Without Justice

by Carsen Taite

  She pulled open the envelope and looked at the contents. The information was pretty darn thorough for being done on the fly. It detailed what the responding officer had found at the crime scene. An older man, dead outside his home, and a neighbor who’d seen a guy he recognized from one of the dilapidated housing units on the outskirts of town running from the house. The sheriff wanted an arrest warrant for the guy, and a search warrant for his apartment, but he hadn’t quite included enough information for her to convince a judge.

  “Do you know if someone has gone to the apartment complex to try to talk to this guy?” she asked.

  Randall shrugged. “Doubt it would do any good. He was running off, after all. Doubt he went running to where someone would find him.”

  “I need a name, an apartment number, something before I can convince Judge Latham to issue a warrant.” Emily used her best authoritative voice, but she knew that wasn’t quite true. Latham, the judge on call, would issue a warrant with only a couple of vague allegations written on the back of a gum wrapper, but his helpfulness up front never paid off. He’d been overturned on appeal too many times to count, and she’d rather have an arrest and conviction that held up for the long haul than a quick arrest that led nowhere. She stared Randall down, hoping he had more information than what he’d shared so far, but his gaze was fixed on something behind her shoulder. She looked back to see Sheriff Nash walking in the door with a crowd of other folks, one of whom was in handcuffs.

  “Hey, counselor,” he called out. “Sorry to bother you. We’ve already got most of what we need. You can go back to your Friday night fun, and we’ll take it from here.”

  She strode over and assessed the situation, certain the ragged-looking, handcuffed man in the center of the huddle was the murder suspect. “I think I’ll stay. I don’t have anything more important to do than serve the citizens of Lawson County.”

  “Suit yourself.” He turned to his deputies. “Take him back and I’ll see you in a minute.” He waited until they’d shuffled the suspect out of the room, and then motioned her to follow him to his office.

  Emily crossed the threshold and surveyed his kingdom. The wall behind his desk was a collage of photos featuring Nash glad-handing with notable figures in the county from businessmen to legislators. It only took a few seconds to find the photo-op with her father.

  He tracked her gaze and said, “He was a big supporter of my campaign. The man knows his business.”

  “Well, he was a big supporter of my campaign too, so I guess that’s right.”

  He chuckled. “Fair enough.” He leaned back in his chair. “I’m sure you’ll do a great job once this case gets handed over to you, but we’ve got this tonight. You can go on home and get some rest.”

  Emily resisted the urge to snap at his patronizing tone. “What about the warrant?”

  “Don’t need it anymore. The suspect consented to a search.”

  She pictured the man they’d just brought in. Bloody and disheveled. Had he looked that way when they found him, or had he wound up that way after the sheriff had extracted his consent? “Are you booking him?”

  “We are. Murder. It’s a clean case. He confessed in the car, and we’re about to get it on tape so you can tie this case up with a pretty bow.” He pushed back from his desk and stood as if the matter was closed.

  It wasn’t. “Who’s the victim?”

  “Some guy who works at the college. Found his work ID along with his driver’s license. Guy was killed in his own driveway.”

  “So, this wasn’t a robbery gone bad?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It sounds like you found his wallet. Was it on him or somewhere else?”

  He fixed her with a cold stare, but she didn’t back down. The silence was a tug-of-war, but she won when he finally spoke. “Found it nearby, but no cash. Perp probably ditched it when he realized he’d been caught.” He took a step toward the door. “I’ll send you a final report after we’ve finished questioning him.”

  “I think I’ll stay and watch if it’s all the same to you.”

  “Your call, counselor.”

  Despite his words, his expression told her he wasn’t happy, which made her all the more convinced her decision to stick around was the right one. She followed him out of his office and through a back hallway that led to the jail. She’d been back here plenty of times in the past, interviewing witnesses, hashing out deals with defendants, but it felt different this time since she would be in charge of every aspect of this case. “I read the preliminary report you sent over. How did you manage to locate your suspect?”

  He shot a hooded glance over his shoulder, and she could almost hear his brain clicking out a devised response. “I have a good team. I’m sure you know our closed case rate is the highest in the state.”

  She didn’t bother stating the obvious. How hard could it be to close cases when most of the crime was petty stuff that didn’t involve a ton of mystery? He pressed on, apparently presuming his answer was good enough, but she wasn’t about to be mollified. “I’m well acquainted with the good work your team does, but I’m going to need something a little more specific to present to the grand jury when the time comes. The report I read said the murder suspect took off. Where did he turn up?”

  “Everyone eventually comes home, and this guy did too. It was easy really. We nabbed him the minute he walked in the door.” He stopped in front of a large metal door. “You okay watching through the glass?”

  “Yes.” Emily followed him into the room that was split into two sections: one for observation and one for interrogation. She could see the suspect through the glass. He was ragged and unkempt, but he seemed fairly docile for someone who’d just been arrested for murder.

