Innocent Prey (A Brown and de Luca Novel) Read Online Free

her.”
    “Help?” Mason asked.
    The judge took a sip of his bourbon, set the glass down again and stared into the liquid at the bottom. “Therapy, a personal coach to help her learn how to live with it.” He slugged back the last of the bourbon, then held the glass over his head to signal his desire for a refill. “She gives that poor woman so much trouble I’m surprised she hasn’t quit.”
    “That woman have a name?”
    “Loren Markovich.” Judge Mattheson set his empty glass down, fished a business card from his pocket and put it on the table.
    Mason took it and gave it a look. It was one of the judge’s own cards, but it had Markovich’s name and phone number written on the back. He dropped it into his shirt pocket. The waitress came back with his coffee and another bourbon for the judge, then left without a word.
    “Loren took Stevie out near Otsiningo Park the day before yesterday. Told her to walk to the end of the block and back, using her cane.”
    “Alone?” Mason knew he sounded more shocked by that than he should.
    “It’s not that big a deal, Mason,” Chief Sub told him. “Your friend Rachel could tell you that.”
    “Well, Rachel could’a done cartwheels to the corner and back, but that’s Rachel.”
    “Who the hell is Rachel?” the judge snapped.
    “She’s my— She helps me with cases from time to time.”
    “No one else comes in on this, Brown,” Mattheson said. “No one.”
    “We know, Howard.” Chief Sub nodded at him to go on.
    With a stern look at Mason, the judge went on. “Loren says Stephanie was good and pissed. She didn’t want to do it, but Loren pushed her, and she did it. Did just fine, too. Then at the end of the block she flipped Loren off, then kept on going, around the corner and out of sight. Just to be difficult. Just to teach Loren a lesson for pushing her so hard.” He took a big gulp of his bourbon, replaced the glass harder than necessary. “Loren ran to catch up, and Stephanie just wasn’t there. She just...wasn’t there.”
    Mason nodded. “She couldn’t have gone far. Not on her own.”
    “Yeah, well, that’s just it,” the judge said. “I think she had help. I think she set this up somehow. She’s been acting out ever since she went blind.” He lowered his head, turning the bourbon glass slowly in his hand. “I know it’s horrible. I know it is. Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, but at some point you just have to figure out how to deal with it and go on, you know? It’s terrible what happened to her, but it’s not our fault.”
    “Did they get the guy, Judge?” Mason asked.
    “You better believe it. And I made sure he got the max. Trial judge was a friend of mine.”
    The judge’s free hand flattened itself to the table, and it was shaking. “I just... I want her found. Discreetly and quietly. I want her found.”
    “All right.” Mason nodded slowly. “But what if this wasn’t some kind of tantrum? What if she was taken?”
    The judge shook his head. “I’ve thought of that. But there’s been no demand, no phone call or ransom note.”
    “But you’re a judge. You must have enemies.”
    “I’m a family court judge, son. I don’t deal with criminals. Criminally bad parents, sometimes, but not criminals like you’re thinking of.”
    “All right. All right. What if she did have help, then? Who would be the most likely accomplice?”
    The judge met Mason’s eyes for the first time and nodded. “She had a boyfriend all through high school. She ran off with him once, senior year. But she hasn’t seen him since shortly after that.”
    “Name?”
    “Jacob Kravitz. Goes by Jake.”
    “You know where he is?”
    “No. As far as I know she hasn’t seen or heard from him since she graduated. She’s seeing a decent guy now. A law clerk in the D.A.’s office. Mitchell Kirk. He’s a good kid.”
    “Anyone else? Friends from college or work?”
    “She quit college after the accident. Her friends called and came around