A Midsummer Night's Murder

by Colleen Helme

  “Do you think we can win this case?” I asked, worried that because of Strickland’s animosity toward Chris, it might make it harder to win.

  “Yes.” He grinned. “You know he’s innocent, so there’s got to be a way to prove it.”

  I nodded, grateful he believed me, but I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. “Maybe I should go with Ethan when he talks to Strickland? That way I can pick up everything Strickland has, but isn’t willing to share with you.”

  Chris nodded, but he wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

  “Why not?”

  His lips thinned, but he decided he might as well tell me the truth, since I’d just pick it up from his mind anyway. “Because he’s not going to be thinking nice things about you, and it will probably hurt your feelings.”

  I laughed. “Oh Chris, you don’t have to worry about that. I hear things that hurt my feelings all the time. I’ll be fine.”

  He thought I would say that, but who was the one who had to listen to me complain? Him. Not that he minded, but still…

  “Hey…I can take it, and I haven’t complained that much.”

  “Okay, fine,” he said, thinking he’d done his best to protect me. On the other hand, he had to agree that it wouldn’t hurt to know what Strickland might be holding back. Sending me with Ethan was like sending a secret weapon, giving Chris an edge, and it felt mighty fine to be one up on the enemy.

  “I think I like being your secret weapon.” I grinned. “I’ll do my best.”

  Chapter 3

  Back at the firm, Chris called Ethan to his office and explained what he needed. “Shelby is going with you.”

  Ethan glanced at me with widened eyes. “Why?” He knew about my premonitions, and it made him nervous. “I mean…I can take care of this.” His gaze turned to me. “Not that I don’t want your company, but you really don’t have to come with me.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you don’t need me, but I’d like to see how it all works,” I said. “I promise I won’t get in your way. In fact, you’ll hardly notice I’m there at all.”

  He was thinking, then why come, but he just nodded instead. Then it hit him that it must have something to do with my premonitions. Had I picked up something that was going to happen at Strickland’s office? But what difference would that possibly make whether I was there or not?

  “Shall we go now?” I asked, hoping to get him moving.

  “Oh, sure. Let me get my jacket.”

  I sent Chris a smile, and followed Ethan to his desk where he slipped on his suit coat. He grabbed a file folder for something to carry, and stuck a pen in his pocket. After sending me a thin-lipped smile, we started for the elevator.

  We spoke about the weather, and other mundane topics until we reached the prosecuting attorney’s offices. Ethan knew right where to go, so I followed him to James Strickland’s office. I picked up a bit of nervousness along with a hope that Strickland kept our meeting entirely professional, and didn’t give anything about their relationship away.

  What did he mean by that?

  We stopped at the executive assistant’s desk, and she smiled warmly at Ethan. “Hi Ethan. What can I do for you today?”

  Ethan didn’t want me to know how well he knew Strickland or his secretary, but she was ruining everything. “Hi Gwen.” He motioned toward me. “This is Shelby Nichols. We’re here because we’re representing a client, and we need to get a copy of the police report. It would be nice to have a quick word with Strickland, too.”

  “Oh, of course. What’s the name?” she asked.

  “Angel Molina,” I said, filling in the blank since Ethan had gotten a little tongue-tied looking at Gwen’s cleavage.

  She nodded, then pushed her chair back and stood. “Just a minute.” After knocking on Strickland’s office door, she quickly entered, leaving us to wait. A moment later, she came back out holding a folder. “You can go in.”

  “Thanks,” Ethan said.

  I followed Ethan inside, picking up his sudden uneasiness, which sent little twists of discomfort down my spine. From Ethan’s thoughts, I knew Strickland held something over Ethan’s head, reminding me of how Uncle Joey did business.

  Strickland sat at a desk in an office that was bigger than the others I’d seen, but nothing near as nice as Chris’s. The prints on the wall, along with the furniture, were second-hand at best. For the office of the city’s prosecuting attorney, I thought it would be nicer.

