Conviction: Book 3 of the Detective Ryan Series (14 page)

Chapter 26-PM

“All rise,” the bailiff said as court resumed session for the trial of the People versus Dr. Claire Cain. The lawyers took their position behind their tables.

“Ms. Reed, have you and Ms. Reynolds come to an understanding or a deal?”

“No Your Honor. We have discussed this matter thoroughly, but the defendant has not provided any information to myself or her attorney.”

“Then we will proceed with the trial.”

The Puppet Master looked on, containing his delight. He was sure the meeting he stumbled on was the one the judge had insisted on. The idea of Claire giving up anything she knew about him was disappointing. Discovering she kept her mouth shut meant his threats worked.

“That’s my good girl,” he whispered as his eyes shifted from one lawyer to the next. He settled on staring at Rebecca Reynolds, remembering how close he had been to killing her the other night. Drugging her was too easy, which made him second guess his decision to go back the following night.

The night had worked to his advantage, an advantage he visualized every time he looked at her.
Maybe I’ll keep her around a little longer
, he thought. It would work to his favor. He could toy around with her as long as he wanted until she no longer served a purpose.

His eyes shifted back to the prosecution. Stacy Reed was one that he would love to kill. She had pushed for the defense to give up everything they had on him. He needed to make sure she didn’t keep poking her nose where it didn’t belong. No one needed to know his name or his involvement in the murder sprees. They were just pawns to help him get closer to Detective Ryan. The more she focused on solving their cases, the more vulnerable she left her personal life.

DeFalco believed he was the Puppet Master’s protégé, but in reality he was nothing more than a pawn or a distraction. He got the officers’ attention by killing the four people he hated the most. When the evidence started pointing at DeFalco, the Puppet Master was the one who stepped in to help clean up the mess.

Knowing there was only two ways it would end, he set DeFalco up, ensuring the police found evidence linking Nick to the murders. To make sure he didn’t talk, he set a plan in motion that would see his blood be on Ali Ryan’s hands.

He thought it would have ended her career, but she was commended for a job well done, given a vacation, and carried on with her life as if nothing happened. That angered him further, wanting to exact a revenge on her that she would never bounce back from. To do that, he needed another pawn.

His eyes settled on Claire as she sat in the courtroom with her orange jumpsuit. She was supposed to be his pawn, one he could dispose of the moment the police suspected her. Unfortunately, they found her faster than expected and arrested her. Everyone viewed her as a goodie-goodie, which made her the perfect patsy. If it weren’t for her being so damaged, she would have never met him.

He remembered the night they met so vividly. He was hanging around after a self-help meeting. She kept to herself while eyeing up one of the presenters.

“It might be better if you joined the meeting,” he whispered.

“Maybe you should take your own advice,” Claire snapped.

“When it’s my turn, and they call me to speak, I will.” Claire’s eyes widened as she apologized. “It’s okay,” the Puppet Master replied. The calm sternness of his voice kept Claire from making another sound. He took a sip of coffee. “You seem like a bit of a spit-fire. What are you doing at a self-help seminar?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Suit yourself, but I figured some one-on-one time with a presenter might do you some good.” He caught the side eyed glance from Claire. “This isn’t me hitting on you or asking you out. Just figured you might want someone to talk to.”

The Puppet Master finished his coffee and walked towards the stage. The man at the podium concluded his speech as the host took the microphone. She introduced the next presenter, allowing the Puppet Master to take the stage. He saw Claire’s eyes lock onto him as he spoke. He knew then, she would be his next pawn.

Shaking his head from his memory, the Puppet Master watched as the jury selection concluded. Twelve individuals, seven women and five men, sat in the juror box awaiting their final instructions.

“Court will resume in one week for opening arguments,” the judge proclaimed as his gavel banged loudly.

The jury dispersed while the prosecution gathered their files. Claire sat in her chair refusing to get up. Her eyes flickered to the back of the room. The Puppet Master saw the shock register on her face. He wanted her to know he was there, watching her, waiting for her to make a mistake. He wanted her to know she wasn’t safe no matter where she went.

He stood up and blended into the herd of people exiting the courtroom, ensuring no one else noticed him. He lingered in the hall long enough to watch the attorneys leave. They shook hands, which sent an uneasy feeling through the Puppet Master’s body. He moved closer to hear the last bit of their conversation.

“Have your client ready to go by tomorrow,” Ms. Reed said in a loud whisper. “Once we have what we need from her, I’ll push the paperwork through. In the meantime, I’ll have the warden increase security and make sure Claire has two guards with her at all times.”

“Perfect. We will see you tomorrow.”

The attorneys split off in different directions, missing the Puppet Master by a few seconds. Entering the bathroom, he slammed his fist into the wall, knocking a tile loose. Feeling the warm trickle of blood down his hand, he moved to the sink and washed it away. He was seething for vengeance and knew his next attack was imminent.

“Looks like your usefulness has worn itself out.”

*********************************************************

Ali

Richard Garrett pulled up in front of my house promptly at eight o’clock. He parked on the street and walked up to the front door. The gentleman approach won him points in my book.

“I’ll be right out,” I said as I answered the door. Grabbing my purse, I closed the door and greeted my date. He held out his arm for me to hold onto as we marched down the lawn to his car. He opened the passenger side for me to enter. More gentleman points.

“Did you have any preference for dinner?” he asked.

“Not really; what did you have in mind?”

