Marked for Murder

by Colleen Helme

  We hurried to the conference room. I sat down in a chair, off to the side, while Chris stood in front of the attorneys. He began by thanking them for being there and then gave them the bad news. “I can’t give you more details than that, but I’m working on it.”

  I picked up some stray thoughts from a number of them. They worried that Ethan’s death could be tied to his work with the firm. What case had Ethan been working on that got him killed? Could something like this happen to them?

  “We don’t think it’s related to a case he was working on,” I said. “It was something more personal. Did any of you spend time with Ethan outside of work?” Unfortunately, none of them had. After a few discreet questions, I also picked up that none of them knew anything about Ethan’s connection to Strickland.

  I thanked them, and Chris continued. “Now I need some help. I need someone to take Ethan’s spot with me in court today. Is anyone up for the task?”

  To my surprise, all of them jumped at the opportunity. They all thought Chris was a great mentor, and any of them would be lucky for a chance to work with him.

  Their eagerness even surprised Chris. “Thanks guys. Logan, why don’t you take this one for now. Elisa has gathered all of Ethan’s files and notes. You can get them from her. We’re not due in court until two, so that should give you some time to go over them. Come to my office at twelve-thirty, and give me your evaluation so we can discuss our tactics.”

  Logan thanked Chris and hurried off to get the files. We followed at a more sedate pace. “I guess we’ll have to approach Strickland another way,” Chris said.

  “What do you mean?”

  He shut his office door and turned to me. “I’m pretty sure Strickland will use the recording Ethan provided to arrest me, especially if he was behind Ethan’s murder. With Ethan out of the way, what would stop him? So we need to talk to Strickland. Now.”

  He was thinking that showing up at Strickland’s office would be totally unexpected and, hopefully, throw him off his game. I’d have a better chance at finding out if Strickland was Ethan’s killer. I’d also know what he’d done with the evidence, and I’d pick up what his next plans entailed. It would put us in the driver’s seat.

  “Okay. I see what you mean.” I glanced down at my jeans and t-shirt, wishing I’d worn something more presentable. “Give me a minute to visit your bathroom first. I need to make sure my hair isn’t a tangled mess.”

  Chris looked me over, only now realizing that my casual clothes might not make the best impression on Strickland; but he didn’t care, and neither should I. “You look great. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  I smiled and gave him a quick kiss, then hurried into his private bathroom. I always carried a little makeup kit in my purse with the essentials of face cream, lip gloss, mascara, and blush. After splashing water over my face, I got to work.

  Next, I borrowed Chris’s brush and combed through my hair, straightening the tangles, and fluffing it up. I came out of the bathroom a few minutes later looking better, even if I couldn’t totally erase the redness in my eyes from crying.

  Chris waited for me in front of Elisa’s desk. He’d told her where we were headed, and she had her notebook out to fill him in on what she’d discovered. Not sure that mattered anymore, he thanked her, and we headed out.

  The prosecuting attorney’s office wasn’t far, so we walked, each of us lost in our own thoughts. As we entered the building, I heard surprise from someone’s mind and glanced up to see Bates coming down the hall. “What are you doing here?” he asked, stopping beside us.

  I wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but Chris answered first. “None of your business.” That brought a satisfied smile to my lips, especially when Bates sputtered a curse under his breath. We kept walking, leaving him behind, and I had to admit that it felt good.

  Outside Strickland’s office, Gwen sat at her desk. I listened closely to her mind and realized that she didn’t know Ethan was dead. I remembered that she’d liked him when he’d interned there, but he’d never reciprocated those feelings.

  Now he never would.

  She smiled a greeting, thinking that I looked familiar, but she couldn’t place me. Then it hit her that I’d been there with Ethan once, and she wondered how he was doing. Hearing that, I sniffed and tried not to cry.

  Chris sent her his best smile. “Would you tell Strickland that Chris Nichols is here to speak with him?”

  “Uh… do you have an appointment?”

