For the Right Reasons. Kara Lennox

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ Brutal attacks.”

      That stopped Bree. She couldn’t immediately come up with a handy reason why Kelly would do such a thing. He had always adamantly professed his innocence. “You’re lying.”

      Eric shrugged. “Believe what you will.”

      Bree quickly returned to safer territory—the argument she had rehearsed. “If you would just review the facts—if you would just talk to Philomene—you would have no choice but to believe Kelly is innocent.”

      “Lay it out for me,” he said with obvious reluctance.

      “They picked up Kelly because he was walking in Philomene’s neighborhood with no obvious destination in mind right after she called 911. He never admitted guilt—”

      “Not to you.”

      “He never admitted to knowing Philomene. They put him in a lineup, and Philomene identified him. There was no physical evidence linking Kelly to the case. And, in fact, his DNA does not match the sample collected from one of the other murders thought to be part of the serial killer’s pattern. But when that result came in, the police decided to separate that one case out from the others and claimed it must be unrelated, even though the M.O. was exactly the same.

      “They took Kelly to court, and Philomene again identified him as her attacker and even added a couple of details she claimed to have remembered, like his tattoo. It was an easy victory for the prosecution.”

      “Sounds like it. A credible witness is very hard to overlook. She had no motive for lying about it, especially since she didn’t even know him.”

      “So flash forward to a couple of months ago,” Bree continued. “I’m working in the emergency room at the county hospital when Philomene comes in—”

      “Working at the E.R. in what capacity?”

      “Physician.”

      “Oh. I didn’t realize...”

      “Yes, you’ve already demonstrated that you’re remarkably badly briefed on this case. Anyway, this woman comes in having an acute asthma attack. I treated her, and then I recognized her, though it was several years since I’d seen her. She remembered me, too. I was a character witness for Kelly during his sentencing. I couldn’t resist bringing it up, even though I know it’s cruel to remind a woman of the most traumatic time in her life. But she seemed to want to talk about it. She jumped at the chance. She said she needed to get something off her chest. And that was when she told me that she didn’t really recognize Kelly in the lineup. The prosecutor was with her in the room, she was nervous, he was putting all kinds of pressure on her to identify her attacker.

      “She said they gave her hints about which man she was supposed to pick out, and she did it. And the more times she said it, the more sure she became in her head that he was the one. But later, after all the pressure was off, she knew she’d made a terrible mistake, that she’d sent an innocent man to prison. But she was afraid to change her statement. She was afraid she’d get into trouble—her record isn’t exactly sterling and she has reason to be afraid of the police.”

      “What makes you think she’s telling the truth now?”

      “She wasn’t lying. She had no reason to.”

      “Maybe she’s starting to feel guilty about sending a man to prison for life, even if he is guilty. Maybe she’s downplayed the severity of his crime in her mind over the years. Maybe a friend or relative went to prison for sexual assault, and now she sees the crime from a different point of view. Hell, for all you know, Kelly has been writing letters to her from prison, and they’ve fallen in love. Weirder things have happened.”

      “You wouldn’t say that if you met her. She was telling the truth. I know it.”

      “Bree. Kelly Ralston is where he belongs.”

      “You wouldn’t say that if you knew him the way I know him. He’s kind. And gentle.” She rushed ahead before he could bring up his scar again. “If he cut you, he had a reason. But he wasn’t really trying to kill you.”

      Eric looked away, only for a moment, but long enough that she knew she’d hit home.

      “It’s not even my decision to make,” Eric tried again. “Daniel has the last say.”

      “He changed his mind because you convinced him to. And you can unconvince him. Just talk to Philomene. She promised she would speak with someone from Project Justice so long as her statement didn’t go on the record. She’s committed to finding the real culprit, who’s out there somewhere, and she’s willing to undergo hypnosis or answer any questions. She just doesn’t want to talk to the police. Please, talk to her. Ten minutes. If you aren’t convinced after that, I’ll drop it.”

      “And if I don’t agree to meet with her?”

      She smiled, letting him see her teeth. “I won’t give up. I’ll be your worst nightmare.”

      Eric sighed. “All right, I’ll meet with her.”

      Bree grabbed a pad and pen from her purse and scribbled down an address. “This is the local diner, called the Home Cookin’ Café. Best meat loaf in the world. Might as well have dinner while you’re there.” She ripped off the page and handed it to him.

      “Tonight? You want to do this tonight?”

      “Sooner the better.”

      “You’ll be there, too, right?”

      “Of course. Philomene is very fragile. I wouldn’t send her to meet a strange man alone.”

      “Then I’ll see you...” He looked at the paper again. “Tuckerville?” He’d heard of it but had no idea where it was.

      “Only a couple of hours away.”

      “A couple of hours? I have a little girl at home. Evenings are the only time we have together.”

      Bree found herself smiling. “Really? How old?”

      “Six.”

      “I love that age. I’ll keep her entertained while you and Philomene chat. Heck, bring your wife, too. Make it a family outing. Tuckerville is a charming little town.”

      His features hardened. “I don’t have a wife. Look, I’ll be there. I said I would. But don’t get your hopes up.”

      “Fair enough.” She stood and gathered her things. She’d sold jewelry to help pay her living expenses in college, and she knew that when she’d made the sale, it was time to leave—before she ruined it. She was frankly surprised that Eric had agreed to meet Philomene at all. “I’ll see myself out.”

      “I’ll walk you to the door. If I don’t, Celeste will eat me for lunch.”

      “Let me guess. The lady at the front desk?”

      “That would be the one. The first thing they told me when I walked through the door yesterday morning was to do what she says, or else.”

      They retraced their steps to the lobby. Now that she was СКАЧАТЬ