Call the Court to Order

[rabidsamfan]

I was familiar with the different moods of the court - as Holmes's compatriot I had been called to testify in cases both humble and spectacular - and yet I had never seen such hostility from the gallery. There were hisses and catcalls as I entered the room; I swear I would not have felt safe to leave Mary in the audience had it not been for the arrival of Lestrade and a half-dozen constables who looked as if they had had no more sleep than I had myself.

I took my place.

The jury filed in.

The judge arrived.

It began.