Chasing The Dead (An Alex Stone Thriller) Read Online Free PDF Page A

muscles and keep her mind off what she had to tell the judge. She quickly churned up a sweat, removing her jacket and getting into a rhythm as the judge cleaned out the stalls and she layered in fresh straw and bedding. An hour later they were finished and sitting on a wooden bench, each holding a cold bottle of beer.
    “After a while,” West said, “you don’t even notice the smell.”
    “I’ll take your word for it because I’m not there yet.”
    “Well, don’t worry,” he said, patting her knee. “Given enough time, you can get used to just about anything.”
    Alex flinched at his touch, pulling away as she set her bottle on the bench. “Why do I think you’re not talking about horseshit?”
    “Horseshit or bullshit, it all stinks, and somebody’s got to clean it up. That’s what you and I are doing. These stalls are no different than the people you defend, though my horses are a hell of a lot smarter. Your clients go through life crapping on everyone and everything, and, hell, half the time they get community service or probation. And the ones that go to prison don’t stay there long enough because the fucking prosecutor gave them a sweetheart deal or because the prison is overcrowded. And you know what they do when they get out? They rape, rob, or murder someone else. Over half of them are back behind bars three years after they get out. You know what Missouri’s recidivism rate is? It’s fifty-four point goddamn four percent, third highest in the entire goddamn country.”
    Alex had heard the judge’s speech enough times to know it by heart. For him, the statistics were personal insults.
    “I know,” Alex said as she stood and faced the judge.
    He squinted at her, his head turned slightly to one side as if to get a better view of her.
    “You look like someone who’s got more to say, and I don’t think I’m going to like it.”
    She took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m done. I can’t do this anymore.”
    “All right. I’ll clean the stalls on my own from now on.”
    “You know that’s not what I’m talking about. Kalena Greene offered John Atwell a deal for fifteen years. He told me to take it and I did.”
    “You know that I was going to deny your motion.”
    “Yes, I know that.”
    “And what would have happened after that?”
    Alex stiffened and stuck her hands in her jeans pockets, resenting that he was treating her like a schoolgirl. “Kalena would have withdrawn her offer and my client would have been convicted.”
    “That’s right. And I would have sentenced him to life on the robbery and a hundred years on the armed criminal action and he would have been off the street forever. You do understand that.”
    Alex bristled. “Of course I do.”
    The judge rose, his face reddening. “That day you came in my chambers crying about what a bad man Dwayne Reed was, you told me that you’d do whatever it took to get rid of him and all the others like him. So what happened? Did you stay up late last night reading a John Grisham fairy tale and get all excited about the majesty of the law?”
    Alex planted her hands on her hips, not backing down. They weren’t in the courtroom, where she had to feign respect.
    “Something like that. Anyway, I’m done. From now on, I’m playing all my cases straight. You and I can’t meet like this anymore.”
    “For Christ’s sake, Alex! You had the balls to shoot Dwayne Reed to death and now you’re telling me that because you had a conscience fart you’re gonna let John Atwell get off with fifteen years, which isn’t even fifteen because he’ll be eligible for parole in three fucking years!”
    They stared at each other, Alex refusing to blink. “Kalena made the offer, I conveyed it, and my client accepted it. End of story. You and I are done.”
    “I don’t think so. Wait here,” Judge West said. He lumbered toward his house, went inside, and returned a few minutes later, handing Alex a large manila envelope. “Take a