Fatal Judgment Read Free

two men in a room that had suddenly grown crowded. “I hope black is okay.”
    “Fine. Thank you.”
    As she reached for it, she saw Jake’s focus shift to the stains on her long-sleeved blouse.
    She’d been trying to ignore them all evening. And she did her best to do so now as she took the coffee. But she couldn’t control the tremors in her fingers, and the steaming liquid sloshed dangerously close to the edge. She wrapped both hands around the flimsy cup.
    As the younger cop exited, the detective spoke again. “Jake will be handling security for you.”
    She carefully balanced the cup on her leg. “Why? My sister’s husband got what he came after.” Bitterness etched her words.
    The men exchanged a glance, and the detective moved the other chair in the room closer to her. “You want to grab a seat? There are more chairs in the hall.” He raised an eyebrow in Jake’s direction.
    “I’ll stand.”
    Propping his shoulder against the wall, Jake folded his arms across his chest and looked down at her.
    “We’d feel more comfortable if you had security until we apprehend your sister’s husband,” the detective told her as he sat.
    Liz processed his comment. “You think he might come after me?”
    “It’s possible. You harbored his wife. He clearly has an anger problem. If he’s the perpetrator, he’s already killed once—or tried to. I doubt he’d hesitate a second time.”
    She reasoned through that, trying to nudge her numb brain into analytical mode. “If he wanted me dead too, why wouldn’t he have taken care of both of us at once?”
    The detective shrugged. “He could’ve been watching for you to return and seen your neighbor coming with you. Or he might have been spooked by something. We won’t know that until we find him.”
    Jake had remained silent during the exchange, and she tipped her head back to look up at him. He towered over her in the small space, hovering like a keen-eyed hawk waiting to swoop down on his quarry. For the first time, she noticed the shadows of fatigue beneath his lower lashes, his rumpled clothes and the stubble on his chin. The scruffy look didn’t fit. Meaning he must have had a very long day.
    But his eyes remained alert. Focused. Razor sharp. Just the way she remembered.
    “Are there any security cameras at your house?” he asked.
    “No.”
    “What about cameras at the neighbors’ houses, Cole?”
    Cole. Liz tucked the name away as she took a careful sip of the too-hot coffee.
    “We already checked. Nothing. Judge Michaels, is there anyone else you know of who might have had a reason to want your sister dead?”
    “No. Stephanie is one of the kindest, sweetest people I’ve ever known.” She blinked to clear away the sudden blur of moisture. “The only one who ever mistreated her was Alan. I tried over and over to convince her to leave him. But she always said he was a good person at heart, and that he couldn’t help these rages that came over him from time to time.”
    She rummaged in the pocket of her slacks for a tissue. “The only reason she finally left him was because she just found out she was pregnant, and she was afraid for the b-baby.” Her voice caught, and a tear slipped down her cheek. She swiped at it, balling the tissue into her fist.
    “Let’s assume for a minute your sister wasn’t the specific target.” Cole leaned closer to her, his posture intent. “Is there anything in the house important enough to kill for?”
    “You think robbery might have been the motive?” She squinted at him, taken aback by that notion.
    “We need to explore every option.”
    She chewed at her lower lip and considered the question, then shook her head. “No. I did bring home some case notes for an upcoming trial, but there was nothing sensitive or incriminating in them. And I don’t have many personal items of great value.”
    “We’d like you to look around and see if anything is missing once the evidence technicians are finished. Sometime