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Chapter One Hundred-Eighty-Six
Point of View: Dirk


I'd been waiting for Stacy Newman to call me, but she'd been on vacation and it had taken some time for her office to get the message to her. She'd finally texted me the morning of the trial. I'd only had some questions about why she'd chosen Zoe, and about how Nick's stability had read when she received the reports that enabled her to place him with a rehabilitation driver. So when she mentioned Amelia Armaletto, I hadn't been expecting it.

She'd told me about Amelia quite by accident.

I placed Nick with Ms. Sinclair after my co-worker, Amelia, suggested the driving school, the text I'd received as they dragged Kevin out the door had read, Amelia said she'd done a lot of research. She invested the time because she was the sister of a friend of Nick's.

And so I'd pounced.

Nobody had been expecting it, not even myself if you'd asked me like five minutes before I stood up to cross examine her. I'd put together the fastest argument ever in those few minutes, and when I'd dropped the bomb of a question, those who knew the story gasped at the mention of Leon's name.

"Did you know that Leonardo DeLaurentis tried to kill Nick in jail?" I asked Amelia.

She shook her head, trying to look innocent. Those big fakey-doe eyes stared up at me. Then she backtracked. "Well I mean I saw it on TV, if that's what you mean. He didn't tell me about it."

"Have you spoken to him since the day he tried to kill Nick?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Amelia froze. "No..." she said slowly.

"Then how would he have told you?" I asked with a chuckle.

Amelia's face reddened. "I'm just saying."

I stared at her. "Are you sure you haven't spoken to him?"

"He's in jail," Amelia responded, rolling his eyes, "Obviously I haven't talked to him."

"Really?" I said, "Interesting." I turned and walked away. Nick's eyes followed me as I returned to the desk. I could feel Amelia's eyes on me, too. She seemed to be floating on baited breath, as though she believed I was about to yank out some evidence of some sort. I paused and looked up at her. She was staring at me, her eyes wide. I glanced at the jury. They, too, were waiting, staring at me.

I paused for the longest moment known to man, letting Amelia sweat it out. Then, in a pleasant tone, I stated, "I'm done," I said, "For now." And I sat down.

Amelia let out a sigh of relief front the pent up breath she’d held while I paused. It may not make it to the stenographer’s tapes, I thought, but perhaps the jury had heard it. Maybe they would take into consideration how unbelievably easy it had been for me to work her up like that…

I watched as Amelia practically crawled off the witness stand and back to sit with her mommy in the peanut gallery. Nick was staring at me in disbelief. Clearly, he was wondering why the hell I hadn’t pressed her further.

But I had a plan. And letting Amelia’s guard lower was part of it.