Unsympathetic Victims: A Legal Thriller (Ashley Montgomery Book 1)

by Laura Snider

  Jacob shrugged as if to say semantics and took another bite of food.

  Ashley blinked hard and rubbed her temples. Jacob’s heart had not been in his work for a while. She debated pressing the issue, then thought better of it. She nodded to the newspaper. “The article doesn’t give much information about the homicide.” She intentionally folded the paper against its crease lines and set it down on the table.

  Jacob unfolded the paper and refolded it correctly. “What do you mean?”

  “They don’t say who died.”

  Jacob looked left, then right, then leaned forward, beckoning for Ashley to do the same. She sighed and rolled her eyes, but acquiesced.

  “I heard it was Arnold Von Reich.”

  Ashley froze. Arnold was a former client of hers. She’d represented him when he was accused of murdering his wife, Amy. They took the case to trial a year earlier, and the jury acquitted him. The whole town of Brine was in an uproar. There were threats to both Ashley and Von Reich. She’d thought it had all died down, though. Apparently not.

  “Do you think it’s a revenge killing?”

  Jacob shrugged in a way that indicated that he very much thought it was a revenge killing. “I heard Erica Elsberry found his body.”

  “Seriously?” Ashley’s mouth dropped open.

  Erica had been best friends with Arnold’s late wife. She’d been furious after his acquittal. Six months earlier she’d been posting Facebook content like, “An eye for an eye. A life for a life.” Ashley had not thought much of it back then, but now she couldn’t help but wonder.

  “Erica claimed she was jogging.”

  Ashley scoffed. She had known Erica for her whole life, and Erica was no runner.

  “At three a.m.”

  “Erica’s full of shit,” Ashley said.

  Jacob shrugged. “Police say she isn’t a suspect.”

  That, Ashley could believe. Erica could probably get away with about anything these days. What with the loss of her best friend coupled with her son’s recent assault.

  “Do you think we’ll get the case? When they arrest someone, I mean,” Jacob said as he shoveled a fork full of eggs into his mouth.

  “You mean me? Will I get the case?” His use of we grated on her nerves. Jacob would not take any part in a murder trial. Not even as second chair. Not after what had happened in the jail a couple of months earlier. When Jacob had had an unfortunate run-in with a client.

  Jacob and Ashley had been visiting Charlie Kopkins. Charlie was well known to Jacob and Ashley, a regular client. He was schizophrenic and inconsistent with his medication. Whether that was because he could not afford it or because he preferred methamphetamine, Ashley didn’t know. It didn’t really matter to her. All that mattered was that his tumultuous emotional state often landed him in jail.

  That time, Charlie had been in custody for possession of methamphetamine. They should have given him a day to dry out before visiting, but Ashley was in a hurry to see him. The meeting had gone well up until Charlie started screaming about aliens. He had jumped up and rushed toward Jacob, screeching and screaming like a furious chimpanzee. He stabbed Jacob in the hand with a pencil with so much force that the pencil impaled his hand and pinned it to the table. There was no lasting physical damage, but Jacob developed a phobia of the jail and criminal defendants. It was why Jacob now exclusively practiced juvenile law.

  “I can’t go back into that jail,” Jacob said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

  “I know. I’m sorry,” Ashley said, patting his hand. She knew her comment was unfair, but part of her believed that Jacob contributed to his own phobia by refusing to face his fears.

  “Can I get ya something to eat, hun?” a woman asked, her voice thick with a Southern drawl. Ashley looked up to see a middle-aged waitress standing beside her, notepad in hand. The woman had giant blue eyes and blond Texas-style hair piled high upon her head.

  “Just a coffee would be nice, thank you, Genie,” Ashley said.

  “Sure ya don’t want anything to eat? You’re thin as a rail. How about a doughnut?” Genie said, pausing for a moment before adding, “Or four.”

  “Not today, Genie.” Ashley was careful to keep her tone even. She hated it when people talked about her weight. Yes, she was thin, but that didn’t give anyone the right to comment on it. It was rude to tell a heavy person to eat less, so why was it okay to tell her to eat more?

