Naive by Charles Royce

Author:Charles Royce [Royce, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CHUTTER HILL PUBLISHING
Published: 2019-11-23T22:00:00+00:00

C h a p t e r 3 3

I deserve this, Astrid thinks, congratulating herself as she takes off her high heels and pours herself a glass of cabernet. Although she hasn’t had the opportunity to spend much time at home over the past few weeks, she has set aside this evening to relax by working on her opening statement.

Two months ago, Assistant District Attorney Astrid Lerner bought the home of her dreams, a modest one-bedroom end unit in the historic Christadora House across from Tomkins Square Park in the East Village. The condo is shotgun style, on the fourteenth floor, with sweeping north, east, and south views. Manhattan is majestically highlighted through thick black iron-framed windows against stark white walls.

She fancies herself a bargain hunter, which was evident in the way she negotiated the deal on the condo itself. Even after her offer of $30,000 below asking was accepted, the appraisal came in way below offer. She stood her ground and decided not to walk away, forcing her real estate agency to handle further negotiations so they wouldn’t lose the sale. She ended up getting the $1.2 million condo for just under a million.

She tops off her glass and revels in her victories, not only her condo purchase, but also the fact that she has just negotiated the jury of her dreams … An all-male, all-Republican set of twelve. Almost. Just two questionable peers separate me from convicting him, she relishes. One is a lesbian activist, the other is the female CFO of a high-tech company. In this moment, she is confident with her odds, despite her suspicions of her opponent Shawn Connelly.

Three days of jury selection and only one peremptory challenge? She asks herself. It’s so unlike him to buckle like that. She takes another sip.

((Buzz.))

Astrid places the wineglass down, disturbed by the buzz kill, yet fully expecting the arrival of Detective Penance.

“Come on up,” she says into the intercom, and presses him in.

She takes her glass of wine into her bedroom, places it on her nightstand, and grabs a notebook from her briefcase. She reads the opening paragraph:

LADIES AND GENTELMEN OF THE JURY.

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