Justice Served

By Carolyn Barrett

Detective Krista Wilkins catches a new case-the rape and murder of a teenage girl, Sara Hamilton. It's not long before Krista finds that there are other victims in the surrounding counties. This case is different from the others that Krista has worked in the past. This victim looks so much like Krista they could have been sisters. These cases will not be solved until Krista faces her own painful demons-demons that have haunted her for years and, unbeknownst to her, work beside her every day. Kri

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781643508610

Book preview

1

Waiting for the race to start, Krista sat on the riverbank, watching the rippling of the water as it flowed downriver to destinations unknown to her. She reminisced about growing up in a small town, how special it was year around, but more so in the summertime with the hustle and bustle of people coming and going. With wide views of the beautiful Rappahannock River and the charming shops that adorned Prince Street, it left a magical feeling in the hearts of the children, feelings of home, peace, and safety. It was filled with people who grew up here and how everyone knew everyone. People wished others a great day just in passing.

Like all small towns, there were always gossips, the so-called haves and have-nots—the haves being that usual kind that didn’t have crap but had an air of being better than everyone else. Krista laughed aloud and jumped up to get in line for the 10K. Lou was waiting at the starting line and as usual, Krista was late. Both Krista and Lou were runners and tried to get in a run two or three days a week.

Looking over at Krista with a smile, Lou said, Okay, we are going to finish first, got it?

Krista shook her head and laughed. You are so competitive, my gosh.

The race started with the firing of the starting pistol. There were at least two hundred people keeping in stride toward the finished line with the hope of being the first to cross over. Lou had been running for years and ran in marathons that were much longer than this one.

As the sun was going down, Krista decided, Okay, I’ve had enough! I’m starting to get blisters on my feet. If I have to run one more step, I am going to scream!

Lou laughed aloud just to encourage Krista to keep going. Come on, we are just about there, and look, I can see the finished line.

What? Well, you have some good eyes because the finished line is three miles down the road, and my feet hurt.

Krista met Lou (short for Louise) a few years back and became instant friends. After talking about it, they decided to apply to the police academy. Krista wasn’t sure why she wanted to be a police officer, but she wanted a job where she could help others.

Lou was the only real friend that Krista had with the exception of Ian, to whom Krista hadn’t spoken to in years; she wasn’t even sure where he was. Ian was someone who came into her life when there was no one else. Her parents died when she was young, and she went to live with her grandmother, who was too old to really deal with a teenage girl. The school Krista had to attend was in a richer neighborhood, and Krista was treated like an outcast, not good enough to be anyone’s friend. Lonely, Krista dove into her books and graduated in the top percentile of her class.

Lou asked, I’m going over to the café for dinner. You want to join me?

Krista was hungry, but she declined. I’ve got court in the morning, and I need to go over my case files so I’ll be ready. I’ll catch you sometime tomorrow.

Krista jumped in the car, turned up the music, and sped off to home. She liked going to circuit court; the judge was good at his job and not bad to look at. She always dressed for the occasion, making sure that every hair was in place.

Pulling into her driveway, Krista stayed in the car for a moment to listen to the song playing; she couldn’t help but think of days gone by and the course her life had taken over the past decade. The song ended, and it was back to reality for Krista. She got out of the car and stopped at the mailbox to get the mail.

Man, I have really gotta start getting the mail more often. Laughing, Krista thumbed through the pile of mostly junk mail. She unlocked the door, went in, and tossed the mail on the table with all intentions of going through it later. At this moment, all she wanted was a hot bubble bath.

Lying back in the hot water was so relaxing that Krista found herself nodding off. She dried off and jumped into an old T-shirt that Lord only knows where she found. But that was it; she slept in that old T-shirt every single night. Krista grabbed her file and lay on the bed to refresh her memory of the case and go over her testimony for court in the morning. She prided herself on being good at her job, and she didn’t usually lose. Being a detective for the local PD, she usually got the sadder cases, crimes against children and women. With tired eyes, Krista finally turned the light out, hoping she would be able to sleep.

