Keller County Cops Book Seven: Code of Vengeance by Melanie Atkins Read Free Book Online

pink sign.
    "Damn it." Keegan pressed on the gas and kept going instead of pulling into the appropriate lot. If she stopped and got out, the man might be able to identify her to the cops. At the very least, he'd probably be able to describe her car. The bright red Nissan stood out like a beacon in this tacky neighborhood. She'd have to come back later, and preferably on the Kawasaki. Why didn't she think of that before she came here? She muttered another oath.
    Just as she made her way back to Main Street, the bottom dropped out and fat raindrops beat a heavy cadence against the windshield. Keegan was suddenly glad she hadn't ridden the motorcycle back over here. The air had gotten noticeably cooler too, since the clouds had moved in, and with the rain, she might have developed hypothermia. Still, with storms forecasted to keep rolling in all night, she couldn't come back to the club until after work tomorrow. Dismayed by the delay, she squeezed the steering wheel.
    What if the cops had already found the earring? She might never know, unless they found something to tie her to it. With that in mind, worrying about the situation wouldn't help one bit. Still, her nerves remained on edge.
    To help take her mind off last night's fiasco, she stopped by to see Haley and spent a few hours playing on the floor with her niece so her mom and dad could go to church without having to put the child in the nursery with the flu going around. The little girl was walking now and kept getting into everything. Keegan couldn't help lamenting that poor Jenny would never see her baby running and playing or know the joy of hearing her laugh.
    On her way home, Keegan ran by the grocery store to buy some soup for supper. She also picked up some chicken and vegetables for stir fry later in the week. Might as well concentrate on the little things rather than focusing on things she couldn't control, like the weather.
    Keegan spent the afternoon and evening cooking, working out, and brainstorming about her new plan. The idea would only be viable if the police didn't find her earring and tie her to Dirk's murder, of course. Even if they didn't -- and she was counting on that -- before she could make a solid plan, she had to locate a fresh target.
    Work should provide her with one, even though the number of trials she covered on a yearly basis had dwindled. Thanks to the many hours she spent sketching courtroom drama and the time she put in helping the court clerk between trials, she had access not only to criminal cases involving men accused of spousal abuse, but also to all of the case files. Finding a jackass who'd beaten the system should be a piece of cake. Once she zeroed in on a target, she'd do her research and come up with a strategy.
    Despite her hope that the cops didn't have her earring and her plan to scout out a new target at the courthouse, she tossed and turned all night. If only she had time to run by the club before work. Unfortunately, she overslept and barely had time to scarf down a piece of toast slathered with peanut butter, before making herself a sandwich for lunch. She threw an apple and a bottle of water into the bag with it, along with a granola bar in case she wanted an afternoon snack. Not the best lunch or snack, but over the last few months she'd sunk all of her extra funds into equipment, self-defense classes, and her motorcycle, so she had to cut corners wherever she could. At least for a while.
    She ducked out the door into the rain just in time to make it to the courthouse for the big trial on tap for today: Keller County vs. Ronald Wicker, a case that had already garnered her attention. Just thinking about it made her skin prickle.
    Ronald Wicker was on trial for murdering his wife, the former Rosemary Preston, by beating her to death. Both the Wicker and Preston families had lived in Hunter's Bayou for decades, so the courtroom would be full. Nothing like a little family drama to bring out the town.
    Judge Oscar Rouse,