Ted concentrated on the window while he considered his next words. He let a few drops of the oil ooze out onto the mechanism. They promptly ran off the sides and splattered on the sill. He mopped them up with a paper towel and tried again. The female pigeon was engrossed in his project. The male bobbed and cooed, more exaggerated in movement and volume.

Opening remarks. Frame the story for the jury. Lessons learned and never forgotten. He took a deep breath and began.

“Jacqueline Clavette scammed a woman named Barbara Miller out of her property.”

“Isn’t that what you do?” Jill said. “Scam people out of what’s rightfully owed them?”

“The difference is that when someone does a deal with me, they know the split up front, and they can take it or leave it. Your wife robbed an old lady. She was aided in this by one or more judges. She did this so that Ron Reisner and his corporation, LBC, could purchase those lots and build a one-hundred-story mixed-use tower. Reisner wanted those properties so badly that he was willing to overpay by more than one million dollars. Miller wouldn’t sell at any price. Are you getting all this?”

He tried turning the handle. With a reluctant groan, it moved a quarter of an inch. The birds flew off. Progress.

“Ms. Clavette served LBC’s interests in other ways. She helped carry cash to politicians. LBC needed approvals, exemptions, and variances to allow the construction of a high-rise of that size, commanding so much airspace. Local, municipal, and state-level elected officials were involved. All of them needed to be greased. I would guess that when she went to Albany last week, she took an extra suitcase.” He looked over his shoulder at Jill. She was listening, but she wasn’t giving anything away.

“Conspiracy, fraud, and bribery,” he continued. “In the end the crime of conspiracy may be the most egregious. Because with something this big, with so much money being thrown at it, there is going to be some poor hungry soul who sees an opportunity to scoop up a bit of loose cash. Someone basically dishonest but mostly harmless. Someone like Richard Rubiano.”

If Jill had ever heard the name before, she covered it well. She didn’t blink. He turned back to the window and tried the crank again.

“And the big players can’t have that. You let one lonely loser get away with that kind of action, and the whole house of cards could come down. They had to shut him up. Permanently. Oh, and did I mention? The Russian mob is involved.”

The handle turned and the window opened.

“I’m talking about murder,” he said.

Jill didn’t respond.

Ted closed the window, leaving a bit of play in the handle. “There you go. It’ll be easier next time.”