Judge & Jury

Chapter 127

I KEPT THE NEWSPAPER on the kitchen table and read the article again-a short two-column report on the Metro page of the New York Post.

I stared at the black-and-white photo of the murdered man. No matter how many times I looked at it, it was the same.

BUSINESSMAN MURDERED IN POSH HOTEL

The body of a visiting businessman, identified as Alex Kristancic from Slovenia, was found in the victim's Times Square hotel room this morning, fatally stabbed in the neck.

Police investigators placed the time of death at sometime after midnight last night. Hotel perso

Lt. Ned Rust, of Manhattan 's twenty-third precinct, said they are looking into whether the woman might be a call girl, but have received only sketchy details as to her appearance.

"Mr. Kristancic apparently spent the evening at the Murray Hill Poker Club, a private club on East Thirty-third Street, and may have met up with the woman there," Lt. Rust said.

According to Lt. Rust, the crime scene showed no signs of struggle or robbery, indicating that Mr. Kristancic, who had more than ten thousand dollars in cash among his personal effects, may have known the killer.

The lock to my apartment turned, and Andie, wearing jeans and a leather jacket, walked inside.

She seemed surprised to see me home. For the past six months I'd been a partner at Bay Star International, a global security firm."Nick…"

"How's Rita?" I looked up."You said you were staying at your sister's last night."

"Yeah." Andie dropped a bag of groceries on the counter."Then I had an audition today."

I pushed the newspaper article across the table. She picked it up and read. Finally she nodded, looked up at the ceiling, then back at me.

"You are quite an actress," I said.

She sat down in the chair across from me. She looked at me, not trying to hide a thing."He killed my son, Nick. He killed the jury, too."

"How did you know he was in New York?" I asked.

"Your friend, the one from Homeland Security… Harpering. He sent you a fax a few days ago. It was about a guy you were interested in a year back. He wrote that the man had reentered the country under a different name. Homeland Security knew where he was staying, the hotel in Times Square."

"So is it finished now? Cavello. Nordeshenko."

"Yes, Nick." She nodded."It's finished."

I stood up and went over to her. I pulled her up and hugged her, pressing her head against my chest. After a while I asked,"So how did the audition go?"

She shrugged."Not too bad. It was a Law and Order episode. I got a callback."

"Oh. For what?"

"Jury forewoman, if you can believe it," Andie said. Then she smiled."It's just one line, Nick. The judge asks, ‘Madame Foreperson, have you reached a verdict?' And I look at her, a little like I'm looking at you now, and I say, ‘Yes, Your Honor, we have.'"

About the Authors

James Patterson is one of the best-known and bestselling writers of all time. He is the author of the two top-selling new detective series of the past decade: the Alex Cross novels, including Mary, Mary; London Bridges; Kiss the Girls; and Along Came a Spider, and the Women's Murder Club series, including 1st to Die, 2nd Chance, 3rd Degree, 4th of July, andThe 5th Horseman. He has written many other #1 bestsellers, including Suza