The Veiled Cage (Lady Lawyer Series Romantic Suspense Novels Book 1) (24 page)

“
So h
e’
s rich. Big deal
.
”

“
H
e’
s brilliant
.
”

“
Now that part
I’
m interested in, but it is
n’
t breaking news. Alfred beat you to it. Wait, why would you know about a tech gazillionaire? Horses are your thing, tech is definitely not. You refused to install AutoTroughs for your horses
.
”

“
Of course I did. I would
n’
t risk a glitch in the system. I get the formulas right every time, and trust my team to do the same. And nothing automatic can look at my horses and tell when they need a booster or a supplement
.
”

“
Yes, I know. You did
n’
t answer my question, Ari. Why are you so jazzed about this guy? Maybe h
e’
s your thing
.
”

“
Mar
tí
n is Spanish. His mothe
r’
s family had a reputation for breeding the best horses on the continent. His mother left the family business. Nobody knows why. But Mar
tí
n revived it. His ranch in Segovia is the horse love
r’
s promised land
.
”

“
Ah, you want to use him to get to his horses
.”
She grabbed her PSC and motioned for Arianna to follow.

“
Ruby, i
t’
s not like that
.
”

“
I
t’
s okay. I want him for his e-skills
.
”

“
Right. And I suppose you did
n’
t notice h
e’
s gorgeous
?
”

“
I did
n’
t say
I’
m blind
.
”

As they entered the organized chaos, Arianna tossed back her lustrous hair and laughed.

Justin stopped mid-sentence as she drew his gaze.

Emili
o’
s eyes were on Ruby as she crossed to the front.

“
All right, team, listen up
,”
Ruby said
.“
First, if you ate all the Anto
n’
s, heads will roll
.
”

“
No rolling required, boss
.”
Colin held up a heaping plate
.“
This vulture did
n’
t make it easy
.”
He tipped his head toward Justin.

“
Yo
u’
re my hero, Colin
.”
She snatched the plate and turned back to the group
.“
W
e’
ve added another member to our tea
m—
Emilio Mar
tí
n, e-man. Word is his skills rival Flic
k’
s
.
”

“
Damn straight, Ruby
,”
said Justin
.“
H
e’
s legendary
.
”

“
Alfred speaks highly of you all
,”
Emilio said
.“I’
m honored to join the team
.
”

“
And h
e’
s a gentleman, like Alfred
.”
Arianna added.

Justin looked from her to Emilio in dismay, and stayed silent.

“
Grab whatever you consider food and drink and take a seat, please
.”
She chomped on a frosted donut and chased it with black coffee.

“
Does she always eat like that
?”
Emilio asked Colin.

“
You mean food choice, pace, or position
?
”

“
All three, I suppose
.
”

“
Yes, she fuels on caffeine and sugar, often inhaling and chugging on the go
.
”

“
That ca
n’
t be good for her
.”
             

“
Order her not to and see where that gets you
.
”

“
No,
I’
m not the type to take that route. The path of persuasion is more my style
.
”

“
You sound like Ruby
.
”

“
Do I? From what
I’
ve seen, tha
t’
s a compliment
.
”

Once everyone settled, Ruby brushed sugar off her slacks and launched right in
.“
Our client, Susan Combes, was arrested for murder in the first degree of her husband, Jerald Combes. Crime scene is the Combe
s’
cabin. First on-scene was Jeral
d’
s budd
y—
Stuart Johnston, Kaye County Attorney. When police arrived, Jeral
d’
s truck was on-scene. A blood trail led from the drive
r’
s side into and through the house, and ended in the guest bathroom. Therein, a man identified by eyewitness Johnston as Jerald Combes lay in the tub with wounds consistent with a kitchen knife. A blood sample and fingerprints confirmed the ID. Johnston claims that he saw Susan pulling out of the cabin driveway holding a kitchen knife. Officers executed a search warrant for Susa
n’
s vehicle and found a knife on the passenger seat. The state sees this as an open-and-shut case
.
”

“
Let me guess
,”
Colin said
.“
The
y’
re wrong
.
”

“
Got it in one
.
”