  “He’ll want to talk to me,” Chris said, his friendly smile replaced with a stubborn stare.

  That was the first inkling I’d had that Chris was going out on a limb. He was thinking that Larsen and Pratt had advised him not to approach Strickland without either of them present, but he’d decided to forget their advice and come anyway.

  Gwen noted the aggression in Chris’s tone and quickly rose to tell Strickland personally rather than use the phone. A second later, she came out of his office and beckoned us into the room.

  Strickland’s surprise wafted off him. He hadn’t expected Chris to show up, and a sudden wariness tightened his chest. This was all going wrong, and he needed to get a handle on it before it got out of control. He caught sight of me and froze. All kinds of swearing came from his mind.

  “Nichols. You’re making a mistake coming here. I just heard about your junior attorney’s murder. I’m going to make sure whoever did this is brought to justice. From what I’ve been told, you’re at the top of the list.”

  “Why would you think that?” Chris asked. “What reason would I have to kill him?”

  Strickland broke eye contact with Chris, thinking about the recording. If Chris had found out about the recording, it would give him a motive to kill Ethan. That was the angle he’d need to use. Not what he’d planned to begin with, but, with Ethan dead, he’d be happy to put Chris away for it. He could also use the recording to get Chris to turn on Manetto for a lighter sentence. He’d have to play his cards right, but it could still happen.

  “Ethan didn’t deserve to die,” I said, stepping beside Chris. “Did you set Ethan up? Do you know who killed him?”

  Strickland inhaled sharply. Guilt pierced his heart that he had something to do with it. Then he hardened his resolve. There was no way he was going down for this. Ethan’s stupid friend was responsible. He wasn’t supposed to kill Ethan, just rough him up.

  Now he might have to get rid of Isaac. Finding him after he’d killed Ethan might be hard, but he had time to track him down. Once that was taken care of, he could point the investigation Chris’s way. It could still work out.

  He turned his hardened gaze on me, then back to Chris. “I think you both need to leave.”

  “You know who killed him,” I said, my heart racing. “If you don’t come forward with that information, your career is over.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Strickland stepped close to tower over me, using his height to full advantage. I wanted to kick him so bad it hurt. Chris pulled me back, and I heaved out a ragged breath. This guy was the worst, and I wanted him dead for what he’d done.

  “Come on Shelby. Let’s go.” Chris hadn’t expected my outburst, and he worried that I’d say something I shouldn’t.

  He was right. I wanted to go full ballistic on Strickland, remind him that I had premonitions, and tell him he was toast because I knew who the killer was. I’d tell Strickland that he may not have beaten Ethan to death, but there was still blood on his hands, and he was going straight to hell for it.

  I’d begin by telling Strickland that I knew who Ethan’s friend was, just to shake him up. But since that would give me away, I held it in. On the plus side, I knew that Strickland was desperate enough to go after Isaac, so I needed to find him first.

  With a sigh, I let Chris lead me out of the room. As we turned down the hall, my heart rate slowed, but my legs began to tremble. Chris put his arm around me, and I leaned against him. It wasn’t until we were back in Chris’s law off
ice that I felt normal again.

  I flopped on his couch, and Chris opened his small fridge. He pulled out a diet soda and popped open the lid, then handed it to me. I gratefully took a big gulp and closed my eyes.

  “Do you know who did it?” Chris asked.

  “Yes. The killer is Ethan’s friend, Isaac. He’s the one Ethan had been trying to help when he doctored the police report. It looks like Strickland told Isaac that he was going to jail unless Ethan did what Strickland wanted.

  “Strickland thought that, since Ethan was being stubborn about it, maybe Isaac would have more luck convincing him. So it’s easy to guess that, when Ethan refused, Isaac got carried away and beat him to death.”

  Chris absently rubbed his forehead. “We need to find this guy fast.”

  “Yes, especially since Strickland was thinking about taking care of him. I’m not sure how he planned to do that. I don’t think he’d kill him, but, if paying him off to leave the city doesn’t work, he might be desperate enough to go that way.”

