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

by Laura Snider

  “I didn’t know all that.”

  “Well, most people don’t remember who I used to be. But he does.”

  Katie nodded, and Ashley thought she could feel the very edges of the wall of ice between them beginning to thaw. She hadn’t talked about her childhood in years. Not since she’d become Ashley Montgomery the Public Defender. But now, for some reason, she was opening up to Katie.

  “This isn’t what I expected,” Katie said. Her words were barely above a whisper.

  Ashley furrowed her brow. “What did you expect dog walking would be like?”

  “Not this,” Katie gestured toward the dogs, “this.” She waved her hand, indicating Ashley and herself.

  “Yeah.” Ashley agreed. She’d assumed there would be a whole lot more yelling on Katie’s end and sarcastic jabs on her own. But she couldn’t bring herself to verbalize the words, I agree. At least not to Katie.

  “I just didn’t realize you volunteered.”

  “What? You thought I spent my free time taking candy from babies?”

  “No,” Katie answered quickly, defensively.

  Ashley narrowed her eyes. “Don’t lie to me.”

  Katie chuckled. A real, genuine laugh. “Okay, yes. I admit that I never saw you as the volunteering type.”

  “Nobody does. Which is fine most of the time.”

  Ashley regretted her words as soon as they were out. Katie stopped laughing and fell silent for a long moment, dissecting the statement. Ashley could almost see the wheels turning in her head. Winding and twisting until they stopped on the phrase most of the time.

  “I didn’t think that other people’s opinions mattered to you.”

  Ashley sighed deeply. She needed to take her own advice and keep her mouth shut around cops. But there was something about Katie’s expression—the small indentation between her eyes—that made Ashley want to explain. “I don’t care what people think. It’s just,” she started and paused, trying to find the right words. “It wears on me. It’s me against the world. Always. I guess I get lonely sometimes.”

  Katie grunted. It was neither an agreement nor a challenge.

  They fell back into silence as they rounded a bend that would take them back toward the animal shelter. “I volunteer at the children’s hospital on weekends, too.”

  Ashley hadn’t meant to say it. But she’d been thinking that it would be nice if someone knew about the children. And then the words just tumbled out.

  Katie’s eyebrows rose. “You do?”

  “I read to them.”

  “What do you read?”

  Ashley considered lying. Citing well-known children’s books like Goodnight Moon or The Gingerbread Man, but she didn’t. “I write my own stories.”

  “About what?”

  “Usually about the kids themselves. Adventures they have once they are feeling better and get out of the hospital.” Her voice sank. “If they get out.”

  “That’s um…” Katie pursed her lips. “Unexpected, I guess.”

  Ashley vaguely wondered if she should stop visiting the children with all the recent upheaval and threats surrounding her. The children’s hospital was in Des Moines, an hour away, but someone could follow her. What if someone tracked her and ended up hurting one of the kids in a failed attack on Ashley? She wouldn’t be able to live with herself. The kids had enough problems without Ashley literally bringing danger to their doorstep.

  They came to the end of the walking loop, and Ashley took Wanda’s leash from Katie. She led both dogs back into their kennel. She commanded them each to sit, and they both complied. She bent down and scratched Cozmo’s ear as she unlatched the leash from his collar. She did the same for Wanda and gave them each a treat before closing the door and locking them back inside.

  “On to the next two,” Ashley said, moving toward the second dog kennel.

  Ashley and Katie walked dogs for the next hour until it was time for Ashley to go home and change before heading into work. Katie’s frozen exterior was beginning to melt, but Ashley didn’t expect that to last long. Soon Ashley would be back in defense attorney mode. She was sure that Katie would completely forget about Ashley’s dog-walking, child-loving side.

  Which didn’t bother Ashley. At least that’s what she told herself.

  12

  Katie

  December 11th – 7:30 a.m.

  Ashley’s home was an acreage just south of town, across Highway 159 from Clement Farms. It was a traditional farmhouse surrounded by several red barns. Two navy-blue rocking chairs sat empty on the front porch next to a couple of large flowerpots that were dormant for the winter. Large, luscious evergreens lined the entire property.

