Ricochet by Sandra Brown

shaken?”
    “I think I will be for a while.”
    “Understandable.”
    He guided her down onto the settee that was barely wide enough to accommodate both of them, pulled her hand onto his knee, and covered it with his. “What would you like to know?”
    DeeDee saw Duncan’s jaw tense. He said, “I’d like to know if you want to call a lawyer before we begin. We’ll be happy to wait until one arrives.”
    The judge replied crisply, “That won’t be necessary. But to show up here unannounced was a cheap trick and, frankly, beneath you, Detective Hatcher.”
    “My apologies to you and to Mrs. Laird.” Duncan sat down in one of the wicker armchairs facing the couple. “The name of the man who died in your study last night was Gary Ray Trotter.”
    Like Duncan, DeeDee closely watched their faces for any giveaway sign of recognition. There wasn’t so much as a flicker, not in the judge’s implacable stare, not in Elise Laird’s limpid green eyes.
    The judge glanced down at his wife. Reading his silent question, she shook her head. Looking back at them, he said, “We don’t know him. I thought we’d made that clear to you last night.”
    “We hoped the name might jog your memory, remind you—”
    “Obviously not, Detective Bowen,” the judge said, cutting her off.
    “A lot of people have been shuttled through your courtroom,” Duncan said. “Trotter was a repeat offender. Perhaps he’d come before your bench.”
    “I would remember.”
    “You remember every party to every case you’ve ever tried?” DeeDee said. “Wow. That’s impressive.”
    He fired another impatient glance at her, then addressed himself to Duncan. “He was a repeat offender? Then what more is there to discuss? This Trotter broke into my house, fired a handgun at my wife, forcing her to protect herself. Thank God her aim was better than his. He died, she didn’t. Don’t expect me to cry over him.”
    “I don’t expect that at all.”
    The judge took a slow, deep breath as though to calm himself. “Then I guess I don’t understand why you’re here today. Why do you feel it necessary to make Elise relive this terrifying event?”
    “We have some points that need clarification before we close the case,” DeeDee said.
    “Elise told you everything she had to tell you last night. As a judge who’s heard years of courtroom testimony, I can honestly say that her account of what happened was comprehensive.”
    “I agree, and we appreciate her cooperation last night,” DeeDee said to the couple, smiling at both. “Identifying Gary Ray Trotter has answered some of our outstanding questions, but created others, I’m afraid.”
    “Such as?”
    DeeDee laughed softly. “Well, Judge, he wasn’t a very accomplished crook. In fact, he was pretty much a loser, who couldn’t even hack it as a criminal.”
    “So?”
    “So Detective Hatcher and I were wondering why he chose your house to burglarize.”
    “I have no idea.”
    “Neither do we,” DeeDee said bluntly. “Trotter had a criminal history dating back to adolescence. Robbery mostly. But he was a goof. For instance, he once walked into a convenience store with a stick in his pocket in lieu of a pistol and demanded the money in the till. But he paid for the gas he pumped into his getaway car with his sister’s credit card.”
    The judge smiled wryly. “Which I think explains why he failed as a crook.”
    “I guess,” DeeDee exclaimed on a short laugh. “I mean, last night he didn’t even bring along gloves or robber paraphernalia of any kind. Can you believe that? Sort of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”
    “What?”
    Then she dropped her smile. “What the heck Gary Ray Trotter was doing in your study.”
    After a moment of taut silence, the judge said, “I know one thing he did. He tried to kill my wife.”
    Duncan pounced on that. “Which is another thing we must clear up, Mrs. Laird.”
    “What needs clearing up?” the judge asked.
    “Are you absolutely