FiFty Fifty

Chapter Fourteen

KATE
It started to rain heavily when Kate pulled out one of the pages she'd printed in the office and checked the address listed at the top. She looked at the sign over the building. A panel of intercom buttons lay in the recessed doorway. Raindrops spattered the page, and she folded it and put it inside her coat pocket. Her finger paused just before she hit the intercom. Once she pressed it, there was no going back.
Her finger pressed the button, almost unconsciously. A buzzer sounded to let her know an alert had been sent to the inhabitant of the apartment above. Kate straightened her jacket, cleared her throat and swept strands of wet hair away from her face.
'Yes,' said the voice from the intercom.
'Ms. Avellino, it's Kate Brooks from Levy, Bernard and Groff. I'm one of the attorneys assigned to your case. We met in the First Precinct. I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's urgent. Do you mind if we talk?'
'Come on up,' was the response.
Kate heard a click. She pulled the front door open, found the elevators and traveled up to Alexandra Avellino's floor. The elevator was maybe half the size of Kate's apartment. The doors opened to a classic Manhattan apartment hallway. Art deco coving and lamps along the length of the hall. The place smelled like pinecones and cinnamon. She traveled up in the elevator, reached Alexandra's apartment, knocked on the door. Alexandra must've been waiting because the door opened up straight away.
As Alexandra stood in the doorway, Kate was again struck by her appearance. Tall, blonde, no make-up and wearing a white cotton bathrobe. Her hair wet from a shower. She was still the beauty Kate had seen arm-in-arm with Hollywood actors and celebrities.
'Come in,' said Alexandra.
Kate went inside and Alexandra offered to take her coat. Before she handed it over, she withdrew the damp pages from her pocket and apologized for the coat being so wet. She had left the office in a hurry – no umbrella and no document folder.
Kate didn't want anyone to know she had taken documents with her from the
 
office. She wasn't supposed to bring anything about the case home, and she sure as hell wasn't supposed to be here.
'Can I get you a drink?' said Alexandra. 'Water, herbal tea?'
'Some tea would be great,' said Kate.
She followed Alexandra as she padded, barefoot, into the kitchen and began to
make the tea.
'I guess it's really raining out there now. Would you like a towel?' Alexandra
asked.
'No, it's fine,' said Kate as a drop of rainwater spattered the collar of her
blouse.
'I'll get you a towel,' Alexandra said. She left the kitchen and went into the
bathroom. Kate looked around the kitchen and what she could see of the living space. It was a beautiful place, with a great view of the city. Alexandra's taste was gorgeous – with carefully chosen color schemes throughout the apartment matching the couch and the chairs. The place was immaculate apart from a pair of black Lycra running bottoms draped over the back of one of the kitchen chairs. A black ballcap sat on the seat beneath the bottoms, a black top folded beneath the cap. There were some packages to the side of the front door. Some had been opened and the cardboard boxes left there, packing material nosing out of the box.
A chessboard sat on a coffee table. From the arrangement of the pieces on the board, it looked like Alexandra was playing a game.
'Sorry, I'm not disturbing your chess game, am I? I didn't know you had company,' said Kate.
Alexandra returned to the kitchen with a soft white towel, which she handed to Kate.
'No, it's okay. I'm the only person here. I wasn't playing right now. That's an old game,' she said, nodding toward the chessboard. 'You said something about this being urgent?'
'Yes, I think it would be better if we sat down.'
Alexandra poured the water into two mugs and handed one to Kate who was dabbing at her hair with the towel. The smell of chamomile warmed her through before she'd even taken a sip. Alexandra sat at the dining table, and Kate took a seat opposite her.
'What's wrong? Has the DA made another offer? I still don't know about taking the lie detector test. Mr. Levy said it was my the decision.'
'That's why I'm here,' said Kate. 'Is it okay if I call you Alexandra?'
She nodded in agreement.
'I haven't worked for Levy, Bernard and Groff for very long. Even in that

short amount of time, I've had to turn a blind eye to a lot of stuff, but I can't do that anymore. Mr. Levy will leave the decision on the lie detector to you. He doesn't care about the polygraph. What he really wants is for you to take the deal.'
'What?'
'He wants you to tell the DA you and your sister murdered Frank Avellino – that you played a lesser role and it was really all down to Sofia. That way you will still be able to have a life after you get out of jail.'
'But he knows I didn't kill my father. I told him face to face – you were there.'
'I know. He'll stretch the pre-trial process as much as possible – hammer the prosecution with paperwork as a negotiating strategy and then get you the best deal he can. The only thing wrong with that is you have to admit to playing a part in the murder.'
'No, I can't do that.'
'What if he could get you to walk? No jail time. That was his last offer to the DA.'
Kate took out a piece of correspondence and handed it to Alexandra.
Kate followed her eyes as she scanned the page. Levy was a good lawyer, and he would go to trial if he had to, but if there was a deal to be made, he would break the client's arm to get her to take it.
'This letter says I would plead guilty to manslaughter, but I didn't do it. He was murdered. Sofia murdered him,' said Alexandra. 'Who gave him the right to make this offer?'
'You did,' said Kate.
'What? When?'
'When you signed the retainer agreement, you authorized Levy to negotiate on
your behalf. It's in the fine print.'
'I didn't know it was there, I didn't read it. I was in the police precinct – my
father had just been murdered, I didn't have time to ...'
'I know,' said Kate, reaching out, lightly touching Alexandra's hand.
'He had no right to do this, I told him I'm innocent, for Christ sake!' said
Alexandra, her voice rising, her chest heaving, on the verge of a panic attack. 'What if this got out? I'd be ruined. My reputation, my business, oh my god, I can't even ...'
'That's why I'm here,' said Kate. 'I believe you. I know you didn't kill your father. I don't want my firm to negotiate. I think there is a sure-fire way to get you an acquittal.'
'You think you can guarantee me an acquittal?'