The alarm went off, and Krista rolled out of bed, she must have been tired because she didn’t remember even getting into bed. Krista put food down for the cat and decided to grab coffee on her way to work. Pulling into the local coffee house, the first person Krista saw was Jason Barrack, the Honorable Jason Barrack, the circuit court judge who would be sitting on the bench today. Excited and nervous, Krista got out of the car and tried to keep her composure. She didn’t know why he had this kind of effect on her, but he did. All she could think about was how his steel blue eyes seemed to stare right through her. He finally left the coffee house, and Krista finally could feel her heart slow down. When she got to the counter, the clerk gave her a cup of coffee and said it had already been paid for. Krista took the coffee, looked around, and decided that the judge must have paid for it; he was the only one in the café that she knew.

Heading to work, Krista started thinking about the judge. She knew nothing about him, whether he was married or had children. In court, he was soft-spoken, stern but kind, very respectful to the defendants, and today wouldn’t be any different.

2

After being on the stand for what seemed like hours, Krista went back to her office to wait for the verdict. Just like the table at home, her desk had a mound of junk mail on it. Krista noticed a white envelope that was from some lawyer she didn’t recognize, so it went in the later pile.

Hey, great job on the stand!

Thanks. Where is everyone?

Krista’s chief stuck his head out of his office to let her know about the new case. Everyone’s at the scene—a fifteen-year-old female, raped and murdered. The body came up by the old pier at Wares Wharf. Chief went on to explain that city workers found her.

Krista knew the Ware’s Wharf area well and knew that a body could be dumped there and no one would see it. Shaking her head, Krista got the details and headed down to the crime scene.

Hey, Jack, do we know who she is?

Yeah. Sara Hamilton. She went to the public pool over on Fifth and didn’t come home for dinner. Her mother was worried and went out to look for her, but she didn’t have any luck. Mom called the police late last night, about nine. City workers found her this morning over by the pier. The body is already at the morgue.

Looking around, Krista could see how rough the river water was and was very concerned that vital evidence was probably washed away. Okay, have the parents been notified?

Jack shook his head. I figured we could go together. You know I don’t like doing this kind of thing alone. Besides, you are better at it than I am.

Krista threw Jack a cool smile, and after making sure the crime scene was secure and all the evidence was collected, she got into the car and headed back to the courthouse.

Krista hoped that she hadn’t missed the reading of the verdict and was happy to hear that she hadn’t. Taking a seat behind the county prosecutor, word came down that the jury had reached a verdict. As Krista waited for the jury to come back into the courtroom, she went over the case in her mind. A fifty-three-year-old woman had been raped in her own home, beaten, tortured, and left for dead by her neighbor, Stephen Sill. Judge Barrack came back into the courtroom and took his seat on the bench as the jury was escorted back to their seats.

Madam Foreperson, has the jury reached a verdict?

Yes, we have.

Please hand the verdict to the bailiff.

The judge read the verdict and handed it back to the bailiff to give to the Foreperson. Will the defendant please rise? Madam Foreperson, what is your verdict?

We, the jury, find Stephen Sill guilty of rape and abduction in the first degree of Julie Douglas.

Krista kept her head down during the reading of the verdict. She didn’t want anyone to notice the smile on her face that wasn’t there.

Krista stood up and started for the door when all of a sudden, she could feel the steel blue eyes touching the back of her neck, eyes that could reach inside and touch her soul. Krista didn’t turn around but kept on walking. Once through the doors, she leaned against the wall to get herself together. Krista thought how strange it was that the judge had this kind of effect on her.

Jack saw Krista leaning against the wall. Are you all right?

Yeah, let’s run over to the coroner’s office to get a prelim on our dead girl. Doc should have something for us by now. Then we’ll head over to talk to her parents.

*****

Pulling up to the medical examiner’s office, Jack put the car in park, turned off the ignition, and got out of the car, hating what he was about to see. Krista knew Jack hated coming here. He vomited the last time, and Krista, with a smile, figured he would do it again this time. Reaching the door, Krista went in first, giving Jack a chance to get himself together.

