When the Roof Falls In

Sal has a decision to make.

"I'll tell you what," he said, leaning in confidentially. "For a cool thousand bucks, I didn't see anything." He sat back up as though nothing had passed between us.

My jaw dropped as I tried not to look at him. "You're what, a witness for higher?"

He murmured back: "You're getting a deal; I offered the prosecution $1,500 to testify that I saw everything."

I sat back, hoping my face didn't betray what I was thinking. "You don't even know them, either of them! Why would you do that?!"

He risked leaning toward me again. "Look, Sal, it's a secret lawyers keep close to their chest, but there's always a purchased witness or two. Usually for the defense, too. You didn't know?"

My mind worked. "The jury?" I breathed.

"No. Witness tampering is negotiable if it's found out. Tampering with the judge or jury is... well, it ain't worth trying."

"How..." I paused, checking my own values. "How do I... 'purchase' you?" I had a mountain of medical debt and moss growing on my roof, none of which was currently in my Junior Public Defender budget. And I didn't know the plaintiff anyway...

He looked around, put the tissue in his pocket and came back out with a slip of paper with my name on it. "Go in the bathroom; mark this with an 'x,' or something only you can do— not your signature!"

I took the paper. When I came back out of the bathroom, the blood drained from my face. There was the burly conman— with a gold badge around his neck!

"Sal Stantioni, you're under arrest for conspiracy to commit witness tampering. You have the right..."

I had a feeling witness tampering was not "negotiable." And it looked like my roof would have to wait a while.

NOTES: ▶︎

Word Count: 300
Submitted for "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" 
Prompt: Use the phrase "It's a secret"