Sullivan's Justice Read Free Page A

back. Bending down, he clasped both of her hands and dragged her to the bathroom. Her fear was so great, her entire body stiffened. Propping her up near the toilet, he grabbed her left arm and then slapped his gloved hand against her forearm.
    “I’ll do anything,” Suzanne pleaded. “I’ll suck you off . . . anything.” She felt a stick and a stinging sensation.
    She saw her husband’s face, smiling at her on their wedding day. Then she spun further back in time. She was with her mother at the park down the street from their house. She was swinging. The sky was beautiful, filled with puffy white clouds. She wanted to swing high enough to touch it. The tree beside her was full of birds. Their chirps sounded like a secret language. Her mother was sitting on a bench across from her, wearing a white sundress. The wind whipped through her glossy dark hair and exposed the delicate skin on her neck. The next thing she knew, she had flown off the swing and landed in the dirt, her right arm bent backward. She heard her mother’s voice . . . soft and comforting , “You’ll be fine, honey. Be a big girl now and stop crying. After Dr. Lewis fixes your arm, I’ll take you for an ice cream. ”
    Suzanne looked down and saw the needle slide out of her vein, wondering why it didn’t hurt. There was a trickle of blood, but her mother dabbed it with cotton. Warmth spread throughout her body. She felt as if she were floating in a sea of pleasure, so intense that she couldn’t bear it. Her vision blurred. Her head rolled to one side. Everything was beautiful and peaceful. She wanted to stay in this place forever. Her mother was holding her, stroking her.
    Her stomach suddenly rose in her throat. She was choking on her vomit when she felt someone push her head down into the toilet. Her skin felt as if it were on fire. “It’s just the flu, sweetheart,” her mother’s voice said. “ Once your stomach settles down, I’ll give you some aspirin for the fever.”
    Everything would be fine, Suzanne thought, the warm, comforting sensation washing over her again. She could go to sleep now. Her mother would take care of her.

Chapter 2
     
     
     
     
    Thursday, December 23—9:36 A.M.
     
    C arolyn Sullivan pulled her white Infiniti into an open parking slot at the government center complex, reaching into the backseat for her umbrella and briefcase. It was one of those days. It rained fifteen minutes, then stopped, then a few hours later, started again. Wearing a white shirt, with her trademark silver cuff links, which had been in her family for over a hundred years, a black velvet vest secured around her waist with a patent leather belt, and a black skirt that grazed her knees, she stepped out into a puddle of water. “So much for the shoes,” she said, glad they were inexpensive.
    A few yards away, she saw a tall, slender man dressed in a dark-colored parka coming from the back area of the jail where they released prisoners. Because his hood was up, she couldn’t see his face. When he started walking briskly toward her, she worried he might be someone she’d handled who was bent on revenge. She quickly glanced over her shoulder to see if there was someone behind her. The man raised his head slightly and ran toward her.
    Slamming back against the car, Carolyn dropped her briefcase as she reached into her purse for her gun. Before she could get it out, the man seized her by the shoulders. “Damn you, Neil,” she shouted at her brother, shoving him in the chest. “What in God’s name are you doing? I almost shot you.”
    The megawatt smile appeared and Carolyn’s anger instantly disappeared. “I came to see you,” he said. “And this is the treatment I get? Why are you so jumpy?”
    Neil was a handsome, successful artist. At six-two, he had dark hair and expressive green eyes, a lanky frame, and strong but classic features. “I’m not jumpy,” Carolyn said, retrieving her briefcase. “I work with criminals, in case