  “Let Randall know if you need anything,” Nash said as he walked into the room where the guy sat waiting. Emily watched him take the cuffs off of the prisoner and ask him if he wanted something to eat or drink. She knew the acts weren’t out of kindness. No one confessed on an empty stomach. Suspects were much more malleable if they were comfortable. The man asked for a Sprite and a hamburger, and the Sheriff barked the order to one of his deputies while Emily idly wondered how far he was going to have to drive to find a hamburger this late at night. There was a Dairy Queen out on the highway, but they generally only stayed open late during football season.

  The next few minutes were spent with Nash tossing the suspect softball questions. What was his full name? Kevin Miller. How long had he lived in Rymer? A while. What did he do for a living? Between jobs. Nash’s tone was friendly and engaging, and like the food that would come later, was designed to soften up the suspect and keep him from delivering well-prepared answers to the harder questions that were to come.

  Randall walked in with a can of Sprite and walked past her to deliver it into the interrogation room. She listened as he explained they were working on the hamburger. Miller drank deeply from the can and wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

  “That taste good?” Nash asked.

  “Did the trick.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Sheriff drummed on the table with his fingers. “You know why you’re here, right?”

  “Not hardly. Your guys chased me through the creek behind the old Johnson place. I wasn’t doing anything.”

  “Pretty late to be mucking around in a swamp.”

  “Best time of night to get bait. I sell it down at Barney’s. He pays two bucks for a dozen shiners. Good money, if you can get it.”

  “You hard up for money?”

  “Hard times, man.”

  “What did you do with the money you took from Sam Wade’s wallet?”

  The man shifted in his seat, his eyes darting around the room. “I don’t know who that is.”

  Emily made a note he didn’t address the money issue. Strike one.

  For the next hour, Nash conducted a traditional soft interrogation, leading the suspect through a series of questions, tiptoeing around the issue, going back and
forth over the same ground, as he locked him into the details of his story. It didn’t take long for Emily to grow bored with the repetition, and she wished she had another cup of Becca’s coffee.

  The thought conjured up an image of Cade relaxing on the sofa in Becca’s lounge. What was she doing right now? Was she asleep or was she up late too? Was she a bookworm or a late night TV watcher? Emily cursed her phone and Seth for choosing tonight to meet his in-laws. If he’d gotten the call, who knows where her date might have led.

  Emily shook away the fantasy. Even if Seth had been in town she would’ve wanted to be part of this investigation from the beginning, including all the boring parts. She remembered only two other murder cases in Lawson County in all the years she’d worked at the DA’s office. Crime-free neighborhoods had been one of the tenets of her campaign, but she couldn’t deny the surge of adrenaline at the prospect of a juicy trial. If Miller elected to go to trial, it would be the perfect showcase to let her constituents know she was the right person for the job, which meant her job had to be her main priority. Any designs she had on Cade Kelly would have to wait.

  *

  Cade sipped coffee from the mug she’d purchased at the university bookstore and frowned at the bitter brew. She’d have to get her hands on some of Becca’s special roast now that she was too spoiled for the community pot in the staff lunchroom.

  The very act of drinking coffee reminded her of the night before. Emily had surprised her. Yes, Bodark was a small town, but she hadn’t expected the elected DA to be so down to earth, so approachable. Emily was completely at ease with the power of her position, unlike Sheriff Nash who swung his badge around like a sword, and was a lot like the state’s attorney in Cook County. Her former boss, Dunkirk, had been an absolute dick when the feds stepped in to take the Oliveri case away from him, despite the fact that her being shot meant the entire office had a conflict of interest in pursuing the case.

  She wondered what Dunkirk would think if he knew she was in witness protection. The marshals service hadn’t wanted her to have contact with anyone at her old office on the off chance someone there might have been involved in leaking Biermann’s arrangements for getting to and from the courthouse during his grand jury appearances. At their request, she’d drafted a brief letter of resignation, stating simply that she was pursuing other interests, and the marshals had arranged for it to be delivered on her behalf. If Dunkirk knew the truth, he’d probably be pissed off he hadn’t been kept in the loop. If she ever had to go back and testify, one of the conditions she’d set with the feds had been to make sure she didn’t have to deal with him.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here today.”

  Cade looked up to see her boss, Monica, standing in the doorway. “If I said I came in for the free coffee, would you believe me?”

  “Not a chance.”

  “Fair enough. I came in to catch up on a project for Professor Sorenson. She’s in a rush to finish her paper, and I promised I’d locate a few source materials she needs for the final section.”

  Monica cocked her head, like she only half believed the story, and Cade had to credit her instincts. Sorenson did need the source materials, but Cade had come in to work mostly to avoid the lonely void of her house. The time spent in Emily’s company last night seemed to have ruined her usual love of solitude and, for the first time since she’d left Chicago, she was happy to be surrounded by other bodies, other voices.

  “How did the panel go?”

  Adding mind reader to the list of Monica’s many qualities, Cade answered, “Fine. There was a pretty good sized crowd and a vigorous debate.”

  “I guess it was a pretty long night for Ms. Sinclair and the sheriff.”

  Cade’s face must have shown her puzzlement, because Monica asked, “Didn’t you see the morning paper?”

  “No, why?” She’d read the news for the first few weeks after she moved here, but found it to be a glorified list of county gossip, and she’d abandoned it for an online subscription to the Dallas Morning News.

