VC04 - Jury Double by Edward Stewart Page A

any amicus brief to me. And he certainly never mentioned winning any case’”
    “It was pro bono.” Kyra’s tone was dismissive. “No big deal.”
    “A parolee in some redneck state broke parole and moved to New York.” Toby stuffed a forkload of fish into his mouth. “The home state wanted him back. But if he went back, he faced punishment that Leon said was against the New York constitution. So the issue was, did New York have to return him? Leon said no.”
    “And what was Doe’s original crime?” Anne said.
    “The usual tabloid merde.” Kyra had a calm little smile. “Something to do with child molestation.”
    Anne frowned. “That doesn’t sound like anything Leon would defend.”
    Juliana poured herself a glass of iced tea and wine. “Sounds to me as though your father’s had his mind on this stuff for so long, he’s started mixing work and recreation.”
    “It’s not a joke,” Anne snapped, surprising herself with the fierceness in her own voice.
    “Lighten up,” Kyra said. “It’s all very sad, but it’s water under the bridge.”
    “Maybe if Leon had more visits,” Anne said, “and didn’t feel so isolated, he’d have an incentive to keep out of trouble.”
    Kyra looked wounded. “I do my best—but I do have a job, and a family.” She glanced at the wall clock. “Could we have this talk in private?”
    Anne followed her sister to her bedroom. “You certainly made a hit with a lot of people in court.”
    “Oh, really?” Kyra cocked her head to the side. “Like who?”
    “That pretty girl who runs the football betting. She seems to think you’ve got the makings of a good customer.”
    “Lara. She’s a kook, isn’t she?”
    “And you obviously did something to make Donna Scomoda adore you.”
    “Oh, God. That hair.” She handed Anne a small prescription bottle.
    “What are these?” Anne studied the label. Phendomenzapan tartrate .
    “For you. They’re not habit-forming and you work straight through the night and get wonderful ideas. I use them every time I’ve got a deadline. The whole office swears by them. Great for weight control, too.”
    “Why would I need pills?”
    “For jury duty.”
    “But, Kyra—didn’t you get my message?”
    “Message?”
    “The jury’s sequestered and I’ve got work to do. I’m not going back.”
    “We had an agreement, Annie. You can’t back out now.”
    “I agreed to substitute for you for one day. Today. Period.”
    Kyra’s face seemed to say, Is there anyone in the world who does desperation as well as I do? “But I haven’t got anyone else to help me. Who’ll take care of Toby?”
    “Juliana.”
    Kyra lowered her voice. “She takes drugs—and it’s getting worse.”
    Anne could hear the bonk of Toby’s bouncing a tennis ball off one of the apartment walls.
    “Toby, cut it out!” Kyra screamed. She dropped onto the edge of the bed. After a moment her eyes came up, wounded and reproachful. “Of all the times you could possibly choose to let me down, this is the absolute worst. With Toby’s custody hearing and this shake-up at work … What if I lose my job? What if I lose Toby? Catch was an abusive husband and he’ll be just as abusive a father.”
    “Sweetie, sweetie.” Anne had a sensation of arrows going into her lungs. “Mark phoned Catch and postponed the hearing. Why can’t you be realistic? Why do you have to project worst-case scenarios?”
    “You haven’t got anything urgent that needs doing, have you? I mean really urgent? I’ll pay you a hundred a day for as long as the trial takes.”
    “Stop it. Please. Money isn’t the point. It’s illegal and we could both wind up in jail.”
    “Mark says they’re only jailing violent offenders. And you need money and why shouldn’t I help you—you’ve always helped me. Please, Annie?”
    Anne considered the options. She was desperately low on cash. And her adjustable mortgage had gone up again. And New York City wanted twenty-six thousand