  Chris swore in his mind and ran his hand through his hair. “When you spoke to Ethan yesterday, did you pick up anything about this Isaac person from his thoughts? Like… how long they’d known each other?”

  I shook my head. “Not really. I just got the general impression that they’d been friends for a long time… like they’d grown up together.”

  Chris nodded. “That’s a good place to start. His family could tell us who his friends were. I’ll see if I can find their contact information on his employment records.”

  I did not want to talk to his family, especially without Dimples by my side. But there might be a quicker way to find his friends. “Maybe I can find his contacts from his email account on his computer.”

  “That might work,” Chris agreed. “It might be password protected, but go ahead and see what you can do.”

  I headed to Ethan’s small office down the hall. It was more like a closet without a window, but at least it was private. I sat down and turned on the computer. While it booted up, I glanced over his desk, finding the usual paperclips, notepads, stapler, and pencil holder. A small, framed photo of him and a couple of friends rock climbing stood on one side of the desk. He looked so happy, and now his life was gone, taken by a friend. It broke my heart all over again.

  The computer blinked with the password prompt. Hoping I didn’t need one, I clicked on it with the mouse. It didn’t work. Now I needed the password, or this was all for nothing. I searched the top of his desk, under the mousepad, and everywhere I thought he could have hidden it.

  Pulling open his top drawer, I checked inside, pushing through pencils, erasers, notepads, and a couple of granola bars. Under a pad of sticky notes, I found a folded piece of paper with some random numbers and letters. Hope caught in my chest. I typed them into the password prompt and pushed enter. The display screen opened, and I sighed with relief.

  Clicking on the internet icon, I found his email account. The computer had saved his passwords, so it was easy to get into his account and click on his contact list. My breath caught. There he was. Isaac Hill. I scrolled through his information, but found that there wasn’t a phone number or an address to go with it. Damn! How was I supposed to find him now?

  On a whim, I checked Ethan’s inbox for anything from Isaac or Strickland that might help me. As I checked each email, a rush of guilt that I was snooping through Ethan’s personal life assailed me. I closed my eyes and told him I was sorry for snooping, but I hoped he’d understand.

  As I opened my eyes, the photo on his desk abruptly fell over. The noise startled me, and I jumped in my chair. Swallowing my fear, I straightened the photo, making sure it was secure before going back to my search.

  I checked some of the other email providers, to see if Ethan had another email account, but came up empty. Next, I turned to social media and clicked on his Facebook account. Before it even opened, the framed photo fell over again.

  I froze. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Was Ethan trying to tell me something? I picked up the photo. This time, I studied the faces of the two men on either side of Ethan. Was one of them Isaac?

  Slipping the backing off the frame, I pulled the photo free and turned it over. Three names were penciled on the back. Gus, Ethan and Isaac. I turned it over and studied the face belonging to Isaac. Had I seen him before? There wasn’t anything familiar about him, so probably not, but at least now I had a face to put with his name.

  “How am I supposed to find him?” I said it out loud, hoping for a response. Listening for a voice to speak in my mind reminded me of the woman who’d tried to kill everyone at the newspaper’s offices. She’d heard voices in her head too, and now it looked like I wanted to have the same problem.

  Letting out a sigh, I stood. Maybe I’d have better luck finding Isaac in the police database. If he’d been arrested, there had to be a record of it somewhere. With my newly acquired desk and computer, I could sneak in there and use it. That might work as long as Bates wasn’t around. I didn’t think that was likely, but, since this was my only lead, I’d just have to take the chance.

  I slid the photo into my purse and shut down Ethan’s computer. I wandered back to Chris’s office to tell him I was leaving and poked my head inside. Logan, the junior attorney who’d taken Ethan’s place, was already there, and they were going over the case.

  “Hey honey, I found something, so I’m headed over to the precinct.”

  Chris excused himself and came to the door where we could speak privately. “What is it?”

