Lethal Innocence (Jessie Black Legal Thrillers Book 7) by Larry A. Winters

Author:Larry A. Winters [Winters, Larry A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2020-03-19T16:00:00+00:00

22

It was hours after most people had gone home for the night, but Jessie barely noticed. She stared bleary-eyed at her monitor, scrolling through trial transcripts and judicial decisions, office memos, public records—everything she’d been able to find about Ned Ransom.

A gnawing sense of guilt dogged her as she skimmed one document after another, looking for … she wasn’t sure what she was looking for. But she would know it when she found it.

“Hungry?”

Jessie looked up. Mark Leary stood in her doorway. A heavy-looking plastic bag hung from his right hand. From it emanated the unmistakable aroma of fresh Chinese food. “You really are the perfect man, Leary.”

“Would you have married me otherwise?”

“Possibly. You are very attractive.”

He laughed, came inside, and immediately began to unpack their dinner onto her desk. Steam rose as he pried the lids off of plastic cartons. General Tso’s chicken. Beef with broccoli. Fried rice. She wondered how many dinners they would eat here at the DA’s Office instead of at home, like a normal husband and wife. She remembered what Leary had said the other day and felt a rush of concern. One day we’ll want a house, with room for kids. Not too far in the future, right? She pushed away the memory.

“You look lost in thought,” Leary said. “Or maybe you’re still dwelling on my attractiveness?” He grinned mischievously.

“Nope. Lost in thought.”

“About Ransom? I can help with the research. You may not know this about me, but I happen to be a detective.”

“I appreciate the offer, but….” That feeling of guilt returned, burning in the pit of her stomach. “It’s bad enough I’m going behind his back, combing through his cases looking for signs of misconduct. It would be even worse if I put a DA’s Office detective on the job. Do you know what I mean?”

She didn’t think he would understand, but he surprised her by nodding. “Sure. Cops hate investigating each other. That’s why when cops have a party, no one invites the Internal Affairs guys.”

She smiled, knowing he was joking. Mostly joking, anyway. “It feels terrible to second-guess another prosecutor, but if we look the other way and ignore misconduct just because the perpetrator is ‘one of us,’ then the system will eventually fail and no one will be safe anymore. I sound preachy. I’m sorry. It’s just….”

“I know,” he said reassuringly. “The system needs to be fair and just in order to work. No argument here. If Ransom is a criminal, we need to expose him.”

Criminal. The word brought yet another stab of guilt. There was a big difference between being an unpleasant person and a criminal. She gestured at the document on her screen, a trial transcript from a murder case Ransom tried three years ago. “I’m not saying Ransom is a criminal. I mean, not yet. That’s why I’m doing this.”

He pushed a carton of General Tso’s chicken closer to her. “You should eat, Jess.”

“I will in a second.”

“It’s better hot.”

“Chinese food? That’s debatable.”

“You think everything’s debatable.” He speared a piece of chicken and popped it into his mouth.

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