Pushed Too Far: A Thriller by Ann Voss Peterson, Blake Crouch Read Free Book Online Page B

“See? That wasn’t so hard. Some people can answer a simple question.”
    Tamara didn’t say a word or make a movement, but Val swore she could see the woman withdraw like a turtle retreating into her shell at his threat.
    “Is that why you killed the woman at the Meinholz farm and burned her body? Justice? Did Kelly’s father do something to you?”
    He shook his head, slowly, deliberately. “Prison is a bad place to be, Chief Val. You have no idea how much noise and smell a shithole full of men can produce. Not to mention the never ending mystery over whether your cellie is more interested in fucking or killing you. But that isn’t the worst part. Do you know what is?”
    Val didn’t answer.
    “The worst part is losing what was mine. That’s what it all comes down to, isn’t it? You want to really hurt a man, you take away what he loves the most. You take away what’s
his
.”
    “What did you lose, Hess?”
    “My son. My freedom. My reputation.”
    Despite her effort to control her response, Val let out a disbelieving huff on that last one.
    Hess raised his brows. “You don’t think my reputation is important to me?”
    “Maybe I should call down to Omaha and see what the police there think.”
    “Maybe you should. And if you really do believe in justice, and you look hard enough at the evidence in that case—not what the cops made up—you’ll see it all doesn’t tie together like you want it to.”
    He leaned toward Tamara, taking a peek at her watch. “Now we have a hearing to get ready for. If you want to chat again, I’ll see you on the outside.”

Chapter
Seven
    V al squinted through the salt-spotted windshield at the county courthouse. She wasn’t sure how long a habeas corpus hearing and press conference would take, but as the sun dipped closer to the horizon and shadows deepened on the fresh snow, she had the feeling it wasn’t merely night that was creeping over her little town.
    “You okay, Chief?”
    At the sound of Becca’s voice, Val started. After her disastrous interview with Hess, culminating in his do-you-believe-in-justice threat and reference to the Omaha case, she’d returned to Lake Loyal and started going through the reports she’d had sent up from Nebraska for her original investigation. Since Hess had been acquitted in the Omaha murder, Monica hadn’t been able to use any of it at trial, but the evidence in that case had given Val insight into the kind of man she was dealing with. Now she realized the file was woefully incomplete.
    If there was something specific about that case Hess was referring to, she couldn’t see it. So she’d called the Omaha PD and requested further reports, and then unable to sit around and wait for Armageddon, she’d decided to drive to the courthouse and watch it begin. Her eager rookie officer had talked her way into driving her there.
    “I’m fine. Just a little tired,” Val said. She turned to face the driver’s side of the squad car and noticed Becca eyeing her hand. She stuffed it into her pocket.
    “You sure you’re okay?”
    “Fingers are just stiff. Probably a little arthritis or carpal tunnel or something.”
    “I have ibuprofen in my bag.”
    Val waved off the offer. “It’s nothing. I just wish they’d hurry up. How long can a habeas corpus hearing take?”
    “And a press conference.”
    Of course. Val wouldn’t want to forget the press conference. She could imagine the headlines and front page photos peppering newspapers and local TV across Wisconsin tonight.
    INNOCENT MAN FREED AFTER MURDER VICTIM FOUND IN FROZEN LAKE.
    Innocent.
    She shook her head. If she was really lucky, they’d include a photo of her from the old investigation footage; her blond hair tied back, her uniform making her look severe and more than a little pear shaped. And maybe they’d even point out that this false conviction had landed her the job of police chief, that she’d built her career on the back of this poor, downtrodden, innocent