  “I got Isaac’s last name off Ethan’s contact list, but there wasn’t anything else. I figured if Isaac had been arrested at some point, his name would show up in the police database, so I’m going back to the precinct to take a look.”

  Chris’s eyes widened. “What about Bates? If he’s there, don’t you think he’ll stop you?”

  “I’d like to see him try.” Anger pulsed through my veins. “He can’t stop me. Just yesterday, the chief was thinking that I was part of the team with my own desk and everything. If Bates complains, I’ll just have to remind him of that.”

  “Okay. Let me know what you find.” He was thinking that the timing was lousy with Harris not there to help me.

  “I know, but I can do this without him.”

  “I’m not so sure. If you figure out where this guy is, you’ll need Harris to arrest him. Whatever you do, don’t confront him alone.” He was thinking that trouble always had a way of finding me, so I needed to be extra cautious.

  My eyes widened. “Chris… I’m not stupid, I know that. I’ll call Dimples, and he can arrest him. I’m sure he’d be happy to do that much, even if it’s his day off.”

  Chris sighed and pulled me into his arms for a quick hug. “Okay. Call me if you find out anything. If I’m in court, leave a message.”

  “I will.” I squeezed him back, then left for the precinct, grateful to have something to do.

  Just as I sat down in my car, my phone began to ring with “Here Comes the Bride,” so I knew it was Billie. “Hi Billie.”

  “Hey Shelby,” she answered. “I just got off the phone with Drew. He told me about Ethan. I’m so sorry. You don’t think it has anything to do with Claire’s case, do you?”

  “Oh, no… I’m sure it isn’t connected. But I don’t know how his death will impact the case. I guess Chris will need to take over for him.”

  “I don’t think there’s a rush. Claire and her family are getting their lab work done today. After that, it’s just a matter of waiting for the results.”

  “Okay. I’ll let Chris know.”

  “Thanks,” Billie said. “I’m sorry this happened. I’m sure it was a shock.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “It was awful.” I swallowed and blinked back unbidden tears.

  “There’s another reason I called,” she said, hesitating a moment before continuing. “It’s about the wedding tomorrow. You’ll never believe what’s happened. I can hardly believe it, but I t
hink it’s going to make a huge difference.”

  “What is it?”

  “Well, Michael spoke with the owner of the paper. He told him about the situation with you, the stalker, and his threats to my wedding.”

  She let out a chuckle of surprise. “Guess what? He’s sending his special security detail to my wedding. Can you believe it? Michael told him Drew was a police officer, and he was already enlisting their help, but the owner insisted on sending a few of his own men.”

  “Wow. That’s great.” On some level I’d hoped she was going to cancel the wedding, but this could be the answer we needed.

  “Yeah. These guys are former military with all that special training. I just finished speaking with the head guy, and he’s going to do a sweep of the facility before the wedding gets started and be there for the duration. I told him that you were an essential part of the team, and guess what?”

  She paused for dramatic effect and then quickly continued, “You’ll be getting an earpiece and everything. Isn’t that great?”

  “Oh… yeah, for sure.”

  “That way, if you get a premonition about something, you can let them know right away, and they can take care of it. Didn’t you do something like that when you were in Paris?”

  “Yes… I did.”

  “I thought so.” I could hear the pleased tone in her voice. “This is all going to work out. You’ll see. They might even catch the guy. Wouldn’t that be awesome?”

  “Yeah… it sure would.”

  “Okay. Well, I just wanted you to know. I thought it might help if you had one less worry on your mind. Just be sure to be there around three, so they can get you set up.”

  I told her I would, and we disconnected. On the drive over to the precinct, I had a sneaking suspicion that the owner of the newspaper might have something to do with Uncle Joey. Had he coerced the owner into sending his special security team to help with the wedding?

  If he had, I was more indebted to him than ever. But instead of dread, an overwhelming sense of gratitude swept through me. It was almost like having a guardian angel to watch over me. How crazy was that?