Read Online The Next Victim by Jonnie Jacobs - Free Book Online Page A

whales or whatever, and leave the running of the company to him and Reed."
    Corporate intrigue. A motive made in prosecutorial heaven. Kali's stomach clenched. "John benefited from Sloane's death, then?"
    Sabrina shook her head. "Don't even go there, Kali. That's so...so--"
    "So obvious."
    "You're disgusting!" Sabrina shrieked. "How can you possibly think your own brother is a murderer?"
    "You think most killers don't have families? Being somebody's brother doesn't make you a saint." Kali set her glass on the ebony-stained coffee table. "Sloane and John argued the night she was killed, remember? That's what it must have been about."
    Sabrina put her hands over her ears. "Stop it! Stop right now."
    "All I said was--"
    "What's with you anyway?" Sabrina wailed. "I should think you'd be on his side."
    Kali knew that being a suspect didn't mean you were guilty. She was a defense attorney, for God's sake. Yet here she was, buying into the detectives' case. Why? Maybe because the facts supported it. Or maybe it had something to do with never admitting to herself how much John's indifference had hurt. Or perhaps, suggested a tiny voice in her head, it was simply easier to blame John than look at her own faults.
    Kali pushed the question from her head and stood up. "Come on, let's eat."
     
     
    Though the coleslaw tasted of mayonnaise and the bean salad of oil and salt, the roasted chicken was surprisingly good. Kali went back for seconds while Sabrina pushed food around on her plate and polished off another vodka tonic.
    Suddenly Sabrina rocked forward and pointed at the television, which she'd turned on when they sat down to eat. "Look," she sputtered, "it's John."
    In split screen, their brother's face--a photograph Kali had never seen--appeared, along with that of a woman. Kali reached for the remote and turned up the volume.
     
     
    "...died sometime late Tuesday night. He drowned in the backyard swimming pool of his home. Sheriff's detectives had considered him the prime suspect in the recent double homicide of Logan Foods heiress Sloane Winslow and her housekeeper, Olivia Perez. Although there has been no official word on the status of that case, sources tell us that police are not actively pursuing other leads at this time."
     
     
    "Good God," Sabrina wailed. "Now it's all over the news. Can they do that? Can't we sue them for defamation or something?"
    "Sshhh." Kali wanted to get a good look at Sloane. The photo showed a smiling woman in her early forties. Her blond hair was just short of shoulder length and layered to frame her face. Her eyes were a deep blue-green, her teeth straight and white. There were freckles across her nose and fine lines around her eyes and mouth. Not a Hollywood beauty maybe, but Sloane Winslow was stunning in a timeless, wholesome way.
    "You can't let them get away with this," Sabrina insisted. She stood up and began pacing between the sofa and the television.
    "Get away with what? All the reporter said was--"
    "If he was alive, you'd help him, wouldn't you? If for no other reason," Sabrina added sarcastically, "than because you're Ms. Big-Time Defense Attorney."
    Sabrina's tone stung. "You've done okay for yourself," Kali said defensively.
    "You're the big success, though." Sabrina stopped her pacing and planted herself near Kali. "You're the star."
    Kali didn't think she lorded her achievements, such as they were, over her sister, or anyone else. And Sabrina certainly had many things Kali did not--a loving husband, kids, financial security, and a lifestyle that included exotic vacations and expensive jewelry.
    But Sabrina was right about one thing: whatever her doubts, Kali would have stood by John and made sure he had a chance at the best defense possible.
    He wasn't alive, though, and she'd turned her back on him when he'd needed her.
    Never mind that he might have drowned regardless. Her own culpability lodged in her throat. Was that what made it so hard to admit that John might be