Goddess of Justice Dwayne Clayden (i read book .TXT) 📖

“If it’s not Brad, and with the skills needed, it’s you.” Zerr grinned as he sipped his coffee.

“You’re a better candidate,” Steele said. “I’ll bet you did some nasty shit in Vietnam.”

Zerr shrugged. “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

“See, it must be you.”

“Other than Brad and us, who fits the bill?” Zerr asked. “What about Jackson?”

“Are you insane?”

“Hear me out. He had better training than us when he went to Los Angeles. He was injured in the explosion and he nearly died. But the important thing is, he’s been involved in this since the beginning. He knows everything about the murders, and he has access to court files. You don’t think of him because no one would.”

“What’s in your coffee?” Steele asked. “It’s not Jackson and it’s not tactical guys.”

Zerr rolled down his window. “If it’s a cop, then it is someone who has skills we don’t know about.”

“A cop with military experience?”

Zerr stared into his coffee cup. “Someone who is batshit crazy.”

“That’s most cops.”

“Most prosecutors, also,” Zerr said.

“Prosecutors? Are you crazy?”

“Jenni Blighe’s life was twisted upside down by Wolfe.”

“Now you’re the one who is batshit crazy,” Steele said. “What does she weigh? One hundred and ten?”

“Did you check her out when she arrived?”

“What?” Steele glanced at Zerr. “No. Did you? Does Annie know?”

“Listen, jerk, it was hard to miss. Her biceps and triceps aren’t just toned, she’s ripped. She might be small, but she is in great shape. I heard she was working out and taking self-defense classes, but it’s beyond that.”

“Being in great shape is one thing,” Steele said. “Where would she get the experience? It’s difficult to kill. You know that. We both remember our first kill.”

Zerr stared out his window toward the mountains. “Yup. And it will haunt me until the day I die.”

“Did it make your second kill easier?”

“I guess so.”

“Let’s say Brad is right, and the murders started with the drug dealer two months ago. There were hesitation marks on the first dealer. Then months later, another murder with the same MO, but no hesitation marks. A clean kill.”

“I still don’t see it as Blighe,” Zerr said. “There are other prosecutors who are frustrated.”

“Or judges.”

“I see where you’re going with this.”

Maggie was Judge Ethan Gray’s only daughter. He and his wife, Olivia, withdrew from society for months after Maggie’s murder. It was just recently that Judge Gray was back on the bench. Steele hadn’t been to his court yet, but other cops talked about the judge having no sympathy for the criminals and frequently giving the maximum sentence. As a result, many of his cases were being appealed. Rumor around the courthouse was that he’d be asked to take a leave of absence.

Zerr chewed on the brim of his cup. “That’s one angry man. If you think Brad took Maggie’s death hard, Judge Gray took it worse. You can see it in his eyes. They are dark coals of hatred. He has a perpetual scowl and snaps at everyone.”

Steele shifted in his seat and stretched his back. “He’s angry and he may want revenge, but that’s a lot different from being able to carry it out. I don’t think it’s Gray.”

“We have a list of people it isn’t,” Zerr said. “That doesn’t help us a lot.”

Steele drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “We’re looking at the wrong people.”

“How do you figure that?” Zerr asked.

“Right away we got stuck on the idea it had to be a guy like us, strong with extraordinary experience.”

“Some of the murders were pretty precise.”

“I agree.” Steele swung toward Zerr. “But the Russian girls talked of a small person and were surprised when Blighe mentioned a man. I heard them say that, but I didn’t pay attention. Martina thought she knew Blighe.”

Zerr’s eyes widened. “Blighe?”

“Why not. She is in great shape, she’s angry at the court system.”

“I don’t buy that.” Zerr leaned back and folded his arms.

Steele glanced at Zerr, “Annie.”

“Now I know you’re crazy,” Zerr shouted.

Steele grinned and held out his hands. “My point is we need to think differently.”

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, then Zerr said, “We agree Brad didn’t do any of the murders. I’m coming around to your idea the killer might be female.”

“Why all the evidence against Brad?” Steele asked.

“There’s that.” Zerr squished his coffee cup. “No evidence pointed to Brad until after the two drug dealers were stabbed and the pimp and driver were shot. Brad was nosing around on those two low-priority killings. Then, by luck, he gets the pimp and chauffer killings. They still seem random, but the killer gets worried because Brad is investigating all four murders.”

Steele leaned forward. “But how does the killer know Brad is poking around on the two dealer murders? No one knew he was doing it, except Sturgeon.”

“And you and me and Sturgeon’s staff and Griffin, Briscoe, Jackson, and …”

“Shit, lots of people,” Steele said.

“That’s my point.”

“If not Brad, then who?” Steele asked.

“That’s our mistake. We’re checking people close to Maggie or Brad. What if it’s not any of them? What if the killer has a hit list? The first killings didn’t point to Brad. Then the killer got worried and decided the best way to get Brad off the case was to frame him.”

Steele sat back, then nodded. “That’s not bad, Sherlock. So now what?”

“We need to figure out who had access to Brad, Lobo, and his gun so they could plant the evidence.”

“Makes sense. Who do you have in mind?”

Zerr huffed out an exhale. “Not a fucking clue.”

Chapter Sixty-Three

Bright lights shone on Sadie as she presented the noon news broadcast. She stared at the camera as she read the prompts. “Calgary Police have extended their manhunt for Detective Bradley Coulter outside the province and issued a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest. Officials at the Canadian and US border have also been notified. As previously reported, Coulter is the primary suspect in several murders of known