Sullivan's Law Read Online Free Page B

pen against his teeth. “Metroix killed a kid, Carolyn. The kid’s father is a high-ranking law enforcement official. He falls into a sewer and fifty cops will nail down the lid.”
    â€œI’m aware the victim was Charles Harrison’s son. I even dated Liam Armstrong when I was in high school.”
    â€œWho’s Liam Armstrong?”
    â€œOne of the two boys who survived,” Carolyn told him, bringing forth images of the egotistical football player who’d tried to force her to have sex with him on their second date.
    â€œSmall town,” Preston said, gulping down another swig of his coffee. “I’m glad I didn’t grow up in this place. Bring me up to snuff on your other work.”
    Ventura was a unique city, Carolyn thought. The community had sprung up around the San Buenaventura Mission, and in many ways still maintained a Spanish flavor. Houses with boat slips were now crammed along the ocean side of the 101 Freeway, and the real estate in the foothills offered fantastic views. An hour north was Santa Barbara—home to millionaires, polo fields, and pristine beaches. The citizens of Ventura, however, were mostly hardworking, middle-class people.
    â€œWell,” Brad said, “are you going to tell me or do I have to beat it out of you?”
    Carolyn was tempted to lie, tell him that if he persisted in assigning her Metroix, the same thing would happen that had occurred with Downly. There were other competent officers in the agency. No matter how heavy the workload, though, someone had to do it. Knowing it was Carolyn gave Brad a sense of security. After the Downly incident, she would have expected him to back off. Obviously, that wasn’t the case, and it wasn’t how the man operated. He liked to live life on the edge. Doing things the easy way, he’d once told her, was boring.
    â€œI finished dictating the Dearborn shooting yesterday,”
    Carolyn answered. “I recommended the aggravated term as we discussed. The Perkins robbery has already been filed. As for the Sandoval shooting, I’ve summarized the facts of the crime. I interviewed the defendant at the jail last week. I’m seeing the victim, Lois Mason, this afternoon. Since Sandoval has two priors for assault with a deadly weapon and the DA filed under three strikes, he’s going down for the count.”
    â€œGreat,” Preston said, one side of his mouth curling into a smile. “That means one less asshole on the street. I can’t believe Sandoval shot an old lady to steal her purse.”
    â€œShe fought back,” Carolyn reminded him. “I have a few other minor things on the burner, and that’s it.” Being efficient had its drawbacks. She ended up doing twice as much work as many of her fellow officers. “I guess you can slap me with anything that comes in, Brad. You will anyway.”
    â€œI don’t have a choice,” he said, relieved that he’d heard at least some good news for the day. He had twelve new cases that had to be assigned, and no officers available to handle them. At least four of the twelve would end up with Carolyn Sullivan’s name on them. Now all he had to do was find someone to investigate the remaining eight.
    â€œKeep me posted on Downly,” Carolyn told him, standing to leave.
    â€œEverything’s going to be fine, baby,” Brad tossed out. He began thumbing through a thick stack of phone messages from the week before. He stopped and looked up. “The file said Metroix tried to get himself transferred to the prison hospital by claiming he was a paranoid schizophrenic. Every psycho I’ve ever run across knocks himself out trying to convince you he’s sane. A man who’s been in prison this long is dangerous. Watch your back.” He paused and then added, “And start carrying your damn gun.”
    â€œI’ll start carrying my gun when you stop calling me baby and