The Steve Williams Series Boxed Set
Page 104
“When he came to apologize for hitting me, he’d touch me,” Angel cleared her throat and shifted in the chair. “He’d touch me down there.” She nodded toward her lap.
“Did he touch you with your clothes on or off?”
“Um, on, my clothes were on when he slapped me, but when he started hitting me with his fists, he would make me take my pajamas off before he said he was sorry.”
Carolyn risked a glance at the jury and what she saw made her want to raise her arms in victory, but she still sensed some waffling so she pressed on. “How exactly did he say he was sorry?”
Even though they had practiced this line of questioning over and over, Angel still pressed her lips together and fidgeted in the seat, swiping the tears away from her cheeks and unable to raise her gaze from the spot on the floor in front of Carolyn.
“He w-would push his fingers in me and make me touch him.”
“Touch him where?”
“His, his…” Angel swallowed. “His penis.”
“Did you ever tell him you didn’t want to?”
Angel nodded. “Yes.”
“And what did he do?”
“He would punch me in the stomach until I did as he said.”
“He punched you, fondled you and made you fondle him…”
“Objection, leading the witness.”
“I’ll rephrase.” Carolyn held up her hand at the judge and turned back toward Angel. “Was there anything else that your stepfather asked you to do?”
Angel nodded.
“You need to say yes or no for the court.”
“Yes.”
“What else, Angel?”
“He used to put his, his thing in my mouth and make me swallow afterwards so there’d be no mess.”
“Beyond what you have already described, did your stepfather do anything else to you?
Angel stared at her hands. “Yes.”
“Can you tell us what else he did?”
“He put his,” she paused and took a deep breath. “He put his penis in the same place he put his fingers.” Her chin trembled and tears spilled over. “It hurt, but he hit me when I cried.”
Fury enveloped Carolyn and her jaw clamped tight, her teeth grinding together at the injustice. She took a deep breath through her nose and refocused. “How often did he do this to you?”
Angel raised her eyes, meeting Carolyn’s gaze and shrugged. “A lot.”
“What does ‘a lot’ mean? Every month? Every week? Every day?”
“He said he was sorry every day,” Angel answered, fresh tears stained her cheeks. “Every day until they took me away from him.” She pointed toward the woman from child services.
“No further questions,” Carolyn said and offered Angel a small smile and a nod conveying that she did a good job.
The defense attorney stood and approached Angel. “Miss Yamakura, did you and your stepfather get along when your mother was alive?”
“Most of the time,” Angel replied.
“But not all of the time, correct?”
Angel nodded. “Not all the time.”
“And you were happy when they granted Mr. Yamakura custody?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t it true that you got jealous when Mr. Yamakura started dating?”
“No, that isn’t true.”
“Isn’t it true that after watching Memoirs of a Geisha, you decided that your stepfather should marry a geisha and not the woman he was dating at the time?”
“Yes, but a geisha is an honorable woman, and the woman he was dating was mean and rude.”
“Did you want to become a geisha?”
“Yes.”
“So...you wanted to marry your stepfather?”
Angel recoiled in the chair, her face painted in horror and she shook her head. “No!”
“Are you sure? Are you sure you’re not making this up because your stepfather refused your advances?”
“No!” Angel cried.
“Then tell me why there was no semen found inside you, Angel? Tell me why it’s only on sheets that could be used on either of your beds?”
Angel’s eyes darted from the defense attorney to Carolyn, wild desperation painted them darker than normal and the tears came.
“Objection, defense is badgering the witness.” Carolyn popped up from her seat.
“Objection sustained. I will not have you badgering this child in my courtroom,” Judge Burke snapped at the young defense attorney. “Do you have any questions that are not argumentative in nature?”
The defense attorney walked over to the defendant’s desk and turned back toward Angel. “No further questions.” He sat down.
Carolyn stood. “Angel, did you understand defense council’s question?”
Angel’s chin quivered and she nodded. “Yes.”
“Can you explain to the court why we only found evidence on your sheets?”
“He never, um, you know, inside me. He would, um do it on my stomach or in my face and make me clean it up after.”
“And you wiped up with the sheets?”
“Sometimes.”
“Sometimes?”
“Sometimes he would make me eat it.”
Revulsion snaked over Carolyn’s skin and she tried not to visibly shiver.
“That’s all, your honor.”
“You may step down now,” Judge Burke addressed Angel.
The woman from child services escorted her out of the courtroom.
“Counselor?” Judge Burke addressed Carolyn.
“The prosecution rests,” she announced.
Judge Burke addressed the members of the jury, giving them instructions as to their duty and Carolyn surveyed each member, trying not to smile at the verdict she saw in each of their minds. The jurors filed out and court called recess.
Carolyn headed to her office across from the courthouse, waiting for the verdict to come in. She slid into the chair and leaned back, rubbing her face. Angel’s fate was in her hands and while she was convinced when she left the courtroom the verdict would be guilty, she pondered the entire case, looking for weakness and reasonable doubt, anything that could derail her last impression.
