Sentinel One by Duncan Lane

Author:Duncan Lane
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Thriller, Legal, Scifi
Publisher: Duncan Lane
Published: 2020-03-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 32

Josh entered his office carrying his morning coffee. Sooh-Wan was already there, sitting in his chair, at his desk, intently reading something on his computer. Irritating, but no big surprise. Josh settled down in the guest chair across the desk from her.

“Didn’t I have a password on my computer?”

“Not a very good one,” she replied without looking up.

Josh took a sip of his coffee. “Well, chief, what’s the good news of the day? How’s my tin man buddy doing?”

“He spends all day in the tunnel below the mansion, then comes out at night to visit with Mrs. Carston. He sometimes takes her flying round the back garden.”

“Ah, like a vampire droid emerging from his crypt to fly at night,” Josh said, in his best Transylvanian accent.

Sooh-Wan appeared unamused. “He doesn’t do it often. The old lady is getting weaker by the day.”

“I still think it’s too much of a risk to have him out running around the garden. There’s a chance someone might see him.”

“It’s completely secluded,” Sooh-Wan replied. “Besides, the Carston Corporation guys are still staking out the garage on Hunter’s Point. Kajinski’s fake android has them completely fooled.” She gave a momentary grin, then returned her attention to the computer.

“Which of my private files are you reading?” Josh asked.

Sooh-Wan looked up from the screen. “Your opening statement for the trial. It looks quite good. A bit sparse, but adequate.”

“Thanks. It’s just a set of talking points. I prefer to keep it loose; make it more a conversation with the jury rather than a lecture.”

“Speaking of the jury, I have something for you.” Sooh-Wan took a manila folder from the bag at her feet and slid it across the desk. “This is an analysis of all the members of the jury pool, a recommended list of those you should select, and a set of questions to help weed out those you don’t want during voir dire.”

Josh picked up the folder and flicked through it with distaste. The analysis was very thorough. He’d used jury selection specialists in the past and knew they didn’t come cheap; this firm was known to be the best and the most expensive. Voir dire was his opportunity to ask questions of all the potential jurors to try to bias the final panel in his favor. Trials could be won or lost at that stage before any testimony was heard.

Of course, the goal of most of those called to jury duty was to avoid getting on a jury at all costs, especially if it looked like it might be a long trial. Some people, however, did feel it was their civic duty to serve, and some had seen too many courtroom dramas on TV and thought it would be interesting and exciting. In general, though, you ended up with a jury full of people who simply couldn’t come up with a valid excuse not to serve.

Over the coming days, a pool of perhaps two hundred potential jurors would have to be whittled down to get a panel of twelve.

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