  But Strickland’s polished demeanor, combined with his shrewd strength and ambition, left no doubt that the furnishings had nothing to do with the lofty office of prosecuting attorney. That was all him.

  He didn’t bother to stand, instead waving us to sit in the chairs in front of his desk. “Gwen told me you’re here for the police report on Angel Molina,” he said, ignoring me and speaking to Ethan. “I’m surprised your firm is representing him.” He glanced at me, thinking that I was the reason Chris had taken the case, so how was I connected to Angel? “Is he a friend?”

  Both men waited for my response, so I shrugged. “I’ve never met him before today, but I believe he’s innocent.”

  Strickland gave me a polite smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “And you’re basing that on what…intuition? Because everything we have points to him.”

  I didn’t like his fierce gaze, so I went on the defense. “What does it matter to you?”

  My response surprised him, and he shrugged. “Well, I guess it doesn’t. I just hate to waste the court’s time. But I suppose everyone’s entitled to their day in court.” He glanced back at Ethan. “I’ll work up a plea deal for your client, but it won’t be for less than thirty years, and that’s only if he admits it wasn’t pre-meditated.”

  “Sure,” Ethan said, standing. “Thanks. We’ll be in touch.”

  “Wait,” I said, urging Ethan to sit back down. “What evidence do you have that Angel killed Molly? I mean…sure you found him asleep in a car a block or two away, but why would he still be there in the neighborhood if he was guilty?”

  “It’s all there in the police report,” Strickland said, not about to tell me. His mind went to the reasons, and I picked up that the murder weapon had been wiped clean, but it was registered to Molina. There was no sign of forced entry, suggesting the victim knew her killer, and the neighbor had heard him arguing with the victim. Opportunity, motive, and the murder weapon – it all pointed to Molina, no matter where they’d found him.

  “Now if you’ll excuse me,” Strickland said, standing. “I have work to do.”

  With a sigh, I stood, knowing I wasn’t going to get any more out of him. Ethan gestured me to go out of the office first. Once I entered the hallway, Strickland called Ethan back, speaking in a low voice that I wasn’t supposed to hear. Good thing I could read his mind.

  He told Ethan that he was determined to win this case, and it was up to Ethan to make sure it happened. Strickland rationalized it by saying it was an election year, and he needed the win. Besides, Ethan owed him, and he didn’t want this to drag out, especially when it was clear the guy was guilty.

  Ethan swallowed and nodded, but hurried to follow me, concerned that I would get suspicious if he was too friendly. We stopped at the assistant’s desk, and she handed Ethan Angel’s file with the police report.

  “See you later,” she said, thinking that Ethan was cute, and she wished he still worked in the office.

  Ethan took the file, thanked her, and hardly noticed the smile she sent his way. Seeing Strickland always sent his pulse racing with dread, and this time was no different. He hoped that I hadn’t picked up on the tension between them, and anger that Strickland had been such a dick in front of me tightened his stomach. Couldn’t the guy at least try to be nice once in a while?

  We left the building, and began our walk back to Chris’s office, so I took the opportunity to question him while we were alone. “I didn’t know you used to work there. Was Strickland your boss?”

  Ethan inhaled so fast he chok
ed on his spit. He coughed a few times until he got his breath back. “Uh…I didn’t really work there.” He was thinking that statement was indirectly true, since it was an internship, and he hadn’t been paid, so it couldn’t be called work in the true sense.

  My brow puckered. Why was he lying to me? Not about to let it go, I continued, “Oh. So it was an internship, right?”

  Ethan’s eyes widened, and he swore in his mind. How did I know that? Was it my psychic abilities? “Oh…that. Yeah. But it was just for a few weeks, and worked for the whole department, not just Strickland.”

  “So is that how he knows you?”

