Leading the Witness Read online

  “Any leads?”

  “Not many. Girl’s cell phone is a dead end. Find feature and cell phone towers place it last in the vicinity of her friend’s house, but nothing after that. We’ve searched her parents’ house and didn’t find anything helpful, but there’s a formerly estranged uncle in town who’s got a record and who happens to have a white Ford pickup registered in his name.”

  “What’s his record?”

  “Nothing big time, but he slammed the door shut when we tried to talk to him. We’re thinking if we can get a judge to grant a warrant to search his truck we can use that to get him to open up. In the meantime, we’ve got folks talking to all her friends and teachers, and search teams are already in motion.”

  Starr nodded as he talked. She totally got the urgency of the situation, but still wasn’t sure why he was here. “As much as I’d like to help, you’re going to have to go to Pam on this. I can give her a call if you want.”

  “Murphy’s giving this one to you.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I may have forgotten to mention who the girl is. She’s Hannah Turner.”

  Starr jerked at the familiar name. “Mayor Turner’s daughter? No fucking way.”

  “Yep, which is why we have to put every resource we have in motion right fucking now. In fact, I was hoping that after we get the warrant, you would go with me to talk to the mayor and give her an update.”

  Holy shit. A tumble of thoughts cascaded through her brain. Horror at how the mayor must be feeling knowing her daughter was missing, angst at the idea of being sucked back into the gruesome world of child abuse cases, but both of these emotions were tangled up with a sense of excitement that she was being tasked to lead this investigation. She was born for this and it was her chance to prove she was ready to head the office.

  The electric kettle whistled loudly, tearing her back to the reality of Pearson’s request. She looked wistfully at the kettle, and then back at Pearson. “I know you love my coffee, but if we’re going to get ahead of this, we don’t have time for my special brew.” She stood and grabbed her keys. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Three

  Catherine had been at her desk for an hour when Doris came in with a steaming mug of coffee. She accepted it with thanks, having long since given up telling Doris she could get her own coffee. “Do you have the file for the Stevens plea?”

  Doris set the mug down and pulled a file from under her arm. “Here you go. Anything else you need before you leave?”

  Catherine shook her head, constantly amazed that Doris was able to anticipate her every need, especially since she was well aware she didn’t communicate her desires very well. “Why don’t you take off early today? I’m not coming back to the office after court, and since the Rockland trial got postponed, we can put off organizing the witness files until next week.” She looked back down at her work before Doris could answer to make it clear that her suggestion was actually an order.

  “Sounds great. I’ll take a late lunch and close up shop for the afternoon. Have a great weekend.”

  Catherine waited until she was alone again and then closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She’d been out of sorts all morning and she wasn’t sure why. The Knoll case was over, and her looming federal trial had been postponed for a month. She was caught up on the rest of her cases, and business was good, but an unrelenting sense of doom pervaded her thoughts and she didn’t think it was going away on its own. She knew what she should do, but she resisted, choosing instead to stuff her feelings and hope they would go away.

  The courthouse was humming for a Friday. Usually the end of the week was calmer with pleas having been worked out and trials coming to a close, but today attorneys were hanging out in the halls talking to each other rather than rushing off to golf games and lunchtime happy hours. She passed several small groups, nodding to each, but not joining in. Joining in wasn’t something she did. Her peers knew this, and most no longer even tried to get her to take part in courthouse gossip, but she couldn’t help but hear snippets of their conversation as she passed.

  “The mayor’s daughter,” “She’s beside herself,” “I heard she wants to do a press conference,” “No good can come of that,” “Maybe she’ll turn up. It’s only been a day,” “You know what they say…”

  Curiosity claimed Catherine’s attention and she slowed her pace. She hadn’t listened to the news in the car, but now she was almost desperate to know what was going on. She pulled out her phone and opened the app for the local news, gasping when the lead story loaded. Mayor Turner’s twelve-year-old daughter presumed kidnapped. Law enforcement has few leads.