Hey, Doc.

With a wave of his hand, the doctor said, Don’t have anything for you. Just started.

Doctor Ty Henley, known by everyone as Doc, had been the local medical examiner for about ten years. When Krista joined the department, she learned fast that stroking the doc’s ego could get her all kinds of information.

She tilted her head and gave him a big smile. Come on, Ty, you know you’re the best ME in these parts. You have helped clear murders just by looking at the body. Just give me a start—anything.

Ty always had a soft spot for Krista, but he had never acted on his feelings. He knew there was something in her past that made her untouchable.

Okay, preliminary only! Looks like she’s been dead approximately eight to ten hours, badly beaten and strangled. I’d say she died from strangulation, some kind of thin rope or wire. She’s been in the river for hours. Any evidence will probably have been washed away.

Was she sexually assaulted?

Looks as though she was—brutally. See the bruising? I’ll be able to tell more after I get her on the table.

Krista was scanning the small body lying on the gurney before her, trying to figure out what kind of animal does this to a child. She was just about to walk away when she noticed a mark on Sara’s left shoulder, a mark that she had seen before and knew all too well. Hoping that no one saw her reaction, Krista turned away from Doc and toward the door.

Okay, thanks, Doc. Can you give me a call when you have more? Then she looked over at Jack. Are you coming with me or staying here?

As he was turning to get started, Doc yelled over his shoulder, You’ve got it!

Noticing that Krista was shaken, Jack asked, You okay?

Yeah, it’s just so damn hard. We have to go tell the parents their little girl was raped and murdered. There is just no easy way. Damn, I hate this part of the job.

3

Pulling up to the Hammond driveway, Jack looked over at Krista to see she was not wanting to do the notification, but he knew that she would take on this task because she needed to make sure it was done with a level of care that most men wouldn’t recognize.

Krista and Jack got out of the car and started up the sidewalk. The front door opened, and standing there was a petite woman, maybe forty years old with long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her nervous hands were pushing the loose strands that were not quite long enough away from her face. Krista could see that the past couple of days had taken a toll on her; she had pale skin and swollen eyes that had shed many tears. The look on her face told Krista that she knew the bad news. Without words, Krista wrapped her arms around the small figure and guided her into the house.

The house was small but neat, everything in its place. Trying not to stare, Krista wondered about the life of the small figure of a woman sitting beside her. It was obvious that Thelma Hamilton had worked hard for the little that she had; there was a sense of pride hanging from every wall.

Looking up at Krista with tears in her eyes, Thelma softly asked, She’s gone? My baby’s gone?

Krista shook her head to acknowledge the question. Without a word, she took Thelma’s hand and asked if Sara was meeting maybe some of her friends that day.

Thelma wiped away tears. She usually meets her friends from school. They stay most of the day. But she always gets home before dinner.

Wanting this over, Krista knew she had to learn everything she could about Sara in order to figure out what happened to her and bring closure to a mother who so obviously loved her daughter. Do you know anyone who wanted to hurt Sara? Maybe she was having problems with someone—a boyfriend maybe.

Quietly wiping her eyes, Thelma slowly shook her head no. Sara was a sweet kind of person. Everyone loved her. After taking a pause, Thelma said, I need to be alone, please. You can let yourselves out.

Okay, I’ll be in touch in a couple of days, but if you think of anything, please call. Leaving her card on the table, Krista and Jack closed the door.

4

At the age of nineteen, Krista was still afraid when walking past a graveyard. She remembered her mom always telling her that it wasn’t the dead she should worry about, but it was the living. Since it was the shortest route from work to home, Krista took it.

On this evening, Krista started for home after working late. She was hoping that the rain would hold off. It was bad enough that it was getting dark out and there were only a few light poles along the way. About halfway, the rain started, at first a fine mist and then a downpour. Looking for shelter until the rain let up, Krista ran to what looked like an old