“I know a nice Italian place in Rhinebeck we could go.”

We drove with the music occupying the dead silence between us. Thanks to the summer, a glowing orange sunset provided a romantic backdrop in the distance.
Now how the hell did he plan that one
?

So far, Richard Garrett was on his game and doing a hell of a job in getting me to like him. When we pulled up to the restaurant, I thought he had put in the wrong address.

The building had the appearance of a white shingled house with white wooden steps leading to the entrance. I must have been making a disgusted looking face when Richard opened my door.

“Come on; I promise it’s not as bad as you think.”

Really? Because I’m thinking we’re eating at a farm house
. He took my hand and led me up the steps. Inside the restaurant beige walls lined with cherry wood framed mirrors. The tables were covered with soft white linen with chairs matching the cherry wood finish displayed throughout the restaurant.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I gasped.

He held up two fingers to the maître de as we followed him to a table in the center of the room. In the middle of our table sat a slender vase with a lavender orchid. It was beautiful and perfect, but my night felt anything but perfect.

Richard and I sat across from each other. His focus was on getting to know me a bit better; mine was on convincing him to toss out Rodney’s case.

“Ali, I’d prefer to leave work at the office. We can discuss his case more tomorrow. I just want our night to be about us.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t know me too well.” I definitely caught him off guard with that one. “My last relationship ended because he knew I was too dedicated to my career. He wanted me to quit because it was getting too dangerous, and he was right. It got so dangerous that he lost his life to the same man Rodney is being framed by.”

“Ali, I’m sorry.” He reached for my hand, and I let him. The feel of his skin sent a shiver down my spine. “I know proving your partner’s innocence is important to you. I get it, and I understand how important your career is. I’m the same way. But you reach a point in your life where your career leaves you cold and lonely. I have lived that way for the last ten years, and I am sick of it. I don’t want to be like that, and I think deep down you don’t either.”

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I didn’t want to be alone. I had something great with Matthew, but he didn’t understand the life I lived. I needed someone that did. I needed someone that understood me; that could put up with my crap and still love me for it.

At the completion of dinner, Richard took me home. He walked me to my door, still showing how much of a gentleman he was, despite the horrible date I was.

“Ali, I had a nice time.”

“I’m sure you’ve had better dates,” I joked. “I’m sorry. You were great tonight. The restaurant was beautiful and I loved how nice you were. Chivalry is definitely not dead.”

“Maybe when this is whole mess clears up with your partner, and this case you’re working ends, we can try this again.”

“Maybe,” I replied while feeling doubtful there would be another date. But I’ve also come to learn never say never.

Richard leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. But as he did, a pair of headlights pulled up in front of his car. The door flung open as a tall, fit man stormed up towards the house.

“So what is this, Ali?” the man shouted. I knew who it was instantly as James. “I’m guessing this is you getting back at me.”

“I’m sorry,” Richard replied. “Who might you be?”

James flashed his badge. “Detective James Thornton. Who the hell are you, and why are you here?”

“I am Richard Garrett, District Attorney.” I watched James take a step back, but the anger held firm. “I was just escorting Detective Ryan home for the night.” He looked back at me. “Would you like me to stay?”

“No, thank you. I can handle him.”

“Then I’ll call you when I have the results in.” He kissed my cheek again and whispered in my ear, “I’ll be right around the corner if you need me.”

“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary.”

Richard stepped away and walked backwards to his car, never once taking his eyes off James.

“What are you doing here, James?” My tone cut any momentum of his in half.

“Nevermind why I’m here. What the hell was that about?”

“That, was a nice evening with the District Attorney who also happens to be the prosecutor for Rodney’s trial.”

“So what were you gonna do, sleep with him until he drops the case? Or were you just trying to get him to tell you his strategy so you could leak it to the defense?”

“Neither. While you were off being an asshole, Esposito and I did some actual police work and uncovered an alternate theory based on blood spatter and bullet trajectory. Dr. Woo came to the D.A.’s office with me to present our findings.”

“So now you conduct presentations at dinners?”

“For your information, Richard asked me out and I said yes. I wasn’t going to sleep with him, unlike you did with some random whore.”

“You have no right to talk about my sex life, Ali.”

“And neither do you. So if you’re done, I’d like to go inside and finish packing my stuff for my move.”

“No, I’m not done.” He held out his hand, showing me the flash drive he had hidden in his pocket. “I ran into Dr. Woo a few hours ago. He asked me to give you this. Said you might need it.”

“What’s on it?”

“Damned if I know. He just said it was important to get that to you or Rodney.”

“And you decided it was best to stalk my house instead of delivering it to Rodney yourself?”

“I had my reasons.”

I ripped the flash drive from his hands. “If you got something to say, you better say it now before I walk through that door.” I waited for him to say something, only silence filled the air. I took another step towards the door.

“Okay fine,” he snapped. “I thought about what you said earlier and I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?”

“For forgetting to lock my door; for letting your sister walk in on me; fuck for bringing that girl home in the first place.”

“It’s okay if you want to screw around, James.”

“No, it’s not. I was pissed off and drunk for the last few nights. I know that’s no excuse.”

“You don’t need an excuse. We’re not dating.”

“Damn it, Ali. You know I want there to be more between us. I’ve been trying my best to give you some space, but I can’t stop thinking about you, not since the first day we met.”

“How do you expect me to believe any of that when you take home some random girl you met at the bar?”