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Back The Hallows Save as PDF
Chapters (89)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. 59
  64. 60
  65. 61
  66. 62
  67. 63
  68. 64
  69. 65
  70. 66
  71. 67
  72. 68
  73. 69
  74. 70
  75. 71
  76. 72
  77. 73
  78. 74
  79. 75
  80. 76
  81. 77
  82. 78
  83. 79
  84. 80
  85. 81
  86. 82
  87. 83
  88. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  89. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I read through the Winchester file again and again. What the hell could Pritcher have that he would want to rush a trial? The guy had once dragged an assault case out six years with motion after motion, until the victim got so sick of testifying at various hearings, he forced the prosecution to drop the case entirely. If he wanted a quick trial, it meant he had something that was going to fry me.

A second later, a tall brunette in sweats walked in. She sat across from me and took a sip of my coffee.

“Sweats, Nina? The last time I saw you, you were in a Donna Karan nightgown.”

“You’ve never seen me work. I don’t wear anything that would make me stand out.”

She took out a file from a gym bag and handed it to me.

I opened it up. “Summary?”

“Anderson’s lying. I found his neighbors from 2013. One of them had a young daughter, but she was several years younger than him. No boys near him. The nearest boy his age was almost a quarter of a mile up the road.”

“And the vic?”

“I believed her. I asked what she did during the rape, if she fought him. She began to cry and said she turned her head and stared at a spot on the wall until it was over. No emotion, didn’t make a sound. That’s a fairly typical response to shock and something that a lot of victims report. It’s called disassociation. I can read people as well as you, and that woman was raped. The nurse that performed the SAFE kit passed away two years ago, so we won’t know why semen wasn’t found, unfortunately.”

I flicked the file with my middle finger. “Clever bastard.”

“What?”

“Anderson and Russell put on a show for me at the jail. Anderson was bossing around Russell, who pretended to be upset that his client was even talking to me. I knew he wouldn’t take a client barking orders at him. He’s too narcissistic for that. He once stabbed a client in the hand with a pen for getting too lippy.”

“Really? How’s that guy still practicing?”

“Connections and money go a long way. What about the detective that worked it, Henrietta Trevor?”

“Refused to speak to me about it. Unusual for a detective to not want to talk about an old case that got dismissed, isn’t it? You’d figure they’d be bothered it was dismissed. Her eyes actually went wide and I saw her breathing speed up when I told her what I was at her house for. She’s hiding something.”

“Yeah, someone, I’m guessing Daddy Ficco, paid off the detective, the nurse, and probably the prosecutor, too, to make the case go away. I wouldn’t want to talk about it either.”