  A barrier for the wind, or a wall to the world? Katie wondered as she pulled into the drive.

  A black-and-white border collie and a red merle Australian Shepherd emerged from the tree line. The dogs chased the cars, barking and yipping.

  Ashley parked in front of the house and hopped out. Katie did the same.

  “Hey, pups,” Ashley said.

  The border collie wagged his tail, and the Aussie barked and spun in a circle. Ashley bent down to nuzzle them, then looked up at Katie.

  “The black-and-white one is Finn, and the tailless one is Princess.”

  Katie cocked her head. “Princess?”

  “My niece. She and my sister were visiting when I brought her home. I let my niece choose her name. She was five at the time. It was Princess or Twilight Sparkle. I chose the lesser of two evils.”

  A small smile twitched at the corner of Katie’s mouth. “If you hated both names, then why didn’t you pick something different?”

  Ashley stood and brushed the dog hair off her pants. “Because I made a promise.”

  “I never thought of you as the promise-keeping type.”

  “No,” Ashley said, narrowing her eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

  There she is, Katie thought. The Ashley she knew well and despised was rising back to the surface. Whoever that was out there on the walking trail wasn’t real.

  Ashley turned and strutted toward the house. Katie remained rooted to the spot.

  “Well,” Ashley said, pausing in the doorway. “Are you coming in or not?”

  Katie considered telling Ashley that she’d wait in her car, but she was low on gas. There wouldn’t be enough for her to run the heat now and make it back to town. She looked at the temperature gauge on her watch. Twenty degrees. She shivered.

  “Fine. I’ll come in.”

  Katie marched up the steps, and Ashley’s dogs followed. They were close enough to touch her with their noses, but neither did. Katie stopped at the threshold and looked from the dogs to Ashley. “Are they allowed in?”

  Ashley gestured for Katie to enter, and the dogs strode in behind her. They sat at Ashley’s feet, Finn to her right and Princess to her left. The behavior was automatic. Without thought, like they had done it a million times before.

  “Your dogs are well behaved.”

  “Yeah, well, I spend a lot of time with them. They care for me, and I do the same in return. That’s how relationships work.”

  Katie stepped back, surprised by the darkness in Ashley’s tone. “I wasn’t insulting you. It was a compliment.”

  “Well, don’t.” Ashley headed toward the stairs. Both dogs followed, trotting close behind. “You can wait here until I come back. Or don’t. I don’t care.”

  The statement stung. She didn’t know why or what it meant, but she also didn’t have time to dwell on it. Ashley would not be upstairs long, and now might be the only chance Katie would get to poke around the defense attorney’s house.

  Katie scanned the room. The inside of Ashley’s house was as unexpected as the exterior. The furniture was old but in good condition. The décor was traditional country, faded plaid furniture and hand-woven rugs. A scene so homey that it looked like it belonged in the pages of Country Living magazine. It didn’t fit Ashley’s style. Ashley was sharp edges and cold beauty. So w
ho decorated?

  She stepped a little further into the home. It was a traditional farmhouse with lots of walls, not one of those open-concept new renovations that allowed someone to practically see across the first floor from one location. To Katie’s right, there was a kitchen, to her left the living room. Katie went right, into the kitchen. Two walls were lined with solidly built cabinets, forming an L-shape with a table in the middle. The counters were clean with very little clutter.

  A letter sitting on top of the table caught Katie’s attention. It was unopened, but it was addressed to Ashley. There was no return address, and it wasn’t postmarked. Someone dropped it off, she thought. Which meant they didn’t want to risk tracing. She wondered at its contents. Did it have something to do with Von Reich’s murder? An accomplice, perhaps?

  Katie’s phone buzzed in her pocket, pulling her out of her thoughts. She rushed back into the entryway and answered quickly, hunching her shoulders and turning her back to the stairway, trying to keep her voice down.

  “Hey. What’s up?”

  “Good morning to you, too,” George said with a chuckle.