  “Suit yourself,” Genie shouted over her shoulder as she made her way behind the diner’s counter. Genie selected a giant coffee mug—one that could easily double as a bowl—and headed toward the coffee maker. “What are y’all up to today?”

  “Just another day freeing criminals,” Jacob said.

  “Which criminals?” Genie asked, dropping the coffee cup and darting back to their table. Everyone knew everyone in Brine, and gossip traded like currency.

  Ashley narrowed her eyes, glaring at Jacob. Jacob stayed far away from the criminal files. She didn’t know why he was now pretending that he knew more than he did. “No one,” she said, carefully annunciating both syllables. “Jacob knows he cannot ethically tell you confidential information. Don’t you, Jacob?”

  Jacob smiled weakly.

  “Oh, come on, y’all,” Genie said, leaning closer.

  Ashley sat back. She wanted to snap at Genie. To tell her to mind her own damn business, but she held her tongue, instead choking out four simple words. “Sorry. No. Can. Do.” Genie was nosy, but she was a good person. One of the few who still showed Ashley any kindness. Ashley wasn’t in any position to burn that bridge.

  “All right, have it your way,” Genie said, shaking her head.

  “You know I would if I could, Genie.”

  Genie nodded and went back to the counter before disappearing into the kitchen. Moments later, she returned with a steaming cup of coffee on a saucer piled high with various creamers and sugars. She set it down on the table. The mug was so full that coffee sloshed over the edge. Genie placed a second saucer next to the first, this one containing a chocolate-chip muffin roughly the size of Ashley’s head.

  Ashley looked up. “But I—”

  “On the house, hun,” Genie said. “Call it an I’m-sorry-for-nosin’ muffin.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to…”

  Genie winked, then side-stepped to the next table. “What can I get for y’all?” It was a dismissal. Genie knew that it was best to leave before Ashley had time to argue.

  Ashley poured some cream and sugar into her coffee, stirring slowly.

  “You going to eat that?” Jacob said, pointing at the muffin.

  Ashley sighed, sneaking a peek at Genie. The diner owner was leaning forward, listening to the patrons at the next booth. The booth was high-backed, and the diner was loud, but if Ashley pressed her back into the cushion, she could overhear their conversation.

  “I heard the body behind Mikey’s was Arnie Von Reich. Is that true?” Genie said.

  “Umm.” There was a long pause. Ashley immediately recognized the voice. It was one of the local police officers, Katie Mickey. Ashley swallowed hard. If Ashley were a super villain in a comic book, Katie would be her arch nemesis. “I’m not supposed to say, but I suppose you’ll find out soon enough anyway. Yeah, it was Arnold.”

  “There’s a big dose of karma for ya,” Genie said.

  “Yeah, well, it does seem like we might have a vigilante killer. If I were Ashley, I’d watch my back.”

  Ashley winced at the sound of her name, but Katie was right. Ashley probably should watch her back. “You can have the muffin,” Ashley said to Jacob as she sank down in her seat. “But hurry up and eat it before Genie sees you.”

  Jacob devoured the entire thing in two bites. He licked his fingers, then cocked his head, finally taking notice of Ashley’s odd behavior. “Who are you hiding from?” He looked around, his head jerking in quick, obvious motions. It reminded Ashley of an ostrich, which would have been funny if not for the situation.

&nb
sp; “Stop that,” Ashley hissed. “It’s Katie Mickey.”

  “Officer Mickey?”

  “Yes! And keep your voice down. She’s right there.” Ashley jerked her head back toward the booth behind her.

  “Ohh.” Jacob nodded knowingly.

  “Victor Petrovsky’s sentencing is today,” Ashley said, more to her coffee than to Jacob. Victor was another one of Ashley’s clients. He was accused of sexually assaulting a six-year-old boy. James Elsberry, Erica’s son. Katie was the investigating officer in the case.

  Jacob’s eyebrows rose. “I forgot about that.”

  Ashley sank lower in her seat. “Yes. And Katie hates me. She thinks the verdict was my fault.”

  “Can you blame her?”

