Innocent?

By The World-Famous I.B. Corduroy

Firefighter and devoted husband Matt Kingston is arrested for a gruesome murder. He denies having any guilt even though investigators find his DNA at the murder scene. His public defender, the neophyte lawyer Paula Peters, is assigned to defend him and tries her best to believe in his innocence. But the evidence seems overwhelming against her ever being successful. This story follows the investigation into the murder, who ultimately stands by Kingston's claim of innocence, and who does not.

Is he truly innocent?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889600640

Book preview

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Innocent?

The World-Famous I.B. Corduroy

Copyright © 2023 The World-Famous I.B. Corduroy

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2023

This is a fiction book. None of the characters are real. The names of people and places are all fictitious and do not represent anyone or any specific place in particular. The story itself is fiction as well.

ISBN 979-8-88960-050-3 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88960-064-0 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

What would you do if you were accused of a heinous crime and had no idea what the authorities were talking about?

I dedicate this book to all the fine, hardworking police officers, sheriff deputies, law enforcement officers, and attorneys who work hard every day to serve the public and search for the truth. As always, I also dedicate this book to the one person who helped change my life forever: my shining Starr!

Sometimes your closest family members are not your blood relatives. Thank you, Susan and Darrell Monroe for always being there!

Also a special shout-out to Michelle and Jason Oosterbaan for their help with the cover of this book.

—I.B. Corduroy

Chapter 1

It was a hazy and a slightly chilly October evening in Bloomberg, Ohio. There was just a tiny bit of drizzle trickling down from the dark clouds up above. Twilight was now approaching as the police car pulled up alongside the curb in front of an attractive redbrick house. The car’s emergency red lights blaze, but no noise emanates from its siren. The outside of the house was very well kept with its finely trimmed lawn; its beautiful red, yellow, and purple flowers out in front; and its large elegant bright-red entry door. Officer McMillan was the first to exit the vehicle, and as he did, he drew his weapon, pointing it straight at the front door. Sergeant Pride, who was driving, also got out and armed himself with a shotgun. The two men gazed at each other and nodded as if to silently say Let’s go as they started toward the front of the home. As the two men approached, they were very careful to be alert to any and all sounds as well as to look out for any movement that was around them.

The adrenalin rush of an event such as this can be both terrifying as well as addicting. The call that they were responding to was for a possible homicide inside of the residence. An unnamed caller called it in with a phone that could not be traced. They had no idea what they were going to encounter once they were to enter the residence. This was the big time, and they both knew it. After the mundane repetition of handing out traffic tickets, responding to shoplifters, and breaking up bar fights, these two could actually find themselves in a fight for their very lives. The most important thing right now was for them to both stay focused. Backup was on the way, but it would still take some time. They had to enter the house in case someone was still alive and needed their help. If they waited for the backup, someone could possibly die.

The patrolmen climbed up the three cement stairs leading to the front entranceway, being careful not to create any noises to be heard. One officer went to the left of the door, while the other went over to the right. After the two took a silent deep breath, they once again eyed each other to coordinate their entrance inside of the residence. McMillan quietly turned the door knob, which made a slight click as it was unlocked. After a nod of the head, they burst in and quickly scanned the area for a perpetrator or for a victim. There was none to be seen just yet. Now it was time to scan the rest of the house. They both entered the kitchen where, there on the floor lay a thirtysomething female in a pool of blood and a large kitchen knife stuck in the middle of her chest. McMillan’s eyes instantly popped open wide. Sergeant Pride silently approached the body with caution as he did not want to disrupt the crime scene, and then checked for a pulse alongside the victim’s neck. As he did so, McMillan was looking out for anyone who might want to sneak up on them from behind. Pride felt that there was no pulse, then turned to his partner and shook his head as if to say no.

Again, the two locked eyes with each other while maintaining silent communication. It was now time to resume their search of the rest of the house. They systematically checked each of the three bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs. Each time they entered a room, they could feel their hearts beating and hands slightly shaking from the adrenalin rush. Their search came up empty. Sergeant Pride called in to dispatch on his walkie and advised them that the scene was secure and that they had a deceased victim there as well.

Shortly thereafter, the second patrol car pulled up and parked across the street from the house, and the two officers from within that car also entered the now-confirmed murder scene with extreme caution. Sergeant Pride instructed the two to wait outside at the entrance and not to touch a thing. He also instructed the officers to keep on the lookout for anyone trying to watch them all work—many perpetrators of this kind of crime hang around and watch in order to get some sort of thrill. Soon thereafter, within half an hour or so, there were five cars as well as the mobile forensics lab all parked outside of the residence. Crime scene tape was strung around the house as now the neighbors started to begin to gather. It would be a long night of paperwork for the initial two officers, but they knew that when it comes to working murder scenes, everything must be documented, and it must be documented with perfection.

The crime lab technicians began their work looking for fingerprints and bodily fluids, as well as any DNA evidence. The body of the deceased would lie there for many hours as everyone was trying to recreate the scene and figure out what had happened and why. This woman was obviously stabbed, but by who, why, when, and by how many?

A short time later, the detectives arrived at the scene. Lt. Lisa Ramirez was to be the lead detective on this one. She had the experience. She had many years working the streets as a patrol officer in the field and now had an additional five years as a detective under her belt. She was more than capable of handling this type of crime. She immediately started to take control of the scene, instructing Sargeant Pride and Officer McMillan to go back to the station and start writing up their reports. She directed them to not share any information about this incident with anyone, as this could hinder the investigation and ultimate capture or conviction of any suspect or suspects. She also instructed the pair not to share information with each other, just go back and separately write up what each one had observed.

As they both arrived at the station, Pride and McMillan went over to a room that enabled them to each have some privacy. It contained several desks with writing equipment such as pens, pencils, pads, and such. The room was extremely quiet, which would enable