Silent Night Stakeout. Kerry Connor
The first thing she saw was the blood. There was so much of it that half the front seat seemed to be smeared with redness. Most of it was centered on the figure sitting there. Her eyes slowly trailed upward from the blood coating the person’s chest, past the awful gash on his throat, already knowing what she’d find before she saw his face.
Jeremy Decker stared straight ahead, the emptiness in his eyes showing he was dead even if she hadn’t seen all that blood. His mouth gaped as open as his throat, and shoved between his lips was what appeared to be a red handkerchief.
Reeling back in horror, Regina struggled to pull in a breath. Over the years she’d seen the grisliest of crime scene photos, but not once had she ever seen a murdered body in the flesh. To have the victim be somebody she knew made it even worse.
Jeremy. She’d seen him just days ago. Happy and excited, and most important, alive, eager to meet his niece.
Regina hurried back to her car for her cell phone, trying to choke back the sadness and regret that threatened to overwhelm her. Just moments ago, she’d been annoyed with him for being late, sitting in the safety of her office while someone did this to him right outside.
It appeared Jeremy Decker had the best excuse for lateness there was.
Chapter Two
“I’ll never understand people,” Jeff Polinsky griped as the crime scene came into view in front of the car. “You’d think cold like this would keep them indoors instead of running around outside killing each other.”
“I guess it depends how badly they want to kill somebody,” Marcus Waters mused from the driver’s seat. “You know as well as I do some people aren’t going to let anything stop them.”
“Yeah, just like I know if there’s an outdoor crime scene in December, we’re the ones who are going to catch it.”
With a faint grin, Marcus simply shook his head at Polinsky’s complaining. He’d heard this particular refrain before. They’d been partners for almost two years, and Marcus would be hard-pressed to think of a single day Polinsky hadn’t found something to complain about. A big, burly and balding figure in his fifties, Polinsky had been on the job for a long time, and the man wasn’t exactly known for his charm. Marcus knew that the reason they were partners wasn’t just because they worked well together, but because he was one of the few who were able to tolerate the man. For all Polinsky lacked in personality, he was a good detective, and that was all Marcus cared about. He just let everything else roll off him.
Not that he could disagree with Polinsky on this one. A nighttime crime scene in temperatures flirting with zero wasn’t his idea of a fun evening, either. Even with the heater blasting, the inside of the car was barely warm. He could imagine how it would feel when they got outside in the open.
But they would do it, and they would deal with the cold. Somewhere in the mess of people and vehicles in front of them was a victim, and somewhere out there was a killer. And it was their job to find that person and make sure he or she didn’t get away with it.
Familiar determination spread in his gut. He’d been on the job long enough he probably shouldn’t still get the feeling. Not nearly as long as Polinsky, but long enough that the idea of a new case, a new perp to catch, shouldn’t still give him a charge. But after all these years, the feeling was still there, still as strong as ever.
He found a free spot along the curb that was as close as they were going to get and parked the car. Before he’d even put the vehicle in Park, Polinsky had shoved his door open and begun the laborious process of hefting his frame out of the car. Marcus met him in front of the sedan and they started toward the scene.
A multitude of flashing lights lit up what he figured would normally be a quiet street at this time of night. It was a business district, primarily office buildings and a few warehouses, the kind of area that would be mostly deserted by now. A uniformed officer broke away from the scene and came to meet them as they approached.
“What do we have?” Marcus asked when they were face to face.
“Male victim found in his car. He’s been identified as Jeremy Decker, age 24.”
“Who identified him?”
“His lawyer. Regina Garrett. She’s the one who found the body. Her office is just up the street.”
Marcus frowned at the same time Polinsky echoed, “Regina Garrett?”
“Yeah. You know her?”
“I’ve heard of her,” Polinsky muttered, his tone making it clear none of what he’d heard had been good.
Marcus wasn’t surprised. He’d heard of Regina Garrett, too, all from other cops, none of whom had been fans. She was a defense attorney, and a very good one at that. Word had it she was smart, she was tough, and she was a crusader. If there was a weakness in a case or the slightest angle to be exploited, she’d find it. More than one case had been torpedoed over the years thanks to her. He’d never dealt with her on one of his cases or encountered her personally, but he’d heard enough to know he wouldn’t like her.
He did his best to swallow the instinctive distaste. Logically speaking, he knew defense attorneys served a key role in the justice system. But he also knew that in all likelihood there were plenty of people who should be in jail but weren’t because of her.
“If she’s the vic’s lawyer, I’m assuming he’s had some trouble with the law,” Marcus said.
“Burglary,” the officer confirmed. “She got him out a few days ago, just in time for Christmas.”
Polinsky snorted. “I bet he’s wishing she hadn’t right about now.”
“She’s waiting over there if you want to talk to her.”
“In a minute,” Marcus said without bothering to see where the officer gestured. He knew talking to her was necessary, but was in no hurry to do so. He could already guess how much fun dealing with her was going to be. Regina Garrett could wait. “Let’s take a look at what we’ve got first.”
“Sure, but I’ve got to warn you, it isn’t pretty.”
“They usually aren’t,” Polinsky grumbled.
It took only one look to see the officer hadn’t overstated things. Marcus had certainly seen his share of crime scenes over the years, but this one packed an unpleasant punch that was uniquely its own. Even Polinsky winced and glanced away for a second, muttering under his breath, before refocusing on the body.
Jeremy Decker stared straight ahead, expression frozen in a look of terror. He’d known he was going to die, probably felt it happening as all the blood that coated his front poured out of his body. He’d had his throat cut from behind, presumably by someone seated in the back seat. The back driver’s-side door was unlocked, most likely from the killer’s exit and possible entrance if he or she hadn’t been inside the car all along, but there weren’t any useful footprints that could be discerned outside the vehicle. They’d have to hope there was some useable trace evidence within the car, but from the looks of it, it hadn’t been cleaned in some time, making it unlikely anything would be found.
With one last look, Marcus turned to Polinsky. “Guess we should talk to the lawyer. You want to take her?”
“Nah, you go ahead. I might say something I regret.”
Knowing Polinsky, that was a safe bet. Nodding tightly, Marcus suppressed a sigh and turned around, eyes seeking out the woman, already anticipating what he’d find. No doubt she’d be uptight and humorless, a know-it-all with her nose in the air ready to tell him how to do his job and make it as difficult as possible. She’d probably be irritated at having been forced to wait instead of being spoken to immediately. He looked for someone who was frowning, someone who looked ready for a fight—
Someone who was drop-dead beautiful.
He stopped and almost did a