Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark Read Free Book Online

that the defendant had solicited him to commit the crime.
    Sitting next to Moore was his son and associate Cole Moore, whom she knew well and liked. Cole had spent four years as an assistant prosecutor in her office before going to work for his father five years ago. He was a good lawyer and, together with his father, would present a formidable defense team.
    Aldrich was sitting on the other side of Richard Moore. Facing life in prison, he had to be terrified, but outwardly he appeared calm and poised. At forty-two, he was one of the top theatrical agents in the business. Noted for his quick wit and charm, it was easy to see why Natalie Raines had fallen in love with him initially. Emily knew he had a fourteen-year-old daughter from his first marriage, who lived with him in New York City. The girl's mother had died young and their investigation had shown that he had hoped and expected that Natalie would be a second mother to her. That had been one of the reasons for the breakup, according to Natalie's friends. Even they had admitted that for Natalie, nothing was more important than her career.
    They'll make good witnesses, Emily thought. They'll show the jury how angry and frustrated Aldrich was before he snapped and killed her.
    Jimmy Easton. He was going to make or break her case. Fortunately there would be some corroboration of his testimony. Several credible witnesses would be called to testify that they had seen him with Aldrich at a bar two weeks before Natalie Raines was murdered. Even better than that, Emily reflected again, Easton had accurately described the living room of Aldrich's New York apartment. Let Moore get around that, Emily reassured herself again.
    But it was still going to be a tough road to a conviction. The judge had addressed the jurors and informed them that the case involved a murder charge and that including jury selection and allowing for jury deliberation, the trial would probably take about four weeks.
    Emily looked over her right shoulder. There were several reporters in the front row of the courtroom, and she was aware that there had been television cameras and photographers filming Aldrich and his attorneys as they entered the courthouse. She also knew that once the jury was impaneled and she and Moore were giving their opening statements, the courtroom would be packed. The judge had ruled that the trial could be televised, and Michael Gordon, the anchor of the cable show Courtside, was planning to cover it.
    She swallowed to combat the sudden dryness in her throat. She had over twenty jury trials under her belt and had won most of them, but this was by far the highest-profile case in which she had ever been involved. Again she warned herself: This is no slam dunk.
    The first potential juror, a grandmotherly lady in her late sixties, was being questioned at the bench. The judge asked her out of the hearing of the rest of the panel if she had formed any opinion about the defendant.
    "Well, Your Honor, since you're asking me, and since I'm an honest person, I think he's guilty as sin."
    Moore didn't have to say anything. Judge Stevens did it for him. Politely but firmly, he told the obviously disappointed juror that she was dismissed.

13
    The tedious task of selecting and swearing a jury took three days. At nine a.m. on the fourth day, the judge, the jury, the attorneys, and the defendant were assembled. Judge Stevens told the jurors that the attorneys would now be presenting their opening statements. He gave them general instructions and explained that since the prosecutor had the burden of proof, she would proceed first.
    Taking a deep breath, Emily rose from her chair and walked over toward the jurors.
    "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. As Judge Stevens has told you, my name is Emily Wallace and I am an assistant prosecutor in the office of the Bergen County Prosecutor. I have been given the responsibility of presenting to you, for your review and your consideration, the evidence that