  “I don’t have a lot of time.” She cast a look over her shoulder and eyed the staircase. Ashley was still getting ready. “I’m on special assignment. Remember?”

  “All too well. That’s why I’m calling. My bitchwork.”

  “Great. What do you have?”

  “I spoke with Tom more about the missing jail video from December ninth. The jail keeps a log of all visitors. Petrovsky had only one non-attorney visitor that day.”

  Katie’s heart nearly stopped. So there was someone else that had seen him besides Ashley. “Who?”

  “We don’t know.”

  The hope drained from Katie. “What do you mean, ‘we don’t know’?”

  “The person signed into the jail as a Mrs. Neiman. Do you recognize that name?”

  Katie groaned. Mrs. Neiman had been the high school journalism teacher. She died months earlier. Katie hadn’t gone to Brine Senior High, but she’d taken a weekend photography course taught by Neiman. “So the person used an alias.”

  “Yup. I spoke with the jailer who checked the so-called Neiman in. It’s a new girl, started only a couple of days ago.”

  “What’s her name?”

  “Kylie Monroe.”

  “Doesn’t ring a bell.” Katie had never heard that name before. Not even the surname.

  “Well, it wouldn’t. She’s not from around here. She’s from down south. Just moved to the area. She doesn’t know any of the people involved here. I don’t see her as a suspect.”

  “Okay,” Katie said with a sigh. Jailers were supposed to check identification before allowing visitors inside. “Then what happened? How did she screw up so royally?”

  Katie knew it was a bit hypocritical to criticize someone about work mistakes, considering her screwup with Petrovsky’s search warrant, but she couldn’t help herself. Every possible lead in Von Reich’s murder investigation came with all kinds of barriers that seemed almost insurmountable. They were getting nowhere fast, and they needed a solid suspect before all trails ran cold or the killer struck again.

  “She was new and overwhelmed. Tom said he was busy preparing for Petrovsky’s sentencing, so he wasn’t available to help her out. He says it’s his fault she didn’t follow protocol. I tend to agree.”

  “Okay. So where does that leave us?”

  “Kylie said it was a woman, but she wasn’t certain on age other than to say she’s older than twenty and younger than fifty.”

  “That’s not very helpful.” It was a big age gap.

  “Tom hired an IT expert to try to find a way to resurrect the lost video footage. Hopefully, that pans out.”

  “Yeah. Hopefully.” Katie couldn’t keep the defeat from creeping into her voice. The investigation that was supposed to redeem her was turning into a real mess.

  “That’s all I’ve got. You can go back to stalking everyone’s favorite defense attorney.”

  Katie hung the phone up just as the stairs creaked and Ashley descended. Katie stepped closer to the door, leaning against its frame, feigning disinterest. Ashley’s hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and she’d changed into a black pantsuit. Under her suit jacket was a T-shirt that read Notorious RBG. It had a picture of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s face wearing a crown. It didn’t seem appropriate for court, but Katie wasn’t going to comment on her clothing. Ashley was already pissed at her.

  Both dogs trailed behind Ashley, their mouths open in doggie smiles.

  “I’m going to say this to you once,” Ashley said as she stopped in front of Katie. “You can choose to believe me or not.”

  “Okay.”

  Katie doubted there was much Ashley could say that Katie would believe. Everything was smoke and mirrors with the defense attorney. Including her attitude while walking dogs earlier that morning. She’d been trying to butter Katie up. That was the only explanation for her kindness. But why? Why was Ashley manipulating her?

  “You think I am terrible. So what? Get in line. Everybody does.” Ashley gestured all around. As though she were indicating to the entire world.

  Katie remained silent. There was no point denying it.

  “But animals don’t. Neither do children. They don’t care what I do for a living. They just want someone to appreciate them. They can love unconditionally. Adults.” Ashley pointed at Katie. “People like you. Don’t.”

  “Wait a minute,” Katie said, crossing her arms. But the protest died on her lips. Maybe there was something to Ashley’s statement.