She swung her chair around and glanced out the window. The view of the city was suddenly replaced by a damp moldy place with undertones of grease, and a woman with dark hair and bright, frightened blue eyes stared back at her.
“No, no, no, no,” Carolyn whispered as the claw from her nightmare rose in the air.
The blade ripped through the woman’s neck, slicing straight to the spinal cord sending a torrent of blood toward Carolyn.
Carolyn shot to her feet, pushing the chair back and almost fell over. Her breath came in ragged pulls as she scanned the office. “Jesus!” She looked out at the bright sunshine against the tall buildings of the city.
She jumped at the rap on the door.
“The verdict is in.” One of the office paralegals poked her head into the office.
Carolyn blinked and smoothed her skirt, regrouping and forcing her breath to come in even beats, quieting her racing heart. She pasted a fake smile on her lips and nodded. “Okay, let’s do this.”
The vision lingered, even as the jury read the verdict.
Guilty on all counts.
Carolyn smiled at her client, giving Angel a small hug before relinquishing her to child services. She prayed Angel would be placed in a loving home. Foster care was such a crap shoot these days.
Packing up her briefcase, she focused back on the vision and shivered.
“Are you all right?” A voice whispered in her ear.
Carolyn snapped her head in the direction of the voice, meeting the gaze of district attorney Jim Britt. She sent a nod his way.
Jim was a regal man in his early fifties. He had aspirations of entering the political arena, but hadn’t taken the plunge because of his unhealthy addiction to putting criminals behind bars. “You did very well, Carolyn.”
Carolyn returned his beam
ing smile. “It certainly feels good to know he can’t hurt Angel, anymore,” she replied and her smile faded a fraction.
“What’s eating you?” Jim asked, escorting her out of the thinning courtroom.
“I didn’t sleep well last night,” she lied. The visions of both her dream last night and the assault in her office this afternoon weighed on her. Someone else just died and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
“You sure that’s all?”
“Even though we won today, Angel still lost. She lost her mother and now she’s going into the foster care system which can be almost as brutal as what she went through in court.”
Jim nodded. “Yes, it can, but at least we know she’s safe now. I’ll make a few calls to make sure she’s placed in a good home and gets the help she needs,” he said and escorted her out of the courthouse. “There’s another case I’d like you to look at,” he said as they descended the stairs.
“I’ve got a pretty heavy case load, Jim.”
“I know, but this one is right up your alley.” Translation, it was a sensitive subject matter involving a child.
Carolyn stopped. “I’m not sure I can take another case like Angel’s.”
“It’s an eight year old boy.”
That’s all Jim had to say and they crossed the street in silence. Saving children had become her life’s work and every new case that crossed her desk brought with it the horrors of the real world.
Carolyn didn’t speak until they entered the offices and she sighed. “Send me the file.” She turned and strode to her office, closing the door, leaning on it and bracing herself for another tough case.
Chapter 2
Carolyn sat at her desk, staring at the case file, attempting to concentrate and push the visions from her head. She re-read the same paragraph three times before she gave up. The images were persistent and she exhaled, swinging the chair around to glance at the Manhattan skyline.
Shuddering, she let her mind drift back to the deaths burned into her brain. The woman today looked like the girl from her dream last night. Dark hair, blue eyes and scared shitless.
A soft knock at the door interrupted her analysis.
“Come in,” she called, swinging her chair around to face the door.
Trent Kaplan waltzed into her office, dropping the case file into her in basket. “Jim said you’d take this one.”
He reminded her of a used car salesman—greasy, underhanded and just plain creepy. Being in the same room with him always made her want to drape a blanket around herself to hide from his obvious leer. She nodded and grabbed the file, opening it as he lingered. Ah fuck, he’s going to try to pick me up, again.
“What do you say we go out for a drink after work?” Trent smiled, leaning his hip on her desk.
Carolyn slowly raised her eyes. “I have a boyfriend,” she said, trying to keep her temper in check. Trent was relentless.
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” he said and walked out of her office.
Carolyn shivered. He repulsed her. She left the opened file on her desk and stood, walking to the window. Closing her eyes, she leaned her forehead on the glass and returned to the vision.
Claw? It can’t be a claw.
Has to be some sort of blade bowed like a claw, which could mean a number of items from a sickle, which is unlikely based on the arc of the swing, but it could be a long knife or short handled axe of some sort.
Ok, I’ve narrowed down the range of weapons, now where was the murder?
Alley last night.
Today’s wasn’t an alley. Where?
Carolyn closed her eyes again. The damp, moldy, greasy smell invaded her nostrils.
Greasy, like oil? Yeah, like oil.
Her eyelids slowly opened. “She was killed in a garage.”
Carolyn took a seat at her desk and stared at the file without seeing the words. The phone rang and she was so engrossed in her thoughts that the shrill buzz didn’t penetrate the cloud of thoughts.