  Ashley crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. Katie was the one who screwed up, not Ashley. Ashley had only done her job. If Katie had done hers, then the jury wouldn’t have found Petrovsky guilty of a lesser offense. And Petrovsky wouldn’t be getting out of jail today with time served. He would be in prison for the rest of his life.

  “What time is the hearing?” Jacob was asking all the proper follow-up questions, but Ashley knew he would not go. There was too much drama surrounding it. Jacob would rather clean a litter box with his bare hands than attend Victor’s sentencing.

  “Three o’clock.”

  “Oh.” Jacob glanced at his watch. His eyes widened. “Eight thirty already?”

  “Shoot,” Ashley said, taking a large gulp of coffee. “I’ve got to go to the jail. Does Katie look like she’s leaving anytime soon?”

  Jacob shook his head. “She just sat down.”

  Ashley sighed. She’d have to walk past her. There wasn’t any other way. Now was the only time she could go to the jail. She needed to prepare Victor Petrovsky for sentencing, and she had nonstop hearings from 9:30 to 3:00.

  Jacob waved a hand in the air, trying to catch Genie’s attention. “I’ll get the check.” He made a shooing motion with his chubby hands. “You go ahead.”

  “Thanks,” Ashley said flatly.

  She would prefer that they leave together, but Jacob didn’t like confrontation. And Katie would not miss an opportunity to confront Ashley. Ashley swallowed, hardened her heart, and rose from her seat. She turned toward the door but only made it a step before Katie snorted loudly. Ashley looked up. Katie stared directly at Ashley, her eyes narrowed, and her plump lips pursed into a thin line.

  Today was not Ashley’s lucky day. “Hello, there, Officer Mickey.”

  Katie crossed her arms.

  “Beautiful day out there, isn’t it,” Ashley said. It was a blistering cold day, and they hadn’t seen any hint of the sun for over a week.

  “How can you live with yourself?”

  Ashley snatched an apple off Katie’s plate. Her gaze traveled to Katie’s companion across the table. Officer George Thomanson. He flashed a grin. A smile that was faked, practiced, reserved for defendants. Ashley almost preferred Katie’s scorn over his faux kindness. She turned back to Katie.

  “You know better than that, officer. Defense attorneys don’t answer questions from cops.”

  “Of course you don’t,” Katie growled. “You’re evil. Every one of you.”

  “Come on, officer. You don’t mean that. Jacob over there is a good guy. Don’t punish him for my bad behavior.”

  Katie’s eyes flicked to Jacob. He was laughing with Genie, bowled over, slapping his knee with one hand while clutching his belly with the other. He looked a little like Santa Claus without the beard and all the red.

  “See.” Ashley waggled her eyebrows. “He’s not so bad.”

  “And what about you? What’s your excuse?”

  “I don’t have an excuse. I truly am horrible. Rotten to the core.” Ashley took a bite of Katie’s apple, then tossed it back to her.

  Katie caught it with one hand, and her lip curled into a snarl.

  “It’s been a pleasure,” Ashley said, her smile widening, “but I really must be going.”

  “The pleasure is all yours.”

  “Luckily,” Ashley said as she turned toward the door. “I’ll be seeing you later at a certain someone’s sentencing hearing.”

  Katie banged a fist against the table. It was time to go, before Katie lost her temper and arrested Ashley.

  “Toodles,” Ashley said, waving to Katie with the tips of her fingers. She turned and exited out the door.

  Ashley’s smile dropped the moment the door closed behind her. She sighed with relief as a burst of cold air stung her cheeks. Thank God that’s over, she thought. But she knew that it would be a while before the Petrovsky fallout would truly be over. Just like Von Reich’s acquittal, Petrovsky’s release would linger under the surface of the town, breeding anger and discord.

  She wondered if Von Reich’s murder would be the last or if there was a batman-like dark knight hell-bent on cleaning up the streets of Brine. Ashley hadn’t committed any crimes herself, but she facilitated the release of those who had and would continue to break the law. If there was a vigilante killer, she might be next on their hit list.

  2

  Katie Mickey

  December 10th – 8:30 a.m.

