Read Online Fractured by Wendy Byrne - Free Book Online Page A

her mind on something.” They were skirting around the issue. “You want to dangle her as some kind of carrot to draw somebody into the open. Is that it?”
    â€œNot really. We wouldn’t put her in danger. That’s where you come in.”
    â€œI still don’t get it. Why not tell her?” Landry shrugged while trying to finagle solid information from them. “I don’t mind watching her back, but it would be good if she watched her own as well. Besides, I can’t be there twenty-four-seven.”
    â€œI’ll have a man assigned to her when you’re not around.” Malone didn’t hesitate. Not even for a half second.
    Landry blew out a breath and struggled to make sense of what they were telling him. Finally it clicked. “You think she might potentially be involved. That’s the issue, isn’t it?”
    The lieutenant shook his head. “Her spare matched.”
    He didn’t have to elaborate; Landry put two and two together and knew he was talking about the murder weapon. “That’s bull, and you know it. If she killed her father, she would have admitted it. Don’t you see? She never went to Stateville…”—at least until today—“…even though you,” he pointed to Malone, “have video of her allegedly visiting there. Now somebody plants the murder weapon in her apartment. Seems pretty clear what’s going on.”
    This Malone guy didn’t know Isabella, so he could give him a pass. But the lieutenant knew better. Why the hell would he bend over backwards to please this Fed?
    â€œBut it’s also a possibility that she killed him.” Malone said the minimum, but Landry suspected there was a whole lot more that he didn’t say.
    â€œWhat was the time of death on Samuels?” Landry asked.
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œIf you’re doing all this conjecture about whether or not Isabella shot him, I need to have all the information.”
    Malone’s eyes remained focused on him while the lieutenant once again looked to Malone. “The two of you met up in that alley a little before eleven o’clock, but Mr. Samuels was killed sometime between ten and ten-thirty. That would give her enough time to cover her tracks.”
    â€œWhy, after twenty-five years, would she up and kill him?”
    â€œThat’s what we’d like to find out,” Malone responded. “Of course you know this means you can’t tell her, or anybody else, about what we’re asking you to do.”
    Landry shook his head. “Why would I agree?”
    â€œBecause you’ll do right by her.” The lieutenant’s voice was quiet but sincere.
    Landry glanced from one man to the other, feeling that knocking sensation inside his chest. “Then tell me one thing, Malone. Why does everyone and their brother think Tyrone Samuels was killed in the laundry room at the prison and knows nothing about any escape?”
    * * *
    Isabella charged after Sergio, bumping into people, then parked cars as they tore through the alley and spilled onto Division Street. His long stride allowed him to keep his advantage.
    â€œStop, police.” She’d learned long ago most criminals didn’t obey when they heard that command, but said it anyway.
    He looked over his shoulder and kept running. From that brief glance, she thought he might have looked scared. Then again, that might have been wishful thinking.
    Normally, given her size, she didn’t strike terror into anybody by looks alone. But maybe he had a stash of weed in his pocket, or even something a little stronger. There was also the possibility he lived here illegally. But she was betting it was much, much more than a few drugs or a questionable immigration status that made him take off. Potentially, he might know something about Lou. Or, even worse, he could be somehow tied into his disappearance.
    â€œI need to talk to you.” She was no