“
The first red flag was method. Why not poison her husband? Susan cooked for Jerald every night, including the night of the murder. And the motive was shaky. Where was Susa
n’
s escalation? Jerald escalated to breaking Susa
n’
s bones, to strangulation. Where were the signs she was ready to snap? Her life was in danger, not hi
s—
according to a risk assessment. What about the means? Why would she follow him to the cabin to kill him with a kitchen knife? Why not do it in the kitchen? Sh
e’
s pegged with attacking him in the cabi
n’
s driveway, and hauling him inside. Tell them about the reenactment, Jazz
.
”

“
We observed drag marks and a corresponding blood trail leading from the driveway into the cabin. I attempted to maneuver Ruby inside. Given adequate time, and after expending considerable effort, I could have succeeded. I made little progress in the ten minutes we allocated to the task
,”
she finished with a wry smile.

“
Must be all the Anto
n’
s
,”
Justin said.

Jasmine allowed the laughter to fade before continuing in a serious tone
.“
Jerald Combes outweighed Ruby by about a hundred pounds. Ther
e’
s no way I could have hauled his ass up the steps
.
”

“
Thanks, Jazz
,
” Ruby said.

Jasmine took her seat.

“
We have supporting evidence Susan was incapable of such a feat. Susan told us that Jerald threw her to the ground on Friday evening. A jail medic confirmed that her left wrist is fractured
.
”

“
I had trouble dragging Ruby with two good wrists
.
”

“
Har har, Jazz. We get the point
.
”

Justin rose and went to the front of the room.

Ruby gestured for him to have the floor and sat.

“
I located Susa
n’
s phone. She photographed herself on Friday evening before Jerry came home
.”
He brought a photo on-screen
.“
Blue dress, blue-and-white heels. I located Susa
n’
s dress in the hampe
r—
no mud, no blood. Her shoes were in the closet and immaculate. By Johnsto
n’
s account, sh
e’
d have had no time to change
.
”

“
Yes, and tha
t’
s helpful exculpatory evidence, but i
t’
s circumstantial. The best evidence of Susa
n’
s innocence was provided by her abuser
.
”

“
What do you mean, Ruby
?”
Colin asked.

“
W
e’
ve seen other cases in which abusers have used electronics to monitor their victi
m’
s movements. We wanted to know what means Jerald used to monitor Susan. So Kottke swept the residence
.
”

“
Jerry installed video surveillance in the kitchen and master bedroom. He also had a two-way bug in the bedroom. That mean
s
—”

“
We have conclusive evidence of Susa
n’
s whereabouts during the murder
,”
Ruby said.

“
Way to steal my thunder
.”
Justin said.

“
Roar about something else. I anticipated hefty tech talk. Get into the specifics with Colin and Emilio. W
e’
ve hit on this enough. Susan is innocent
.
”

“
Is
n’
t that it, then? Do
n’
t you have enough to get her out
?”
Arianna asked.

“
Yes
,”
Ruby said
.“
Bu
t’
s complicated. W
e’
d have to hand our findings over to the county attorne
y’
s office. Our prime suspect is currently Stuart Johnston
.
”

“
Kaye County Attorney? If I did
n’
t know you better,
I’
d say yo
u’
ve lost it
,”
Arianna said.

Ruby sighed
.“
I said i
t’
s complicated. Johnston generously agreed to meet with me on Monday morning. His cooperation made little sense at the time
.
”

“
He wants to keep tabs on our progress
,”
Colin offered.

“
Right
,”
Ruby said
.“
This is a messy case. Le
t’
s keep untangling it. Amy
?
”

“
The pathology is consistent with a male who lacked the empathy to plot this murder from a woma
n’
s perspective. He miscalculated by placing her actions within his paradigm of anger, control, and violence. He saw Susan as a pawn, devoid of her own feelings and thoughts. Sh
e’
s powerless, silent, and disposable, in his mind. And he failed to factor in her fractured wrist. It was beyond his notice. Insignificant. The setting of the scene is inconsistent with Susa
n’
s tendencies. It was messy, splashy. Susan took care of what was hers
.
”

Ruby nodded in agreement
.“
She meticulously cleaned up her kitchen before going to bed, yet she did
n’
t scrub at the blood trail or rinse out the tub
?
”