“Did he plead not guilty?” Liz asked.
“Yeah, swore he was drunk and doesn’t remember that night but knows he wouldn’t do that and that he hadn’t had sex. His defense was he can’t get it up when he is drunk, so how could he have raped anyone.” Mike snorted as he scoffed at the report he was reading. Sometimes he couldn’t believe the things that criminals said to try to get themselves out of hot water.
“Shitty lawyer, that’s a crap defense.” Liz mused, wondering what the real story was behind that case.
“You called it, took the jury thirty minutes to return their verdict.” Mike said, sitting up and closing the folder. He took his feet off the desk and plopped the folder down on top.
“I think it’s a hot lead we need to follow. It would be a pretty insane coincidence if she happened to pick out a rapist from the binder who wasn’t her attacker. He looks pretty good for it.” Mike said, standing up and stretching then searching through his top drawers for some quarters to get a soda from the vending machine.
“You think?” Liz asked, following him to get a soda. Mike glanced at her, shooting her a puzzled look saying he didn’t understand her hesitation.
“I mean there are a crap ton of rapists in that binder. The district is big but it isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibilities that she would recognize someone that had nothing to do with her attack.” Liz argued the other side.
“Don’t get stuck in tunnel vision.” Mike consolidated what Liz was saying, nodding his head in agreement.
“Exactly.” Liz agreed and popped her coins into the machine, hitting the button for a highly caffeinated soda. The partners headed back to their desks.
“Okay, let’s find out every bit we can find about Craig. See if there are any ties we can make to Kate aside from the coffee shop. I am going to look to see if they ever collected his fingerprints or DNA. Maybe if it’s in the system, we will have some luck.” Liz said to Mike, although she was mostly just thinking out loud. Mike didn’t need any instruction into how to investigate a case. He was a seasoned professional and she had learned a lot in her time working with him.
CHAPTER TWO
“You look beautiful.” Derrick said to Kate as she opened the front door for him and he walked into her apartment. She blushed and rolled her eyes. She was wearing blue pajama bottoms with snowmen on them and a gray tank top. Her hair was in a loose French braid down the back of her head and she was not wearing any makeup. She knew exactly what she looked like and beautiful was not it. Especially when you take into consideration the stubborn bruises and lacerations on her face, arms, and chest that poked out around her tank top.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me, you know I don’t lie.” Derrick flashed his bad boy smile at her that made her knees tremble and a heat flare up through her core. She couldn’t help herself from taking a moment just to enjoy the tawdry thoughts that slipped through her mind every time she looked at Derrick. They were uncontrollable and instantaneous every time those piercing eyes glanced her way, sliding right through her and taking hold of her heart.
Derrick Kane was a twenty-seven year old lawyer that Kate had met over six months ago and it seemed that he had only become more and more handsome as each day passed. He surpassed six feet by several inches and his skin was a delicious, creamy chocolate color that always glistened in just the right way. His eyes were green and piercing, a striking contrast to his skin tone. He kept his hair very short, almost entirely shaved and he pulled off the look exquisitely.
He worked in a law firm that partnered with public prosecutors, assisting in criminal trials and defending victims. He had a passion for helping others, which was one of the similarities between him and Kate that had first drawn her to him. She could feel the kindness in his spirit, but even more than that she had loved his humor. She was always laughing when he was around and the two had an ability to effortlessly carry on witty banter that most would envy.