The Veiled Cage (Lady Lawyer Series Romantic Suspense Novels Book 1) (15 page)

“I’
ll have discovery forwarded as soon as i
t’
s received. Yo
u’
ll be able to see for yourself that your client stands no chance. Short of blood on her hands, we could
n’
t have a stronger case against her. Plead her out, and move on
.
”

“
If sh
e’
s good for it, then sh
e’
ll have to be held accountable for her actions. Yo
u’
ll understand
I’
m not going to take your word for it, of course
.
”

“
Of course. You can see for yourself
.
”

“
Can I expect to see any warrants in the discovery packet
?
”

“
Yes
.
”

“
For
?
”

“
Here. Susa
n’
s car. Her arrest
.
”

“
I can assure you, Stu, that the protocol my team follows is quite different than law enforcemen
t’
s. Some would say more thorough
.”
She locked eyes with Stuart
.“
I know i
t’
s your buddy in there. You do
n’
t mind us going above and beyond, do you
?
”

“
No, no, of course not. Anything to secure justice for Jerry
.
”

“
I appreciate your cooperation, Stu. I
t’
d sure help to have the star material witness in my office on Monday morning. You and I both know you do
n’
t have to talk to me. But it might help move things along. I know yo
u’
re a busy guy, but surely you can spare some time for your buddy. What do you say
?
”

He considered a moment, and said
,“
Yes, certainly. Anything I can do for Jerry
.
”

“
Excellent. Nine work for you?
I’
ll have my paralegal confirm with your office
.
”

He nodded, and said
,“
Excuse me, I ca
n’
t be around this tragedy any longer
.”
Stuart gave a perfunctory wave to Ruby, and said to her intern
,“
Nice to meet you, Julie
.
”

“
Jasmine
.
”

“
My apologies, Jasmine
.
”

“
Not necessary, Mr. Johnston. I know you have a lot on your mind.
I’
m sorry about your friend
.
”

“
Thank you for that
.”
He hustled up the hill.

“
What did you think of him
?”
Ruby asked.

“
Is he prone to getting names wrong
?
”

“
No, i
t’
s one of his special politician skills
.
”

“
What happened at the office
?
”

“
He asked me to tweak case law and facts to support the arguments he wanted to make. In no uncertain terms, I declined
.
”

“
What happened
?”
             

“
He found a more malleable law clerk
.
”

“
Wha
t’
s he usually like
?
”

“
Choreographed, charming, insincere
.
”

“
He was flustered, but who would
n’
t be in his shoes? His buddy was murdered
.
”

“
Yes,
I’
m aware. What would you expect from someone whose buddy was murdered
?
”

“
A demand for special treatment, I guess
.
”

“
And how might one feel toward the lawyer defending the person yo
u’
re convinced slaughtered your buddy in cold blood
?”
             

“
Angry
.
”

“
What did you sense
?
”

“
Hate. Animosity
.
”

“
What appearance does he want to convey
?
”

“
H
e’
s playing nice. Cooperating
.
”

“
H
e’
s chosen an interesting time to dedicate himself to doing everything by the book. Well, Jazz, le
t’
s keep moving. We have a long night ahead of us
.
”

Chapter 9

Ruby and Jasmine located Jimmy, who hefted a crate into the white van and stopped in the middle of grabbing another
.“
W
e’
re getting ready to take off
,”
Jimmy said
.“
Good thing.
I’
m in enough hot water with the wife
.
”

“
How much longer do we have the lights
?
”

“I’
d say ten, twenty tops
.
”

“
Mind if we do a walk-through
?
”

“
No, w
e’
re done. Packing equipment at this point, an
d—
you know, the vic
.”
He cleared his throat and aimed his words toward Jasmine
.“
Brace yourself, kid. W
e’
re transporting the deceased to the morgue, but I gotta tell you, what we left behind is
n’
t pretty
.
”

Jasmine swallowed hard, and said
,“I’
ll manage
.
”

He gave her an approving nod.

“
Mind if we look around
?”
Ruby asked
.“
W
e’
ll stay outside until you guys clear out
.
”

“
I
t’
s all yours
,”
he said, and hefted another crate.

Ruby led Jasmine across the lawn and stopped near the driveway. The yellow tape had been removed.

“
Le
t’
s play out the neighbo
r’
s timeline
,”
Ruby said
.“
Carol Lawrence has no emotional attachment to this case. Thus, sh
e’
s our most credible witness. Notice the tire tracks
?
”

“
Yes
.
”

“
W
e’
re going to find out if the
y’
re consistent with Lawrenc
e’
s account. If so, they corroborate her story. Corroboration builds witness credibility in the mind of a jury
.
”

“
Do you think this will make it to a jury
?
”

“
I do
n’
t know. But I work every case as if it will. We have to start to get ready for trial at the cas
e’
s inception. We could lose valuable exculpatory evidence, or overlook something that could become important later as we fit all the pieces together. Make sense
?
”

“
We only get one shot at the crime scene
.
”

