Murder One Read Online Free PDF

stunning turn of events that some are already calling the greatest miscarriage of justice in the history of the state of Oklahoma …”
    Ben winced. It was starting. And it would only get worse.
    “Mr. Kincaid!” another reporter shouted. “You’ve always had a reputation for high morals and integrity—until now. Care to comment?”
    No, he did not. Ben steered Keri toward the back door. Given the circumstances, he felt certain Judge Hart would permit them to escape through her chambers.
    He stepped around the defense table—and saw Andrea McNaughton making her way toward them. Her arms were outstretched; her fingers were curled like claws.
    Ben held up his hands. “Mrs. McNaughton, please. I know you must be terribly—”
    He didn’t get a chance to finish. She pivoted suddenly and hurled herself, not at him, but at Keri. She knocked Keri to the floor, making her head thud harshly against the tile, then sat astride her, pounding her head and chest with her fists. “You bitch!” Andrea cried. “You filthy murderous bitch!”
    “ Bailiff! ” Ben shouted. He ran behind Andrea and tried to pull her off Keri. No use. Andrea’s blows continued to rain down on Keri, pummeling her chest with one hand, while she tried to pull Keri’s hair out with the other. A fist landed square in the center of Keri’s face. Keri screamed in pain; blood spurted everywhere. Only when the bailiff arrived were they finally able to pry Andrea away.
    The bailiff pulled Andrea’s arms behind her back and snapped cuffs over her wrists. “Consider yourself in custody.”
    Ben held up his hands. “Brent, she’s upset, for obvious reasons. I don’t think we want to press charges—”
    “Like hell we don’t!” Keri pushed herself up off the floor, her face smeared with blood. “I want her to pay for what she did!”
    “Filthy whoring bitch!” Andrea shouted, spitting in Keri’s face.
    Keri wiped it away, furious. “Don’t blame me for what happened. If you’d been giving Joe what he needed, he wouldn’t’ve had to come to me!”
    Andrea strained against the cuffs, craning her neck forward. “I’ll get you! I will get you!”
    “Get her out of here!” Ben urged. The bailiff dutifully hauled Andrea toward the back. “Keri—!”
    Too late. She was gone. But she couldn’t have gone far. Ben knew there would be a fleet of reporters wanting to interview her, and now, for the first time in months, she would be free to talk. Which she probably would. No matter how carefully lawyers counseled their clients, few were able to resist the siren call of fifteen seconds on TV. And after all she had been through, Keri probably had a lot she wanted to say.
    And at this point, Ben didn’t much care. He didn’t want to worry about this case; he didn’t even want to think about it. All he wanted was to get home, get a shower, feed his cat, play the piano, and think about anything—anything at all—other than this miserable affair. He knew this case would never win him any praise or benefit. The only thing he could be grateful for was that it was over. That’s how he tried to comfort himself, as he snuck out of the courtroom. It was finally over.
    He couldn’t know, then, how wrong he was. It wasn’t over. The nightmare was only beginning. And it would get far worse than Ben had ever dreamed possible.

One
The Blue Squeeze

1
    “S O WHAT’RE WE GONNA do about it?”
    Barry Dodds didn’t want to encourage him. “We’re gonna play cards, Arlen—that’s what we’re gonna do. So play already.”
    A toothpick darting out from between his teeth, Arlen Matthews tossed out a few chips. “Seems to me this isn’t something we should take lying down. Seems to me we ought to do something about it.”
    Mark Callery called. “Do something? Like what?”
    Dodds pressed his hand against Callery’s arm. They were about the same age, but Dodds was a captain, and he knew that because of his senior rank, Callery, unlike Matthews, respected