Deadly Charade - By Virna Depaul Page 0,9

call that Mark Guapo—”

“That’s the drug lord, right?” Allie asked. “The one whose prison conviction was recently overturned?”

Continuing to read, Linda nodded. “Yes. He was released from prison and murdered shortly thereafter. An anonymous caller identified Guapo’s killer as a man named ‘Coop.’ The woman said this ‘Coop’ had been trying to take over Guapo’s criminal endeavors while he’d been in prison.” Linda felt her throat close up on her and focused on her breathing. Tony wasn’t a criminal. Not the way Guapo had been.

“Bad guy, huh?” Allie asked.

Bad guy? Tony? On paper, it seemed that way. But in real life? Well, besides the drug addiction, Linda couldn’t imagine Tony ever being a bad guy. Weak, maybe. But not bad.

Linda flipped through the pages, noting that the charging deputy had been Brian Heald. Ideally Heald should have made the connection that Linda had previously prosecuted Guapo and given her a heads-up about his death, but because Heald had started at the D.A.’s office less than a year ago, long after Guapo’s conviction, she wasn’t surprised he hadn’t. That was especially true given she’d consistently turned down Heald’s invitations to go clubbing—he’d been getting snottier and snottier ever since, so the guy was even less likely to do her any favors. Tony’s failure to call her when he’d been arrested still ate at her, however.

Searching for possible answers, she summarized the police report for Allie. “When patrol officers reached the location where they’d been directed, a closed car repair shop in West Sacramento, the defendant was passed out near the front door, several feet from Guapo’s body. Mr. Cooper was bleeding from an injury to the back of his head and from one leg.”

“Did they find the murder weapon?”

Linda licked her finger and turned the page, then nodded. “Police patted him down for a weapon and discovered a bloody wrench tucked inside the waistband of his pants. After that he was transported to the hospital and treated for his injuries. As soon as he’d been well enough, he was transferred to the county jail.”

The details of Tony’s injuries caught Linda’s attention. His left leg, which had always caused him pain anyway, had suffered the most damage, but hadn’t been fatal. The infection he’d caught afterward had almost been. He’d fought it for days, but during that time Detective Derek Humphries had interviewed him.

Allie moved behind Linda and read over her shoulder. “Despite his not guilty plea in court, he confessed to the investigating detective,” Allie stated. “So he’s guilty, right?” She said it with a slight smile, acknowledging that most but not all people who confessed were usually being truthful. Though it was rare, people falsely confessed for a variety of reasons, including to protect another. Was that the case here?

“Maybe,” Linda said. Tony had admitted killing Mark Guapo, but he’d refused to say anything more. Frustrated, she flipped through the file but found nothing else. That was where the report ended.

Humphries had stopped the investigation at Tony’s confession when he should have done far more. He should have asked about motive and the events leading up to the day. He should have asked Tony about his injuries. Sure, Tony hadn’t been forthcoming with further information, but he hadn’t invoked his right to an attorney yet, either.

She tipped back in her chair, running her fingers across the smooth surface of her wooden desk, letting thoughts run through her mind. It didn’t matter that Tony had pled not guilty at his arraignment hearing. Everyone did that as a matter of course and it wouldn’t be persuasive evidence against his confession. Still, when he’d said those words, Linda had prayed for them to be true.

She still did.

Standing, she shrugged off her jacket.

“Are we settling in for the long haul?” Allie asked.

“Want to brainstorm?”

At Allie’s eager nod, Linda tossed her a yellow legal pad and pen, and asked her to draw a line down the center of one sheet. Over the next few minutes, she and Allie listed on one side the evidence against Tony.

Anonymous call reporting a man named “Coop” had killed Guapo.

Tony Cooper found at the crime scene next to Guapo’s dead body.

Tony Cooper found with possible murder weapon, a bloody wrench.

Confession.

Linda hesitated, unsure whether she should add information that she personally knew but that had not been elicited from police. Finally, she told Allie to write down:

Known association with Mark Guapo.

Confirmed drug addict.

Allie raised her eyebrows at the last statement. Nothing in the report had indicated either of those things. Linda