  I hate her. I hate her. I hate her, Katie thought as Ashley Montgomery rushed out into the frigid Iowa winter.

  “Katie,” George said.

  Ashley pulled her hood over her head and hurried across the road. “Did you see that?” Katie pointed to the window. “She didn’t even use a crosswalk.”

  “Katie.”

  “The nerve of that woman.”

  Ashley stopped in front of the jail. Katie watched intently to see what she would do next. She would probably start issuing demands and decrees ordering the jailers to let her in at once.

  “She doesn’t think the rules apply to her. That’s what it is. She thinks she can do whatever she wants. Well, I’ve got news—”

  “Katie.” George snapped his fingers in front of her face.

  “Stop that.” Katie grabbed his hand, twisting it with a quick jerk.

  George bucked and fell to his side, sucking in a deep breath. “I was just messing around.”

  Katie loosened her grip and let him go.

  George sat back up, rubbing his shoulder. “I don’t know why you let her get to you.”

  “What am I supposed to do when she acts like that?” Katie turned away from the window and met George’s gaze.

  George was middle-aged, but in a silver-fox, Andy Cohen–type of way. He still had a full head of hair, thick and dark, with a streak of gray at the edges. His facial features were pleasant and even.

  “She’s trying to get under your skin. Don’t take the bait.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Katie grumbled. “She didn’t cause your biggest failure.”

  George placed his hand on top of hers, his eyes growing soft. “You have to stop beating yourself up about Petrovsky.”

  Katie ripped her hand away. “I don’t have to do anything.”

  George shook his head slowly. “Let’s agree to disagree.”

  “Fine.”

  They were both silent for a long moment, simultaneously gazing out the window. Snow began to fall in large, thick snowflakes. They tumbled from the sky like frozen teardrops. Brine was in for a storm. But that was commonplace in Iowa. It wasn’t the first snow of the year, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

  “Mornin’, officer,” said a familiar voice.

  “Mornin’, Jack,” George answered back.

  Katie turned to see Jack Daniel leaning toward them, his palms pressed flat against the table. Arcs of dirt clung to the undersides of his shortly cropped nails. He didn’t look at her. He was speaking exclusively to George.

  “Can’t believe you let that there law-yer talk like that to you.”

  Jack was intentionally excluding Katie from the conversation. It was something she’d regularly endured since moving to the small town from the much larger city of Des Moines. She was one of six offic
ers. The token female in a rural community where women were sometimes treated as lesser beings. It was normal with people like Jack, but that didn’t mean that she was willing to tolerate it.

  “Ashley was talking to me, Jack,” Katie said. “Not George.”

  “You mean Officer Thomanson,” Jack said. He leered at her, displaying a partial set of yellowed teeth. Three were missing at the front of his mouth. Two on top and one on the bottom.

  “It’s not Officer Thomanson’s job to stop Ashley from talking,” Katie said, emphasizing George’s name with a sarcastic lilt. “Ashley can say what she wants so long as it’s within the bounds of the law.”

  Jack removed a Skoal can from his back pocket and popped a wad of chewing tobacco into his mouth. He worked the wad into his cheek for a moment, then picked up Katie’s empty water glass and spit into it.

  “Gross.” Katie waved a hand to get Genie’s attention.

  Genie nodded and had a fresh glass to their table within seconds. “Here ya go, hun,” Genie said before turning to Jack. “Ya on your way out?”

  Jack nodded. “Gotta go check on the ol’ lady.”

  “How is sweet Ann?”

  “A pain in my ass.” He spit again. Thick brown liquid streaked slowly down the side of the glass.

  “Tell her hello for me, will ya?”

  Jack nodded and turned toward the door.

  “Before you go, ya forgot to pay your check, sweetheart.”

  Jack shoved his hands in his pockets, then removed several crumpled bills. He handed them to Genie. She grabbed his ticket off his table and counted the bills.

  “Do you plan to leave a tip?” Genie asked.

  Jack reached into his pocket and tossed Genie a couple of pennies. “Don’ spend it all in one place,” he said, snickering.