“What didhe say?”
“Basically, Sunny’s cracked-out boyfriend almost beat her to death in some sort of jealous rage after her twenty-first birthday party. Beat her with a baseball bat, slammed her head against a bathroom mirror then threw her down the stairs.”
Darby handed me a collage of the crime scene photos.
It was horrific.
I had a visceral reaction when I looked at the blood splatters on the cracked mirror.Herblood. A fresh sheen of sweat broke out under my T-shirt.
I’ve responded to plenty of domestic disturbances during my career, some of which contained a dead body, butthesepictures, I couldn’t even look at. It was like a switch was flipped inside me. I handed it back as he continued.
“Miss Harper was in ICU for forty-eight hours. Broken arm, collar bone, swelling of the brain. She got one-hundred and sixty-seven stitches across her body. Doctor noted the guy had ripped clumps of hair from her head.”
I looked through the two-way mirror at the silky mane cascading down her slender shoulders. Long tresses marking victory over a story, a nightmare, she’d likely never forget. Her eyes flickered with awareness, her face turning slightly in my direction, but not all the way. She knew I was there. She knew I was watching.
And in that moment, Iwantedher to know I was watching.
“What’s his name?” I asked.
“Kenzo Rees.”
I didn’t need to write it down because it burned into my brain like a branding iron.
“What did he get?”
“Assault with a deadly weapon. First degree felony. Got him a four year sentence in prison but the guy was alreadyon probation for two DUIs and possession with intent to sell, so the judge threw the book at him and gave him another two years. Rees was rumored to be one of the biggest cocaine dealers in the area, but cops could never pin him for it. Rumored gang affiliations, too.”
“And this happened when she was twenty-one?”
“Right.”
“She’s twenty-eight now. That was seven years ago. His sentence was six years. Is he out?”
“No according to my DPD rookie.”
“He should be. Find out why he isn’t.”
“Yes, sir.”
The door flung open. Colson stormed inside and slammed it behind him, a tornado of energy that had Darby taking a step back.
“Let’s recap, shall we?” Colson interrupted, his voice booming. He was cracking under the pressure of a sleepless night. He needed sleep. Food. Probably both.
I glanced at Darby, who muttered, “I set a copy of all this on his desk.”
Colson ignored Darby and turned to the two-way mirror, staring at Sunny as he addressed me. “We’ve got an emotionally scarred rich girl who dated a gang member who almost beat her to death, and a dead pastor’s kid who just got back from a mission trip. Who, according to our guest of the evening, attacked her and was killed by a phantom ninja who came out of nowhere and then disappeared into thin air.Despitethe fact that she was found holding a gun over Julian’s dead body.”
“You don’t believe her.” Darby said.
“No I don’t. There’s something about her. About this whole thing. My gut is screaming at me. There’s something about her I don’t like.”
“That’s not going to stand up in court.” I said.
“Like you’re so politically correct? Give me a break.” Colson scowled, turning to me. “Why didn’t she lawyer up? Why didn’t she tell us everything at the scene? Blabbering like a normal panic-stricken person would be? What’s with the attitude and nine millimeter? Who the hell jogs at midnight? Why is she being so…not normalabout this whole thing? She’s not normal.”
“Is this your first assault victim, Colson?” I deadpanned.
“Why are you so sure she’s telling the truth?”
