley ISBN 978-1-64663-929-8 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other— except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the author. This is a work of fiction. All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The names, incidents, dialogue, and opinions expressed are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Published by 3705 Shore Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23455 800-435-4811 www.koehlerbooks.com For Marilyn, And for my siblings Shan, Rob, and Tom “. . . and suddenly the calm sea, the sky without a cloud, appeared formidably insecure in their immobility, as if poised on the brow of yawning destruction.” —Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim CHAPTER 1 The Shooting May 2010 Two sets of headlights cut through the night on a rural, two-lane road in Beaufort County, South Carolina. The lead car, driven by Alana Morgan at a speed twenty miles per hour above the limit, gradually distanced itself from the trailing SUV, driven by Judge Daniel Borders. He hoped the deer, which usually grazed along this road, had bedded down for the night. The judge also hoped Alana hadn’t lost him. If she did, she would have to face her drunk, armed, and violence-prone ex-husband Toby alone, as the judge did not know where she lived. The distance from the dock, where Dan and Alana had been having dinner minutes earlier, to her home in a tiny smudge on the map designated as Seabrook, was twenty-five miles, giving him plenty of time to reflect on how foolish and utterly heedless of a risk he had taken in inviting her to dinner aboard his boat. His intentions had been honorable, like the way he lived his life, or at least that’s what he told himself. But where Alana was concerned, he couldn’t be too sure. A phone call from her daughter, Holly, had interrupted their dinner. What might have happened after dinner would be but one of several “what ifs” in the months to come, starting with, what had he been thinking? His prospects to become the next chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court had progressed well beyond