Just Take My Heart - Mary Higgins Clark [20]
The jurors were all listening intently. She sensed their negative reaction when she detailed Easton's prior record of burglary, theft, forgery, and sale of illegal drugs. Before going into all of what Easton had told the detectives, she prefaced it by saying that she would never expect a jury to believe him unless there was substantial corroboration to what he was saying. She stated that there was.
Emily bluntly told the jury that, as they might expect, Mr. Easton a not cooperating simply out of the goodness of his heart. In ex?change for his testimony, the prosecutor's office had agreed to limit his prison term on his plea to burglary to four years in prison, which six years less than the ten-year term he could have received as a habitual offender. She told them that sometimes plea agreements like this were necessary to obtain information in a more serious case. She emphasized that Easton would still receive a prison term, but also would benefit from his cooperation.
Emily drew in a deep breath. She was well aware that the jurors mere totally engaged and listening to every word. She told them that in had informed the detectives that he had had a chance meet?ing in a bar in Manhattan with Gregg Aldrich two weeks before Natalie Raines was murdered. Easton said that Aldrich was drinking heavily and appeared very depressed. He stated that Aldrich started talking to him as they sat at the bar and indicated that he wanted to set rid of his wife. Easton explained to the police that he had recently been paroled and could not get a job because of his criminal record. He was living in a rented room in Greenwich Village and kicking up odd jobs.
Ladies and gentlemen of this jury, Jimmy Easton told Aldrich about his criminal record and he further told him that he would be happy, for the right price, to take care of his problem. Aldrich offered him five thousand dollars up front and twenty thousand dollars after the crime was committed. You will hear Mr. Easton testify that the agreement was made and that Aldrich gave Easton many details about Natalie's schedule and where she lived. You will also hear, ladies and gentlemen, that telephone records indicate a call was placed from Aldrich's cell phone to Easton's cell phone. You will learn that Jimmy Easton went to Gregg Aldrich's apartment, the interior of which he will describe in detail, and accepted the five thousand dollar down payment. Mr. Easton will tell you, however, that he thereafter became very afraid of getting caught and spending the rest of his life in prison. He will also tell you that he then wrote a letter to Mr. Aldrich informing him that he couldn't go through with it. Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit to you that, tragically for Natalie Raines, it was at that point that Gregg Aldrich decided to kill her himself."
Emily concluded by thanking the jurors for their attention. As the judge was telling them that Mr. Moore would now speak, she walked slowly back to her chair. She nodded almost imperceptibly to Ted Wesley, who was seated in the front row. I'm glad that's over, she thought. I think it went pretty well. Now let's hear what Moore has to say about our star witness.
Moore stood up, theatrically shaking his head as if to clear away the nonsense he had just been forced to endure. He thanked the judge, walked toward the jury box with measured steps, and leaned slightly on the rail.
Good neighbors chatting over