Court of Killers by William Bernhardt

Author:William Bernhardt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: legal thriller, mystery, suspense, courtroom drama, courtroom, lawyer, attorney, Daniel Pike, Ben Kincaid
Publisher: Babylon Books
Published: 2019-07-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Dan knocked on the door. He thought he heard scuffling inside, followed by the rapid-fire pattering of footsteps.

Benji opened the door. “Oh. Dan. I didn’t expect you.”

“I texted Camila.”

“Guess she forgot to mention it. Come in.”

He followed her inside. Socks, no shoes. No clipboard. “You two busy?”

They sat in the living room. “Just going over Camila’s schedule.”

“Is there that much to go over?”

“Not really. But she’s come to depend upon me. She still thinks of me as her chief-of-staff. And I’d rather be helping her than that blowhard currently occupying her office. Denton hired someone else to be his chief-of-staff. A man, naturally.”

“I hope you haven’t got extensive plans...”

“You told Camila to keep a low profile. And by her standards, she has. But as you know, the video of her press conference has been tweeted and retweeted all across the universe. Women’s groups are asking her to speak. Not just in Florida. All over the country.”

“I think it would be best if she declined. Until the trial is over.”

“Which is what I said. But no one tells Camila what to do.”

“How well I know that.”

Camila entered the room. House slippers. Hair loose. No makeup. Jeans. This was perhaps the first time he had ever seen her dressed so casually, unless you counted when he saw her in jail. “How goes my crusading knight?” she said, smiling and taking his hand.

“Slaying dragons as best I can.”

“Can you spring me from captivity? I feel like a caged bird in here.”

“Not yet. As far as I’m concerned, you should be out of the public eye until the first day of the trial.” They both sat on the couch. “Which sadly, is almost upon us.”

“Any breakthroughs?”

“Nothing major. Garrett has done some great research and I think I can poke a few holes in the forensic testimony. But what I don’t have is a credible alternative suspect. Even if I could find someone who might conceivably kill Nick Mansfield—why kill the other three? What links them together?”

“Have the police managed to identify the others?”

“Only two. Jonathan Primo and Sean Callahan. Ever heard of them?”

She pondered a moment. “The names do ring a bell.”

Benji snapped her fingers. “Isn’t Callahan the guy I sent to the office, I don’t know, several months ago. The plumber?”

The light dawned in Camila’s eyes. “Tall guy. Ripped. Square jaw.”

Benji grinned. “That was the one.”

“Oh, yes.” She laughed. “We had some kind of problem, didn’t we? I remember he lit into me in the office one afternoon.”

“And Primo?”

“The professor. Major pain in the neck. Threatened to expose some non-existent skullduggery.”

“You disliked him?”

“Very much. But not badly enough to bake him.”

“Someone did. Are you seeing how bad this is for us? Two newly identified victims—who both have connections to you.”

Camila nodded. “Have you considered the possibility that the selection of victims was...random?”

“What do you mean?”

“A serial killer. Someone who kills for pleasure, for gratification, not for a traditional motive.”

“There’s another possible explanation,” Benji said. “Smoke screen. Disguise the reason for killing one victim by tossing in three strangers.

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