  She sank against the wall, the power of the digital words fierce and wounding and personal. She wanted to read them again, will them to form into another headline, one that didn’t strike at her heart and threaten to take her down.

  “Catherine, are you okay?”

  Catherine looked up at the familiar face of Judge Lisa Tatum, who’d been a friend in law school. She waved a hand. “Sure. Just slightly dizzy, but I’ll be fine.” She saw Lisa glance at the screen of her phone, and she winced. “Do you know if there’s any word on the mayor’s daughter?”

  “Not yet, but they’re pursuing some leads. Between us, they came to me last night for a warrant. They’re doing that delicate balancing act between keeping the press informed enough to stay interested in the case and keeping things under wraps. I’ve gone through one of these before. I bet there’ll be a press conference soon if we don’t hear anything.”

  “Pam’s going to have her hands full.” Catherine knew the chief of child abuse from years ago, when she, Pam, and Lisa had been in law school together. Now that Pam was in child abuse, they no longer went head-to-head on cases, and Pam’s all-consuming job meant they rarely saw each other. Now it would get even worse. She made a mental note to drop by and say hello.

  “Oh, I don’t think Pam’s working this one. Starr Rio brought me the warrant affidavit with Detective Pearson. I got the impression Starr is taking the lead.”

  “What?” Catherine’s stomach flipped and she felt the blood drain from her face. She wanted to ask if this was some kind of cruel joke, but her throat closed, and she choked on the words.

  “Seriously, are you okay?” Lisa’s brow was furrowed, and she reached out a hand, but Catherine instinctively jerked away at the touch. She knew her reaction was irrational, but the roar in her ears brought with it a wave of emotion, exponentially stronger now than when she’d just learned about the missing girl moments ago. Her skin felt tight, and she strained against the urge to drop her bag and run as fast as she could toward the exit, far away from this news, this situation.

  Reaching deep into reserves she’d carefully cultivated over time, she took a deep breath and mustered a smile. “I must be feeling a bit under the weather today. Nothing serious, I’m sure.” She edged away. “I’ll talk to you later.” She moved quickly before Lisa could say more, suggest they get together, or any of the other overtures she usually made when they ran into each other. Overtures that Catherine routinely ignored. Seeing each other at the courthouse was one thing, but connecting outside made it too easy to let someone get close to her, and she studiously avoided such interactions.

  But there was one person she wanted to see right now. She strode to the stairwell and climbed the stairs to her destination. She resisted screaming at the woman at the desk who asked if she had an appointment, instead forcing her mind to remain calm as she waited impatiently for the county employee to take her sweet time fetching the prosecutor she was there to see. Finally, the woman handed her a badge. “She said you can go on back. I’ll buzz you in.”

  Catherine ignored the dull roar in her ears and wound her way through the long hallway until she reached her destination. Pam was waiting in the doorway.

  “Hey, girl, it’s great to see you.” Pam stepped back and appraised her. “But you don’t look so hot. Are you okay?”

  “Are you working on
the mayor’s daughter’s case?” Catherine blurted the words, unwilling and unable to apologize for her abrupt greeting.

  Pam glanced down the hallway before pulling her into the room and shutting the door. “Have a seat.” She waited until Catherine sank into the chair across from her desk. “What’s going on?”

  “Pam, I need to know. Lisa said Starr Rio brought her a search warrant last night. Is she working the case with you?”

  Pam shook her head. “Looks like I’ve been benched for this one. Of course, I’ll lend a hand if asked, but Murphy put Starr in charge of the task force. Doesn’t bother me personally since I’ve got more than I can handle going on right now, but Nelson came unglued when he found out. Probably thinks it will give Starr a leg up in the race for Murphy’s job.”

  Catherine heard the words, but they barely registered. She had to do something. Someone like Starr Rio shouldn’t be working this case. It was unconscionable and the results would be catastrophic. “You have to talk to him.”