“
Exactly
.
” Ruby motioned for Jasmine to focus on the hardened ground before them
.“
According to Lawrence, Truck and Blue Car cruised in about six-thirty. We observed Stu get into his black sedan and drive off. The ground has hardened from when it rained this afternoon. I
t’
s easier to spot tracks now
.”
Ruby crouched next to a deep track, and photographed it with her PSC
.“
Our clever paralegal has linked our PSCs to various databases. One runs tire tracks. Here we go
.”
Ruby held out her PSC
.“
We saw Johnsto
n’
s car in this spot with our own eyes, and her
e’
s the track mark, consistent with St
u’
s vehicle. We ca
n’
t get to exact make and model, but i
t’
s a start. Make sense
?
”

“
Yes
.
”

“
Le
t’
s keep moving. Did you notice the tracks around the truck
?
”

“
Yes
.
”

“
Play it St
u’
s wa
y—
Jerry pulls his truck in, Susan pulls in her car. They fight, she kills him. She did
n’
t dispose of the bod
y—
i
t’
s inside. Who drove off in the truck and came back
?
”

“
Tha
t’
s why w
e’
re figuring out the traffic flow
.
”

“
Exactly. Hand me your PSC, please
.
”

Jasmine passed it to Ruby.

“
See here
?”
Ruby entered the law fir
m’
s system and opened the tire application
.“
Photograph and trace the tracks on the left side of the driveway, around and behind the truck.
I’
ll continue on the right
.
”

They worked in silenc
e—
crouching and photographing, standing to wait for results from the database.

“
Well, Ruby. Nothing too exciting over here
.
”

Ruby rose and tucked her PSC into her pocket
.“
What do you have for me, Jazz
?
”

“
Well, the tracks are all the same, and consistent with Jeral
d’
s truck
.
”

“
What else did you notice about the tire marks
?
”

“
The
y’
re consistent with pulling in, out, and in again
.
”

“
Good. Nice work
.
”

“
But we already knew this
.
”

“
Now we have corroboration. Lawrence is one observant lady. You might even call her Lady Luck after I tell you what I found
.
”

“
What
?
”

“I’
ll start parallel to the truck. These tracks extend to where the driveway ends and are consistent with a midsize car. I can tell this car drove in, and backed out. Further down the driveway, tracks start for a smaller car
.
”

“
The rattletrap
?
”

“
Perhaps. What does the track placement tell you
?
”

“
It was parked behind the midsize
.
”

“
The black sedan pulled all the way into the driveway. That means . .
.”
Ruby waited for Jasmine.

“
Both the midsize and the smaller car were gone when the black sedan pulled in
.
”

“
Correct. I think yo
u’
re warmed up. Le
t’
s play out the cop
s’
version
.”
Ruby walked over to the right side of the driveway.

“
Blue Car pulls in next to Truck. Wife gets out. Husband waits for her on the drive
r’
s side
.”
Ruby positioned Jasmine next to the truck
.“
Johnston referred to a kitchen knife. Sh
e’
s killer pissed, and delivers the first slice on the driveway, bad enough for this blood pool
.”
She motioned to the discolored earth by the drive
r’
s side
.“
Ho
w’
s he going to get inside? Crawl? Stagger? Run
?
”

“
There are drag marks leading away from the truck toward the cabin
.
”

“
Right. But what about these footprints? The toes point toward the cabin
.
”

“I’
d say male by their shape and size
.
”

“
How many sets
?
”

“
Two
.
”

“
Wha
t’
s their condition
?
”

“
What do you mean
?
”

“
Well-formed? Distorted? Walking with on
e’
s weight balanced yields a well-formed print in muddy conditions. Yo
u’
ll notice that where the drag marks do
n’
t overlap, the prints are well-formed. Where they coincide, the
y’
re smeared. What does that tell you
?
”

“
The prints happened before the drag marks
.
”

“
Yes. Go up to the porch and follow the path in the opposite direction
.
”

“
Other prints, not as deep, heading back to the driveway
.
”

“
The ground had time to set. Wha
t’
s their placement in relation to the drag marks
?
”

“
To the side
.
”

“
Take the prints leading to the cabin.
I’
ll take the ones leading away
.
”

“
Let me gues
s—
ther
e’
s another app for this
.
”

Ruby grinned
.“
Yo
u’
re a quick study, Jazz
.
”

Jasmine bent down, and held her PSC over a print.

Kottke emerged from the cabin.

She popped upright
.“
Hi, Justin
.
”

“
Jasmine
.”
He nodded.

“
You clear
?”
Ruby asked.

“
Yeah, I have samples right here
.”
He patted his leather bag
.“
Candace is heading into the lab now. Sh
e’
ll run them as soon as I get there
.
”

“
Of course she will, sweet talker
.
”

“
Tha
t’
s funny considering you weaseled your way into a crime scene with Anto
n’
s
.
”

“
We ca
n’
t all be ex-cops
.
”

“
Thank God for that
.
”

“
Want to stick around for the reenactment
?
”

“
No, times a wasting
.”
He frowned
.“
Sh
e’
s not good for this, Ruby
.
”

“
I know it
.
”

They looked at each other in unspoken agreement.

“
Have I told you lately I love how your mind works
?
”

“
Goes both ways, Ruby
.
”

“
Entry codes for her house and car are in her file. You hear about the warrants
?
”

“
Yeah, one for here, one for her arrest, and one for her car. Why not her house
?
”