Leading the Witness by Carsen Taite

Author:Carsen Taite [Taite, Carsen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635555400
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2019-09-02T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Catherine knew the moment she’d instructed Doris to make the call that she wouldn’t be able to keep her identity hidden any longer, but she hadn’t expected Starr to reach the conclusion on her own. But should she really be surprised? She’d been dropping hints like crazy. She could almost hear Dr. M saying, “You wanted her to know.”

Was she right? She’d gone to such lengths to prevent anyone in her life from knowing her past, and the isolation was sometimes paralyzing. Relationships, whether friendships or more, were always cut short when they reached the point of reciprocal sharing. Sometimes she was the one to sever the ties, but often it was the other person who believed she was keeping secrets. And she was. She’d always imagined that someday she’d find someone with whom she felt like she could share the story of her past, but as time passed the probability faded, and she’d learned to embrace her career as her only refuge. But the moment this wretched bouquet showed up in her office, she knew that part of her world was no longer safe either. When Starr blurted out her question, she had no choice but to tell the truth.

“Yes, I am.”

Starr sank into the chair across from the desk, and for the first time, Catherine realized she was not alone. The detective working on the case, Pearson, was standing in the doorway, looking at the two of them like he was watching a suspense flick and he wasn’t sure if he should be there. Catherine waved toward him. “You may as well join us. Is the crime scene unit on the way?”

Pearson pointed at the bouquet. “Do you mind if I take a closer look?” he asked.

“Be my guest. I haven’t touched it other than to read the card and I used tweezers.” She pointed to the tweezers still sitting on her desk. “I took a photo of the message.” She handed him her phone.

Starr leaned over to look, and they both scanned the image. Starr looked up at her. “So it is him.”

“It appears so.” It was easiest to keep the conversation short to avoid betraying the level of anxiety coursing through her.

“Are you okay?” Starr asked, and Catherine was surprised to see genuine concern reflected in her eyes. But she couldn’t afford to dwell on it or she’d break down right there.

“Yes,” she said.

Pearson cleared his throat and they both looked in his direction. “Sorry, ladies, but I’m just catching up. Would someone mind filling me in?”

Starr started to speak, but Catherine held up a hand to stop her. This was her story to tell and she’d rehearsed exactly what she wanted to say when she’d told Doris to make the call. “When I was young, my name was Jill Winfield. I lived in Albuquerque with my mother. My father left us when I was eight years old. When I was twelve, my mother was killed and I was abducted from our home by a man named Russell Pratt who used to do handyman work in the neighborhood.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.