Read Online Tunnel Vision by Aric Davis - Free Book Online

broke my heart.
    I got right on the hunt as soon as I sat down, even though I was pretty sure I knew what I was going to find. One of the best things about a trial that’s received a lot of publicity is that there is a ton of information out there on it. One of the worst things is that most of that is bullshit. Take any crime tried in the public eye, and you’re going to see a lot of wishful thinking touted as fact. I completely understand not wanting to think the worst of someone, and I fully believe there are a lot of innocent men sitting behind bars. I just don’t think most of the innocent ones are lucky enough to snag a PR campaign.
    It becomes apparent immediately that Duke Barnes has picked up even more support since the last time I looked into this mess. Not that I really care much either way. Duke is either guilty or one unlucky son of a bitch, but he’s got public opinion on his side, so it’s really just a matter of time before something happens for him. Granted, that something might not be what he’s hoping for, but a second shot at a trial is still pretty good, especially when the body’s as cold as this one is.
    Speaking of the body, the pictures of Mandy blow my mind. When Claire handed me the photo of her daughter, I was struck by her resemblance to the dead girl. But now that I hold the picture up against the screen, I’m dumbfounded. Saying she’s a dead ringer for this poor girl? Probably an understatement. They not only share the same alt look, it’s like some cosmic trickster’s at work. The girl is Mandy.
    Which is all great, fascinating, even. Except what does it tell me? When Claire first handed over the photo, I was sure that resemblance had a lot to do with why she’d hired me to protect her daughter. But since then I haven’t come a step closer to figuring any of it out.
    Start with the facts: June is Mandy’s clone, and at the very least, a blood relative. Could Mandy be her mother , and somehow June fell into Claire’s care? Maybe, but highly unlikely. Surely that would’ve come out in the reporting of the case and in the trial.
    No, June is Claire’s girl. I feel that in my gut.
    So . . . Claire is worried that maybe all of these rock stars and B-list celebrities that hopped onto the Free Duke bandwagon might actually spring the man who killed Mandy. And if Duke killed her once, he wouldn’t be able to pass up the chance to kill her again, a decade and a half later? That’s pretty damned far-fetched, even for a deep cable thriller. And even if that is Claire’s thinking, why would she be so worried now , with Duke still safely fenced in?
    I have no answer for that, so I move on.
    Like she told me, now Claire’s thinking maybe the Free Duke crowd is on to something. Maybe the man who killed Mandy is still free. All right, but if that’s the case, that man’s been free all of these years, probably walking the same streets as his victim’s doppelg ä nger. So the same question comes up: Why is Claire so suddenly freaked out about the danger?
    I’m getting this tiny headache in my temple, like someone’s pressing a sharpened pencil into it. It’s maddening how often my client’s motivations turn out to be the deepest mystery in whatever job they’ve given me.
    I just have to focus on doing what she’s paying me to do, and doing it the best I can. She’s paying me to A) do what I can to keep June ignorant of everything to do with Mandy and Duke and the whole mess, and B) keep her safe.
    Part A is pretty much a lost cause. I’ve got a nagging suspicion the girl probably knows more than her mother suspects she does. At least according to Claire, June is out of the loop, but even if that’s so, it’s going to change eventually.
    I open another window on my computer, hop on over to Facebook, and get to work. I keep up on all of this social media nonsense, because in my work it can be good business. Want some advice? Keep your kids off of this crap. Not only will they