infection throughout the South and beyond. Still, despite the description, an officer in Detroit brought in a homeless black man. Fortunately, the patrolman was laughed out of the station house and the poor man was given a hot meal before being returned to his makeshift home under a bridge.
Everyone wanted to be the hero who nabbed Mack Rogers but too many went about the search with reckless, desperate abandon. Jake could only hope that Lucinda was having a more fruitful day.
SIXTEEN
B ack at the Justice Center, Lucinda went straight to the room where Gloria waited for her return. The restless, pacing woman reminded the detective of corralled wild mustangs, high-stepping from one end of the fence to the other, anxious to break loose and head for the hills.
Gloria’s mass of wavy, dark auburn hair hung down below her shoulder blades. She tossed it about like a distressed mare as she bounced around the room. Lucinda realized that her first challenge would be getting the woman to calm down enough to sit still and have a cohesive conversation.
Lucinda opened her mouth, ready to issue a bland greeting to Gloria; but before she could utter a word, the woman lit into her. ‘How could you do this to me? Is my life that insignificant? I helped you put him into jail and now my life is on the line. When he finds me, I’ll just be collateral damage, nothing more!’
‘Ms Phillips, please, please sit down and let’s talk about what we need to do to keep you safe.’
‘Phillips,’ she spat. ‘Do not ever address me by that name again. I should have done this long ago but I’m doing it now. I called my attorney. I am legally reverting to my maiden name: Martinez, Gloria Martinez. I want that on my tombstone. Do not dare make me bear his name on my grave for all eternity. When he kills me, make sure that does not happen or I will never leave you in peace.’
‘Ms Martinez, please, we can’t talk while you’re ricocheting around the room like this. Please, have a seat,’ Lucinda pleaded as she slid into a chair. She patted the table at the space across from her. ‘Please, sit here.’
Gloria stopped at the spot and slapped both of her hands down on the surface. ‘You promised me!’
‘I promised you? I promised you what, Ms Martinez?’
‘You promised me that bastard would spend the rest of his life in prison. You promised me that I wouldn’t have to worry about him.’
‘Ms Martinez, I promised you we would arrest him and we did. I never pretended that I knew what the outcome would be at his trial or that he would never have any success on appeal. I can’t predict the courts and I have never pretended that I could.’
Gloria reared back and placed her hands on her hips. ‘Well, I didn’t mean you personally. I meant the lot of you,’ she said waving one hand around in a big circle.
‘I do not know what you’re talking about. No one in my presence ever made a promise that he would go to prison and stay there.’
‘OK, it wasn’t you. It was the prosecutor. He promised me. He swore if I testified I’d be safe because that damned congressman I called husband would never leave the prison alive.’
‘He shouldn’t have said that,’ Lucinda admitted.
‘And I was a fool to believe him. I should have known I couldn’t trust the district attorney when Chris walked free after trying to take my life. But no, like an idiot, I took him at his word. But he only said that, he only made that promise, because he knew I wouldn’t have testified if he hadn’t. I wouldn’t have taken that risk otherwise. And now, what am I supposed to do? Chris tried to kill me once over nothing but my life insurance. Now, the stakes are bigger. He will not allow me to live.’
‘Ms Martinez, the appellate court ruled that you should not have testified. Phillips has no reason to believe you would be called to the witness stand again. So you are not a threat to him now.’
‘Oh, you think so?’ Gloria said shaking her
Everyone wanted to be the hero who nabbed Mack Rogers but too many went about the search with reckless, desperate abandon. Jake could only hope that Lucinda was having a more fruitful day.
SIXTEEN
B ack at the Justice Center, Lucinda went straight to the room where Gloria waited for her return. The restless, pacing woman reminded the detective of corralled wild mustangs, high-stepping from one end of the fence to the other, anxious to break loose and head for the hills.
Gloria’s mass of wavy, dark auburn hair hung down below her shoulder blades. She tossed it about like a distressed mare as she bounced around the room. Lucinda realized that her first challenge would be getting the woman to calm down enough to sit still and have a cohesive conversation.
Lucinda opened her mouth, ready to issue a bland greeting to Gloria; but before she could utter a word, the woman lit into her. ‘How could you do this to me? Is my life that insignificant? I helped you put him into jail and now my life is on the line. When he finds me, I’ll just be collateral damage, nothing more!’
‘Ms Phillips, please, please sit down and let’s talk about what we need to do to keep you safe.’
‘Phillips,’ she spat. ‘Do not ever address me by that name again. I should have done this long ago but I’m doing it now. I called my attorney. I am legally reverting to my maiden name: Martinez, Gloria Martinez. I want that on my tombstone. Do not dare make me bear his name on my grave for all eternity. When he kills me, make sure that does not happen or I will never leave you in peace.’
‘Ms Martinez, please, we can’t talk while you’re ricocheting around the room like this. Please, have a seat,’ Lucinda pleaded as she slid into a chair. She patted the table at the space across from her. ‘Please, sit here.’
Gloria stopped at the spot and slapped both of her hands down on the surface. ‘You promised me!’
‘I promised you? I promised you what, Ms Martinez?’
‘You promised me that bastard would spend the rest of his life in prison. You promised me that I wouldn’t have to worry about him.’
‘Ms Martinez, I promised you we would arrest him and we did. I never pretended that I knew what the outcome would be at his trial or that he would never have any success on appeal. I can’t predict the courts and I have never pretended that I could.’
Gloria reared back and placed her hands on her hips. ‘Well, I didn’t mean you personally. I meant the lot of you,’ she said waving one hand around in a big circle.
‘I do not know what you’re talking about. No one in my presence ever made a promise that he would go to prison and stay there.’
‘OK, it wasn’t you. It was the prosecutor. He promised me. He swore if I testified I’d be safe because that damned congressman I called husband would never leave the prison alive.’
‘He shouldn’t have said that,’ Lucinda admitted.
‘And I was a fool to believe him. I should have known I couldn’t trust the district attorney when Chris walked free after trying to take my life. But no, like an idiot, I took him at his word. But he only said that, he only made that promise, because he knew I wouldn’t have testified if he hadn’t. I wouldn’t have taken that risk otherwise. And now, what am I supposed to do? Chris tried to kill me once over nothing but my life insurance. Now, the stakes are bigger. He will not allow me to live.’
‘Ms Martinez, the appellate court ruled that you should not have testified. Phillips has no reason to believe you would be called to the witness stand again. So you are not a threat to him now.’
‘Oh, you think so?’ Gloria said shaking her
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