  “Nelson?”

  “No, Murphy. Starr just blew a case because she put a witness on the stand who manufactured evidence. In a case like this, with so much pressure, she’ll do whatever it takes to get a conviction even if it means whoever did it goes free because of her shoddy work.”

  Pam stared at her like she’d grown a second head. “Starr used to run this department, and she’s got a ton more experience than me. I know she can be a bit overzealous at times, but if I thought for one second she was a bad seed, I’d be the first one at Murphy’s door to report her. Look at it this way—she’ll have the entire city of Austin watching every move she makes. If she takes a wrong turn, there’s no way it’ll get past the press.”

  Catherine sat silently, processing Pam’s words in the context of another case she knew where an entire city had been watching. She knew Pam believed what she was saying, but Pam was blithely dismissing the very real threat that pressure from all the scrutiny would tempt Starr to cut corners, especially since she was predisposed to shortcuts in the first place. She wanted to press the issue, but she didn’t want Pam to think she was losing her mind. She’d have to find another way to get her point across, one that didn’t expose her own vulnerabilities.

  “You’re right, of course.” Catherine stood. “I should get going. I’ve got a plea in Richards’s court and you know how he hates waiting.”

  Pam came out from behind her desk and gave her a light hug. “I’m glad you came by, even if it was to talk business. Don’t be a stranger.”

  “I won’t,” Catherine said, well aware that Pam knew she was lying. She left the office and headed back to the stairwell, but before she entered, she reached for her phone and pulled up a number she hadn’t called in months. When the voice on the other end answered, she didn’t waste any time. “I need an appointment and I need it today.”

  * * *

  Starr rubbed her eyes, took another sip of the now cold coffee, and avoided looking at herself in Pearson’s rearview mirror. She figured she probably looked like hell, but now was not the time to let up. “I can go for the rest of the day as long as you get me a hot coffee.” She pointed at Jo’s up ahead on the right.

  “There’s no parking.”

  She admired the fact he wouldn’t use his badge to skirt the rules, but she was more concerned about her dipping energy. “Let me out and I’ll buy. Two times around the block should do it.”

  He pulled close to the curb, and she hopped out and merged with the variety of SoCo java junkies lined up to get the best brew in Austin. This place had been her go-to when she’d lived close by, but now that she lived on the north edge of town, she rarely fought the traffic and crowds to satisfy her cravings. Pretty much summed up her entire life. All cravings took a back seat to the job and her ambition, but she told herself that would all change as soon as she achieved her pinnacle of success as the newly-elected district attorney of Travis County. For now, she’d have to be satisfied with an Americano and a breakfast burrito, and she ordered two of each from the redhead at the window who greeted her with a smile.

  “Haven’t seen you around before,” the girl said as she handed back Starr’s credit card.

  “My loss,” Starr said, trying to decide if she was being flirted with.

  “If you say so,” the redhead said with a slight smile. She handed over a bag. “The croissant’s on me. Have a great day.”

  Starr spotted Pearson a moment later and waved to a spot away from the breakfast crowd. On her way back to the car, she replayed the encounter with the girl and smiled. She probably flirted with most of the customers, but the attention still felt nice. Starr couldn’t remember the last time she had been on a date. Oh wait, there had been that setup her brother Davis had arranged last month that had taken a bad turn when the woman launched into a diatribe about police brutality before they’d even ordered drinks. Starr was all for an open discussion of current events, but Erica had made it pretty clear she had an agenda, and she wasn’t interested in debating the topic, only ramrodding her viewpoint home. Starr had left a twenty on the bar and told Erica she didn’t think they were meant for each other. She’d called Davis on the way home to ask him what the hell he’d been thinking. He’d laughed and told her she was too rigid, which was hilarious coming from a cop. Part of her had been relieved it hadn’t worked out, since her job and the upcoming election would put a serious strain on her schedule.

  She climbed into Pearson’s car and shoved the bag toward him. “I bought you a burrito.”