The rap on the door returned her to the present.
Jason poked his head in the room. “Got a minute?”
Carolyn focused on her paralegal. “You’re late.”
“I know. I had something come up this morning.” Jason schlepped across the room and slid into the chair across from her.
“You should have called,” she admonished. “We won, by the way.”
Jason nodded and hitched his thumb over his shoulder at the door. “So I heard.” He shifted in the chair trying to find a comfortable position.
“Is everything all right?” He wasn’t his usual upbeat self.
He shrugged. “Not perfect. I just got sidetracked and had to take care of an issue.”
Carolyn sat back and tilted her head. Jason was hiding something, but she couldn’t see into his thoughts to discern what it was. He was one of the few people she couldn’t get a handle on, like he had an impenetrable steel wall blocking her abilities to see into his soul.
“I’m sorry,” Jason said, fidgeting under her intense stare.
“I didn’t say anything,” Carolyn replied. She glanced down at the case in front of her. “I’ve got a new case.” She folded the file and handed it to Jason. “I need you to write up a summary before the end of the day. I’m going to lunch.” She left him sitting, holding the file.
Chapter 3
She caught my eye as she walked into the coffee shop and I sat in the corner, riveted, my stomach cramping with the sudden onslaught of acid. Aggravation clung to my skin and I crumpled the empty cup in my hand. Her glance passed over me, like she didn’t recognize me and I swallowed the throbbing in my throat.
I blinked, trying to make heads or tails of this. I killed her. Twice.
What the hell was she?
Sweeping up the papers scattered on the table, I shoved them into my portfolio and waited in the corner for her to exit the shop. It took a few minutes and I almost lost her in the crowd and had to scurry to catch up to her.
I followed, keeping my distance.
She entered a condo complex and I scribbled the address, taking note of the exact apartment location when the light flipped on inside.
I stared at the building for a while and couldn’t believe she was still alive, not after seeing the life flee from her eyes, not after feeling her cold silent chest, not after bathing in her blood.
As I looked around, I decided it was too crowded, too many eyes watching to do anything right now. I glanced at the building one last time before turning and being swallowed by the crowd.
Chapter 4
Carolyn lounged on the couch with the television tuned to CNN and the evening edition spread out before her. The headline painted the death as a crime of passion, not connecting it with the death in the alley even though the signature was the same. What they didn’t mention in either case was the killer planted a red lipstick stain on the victim’s forehead.
A serial killer was loose and she prayed the cops would connect the dots even though the murders happened in different districts. She understood their reason for not announcing it in a public venue, at least not yet. But if enough bodies piled up, they’d have no choice but to make the case public. Someone would leak information and if they didn’t, she’d have to put the pressure on to find the killer before more women were slaughtered.
Carolyn folded the paper and exhaled, rubbing her tired eyelids with fingers that felt like icicles.
The front door swung open, banging into the wall as Olivia made the routine grand entrance into the apartment.
“One of these days, that door is going to put a hole in the wall when you come in,” Carolyn commented.
Olivia laughed. “You know I can’t go anywhere without making an entrance.”
“Humph,” Carolyn grunted, returning her attention to the television.
“What’s up your ass?” Olivia strode across the room.
Carolyn pointed to the paper on the coffee table. “Another murder.”
Carolyn broke a smile. “I’m sure Cameron would have an issue with that.”
“Fuck Cameron, he hasn’t called at all this week.”
“It’s only Tuesday.”
“Yeah, well, he hasn’t been all that attentive lately,” Olivia pouted.
“Poor baby.”
Olivia stood and left the living room in a huff.
Carolyn returned her gaze at the paper. “Son of a bitch is going to do it again,” she mumbled. They always did and again she found herself wondering what connected her to the killer. Why am I seeing these deaths?
Olivia came back into the living room, wearing comfortable flannel pajama bottoms and a skimpy camisole that showed off her perfect chocolate cleavage.
“We won the case today,” Carolyn said once her roommate settled into the chair.
“That’s fantastic!”
Carolyn shrugged, she didn’t feel like celebrating this particular win. “She’s now in the state’s care and that can be just as bad.”
“When did you become so cynical?” Olivia sat up, studying her roommate.
“It’s just been a long, draining case and after everything that girl has been through, the thought of her landing in another abusive home makes my skin burn.” Besides, seeing these murders is a bitch.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts and she climbed off the couch, crossing to the door with as much enthusiasm as a snail crossing the road. She swung the door open and Randy’s grey-eyed gaze looked back. Randy Kincaid. Smooth talking Wall Street stockbroker with his hand on the pulse of the city, keeping an eye out for the next big opportunity. She wasn’t in the mood for him tonight but she stepped aside allowing him to enter anyway. “Hi,” she said.
“Hey, babe.” He leaned in, planting a kiss on her cheek.
Carolyn gave him a grunt and shuffled back to the couch, throwing herself down onto the plush fabric.