An excerpt that focuses on dialogue
‘Tell me your side of the story.’ Christina sat down at a table facing a man opposite her. She didn’t like coming here. The hallway leading to the detainment rooms at the station reminded her of the inside of a metro; it felt like a place you couldn’t escape, but unlike her, he didn’t seem concerned. He leaned back in his chair and rested his arm on the table. ‘She came over around 8 o’clock. We talked, then smoked some.’ He shrugged. ‘Then we talked some more.’ ‘What did you smoke?’ ‘Just…’ He moved his hand to his mouth as if pretending to light a cigarette. ‘A cigarette.’ She opened the folder the firm had given her this morning. Jason Thomas, the first line read. It was accompanied by a picture of the man sitting in front of her. ‘What happened after that?’ she said. ‘We talked some more.’ ‘And then?’ The file only had a few lines of text. It contained his date of birth, his nationality, and his address, on which she paused. She knew that area. ‘Why don’t you read the report instead of asking me?’ Christina looked up, taken aback by his question. The arm that he had used to light his imaginary cigarette was lying on the table. He slumped further down in his chair, but he was so tall that their eyes were still level with each other. She turned the page. ‘Twenty-year-old woman found dead at 22 Darren Street. 22 Darren Street is your house, isn’t it?’ ‘I didn’t kill her if that’s what you’re suggesting.’ ‘Scratch marks on the wall behind the bed,’ she read out loud, ‘traces of ecstasy in the victim’s blood.’ She closed the file and looked him in the eye. ‘Several drugs including ecstasy have been found spread out over your apartment–’ He started laughing. ‘You think this is funny?’ He raised his hands in a defensive manner but continued laughing. ‘Are you high?’ ‘Are you?’ he said. Christina fell quiet for a moment. ‘A woman was found dead in your apartment. Her death was caused by an overdose of the same drugs that were also found in your apartment. They will prosecute you.’ The expression on his face changed and the tone of his voice dropped. ‘Will you defend me?’ Christina crossed her arms. ‘So tell me your side of the story.’ ‘We just spoke.’ ‘I need more than that.’ He put his elbows on the table and leaned forward with his head on his hands. For the first time he seemed to be serious. ‘If I tell you the whole story, promise me you will help?’ Christina looked him in the eyes. She didn’t know if he was innocent but it was her job as his lawyer after all. She gave him a small nod. ‘Now tell me the story.’