[ WP ] You 're a juror being brought in to determine the fate of an alleged murderer . The previous jury was thrown out due to witnessing inadmissible evidence . One of the previous jurors left a small inscription under the ledge of the table in front of your seat . You 're shocked to see what it says .

Reggie Jenkins was one of the rare breed of folks that looked forward to jury duty. He'd always liked all those lawyer and cop procedural shows, so the idea of doing his civic duty really seemed like rather a lot of fun. And now that he was retired, it was n't even an inconvenience to serve. 
 
 So when he'd gotten the summons in the mail a month before, he'd dutifully circled the day on his calendar, and made sure to have his best suit cleaned and pressed for the day. Though he was tempted to check the newspapers to see what kind of cases were going on, Reggie kept to his usual diet of TV reruns and detective novels, lest he read something that could prejudice him about anything. 
 
 The day finally came. Reggie made sure he was the first one to arrive at the jury call room, and settled in for the long wait before the jury pool would be called up to a courtroom. He'd brought a book with him, a biography of a Ulysses S. Grant. It was exactly the kind of thing he knew the lawyers would be looking for: proof that he was smart, but nothing that made it seem like he would favor one side over the other. 
 
 Three hours later, he and the rest of the potential jurors were marched up to Courtroom 207, for what turned out to be the trial Reggie had been waiting his whole life for. 
 
 `` Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,'' the judge said. `` Ordinarily, I begin with a speech about the importance of jury duty to our society and the heavy responsibility born by each and every one of you. That importance though will be evident from the next words to leave my mouth: on trial is David Culley, accused of murdering Mary Jo Kappernick.'' 
 
 A small titter of recognition worked its way across the room, but the name meant nothing to Reggie. He kept right on smiling, pleased to have the opportunity to serve. 
 
 Reggie learned from the questions asked by the lawyers that this was a murder that received a great deal of media coverage. Young college co-ed suddenly disappeared, only to be found a couple of weeks later, apparently tortured to death. What got even more publicity, though, had been the mistrial just a couple of months ago. The lawyers seemed to be especially interested in whether anyone had read or heard anything about the previous mistrial. 
 
 Their questions succeeded in weeding out a great number of jurors, and before long, Reggie found himself sitting in the juror box, being questioned by both lawyers. 
 
 `` Good morning Mr. Jenkins, thank you for coming in this morning. I see from your paperwork that you are retired,'' the prosecutor asked. `` Is that correct?'' 
 
 `` Yes, sir, I am,'' Reggie answered. 
 
 `` And what did you do before that?'' 
 
 `` I was a janitor for Lincoln Elementary for 43 years.'' 
 
 `` That's quite impressive. I suspect you may have cleaned up a mess or two of mine,'' the prosecutor said with a forced laugh. 
 
 Reggie just smiled and nodded. 
 
 `` So, Mr. Jenkins, you've heard all of the other questions asked here before. Have you read any of the news accounts regarding the death of Ms. Kappernick?'' 
 
 `` No, sir, I have n't.'' 
 
 The prosecutor furrowed his brow. `` None?'' he asked skeptically. 
 
 `` No, sir, not a lick. I do n't read the newspaper.'' 
 
 `` How do you get your news then?'' 
 
 `` Word of mouth these days. Now that I've retired, that's tapered off a bit, but to tell you the truth, I do n't miss it. Just about everything the media reports on is depressing, and not much of it matters to your everyday life, you know what I mean?'' 
 
 `` Well, Mr. Jenkins,'' the prosecutor said, `` I ca n't really find fault with your reasoning. So how do you spend your free time?'' 
 
 `` Reading. Watching the idiot box more than I should.'' 
 
 `` Alright then, Mr. Jenkins, just one last question: any reason you ca n't be fair and impartial in this case?'' 
 
 `` No sir, I ca n't think of any reason.'' 
 
 `` Thank you Mr. Jenkins. Your honor, the State passes this juror for cause.'' 
 
 The defense lawyer rose next and asked similar questions. Reggie managed to answer them all to the lawyer's satisfaction, because he also passed him for cause. The questioning of the rest of the jurors continued on all morning, but right before lunch, the jury selection process was completed. Much to Reggie's pleasure, he was juror number six. 
 
 They were dismissed for lunch, with strict instructions not to discuss the case with anyone. Reggie picked up a sandwich from a food cart, and spent lunch in a park across the street from the courthouse, all the while marveling at his good luck. His whole life he had dreamed of serving on a jury, and now it was finally happening. In a murder case, of all things! Truly he must have done something right in a prior life. 
 
 Reggie reported back ten minutes before they were due back to return, and waited patiently to be taken up to the jury room. When the rest of the jurors arrived back from lunch, a clerk escorted them all back upstairs, and led them to the small room where they would eventually do their deliberations. 
 
 Reggie settled into his seat as everyone started making introductions. As an old habit, he ran his fingers along the underside of the table, checking for chewed gum. Instead, he found a small, folded up piece of paper. He unfolded it in his lap, and read it. 
 
 `` David Culley confessed to killing Mary Jo, but the judge threw it out. Convict him.'' 
 
 Reggie stared at the words a while, until the clerk came and brought them back into the courtroom. His mind was racing as he walked toward the courtroom. This note tainted the jury. It had to be reported. How could the clerk be so careless as to leave something like this behind from the mistrial? 
 
 The jurors filed back into the courtroom, and took their assigned seats. They all rose as the judge came into the courtroom. 
 
 `` I hope you all had a pleasant lunch. We'll get started with opening statements, but before we do, given what happened in the last trial, I just want a confirmation from our jurors that nothing happened during lunch that would affect your impartiality. None of you did any searches on your cell phones about the case or discussed it with any one?'' 
 
 The jurors shook their heads no. Reggie slowly raised his hand. 
 
 `` Mr. Jenkins?'' the judge asked, his eyebrows rising high on his forehead. 
 
 `` I'm sorry Your Honor, but before we get too far along, may I use the restroom?'' 
 
 The judge let out a small laugh. `` You frightened me there, Mr. Jenkins. Yes, why do n't you go on ahead and get it out of the way now. The bailiff will take you down.'' 
 
 The clerk escorted Reggie back to the bathroom connected to the jury deliberation room. Reggie stepped inside and tore up the piece of paper. He dropped the pieces in, and flushed them. 
 
 This had been a dream for too long. And he was n't going to let a careless clerk ruin it for him. 
 
 ***** 
 
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