Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 163802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 819(@200wpm)___ 655(@250wpm)___ 546(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 819(@200wpm)___ 655(@250wpm)___ 546(@300wpm)
“Ms. Thorne!” Balogun barked, snapping the knife down. “That is enough— We are doing no such thing!”
“It’s true,” I seized. “Something isn’t right. You told me yourself, Officer Davis, that whoever attacked and killed my mother would’ve been covered in blood, but Courtney didn’t have a drop on her last night.”
“That’s true,” Mr. Stevens blurted, color returning to his face. “That’s right, she didn’t have a drop of blood on her. She didn’t even have a hair out of place. She’s perfect— I mean, she was perfect. Last night.”
“See?” Courtney said, hope rising. “That proves it. I left my bag in an unlocked guest room all night. Anyone could’ve put—”
“If someone put a bloody knife in your bag,” Davis sliced in, “wouldn’t you have seen it this morning when you changed your clothes?”
Courtney stiffened, flicking down to her flowy, brown maxi dress. “Well, then, someone put it in after I changed,” she snapped. “I was forced to leave my bag unattended when you ordered me into the ballroom this morning,” she told Davis. “It was you, wasn’t it. You put the knife in there.”
“I beg your pardon?” Davis sputtered.
“Yeah, my friend told me all about you.” Courtney’s nose twisted like she smelled something foul. “About how you were creeping on her seconds after peeling her out of a totaled car. You were grilling her on why she didn’t have a boyfriend, if she lived alone, and why she wasn’t wearing that hot little miniskirt you found in her trunk!”
“What!?”
“Even now, you’re still feeling her up even though she stopped resisting ten minutes ago!”
Davis flung me away like I burned, only for me to spin on him.
“Everything she said is true,” I flung. “Plus, just last night Davis told me he hates working security. He told me right to my face that he only did it because he was bribed”—Davis’s eyes bugged out of his head—“if that’s not corrupt, what is?”
“That’s not true. None of that’s true,” Davis bellowed.
Hey, I knew I was twisting everything to make Davis look bad, but I didn’t call myself Courtney’s ride or die for the fun of it. She was my best friend who had my back even after ten years of radio silence. I’d sure as fuck have hers.
Besides, if there was one thing I learned after four years of high school mock trial, it was that the truth didn’t win in court.
The best argument did.
“Oh my goodness.” “This doesn’t sound right.” “Police corruption.” “All you care about is your case-closure rate. Can’t be bothered to conduct a real investigation.”
Murmurs and not-so-whispered whispers rolled over the crowd. If these people were my jury, they were definitely voting not guilty.
“Hey, let her go,” someone shouted. “Anyone can stick a knife in an unattended bag.”
“Yeah,” Mr. Stevens put in, stepping forth. “All you’ve got for motive is a year-old argument and a few thrown cupcakes? That’s a joke.”
“Yeah!” More than a few people were shouting now. “Uncuff that poor woman and find some real evidence.”
“Stop—! Stay back!” Balogun shouted. “Officers? Officers, control this crowd!”
The order was warranted. They were pushing and shoving onto the front steps. The gawkers were quickly becoming a mob.
“Do not move, or you’re all under arrest,” Balogun carried on. “We have means, a multimillion-dollar motive, and opportunity! This is a lawful arrest; you will not interfere!”
“Where is the bloody dress?” I demanded, and the crowd immediately took up the chant.
“Where is the dress?” “Show us the dress!”
Balogun and Kaplan stumbled down a step, pushed back by the line of officers that pushed through the crowd and were forming a barrier between them and us.
“Ms. Thorne must’ve stashed the bloody dress somewhere—”
A raucous chorus of boos thundered over Kaplan.
“Bullshit,” I chimed in. “You’re saying Courtney found a hiding place for the bloody dress that was apparently so good you can’t find it, but then went full idiot and put the murder weapon in her bag? The bag she gave you permission to search! Why wouldn’t she have stashed the knife in the same place she put the dress?”
“That’s right,” Mr. Stevens blared at Kaplan’s reddening face. “Explain that.”
“I don’t have to explain it,” Kaplan replied. “That’s for a jury to determine—”
“BOOO!”
“What kind of shitty reply is that? This is someone’s life you’re talking about!”
“Lazy,” someone else shouted. “You’re just lazy!”
Right then, I took back absolutely every snooty thing I thought about Sue’s high-society posse. These were the best damn people in the world.
“Hello, everyone.” The Chic Ghost shot her phone up above the heads of the officers. “You’re live with me in Lantana where a horrible miscarriage of justice is happening right before my eyes. Detectives Lazy One and Lazy Two, along with Officer Pervert over there—!”
“Stop that!” Balogun bellowed. All of a sudden, she wasn’t interested in hamming it up for the cameras. “Put that away!”