Judge & Jury by James Patterson, Andrew Gross Read Free Book Online Page B

too.
    “And so the cops were satisfied with that explanation? That someone else must’ve taken the plates?”
    “I don’t know if you would call it satisfied. I had a record. It wasn’t exactly hard to pin me as someone who hung around the family.”
    “This couldn’t have gone over very well with Ralphie D.”
    “I would call that an understatement, Mr. Goldenberger. Everybody was pissed as hell. I met up with Stevie later that night, and he was saying stuff like ‘I know I screwed up, but if something comes from this, I’m not going alone.’ Crazy stuff. Stuff he knew better than to say. He was just worked up.”
    “And how did you respond?” the prosecutor asked.
    “I kept saying, ‘Christ, Stevie, you can’t say things like that. People are gonna hear.’ But he was nervous. He knew he screwed up. I never saw Stevie act like that.”
    “So what did you do?”
    “ Me? Truth was, Mr. Goldenberger, I had my own situation to worry about. I told Ralphie, don’t listen to the guy. He won’t do anything stupid. He’s just freaked out, that’s all.”
    “You told Ralphie about Stevie?”
    “I had to, Mr. Goldenberger. If he got nabbed and started to talk, he could bring us all down. But I needed to get myself an alibi, too. I had this knee thing in those days. I needed surgery. So I went right into Kings County Hospital up to this doctor I knew, that we knew—he owed us some money—and I told him, you cut me open right now and the tab is clean. But I need the records to say I’ve been in here since this morning.”
    “Let me get this straight, Mr. Machia. You got a doctor to falsely admit you into a hospital to provide an alibi for killing Samuel Greenblatt?”
    “Yes.”
    “And he agreed?”
    “Well, I had a gun to his head, Mr. Goldenberger.”
    Andie couldn’t believe it. The laughter got wild.
    “So, getting back to Stevie Mannarino, Mr. Machia, your lifelong pal.” The prosecutor took a few steps toward the witness. “You told Ralphie D. you would cover for him. What’d Ralphie say?”
    “He said not to worry. He’d talk it over with the Boss. He said they’d get him somewhere where he could lie low for a while, ’til it all blew over. He told me just to focus on myself, get better. I was in this leg brace. Truth was, I was a little nervous I was never coming out of that hospital myself, if you know what I mean.”
    “So what happened?” Goldenberger went over and picked up Steven Mannarino’s picture. He held it there for the jury to fix on. “Tell the court, Mr. Machia, what became of your pal?”
    “I don’t know.” Louis Machia shrugged. He reached for the water bottle and cleared his throat. “I never saw Stevie again.”

Chapter 17
    IT WAS ALMOST FOUR. Judge Seiderman looked around the courtroom. She stopped the questioning. “Mr. Goldenberger, I think that’s a good spot to leave off for today.”
    She cautioned the jury not to discuss the case or read the papers. Then they all filed back into the jury room. A few of them hurried off for trains, saying hasty good-byes.
    Andie packed up her bag and put on her sweater. “See you tomorrow, everyone. I have to pick up my kid. Anyone taking the IRT?”
    A woman named Jennifer said she was, and together they hurried over to Chambers Street and hopped the Broadway number 1 uptown. Jennifer, who sold advertising in the city, got off at 79th, and Andie continued on uptown, to the walk-up brownstone on West 183rd Street overlooking the George Washington Bridge, where she and Jarrod had lived for the past four years.
    Andie got out at the 181st Street station and walked down a couple of blocks to 178th to pick up Jarrod at Sandra’s. Sandra’s son, Eddie, was in Jarrod’s fourth-grade class at Elementary School 115.
    “Hey, Ms. Law and Order, ” Sandra said, laughing as she opened the door. “You get a part?”
    “I got a sentence.” Andie rolled her eyes. “Eight weeks.”
    “Yikes!” Sandra exclaimed. “I got ’em