Dear κασανδρα,
I thought of you today when I caught a glimpse of a PBS program about the Greeks. Of course the stupid Neanderthals in the TV room changed the channel immediately so they could watch two overgrown bullies yank each others’ hair out and bellow like apes. I think they call it professional wrestling.
Anyway, the program mentioned Cassandra, the Princess of Troy, King Priam’s daughter. I got intrigued, so I went to the prison library and looked her up in the encyclopedia. What a woman–no wonder you were named for her. Not only did she blow off Apollo–hey, if a god isn’t good enough for you, maybe you’re a little too picky–but she continued to diss him even after he threatened to punish her. My kind of woman.
You probably know the rest of the story. Apollo cursed Cassandra, gave her the gift of prophecy, and then made it so that nobody would believe her even when she predicted the truth. Even at the end of her life, she kept screaming that Clytemnestra was going to kill her, and all the people who heard her laughed and jeered and then Clytie stabbed her, just like she predicted.
Is that a riot or what? Here’s this poor woman yelling about someone’s going to kill her, and all the stupid townspeople are saying to each other, “Hey, isn’t that Cassandra, the one who always predicts the truth but nobody listens?” And then they stand around and watch while Clytie hacks her from stem to stern. Of course, Clytie gets hers from the Furies, but by then it’s too late for poor Cassie.
That would never happen to you, though. You’d be smart enough to figure out a way to grab the knife and stab Clytie instead. Then you’d wipe the blood on your dress and walk out of that house like a princess. And if the Furies didn’t like it, well, too bad for them.
I can see you now, walking out of the courthouse like a Trojan princess, after winning my case.
Sincerely,
Keith
As I drafted the papers that would order the prison to release Keith Jernigan, I remembered Dorinda’s Tarot reading. She’d predicted that the outcome would be Justice; I smiled to myself as I realized how right she’d been. I’d tilted against the windmills of injustice and, for once in my professional life, I’d come out the winner.
This was why I’d gone to law school in the first place. This was why I got up every morning and slogged to work in the dingy, dark, dirty, ugly pits of the criminal courts.
I could count the number of truly bet-the-farm innocent clients I’d ever represented on the fingers of one hand.
It felt wonderful.
Buy Sworn to Defend Now!
About the Author
Carolyn Wheat is an attorney, editor, and award-winning author. She has worked on both sides of the legal fence, defending indigents accused of crime for the Brooklyn office of the Legal Aid Society and giving legal advice to the New York City Police Department. Wheat’s short stories have won the Anthony, Agatha, Shamus, and Macavity Awards, and two of her six Cass Jameson Mysteries have been nominated for Edgar Awards.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1997 by Carolyn Wheat
Cover design by Barbara Brown
ISBN: 978-1-5040-0226-4
This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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