"Copy that, Keller. Officer en route," the dispatcher acknowledged.
Keller lowered the radio, a look of triumph on his face. "You made this harder than it needed to be."
Adrian looked out over the empty gallery rows. "Did I?"
"You could have walked away."
"From my courtroom?"
Keller laughed aloud this time. "Your courtroom. Right. You really expect me to believe you’re an attorney?"
"I did not say I was an attorney."
"You certainly aren’t the judge."
"What makes you certain?" Adrian asked, genuinely curious to hear the man articulate his bias.
Keller looked him up and down. The sweatpants. The dark hoodie. The worn running shoes. Then his eyes returned to Adrian’s face, resting there. "I know the people who work here."
"This is my first day."
"I heard we had a new judge. And it ain't you."
"Apparently, you didn't listen very carefully."
Keller’s expression shifted for a fraction of a second, a tiny seed of doubt planting itself, but his arrogance quickly crushed it. "The new judge is supposed to be some hotshot former federal prosecutor."
"Public defender," Adrian corrected smoothly.
"Whatever."
"Do you know his name?"
Keller hesitated. He shifted his weight. "Judge Cole."
Adrian waited in silence. Keller stared back.
"No," Keller finally said, shaking his head.
"Why not?"
"The new judge isn’t you."
"You have seen a photograph?"
"I don’t need a photograph."
"That is a very interesting answer from an officer of the court," Adrian noted.
The bailiff reached the wooden swinging gate that divided the public gallery from the well of the courtroom. He unlatched it and stepped through. "Last chance."
Adrian finally stood up.
Keller immediately pulled out his metal handcuffs, the chain rattling sharply in the quiet room. "Turn around and place your hands behind your back."
Adrian remained planted behind the heavy oak of the bench. "Why would I do that?"
"Because I am ordering you."
"Under what legal authority?"
"Criminal trespass and obstruction."
"Obstruction of what?"
"My investigation."
"What facts support criminal trespass, Mr. Keller?"
Keller’s face reddened, the veins in his neck bulging slightly. "You are in a restricted courtroom."