  “There’s a croissant in here.”

  “That’s mine.”

  “What the fuck, you didn’t think I would want one?”

  “It was a gift. Besides since when do you eat pastry?”

  “Since Liza doesn’t allow carbs in the house. She’s hangry all the time, and now that she’s Lady Keto, I’m constantly craving pasta and baked goods, which I never did before. Split it with me?”

  Starr laughed and tore the croissant in half. “Now you know why I’m not married.”

  He grinned. “The list of reasons why you’re not married goes way beyond this croissant.”

  She play punched him in the shoulder. She knew he was teasing, but like most teases there was a strain of truth running through his words. She told herself she shouldn’t care, but she did—a fact to examine later when they weren’t deep in the middle of trying to find the mayor’s daughter. “I think we should go back to the Turners’ house.”

  Pearson groaned, but he took the next turn to take them back toward the wealthy Austin neighborhood where the Honorable Linda Turner and her husband lived. The hardest part of any case was dealing with the victim or the victim’s family. They craved reassurance, answers, insights, and frustration quickly turned to anger when none of those things were forthcoming. Early on in the case was the worst, but it was the most important time to establish a foundation of trust because a family that didn’t trust law enforcement was more likely to engage in risky behavior that could compromise the investigation.

  The mayor’s house was a sprawling two-story ranch style home on a large lot at the center of a cul-de-sac. Starr spotted one patrol car in the drive and another farther down the street, both in place at the request of the police chief, a perfect example of locking the barn door after the horse went missing. After Pearson parked his car, she followed him up the drive, lingering behind while he stopped to talk to the officers in the patrol unit parked in the drive.

  “Everyone home?” he asked.

  The officer shook his head. “Mr. Turner left a little while ago with one of ours. Picking up some work from the office. He wanted to go on his own, but we insisted on accompanying him.”

  “Good call,” Pearson replied. “Let me know when he shows back up. We’re going inside. Anything we need to know?”

  “Family attorney showed up a little while ago and he’s been huddled inside with the mayor, but other than that everything has been quiet.”

  Starr braced for re
sistance, wondering who the family attorney was and why he was here. She pulled Pearson aside before they reached the front door. “Don’t you think it’s a little weird that Dad is headed to the office when his daughter is missing?”

  “I do, but can’t say as I’m surprised. Tell me you didn’t pick up on the tension between them last night.”

  “I did, but tension is one thing and optics are another. Brace yourself. I have a feeling that Mama Bear is not going to be very happy.”

  The atmosphere inside the house was thick with angst. Mayor Turner pushed past the officer in the foyer to get to them, but her hopeful expression fell away the moment she spotted Pearson’s grim face. “Oh,” she said.

  “Good morning, ma’am,” Pearson said. “We don’t have any updates, but Ms. Rio would like to talk to you again.”

  The mayor looked puzzled for a second before her features settled into what Starr recognized as her public face. “Of course.”

  Starr reached out a hand. “You’ll likely be seeing a lot of me until your daughter is home, safe and sound. Mr. Murphy has taken a personal interest in your daughter’s case and assigned me to work with Detective Pearson’s team to ensure we maximize our resources so that we can return your daughter home safe and sound.”

  Turner nodded. “Tell me what you need.”

  Starr glanced around. “I was hoping to talk to you and your husband at the same time, but I understand he had to leave. Will he be back soon?”

  “I believe so, but we don’t need to wait. I can fill him in later.”

  Starr asked the question only to gauge her reaction, and the flicker of annoyance was quick and telling. It was perfectly normal for families facing tragedy to start to fall apart at the seams, but usually the fraying started later, after frustration at the lack of answers began to wear. It had been less than forty-eight hours and already the cracks were beginning to show, which signaled a deeper issue divided them. Starr was determined to discover the source and figure out whether it had anything to do with their daughter’s disappearance. “Perhaps we could sit down?”