Compulsion (Max Revere Novels Book 2) by Allison Brennan Read Free Book Online Page B

callously and without remorse dumped their bodies amid garbage and filth in abandoned buildings all over the city.”
    Bachman’s words came back to her.
    “You put them down and they flop around, their gills trying to get air, but they can’t. Flop, flop, flop. Slower and slower. Until they are lying there, unmoving, except for those little flaps on the side of their head. If you throw them back into the water, they’re disorientated for a minute, then they swim away. Only to be hooked again.”
    The bastard. It was a confession.
    She glanced at Bachman. Almost did a double take. He was looking at her.
    He gave her that half smile he’d worn during most of their interview.
    She refused to look away. He turned first. She breathed easier.
    “We will be calling to the stand Ava Raines,” Charlene said, “who was kidnapped, drugged, and locked in the trunk of her own car and, only through a chance accident on the Queensboro Bridge, was able to alert police. The police officer who arrested Mr. Bachman will tell you what he found in the trunk of Ava’s car. And the head of our criminal investigation unit will share what his team found in Mr. Bachman’s apartment—personal effects from each of the victims, including car keys from two of the victims.”
    That, too, was news to Max. The police had never revealed that detail. She needed to see those records. If Bachman was a trophy killer, he would have taken something from the Palazzolos. But if the police didn’t know what they were looking for, they might not recognize the “trophy.”
    After Charlene’s monologue, it was Warren’s turn.
    He began, “It is the obligation of the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that my client—who has never been in trouble with the police, who has a good job, and a college degree—is guilty. Beyond a reasonable doubt. What does that mean? It means that if you believe, based on the actual evidence presented and not what the A.D.A. says in her opening statement, that my client is guilty, you must convict. But if the state doesn’t have evidence, if they can’t prove to you, the distinguished jury, you must acquit. And I will show you, with each and every witness, that every piece of evidence against my client is circumstantial. There is no physical evidence linking Adam Bachman to any of these murders. No DNA evidence on the bodies or at the crime scene. No witness who can place Mr. Bachman at any of the crime scenes. In fact, the police don’t even know where these poor people were killed. Moreover, even the star witness for the prosecution, Ava Raines, could not pick Mr. Bachman out of a lineup. She doesn’t know how she got into the trunk of her car, and she doesn’t remember seeing Mr. Bachman the night she was abducted.
    “I must remind you—the state must prove its case. My client does not have to say a word; it is strictly up to Ms. Golden to produce solid evidence that Adam Bachman committed these crimes. And I will argue that the evidence is so weak, so circumstantial, that it means nothing. Once again, I will prove that the police rushed to judgment and didn’t consider other possible suspects. In fact, they had no suspects because there is no physical evidence against anyone—including my client.
    “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the state will fail to prove—beyond a reasonable doubt—that Adam Bachman is guilty. And therefore, I am certain, when you see that the state has built a case on weak, circumstantial evidence, you will render a verdict of not guilty.”
    *   *   *
     
    Riley Butler’s earliest clear memory was at her first ballet recital when she was four.
    After having two boys, Riley’s mom wanted a girly girl. Her dad had won on the gender-neutral first name, but her mom painted her room pink, gave her dolls and tea sets, and started her in gymnastics and ballet from the minute she could walk.
    Riley loved gymnastics—who wouldn’t love jumping on the trampoline and doing