  Ashley was silent for a long moment. When she spoke again, her tone was less harsh. “I dislike this arrangement as much as you do. My clients are not going to like seeing me with a cop.”

  That was another thing Katie hadn’t considered. Ashley’s clients were going to feel at least a little betrayed.

  “But it doesn’t seem like we have a choice,” Ashley continued. “What I’d like you to do, or at least try to do, is to understand. Try to see where they are coming from. Why they made the decisions that they did. Today, you are going to see some of what I see. People who are struggling with all sorts of things. Addictions. Poverty. Mental illness. Maybe you can learn something from that. Maybe not. But regardless”—here her voice took on a hard edge—“do not kick my clients while they are down.”

  Katie bristled. She wasn’t going to let Ashley Montgomery, of all people, tell her what to do. “I’m not promising anything.”

  “Naturally.”

  13

  Katie

  December 11th – 8:30 a.m.

  “I don’t have any hearings today,” Ashley said as she and Katie entered through the front door of the Public Defender’s Office. It was dark inside. Katie couldn’t make out individual office furniture, only shapes looming in the darkness. It felt cold and ominous.

  Ashley flipped a light on and froze. The light chased the shadows away but left a monster in its wake.

  Katie shuddered. “Is that…” Her voice trailed off. A dead dog lay just inside the front door to the office. It was a black-and-white border collie, just like Ashley’s dog. It was headless.

  Ashley darted toward the dog. “Finn?”

  “It isn’t real,” Katie said, nudging her toe against what should have been an oozing wound. “It’s a good fake, but it’s fake.”

  “Thank God,” Ashley said.

  Ashley clearly cared about all dogs. Maybe even more than she cared about people. But this dog did look an awful lot like Finn, and the love between Ashley and her dogs was undeniable.

  “Right, well, still the question is who made it, and how did it get in here?” Katie straightened and looked around.

  They were the first to the office. It had been dark and sleepy before they walked in. Katie’s mind drifted back to the unopened letter on Ashley’s kitchen table. Maybe it did have something to do with Von Reich, but not in the way Katie originally suspected. How often was the
defense attorney threatened?

  A note was pinned beneath the dog’s hindquarters. Ashley snatched it and read aloud. “Tick-tock, your time to leave is almost up.” She looked up, her flashing green eyes meeting Katie’s. “It’s a warning, officer. Just like last time, after Von Reich’s acquittal. Although I don’t suppose you’re going to do anything about it this go-around either.”

  “I…” Katie didn’t know what to say.

  She’d heard rumors about harassment after the Von Reich acquittal, but she wasn’t assigned to investigate the crimes, so she hadn’t paid much attention. She had not imagined that they’d been this bad. Whoever did this was demonstrating two things. A cruel, sadistic temperament and the ability to break into a locked building.

  “It’s fine,” Ashley said. “I’ll toss it in the trash.”

  Katie shook her head. “No. This is evidence.”

  The look Ashley gave her was more quizzical than anything. Like she’d honestly believed that Katie would stand by and do nothing.

  “There’s a killer on the loose, Ashley. Who’s to say this dog isn’t part of it? You could be the next target.”

  “Oh, that’s ever so comforting, officer. I feel so much better now.”

  Katie rolled her eyes and called down to the station. Officer John Jackie appeared within minutes.

  “Oh, hey, rookie,” Katie said. “How’s the head?” She hadn’t seen him since he was struck with the bottle during the riot.

  “Fine,” Officer Jackie said. He produced a large evidence bag and went to work gathering the stuffed dog. “I don’t know why we’re going through all this trouble over a stupid prank.”

  It wasn’t a “stupid prank”—at least it wasn’t to Katie. “Someone threatened Ashley. That’s no prank. It’s serious.”

  “The dog is a prop. Probably from the high school theater set. Thriller or something.”

  “Whatever. Just get it out of here,” Katie snapped.

  “At your service, milady.” Officer Jackie saluted Katie as he sealed the bag containing the stuffed dog. “Anything else I can do for you?” He gave Ashley a look of unrestrained contempt. “Maybe I can wash your dishes or clean your house?”