Dead Reckoning by Linda Castillo Read Free Book Online Page B

the old rage building inside her, like a tumor festering and swelling until she thought she would burst from the pressure.
    She knew what it was like to be a victim. She knew what it was like to have choice and dignity stripped away. She knew what it was like to be hurt and terrified and humiliated. To be the object of another’s savage cruelty and helpless to stop it.
    Kate jolted when the tape played out. Looking quickly around, she pulled her thoughts back from a place she rarely let them venture. Rising, she turned off the VCR, then turned to her team. “My apologies. I didn’t know the tape was quite so graphic.”
    “It’s definitely going to help convict him,” David Perrine said.
    “There’s no jury in the world that won’t respond to that,” Marissa Riley added.
    Kate continued. “The arraignment is this afternoon. Bruton Ellis will be formally charged with two counts of first degree murder, one count of sexual assault, and one count of aggravated robbery. It is our job to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this man did, indeed, commit these atrocious crimes.”
    Picking up her legal pad, she began to pace, her mind already leaping ahead to all of the things that needed to be done. “Marissa, I want documents filed this morning. Get us on the docket so we can move forward as quickly as possible after the arraignment. Call the Dallas PD Evidence room and the lead detective and let him know I’ll be there this afternoon to review evidence. I’ll also want a copy of the interview tape between the detectives and the subject. I want copies of reports from officers on the scene. All by this afternoon.”
    “You got it,” the junior ADA said.
    Kate glanced at her investigator. “David, I want a comprehensive background check on Bruton Ellis. I want arrest records. Convictions. Time served. I want to know if he was ever treated for substance abuse or mental illness. I want to know about his friends and family. I want to know what brand of toothpaste he uses. We don’t want any surprises. And I want all this information yesterday.”
    “Hopping into my time machine as we speak.” Gathering his coffee cup and notes, he rose.
    “Liz, get me everything you can on the convenience store. I want to know if it is corporately owned or a franchise. I want to know if it has been hit before. I want a profile of both the corporation and, if it’s a franchise, the franchisee of record—”
    Kate bit off the words when the conference room door swung open. The room went silent when a tall man in a nicely cut charcoal suit entered. She knew it was crazy, but for a bizarre instant she felt as if she were in danger. Like maybe this man had snapped and at any moment was going to pull out a gun and start shooting people. He had an edgy, unpredictable look about him. A look that told anyone with a brain to tread carefully.
    “Can I help you?” she asked.
    A quiver of something she couldn’t quite identify went through her when his gaze fastened on hers. His eyes were an unusual shade that wasn’t quite brown and not quite green. It was an earthy shade that reminded her of the deep woods of East Texas. Green that faded to black as night descended and the forest became one with the shadows.
    Kate had dealt with people of all walks of life in the two years she’d worked in the DA’s office. Experience had taught her to recognize certain types of people by the way they looked, their mannerisms, the emotions and thoughts she read on their faces and in their eyes. But nothing had prepared her for what she saw when she peered into the disturbing depths of this man’s eyes. He had the look of a person who had seen a lot of things, and she knew instinctively that some of those things had been ugly, that they’d disturbed him in some deep and profound way.
    “Sorry I’m late.” Looking appropriately repentant, he closed the door silently behind him, limped to the conference table, pulled out a chair, and sat