Silent Witness

Jane Ciardi’s First Mystery

It’s American Sign Language interpreter Jane Ciardi’s first day in criminal court, working at the trial of a deaf man accused of murdering his employer. As she interprets, Jane becomes convinced the defendant is innocent and one of the witnesses is guilty. Should she risk her career to make sure the truth comes out? This short story, originally published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine under a different title, is the prequel to my Black Opal Books novel, Interpretation of Murder. (If you read the AHMM story, don’t buy “Silent Witness”–it’s the same thing. The novel has a completely different plot and starts about six months after the story ends. Jane is the only character who appears in both the story and the novel.) Interpretation of Murder deals with the consequences of the ethical choices she makes during “Silent Witness.”

Kindle Direct Publishing

Book categories: Fiction