Unsympathetic Victims: A Legal Thriller (Ashley Montgomery Book 1) by Laura Snider

Author:Laura Snider [Snider, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn River Publishing
Published: 2021-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

21

Katie

December 12th – 12:00 p.m.

Katie wanted to follow up on the jail footage, but she had to leave that to George. She was due back at the police station for an interview with Brooke Mason. Brooke had completed her jail sentence for spitting on George early with good time credit and credit for time served and been released the night before. It didn’t take long before Brooke’s husband, Christopher, had assaulted her again, but this time Brooke had decided to cooperate with Christopher’s prosecution.

Katie had not been the arresting officer, but she didn’t mind taking over the investigation. Christopher was a potential suspect in Von Reich’s murder, but he refused to talk to law enforcement. If Brooke was willing to discuss her husband’s assault, she might also agree to talk about Christopher’s whereabouts during Von Reich’s murder.

Brooke showed up right on time—noon on the dot. Katie was waiting for her at the front door. She ushered Brooke down several winding hallways and motioned for her to enter the interview room. The room was sparsely furnished, containing a large table with ten rolling chairs surrounding it.

“Please,” Katie said, motioning to the chair closest to the door, “have a seat.”

The suggested seating was intentional. Brooke was nervous. Her eyes were wide and shifty, like a deer searching for predators. Brooke was poised and ready to run at any sign of danger. Katie thought Brooke might feel more comfortable if there was nothing standing between her and the exit.

Brooke nodded gratefully and sat down.

Katie sat across from her. “So, you had a bit of a rough night,” Katie said. She produced a pen and a small spiral notebook from her pocket and placed them on the table.

Brooke nodded. She kept her eyes downcast and her shoulders hunched forward. Low self-esteem. It was typical of domestic victims.

“It looks like you have quite the shiners there,” Katie nodded toward Brooke’s face. Both of her eyes were black.

“I went to Brine County Medical Center this morning. My nose is broken.”

Katie nodded. Black eyes were common with a broken nose. “What about your neck there?” A welt ran all the way across Brooke’s neck, thin as a switch and an angry red color.

Brooke’s hands came up to her neck. A reflex. She’d spent so many years hiding her injuries. “Oh, this.”

“Did Christopher do that, too?”

Brooke chewed her lip, then nodded.

Katie’s blood boiled. She wanted to march straight over to the jail and throttle Christopher. But she could not. That was not her job. Her job was to listen, and Brooke needed to tell her story.

“Let’s take a step back, okay?”

Brooke nodded.

“The 9-1-1 call came in at two a.m., and I know what happened after that.”

Katie had already read through the arresting officer’s notes. They were brief, but he covered the gist of things. Christopher had punched Brooke multiple times in the face. She fell to the ground, and he wrapped a cord from a phone charger around her neck, strangling her. Brooke kicked him in the balls hard enough to make him double over in pain.

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