  “Yeah,” he admitted, unhappy that I’d gotten it out of him. His brow furrowed. Now that I knew, he felt like he needed to do some explaining, so it didn’t look bad. But how much should he tell me? “To be honest, they offered me a job, but I got a better offer at your husband’s firm. I don’t think we left on the best of terms.”

  “Really? Strickland didn’t seem to have a problem with you. I think it was me he objected to. Plus, he can’t stand Chris. Any idea why?”

  Ethan chuckled. “That’s easy. Chris wins more cases than he loses, and Strickland doesn’t like that.” He was thinking that Strickland also didn’t like Chris’s biggest client. It was the whole reason Ethan worked for Chris’s firm.

  My brows rose. He was thinking about Uncle Joey, and Strickland’s obsession with taking the mob-boss down. “Would you rather be a prosecuting attorney?”

  “No. I’d rather do anything but that,” he answered. “And the law firm is great.” Which made it hard to follow through on Strickland’s stupid deal, but Strickland had him over a barrel. If Ethan wanted to keep practicing law, he had to stay on Strickland’s good side.

  I wanted to ask him what Strickland had on him, but decided to wait until I could tell Chris what was going on. I was sure Chris would want me to find out, mostly because he liked Ethan. That meant he’d want to help Ethan out. I just hoped it didn’t get Chris in trouble.

  We found Chris in his office, and Ethan gave Chris the police report. “I’d like to help with this,” Ethan said. “Is it okay if I look it over?”

  “Yes,” Chris answered. “That would be great. Check it first to see if Angel’s rights were violated at any time during his arrest. Then I want to know what kind of evidence they have against him.”

  “Sure,” Ethan said. He nodded at me, and left the office.

  Chris smiled with anticipation. “So…did you get anything?”

  “Yes. You already know that Strickland doesn’t like you, but he’s got something on Ethan. Did you know Ethan interned for him?” Chris’s eyes widened with surprise. “Strickland wants to win this case, so he’s asking Ethan to help him do that, and you’re playing right into his hand.”

  “What does Strickland have on Ethan?”

  “I don’t know. But it must be big.”

  Chris sighed. “Then you’ll have to find out for me, so I can help him.”

  “I was afraid you’d say that.” I shook my head. “But just so you know, the big fish Strickland is after is Uncle Joey. And I think it goes all the way to the District Attorney’s office. That’s why Ethan’s been spying on you.”

  “Strickland should know he can’t get to Manetto through me.”

  “If you make a mistake, he can. Strickland was thinking that if you gave Uncle Joey any kind of advice about how to break the law, they could arrest you. Is that really something they can do?”

  Chris’s brows furrowed. “Yes. But how would they ever know what I told Manetto?”

  “I guess from Ethan…if he recorded it or something.”

  “Well…I’ll just have to make sure he’s not involved in any of my meetings with Manetto.”

  My breath caught. Since Chris didn’t deny it, did that mean he actually told Uncle Joey how to break the law? “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

  Chris smiled, thinking he’d never done that, and he hoped he never had to, but…since I was involved with Manetto, he couldn’t say he wouldn’t. If it meant keeping me out of jail, he’d probably do just about anything.

  “Thanks honey, but let’s hope that never happens.”

  “You don’t have to convince me.”

  “So what happens next with Angel?” I asked.

  “Well, that all depends on the evidence. If it’s all circumstantial, they might not even have a case.”

  “Strickland was thinking about offering a plea, but it wouldn’t be for less than thirty years.”

  Chris let out huff. “That’s hardly a plea.”

  “Yeah. But at least I have some leads I can follow up on with the students Angel was talking about.”

  “About that…do you think you could get Dimples to go with you?” Chris was thinking that it wouldn’t hurt to have a gun-carrying-detective with me, since all I carried around was my stun flashlight.

  “Hey…I’ll have you know my stun flashlight has come in handy more than once. But don’t worry, Dimples said he’d help me with this.”

