Sinner by Ted Dekker Read Free Book Online

Animals were known to come in now and then, but this sounded too . . . regular . . .
    Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
    The sound was now loud enough to wake the dead. Like a hammer.
    She jumped from the bed and whirled, looking for . . . unsure of what to look for. A weapon, but she had no gun. A knife.
    Slow down, Darcy. It’s a deer or a raccoon. Just go out and take a look .
    Thunk, thunk, thunk .
    The sound had shifted. Darcy reached a trembling hand for the bed-room doorknob, turned it slowly, and eased the door open.
    She crouched and hurried into the dark living room on the balls of her feet, eyes peeled and pointed toward the front door.
    Bang .
    Just one, but it was loud and it was most definitely the sound of some-thing hitting the front door. Right there, not ten feet from where Darcy stood in the dark. Then another one.
    Bang!
    Move, move, go, go . Go where? She stood fixed to the floor with fear. Should she call out? What? Hey you? What do you want? No.
    Should she call the police? Yes. Yes, the police. And tell them what? The thoughts crashing through her mind were chased off by another loud bang .
    There was a window that looked out onto the front door from the breakfast nook on her left. Without allowing herself any more delay, Darcy crept to the window, carefully spread two of the blinds, and peered out into the night.
    There was a large man at her door dressed in a black trench coat. He held a hammer the length of his arm and was sealing her in with planks and long nails through the door. Thunk, thunk .
    Had sealed her doorway.
    The man stood back, lowered the huge hammer. Slowly, as if it were controlled by small electric motors, his head turned and looked in her direction.
    Darcy’s blood turned to ice.

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    CHAPTER FIVE
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    NOT EVERYONE knew where in Atlantic City Ricardo Muness could be found, but Billy did. He knew because he’d been in the office at the back of the Lady Luck Hotel and Casino twice before. Once with Anthony Sacks, making a desperate and successful plea to double his credit from $150,000, and again three months later to be told that he would be defending that same scumbag, Anthony Sacks, who had vouched for his credit worthiness.
    Tonight he went alone, knowing that his chances of leaving the Lady Luck with all four limbs intact were smaller than a blind throw of the dice at the craps table.
    He hadn’t changed his shirt or the black slacks since leaving the court-room. Personal hygiene, dress, food—none of these rated high on his list of priorities today.
    Survival went straight to the top spot. Self-preservation was the only thing on his mind, gnawing the edges of his brain into frayed pasta.
    He walked down a dingy hall behind the casino, ducked into a stair-well, and descended to the underground level.
    After a series of motions and objections thrown about by his own client and the prosecution, the judge had dismissed the jury and demanded counsel meet her in her chambers immediately.
    She was curious as to Billy’s tactics in the courtroom, even wondered if he hadn’t pulled off a brilliant defense in what she thought had been a fore-gone trial. The jury would have seen through the last witness, she thought.
    You could go places, Counselor. Get a grip on your life. And put on a clean shirt the next time you stand before a judge.
    But she didn’t say any of it. She only expressed her dismay at his antics in her courtroom and demanded that prosecution and defense present closing arguments next. No more motions, no more surprise witnesses, this case was going to the jury room first thing Monday.
    So agreed.
    It no longer mattered. Billy wasn’t going to be around Monday morning or any morning, for that matter.
    â€œCan I help you?” A hand on his chest stopped him.
    â€œYes, counselor of Anthony Sacks. I have to see Ricardo Muness immediately.”
    â€œHe knows you’re coming?” The man was dressed in a blue pinstripe suit that