Devil's Bargain (Cass Leary Legal Thriller Series Book 3) by Robin James

Author:Robin James [James, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Robin James Books
Published: 2019-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

The state called Detective Carla Ellis Whitney to the stand next. She looked as strong as Catherine Channing had looked frail. Impeccably dressed in a cream-colored suit, her dark skin stood out in luminous contrast. She wore her braids gathered into an intricate bun. Detective Whitney’s voice was calm and almost melodic as she took her oath and answered Tony Abbato’s establishing questions.

Whitney had joined the Detroit Police Department after serving with the Wayne County Sheriffs for twenty years. In her over thirty-year law enforcement career she’d served on multiple drug task forces and earned both state and national commendations. She was flawless, likable, formidable. She had worked as a homicide detective for more than a decade and cleared hundreds of cases including one of the oldest cold cases in Michigan two years ago. The jury sat with rapt attention and admiration, hanging on every word this woman said. Then Abbato got to the scene of the crime.

“Detective,” he said. “Can you tell the jury what you found on the night of October nineteenth?”

“Well, it was actually in the morning of the twentieth, Counselor. I was called to the scene at approximately eleven a.m. We had reports of a white male victim, late thirties, early forties. When I got there, the area had been cordoned off by our crew. The Crime Scene Response Team arrived when I did. I coordinated with their efforts and took statements from the uniformed officers. Mrs. Channing was still on scene. She was visibly upset. She had been placed in the back of a patrol car to get her out of view of any onlookers.”

“Were there onlookers?” he asked.

“Well, we had quite a presence at that point. I think it was six or seven patrol cars. The CSRT van. The tape was visible from the street as we didn’t want anyone else coming in or out. The property is located in a wooded area. The construction site where the house was being built was at the end of a winding, quarter-mile drive. The main road leading into it is rather well trafficked. So yes, cars were beginning to slow as they drove by. We wanted to make sure we controlled who was coming in and out.”

“What did you find when you arrived?”

“Well, the victim, as I said, was a white male, approximately forty years old. He was lying at the bottom of a pit dug for the foundation of the house. He was wearing a business suit. He was wearing only one shoe. He appeared to have been strangled. Garroted, actually. We found wire around his neck which was later determined to be piano wire. It was embedded into his flesh approximately one inch.”

There was an audible gasp from one of the jurors. Juror number seven remained stoic, respectful as Detective Whitney delivered her testimony with cool reserve. I knew what was coming next.

“May I direct your attention to what’s been marked as exhibit four for identification?”

Whitney cleared her throat and lifted a photograph.

“Do you recognize this photo?” he said.

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