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Authors: Raffi Yessayan
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dropped off on Saturday, but no suit.”
“Angel, let me talk to you outside for a minute. Could you excuse us, Walter?” Mooney said.
“I’ll go up and check on her.” He seemed relieved to have something to do.
They walked down the stairs and into the small, fenced yard. Mooney turned to Alves. “What about the list from New Balance?”
“A few of the guys had records. Nothing significant. Mostly drug possessions and motor vehicle stuff. It might be worth going out to see them in person.”
“Not now. Angel, I think our killer took the suit as a souvenir for himself. As if taking her body wasn’t enough. I want you to contact Michelle Hayes’s parents and see if any of her clothes are missing. I don’t know what this fuckin’ nut is up to, but I’m sure he did the same thing with Hayes. Call me if you need me.” Mooney walked back into the house.
Alves wasn’t looking forward to speaking with Michelle Hayes’s parents again. Nice, solid people. He didn’t want to raise their hopes. But if one of Michelle’s dresses was missing, maybe they’d all have the break they were praying for.
CHAPTER 18
A ndi Norton needed to clear her head. The judge had only given them a fifteen-minute recess, enough time for the lawyers and the jurors to stretch their legs and use the bathroom. She needed more time than that. Her case was falling apart.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Connie had come up behind her.
The disappointment in his voice stung. “I’m getting my ass kicked. I can’t even ask a question without that jerk objecting.”
“He’s playing games with you, like he did this morning by showing up late. He’s trying to throw you off.”
“It’s working.”
“No shit. He does this on every case. It’s his shtick. And he’s not going to let up unless you show him that it’s not bothering you. Right now he smells blood. You’d better get your head out of your ass if you plan on winning.”
“And how do I do that?”
“Start by showing a little confidence. What I saw in there was a person who didn’t even believe in her own case. If you don’t believe in it, why should the jury?”
“He keeps objecting. I can’t get any kind of rhythm going.”
“The thing is that you’ve responded to all his objections, and he’s been overruled. You’re winning those little battles. So the jury sees that you’re not doing anything wrong. You look like the better lawyer. But he’s got you rattled. If you regain your composure and keep crushing his objections you’ll be fine. But you have to get fired up before it’s too late.”
She felt beaten down, but there was no reason for it. Connie was right, she had been doing a good job with her arguments. Maybe the defense was coming at her harder because she was a woman. Well, she had to show him that he couldn’t mess with her. “Let’s go kick some ass,” she said as she turned back toward the courtroom.
CHAPTER 19
A lves tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for Mooney to answer his phone. Mooney picked up on the third ring. “What do you have for me?” he bellowed.
“I just left Michelle Hayes’s mother. One of Michelle’s dresses is missing. A black skirt-suit that she wore for important meetings,” Alves said. “Her parents are storing all of her stuff in their attic. We went through dozens of boxes.” There was a new energy running through Alves. Mooney’s predawn wake-up call was forgiven. It felt good to know something new about the killer. Now they had to figure out why he took the clothing.
Alves turned the key in the ignition and pulled away from the sidewalk in front of the Hayes house. Michelle Hayes’s parents lived in White City, originally a couple of apartment buildings arising near Forest Hills, their pale stucco suggesting the glowing, ethereal beauty of the white buildings designed for the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago at the turn of the century. Alves had seen
“Angel, let me talk to you outside for a minute. Could you excuse us, Walter?” Mooney said.
“I’ll go up and check on her.” He seemed relieved to have something to do.
They walked down the stairs and into the small, fenced yard. Mooney turned to Alves. “What about the list from New Balance?”
“A few of the guys had records. Nothing significant. Mostly drug possessions and motor vehicle stuff. It might be worth going out to see them in person.”
“Not now. Angel, I think our killer took the suit as a souvenir for himself. As if taking her body wasn’t enough. I want you to contact Michelle Hayes’s parents and see if any of her clothes are missing. I don’t know what this fuckin’ nut is up to, but I’m sure he did the same thing with Hayes. Call me if you need me.” Mooney walked back into the house.
Alves wasn’t looking forward to speaking with Michelle Hayes’s parents again. Nice, solid people. He didn’t want to raise their hopes. But if one of Michelle’s dresses was missing, maybe they’d all have the break they were praying for.
CHAPTER 18
A ndi Norton needed to clear her head. The judge had only given them a fifteen-minute recess, enough time for the lawyers and the jurors to stretch their legs and use the bathroom. She needed more time than that. Her case was falling apart.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Connie had come up behind her.
The disappointment in his voice stung. “I’m getting my ass kicked. I can’t even ask a question without that jerk objecting.”
“He’s playing games with you, like he did this morning by showing up late. He’s trying to throw you off.”
“It’s working.”
“No shit. He does this on every case. It’s his shtick. And he’s not going to let up unless you show him that it’s not bothering you. Right now he smells blood. You’d better get your head out of your ass if you plan on winning.”
“And how do I do that?”
“Start by showing a little confidence. What I saw in there was a person who didn’t even believe in her own case. If you don’t believe in it, why should the jury?”
“He keeps objecting. I can’t get any kind of rhythm going.”
“The thing is that you’ve responded to all his objections, and he’s been overruled. You’re winning those little battles. So the jury sees that you’re not doing anything wrong. You look like the better lawyer. But he’s got you rattled. If you regain your composure and keep crushing his objections you’ll be fine. But you have to get fired up before it’s too late.”
She felt beaten down, but there was no reason for it. Connie was right, she had been doing a good job with her arguments. Maybe the defense was coming at her harder because she was a woman. Well, she had to show him that he couldn’t mess with her. “Let’s go kick some ass,” she said as she turned back toward the courtroom.
CHAPTER 19
A lves tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for Mooney to answer his phone. Mooney picked up on the third ring. “What do you have for me?” he bellowed.
“I just left Michelle Hayes’s mother. One of Michelle’s dresses is missing. A black skirt-suit that she wore for important meetings,” Alves said. “Her parents are storing all of her stuff in their attic. We went through dozens of boxes.” There was a new energy running through Alves. Mooney’s predawn wake-up call was forgiven. It felt good to know something new about the killer. Now they had to figure out why he took the clothing.
Alves turned the key in the ignition and pulled away from the sidewalk in front of the Hayes house. Michelle Hayes’s parents lived in White City, originally a couple of apartment buildings arising near Forest Hills, their pale stucco suggesting the glowing, ethereal beauty of the white buildings designed for the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago at the turn of the century. Alves had seen
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