  “Good. You’ll probably get more information from him than what they gave me in the police report. Just try not to let the chief know about it. He could kick you off the case if he knows you’re working for me.”

  “I see what you mean, but I’m not technically working for you. I’m working for the police, since Dimples called me first, so it should be okay.”

  Chris nodded, thinking that explanation might work as long as Strickland didn’t get wind of it. Too bad I’d gone with Ethan and shown my hand, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it now.

  “I guess you’re right about that, so I’d better get going. Call me if you need anything else.” He said he would, then gave me a kiss, and I left his office.

  I headed back to the precinct to see if Dimples had the information I needed, and found him at his desk. “Hey Shelby,” he said. “I heard Chris took the case.”

  “Yes. We’ve already talked to Angel. Now I need to do some detective work. Want to help me?”

  Dimples pursed his lips and glanced at his watch. “Officially no. But I haven’t had my lunch break, so I can take an hour to help.”

  “Seriously? So once someone’s been arrested, you’re off the case? What if it’s the wrong guy?”

  He shrugged. “It all depends. I might be able to keep at it if there’s a good lead to follow. Where do you want to start?”

  “I think we should talk to Molly’s co-workers and her neighbor. It would go a lot better if you were with me.” I didn’t tell him about the other person I intended to talk to, mostly because it was Ramos, and he was Uncle Joey’s hit-man. But if this was gang-related, he was my best source to find the killer.

  Dimples brought up the information on Molly May in the police data-base on the computer. His colleague, Detective Williams, had already filed the report on her death, so he clicked it open.

  It listed all the pertinent details of her murder, including the information I needed of where she worked, and the neighbor’s name, Hunter Smith. Dimples wrote it all down, and we stood to leave.

  “Have they notified her next-of-kin?” I asked.

  “Yes. Her sister came in while you were gone.”

  “Dang! I wish I could have been there. How did she take it?”

  “She was crying when she left, but I wasn’t in the room, so I don’t know,” he said. “I’m pretty sure they told her that Angel was arrested, but whether she thought that was a good thing or not, I don’t know. We could talk to Williams real fast if you want?”

  I liked Detective Williams, and he didn’t have a problem with me like some of the others. “Okay.”

  We found Williams finishing up his lunch in the break room. “We need to talk to you,” Dimples said.

  Williams threw the remains of his lunch bag in the garbage and nodded. “Sure. What’s up?”

  “We want to ask you a couple of questions about the murder this morning,” I said.

  Williams took a br
eath and held it, not wanting to have to defend his actions to me. I was with Angel Molina in the interrogation room when he was arrested, so Williams already knew I was unhappy about it. Still, he was confident that they’d caught the right guy and he didn’t see the point in talking with me.

  I jumped in before he could brush me off. “I was just wondering what your thoughts are about the case. Do you feel confident that Angel did it, or do you have some doubts?”

  Since I’d been more open than he expected, he spoke honestly. “It came together faster than normal. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t catch the right guy.”

  I nodded. “That makes sense. How about Molly’s sister? Did she think Angel killed Molly?”

  “Actually no,” he said, frowning. “She had a hard time believing it. She said Angel and Molly seemed like they were made for each other. I asked her if she had any idea about what their argument might have been about, but as far as she knew, they got along great.”

  “So she didn’t see any “red flags” pointing to anger issues, or abuse of any kind from Angel?”

  “No. She didn’t.” Now that Williams thought about it, he worried that they’d been too hasty. Maybe they should have followed up on a few other leads.

  “Have you spoken with her co-workers?” I asked.

  “No. Once we discovered that the gun belonged to Angel, and there was a witness to his argument with the victim, it wasn’t necessary.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” I gave him a big smile, then pulled Dimples away with me.

  “Hey, where are you going?” Williams asked.

  “Uh…out…for lunch.”

  Williams nodded, knowing I was lying and probably headed to the victim’s office. “Okay. Uh…let me know if you find anything. I’d hate for the wrong man to go to prison.”