Guilty by Karen Fenech

Author:Karen Fenech [Fenech, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

After a brief stop to retrieve her briefcase from Galbraith, Ryan escorted Faith into the courtroom and left her with the uniformed officer assigned to dog her every step. With Chet Dooley cleared, Ryan had no other leads. Galbraith had come back with the report from the crime scene team. They’d found nothing. The lenses of the security cameras had been sprayed with black paint, recording nothing. Ryan didn’t believe it was a coincidence that the cameras had been disabled right before Faith’s attack. It was another indicator that Faith’s attack had not been random. Someone had planned for the security cameras and the lot lights. As Ryan had expected, the canvass was a bust. All of which left them nowhere.

The thought of whoever had hurt Faith still walking around had a fire burning in Ryan’s gut. He had Faith’s list, but he also wanted to speak with Dee. She may have observed something or someone unusual around Faith.

At Dee’s house, Ryan rang the bell. Hector opened the door.

“Ryan.” Hector stepped back. “Come in.”

Hector’s expression was grim. Had he and Dee already heard about Faith’s attack? “Querida,” Hector said. “Ryan is here to speak to us.”

An instant later, Dee entered the hall. She was holding a dish rag with both hands, her fingers bunched around the fabric.

“Ryan. I can’t say we weren’t expecting you,” Dee said.

“Then you heard.”

“We received a call from Tommy’s principal. He told us that the parents of one of the boys would be pressing charges against Tommy.”

Ryan frowned. “Tommy?”

“No matter what the other boys are saying, it wasn’t Tommy’s fault.” Dee’s voice was tight. “Tommy has never been the type to get into fights at school. He isn’t talking, but I know my son. He wouldn’t hurt anyone without reason.”

“Tommy was in a fight?”

“You don’t know?” Hector asked.

Ryan shook his head. “I’m not here about Tommy.”

Hector cast a look at Dee. “We believed—”

Dee cut her husband off. “If not Tommy, then why are you here?”

The hostility Ryan had grown accustomed to since he’d left Faith was back in Dee’s manner, her stance, her voice. Her round face pulled taut. “It’s about Faith.”

Dee’s eyes narrowed. Lines at her mouth and eyes puckered. “What about her?”

“Faith was assaulted last night.”

Dee gasped. “How is she? What happened? Where is she? How badly is she hurt?” Dee’s voice cracked. “I have to go to her.”

Ryan was grateful for her response. “At the moment she’s at the courthouse. I just left her there.”

Hector rubbed Dee’s back gently. “I’ll stay here. Make sure Tommy doesn’t go out.”

Ryan wondered briefly why Tommy, who Ryan had never known to give his parents any trouble, was fighting at school and was now under house arrest. But he dismissed the thought and asked the question that had brought him here. “Dee, we haven’t got the guy who assaulted Faith. I’ve asked her for a list of professional and business acquaintances. You’re her closest friend. Do you know of anyone who might want to hurt her?”

Before Dee could reply, Tommy charged into the room.

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