  “The sheriff arrested a guy last night for a murder over in Rymer. The paper didn’t have a ton of information, but they did confirm it was a shooting. They haven’t released the name of the victim yet, because his family hasn’t been notified.”

  “That’s horrible.” The mention of a shooting was enough to spike the anxiety she’d been keeping at bay. She drummed her fingers on the table debating whether more detail would be comforting or disconcerting. So that was the reason for Emily’s sudden departure last night. If she were to call Emily and ask for details, would she share? Probably not, but she could call to say she’d heard about the shooting and let Emily know if she wanted to talk, she was available.

  No. That kind of offer seemed too personal, especially considering they barely knew each other. If she wanted to see Emily, she’d have to be direct. In her old life, she never would’ve hesitated to go after what she wanted. She would’ve picked up the phone, called Emily, and said, “I enjoyed the time we spent together, but it wasn’t enough. When can I see you again?”

  But now she worried more about the reception than the delivery. Would overconfidence chase Emily away? Did it matter either way since overconfidence seemed to have left the building?

  If Emily was interested, she’d call, and if she wasn’t, then Cade was probably better off on her own. The trick was defining what on her own meant. She’d enjoyed the friendly banter with Emily and Becca last night, and even if she wasn’t ready to tackle dating, it felt funny to go back to hermit status. Maybe she was ready to wade, slowly, into the waters of a social life. She could start with something simple, see how it went.

  “Hey, Monica,” she said, “What do people do around here for fun?”

  Chapter Nine

  Emily slapped her nightstand with the palm of her hand several times to no avail before she realized it was a ringing phone, not her alarm clock interrupting her hard-fought sleep. Through half-lidded eyes, she recognized her brother’s number on the screen and answered the call. “You better have a really good reason for calling so early on a Sunday morning.”

  “Why? Am I ruining your beauty sleep? Besides, your clock must be broken if you think it’s early.”

  Emily glanced at the clock. It was eight thirty. She must’ve forgotten to set her alarm. If she didn’t hustle, she’d be late for the ten o’clock services at the First United Methodist Church, an unforgivable offense, at least as far as her father and many of her constituents were concerned. She jumped out of bed and padded her way to the kitchen. “I’m getting ready now,” she lied. “What do you need?”

  “Sierra wanted to know if she could snag a few minutes with you before lunch today.”

  “And she couldn’t ask me herself?” Emily shifted the phone to her other ear and pinned it between her chin and shoulder while she put a pot of water on to boil for the coffee she desperately needed. She and her sister-in-law had a good relationship despite the fact they had virtually nothing in common. Sierra likely hadn’t worked a day in her life, choosing to leverage her upbringing in a prominent family for positions on charitable boards instead of career advancement.

  “She’s getting the kids ready for church, so I said I’d call.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Don’t tell her I told you, but she plans to ask you to help out a woman she met through the church food pantry. Something about a shoplifting arrest that’s keeping her from getting work. All I know is Sierra doesn’t want to discuss it in front of the Committee.”

  Emily laughed at the reference. Since high school, she and Travis had referred to their parents and much older brother and his wife as the Committee. The Committee approved all big family decisions, monitored social mores, and generally served as the gatekeeper for anything associated with the Sinclair name. Although Travis aspired to Committee status, she’d never really cared for the baggage that came along with it, and she’d learned plenty of tricks to avoid their scrutiny. “Sure. Tell Sierra to catch a ride with
me after church and we can talk in the car. If anyone asks, tell them she’s trying to talk me into speaking at a luncheon or something.”

  “Good plan. Don’t be late for church.”

  He hung up before she could respond, which was just as well because if she didn’t get a move on she’d be late for sure. She set her phone on the counter and poured hot water into her French press over some of Becca’s special brew. She’d need a double dose this morning. She’d spent her entire Saturday trying to clear her desk in preparation for the new murder case that had landed in her lap, including a long meeting with Seth to bring him up to speed. Seth had apologized profusely for not being around on Friday, but she’d waved off his apology. She’d actually started to embrace the fact she was going to make good on her campaign promise within the first quarter of her time in office. As soon as she did the obligatory church and then family brunch at the club, she’d head back to the office to start preparing the case.

  The coffee was perfect, but it reminded her of Cade. Was she enjoying a leisurely Sunday morning, or was she up and getting ready to satisfy family obligations? Did she work on the weekends? Emily allowed herself a few moments to muse. Maybe she could concoct a reason to make a trip to the library later today.

  She shook away the thought. She barely had time for Sunday rituals with her family, let alone time to chase a woman she barely knew. Besides, if Cade was working, she had no business disturbing her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of her laptop, sitting on the table near her bed. A few simple strokes would likely reveal Cade’s home address and some relevant background. She took a couple of steps toward the computer before stopping herself.

  No. She wasn’t going to use the resources of her office to dig up information on potential dates. Doing so seemed seedy. And useless. Cade Kelly might have a perfect pedigree and live in the best part of town, but it didn’t matter right now. She needed to focus on the job, and later, when things settled down, she could meet someone to date. If Cade Kelly was around then, she’d give it a go, but pursuing her now was disingenuous, at best.