Read Easy Innocence for Free Online Page A

that Ramsey, the First Assistant State’s Attorney and the prosecutor handling the case, lives in Winnetka. His daughter goes to the same school as the victim.”
    “Interesting.”
    “You think he might be under some kind of pressure?”
    “Someone’s always under pressure in Chicago. Why do you think they say you can indict a ham sandwich in Cook County?” He paused. “But if you’re talking about undue pressure...” His voice rose on the word “undue.”
    “The murder happened in one of the most affluent—and white—areas of Chicagoland. And yes, if the girl went to school with Ramsey’s daughter, there could be pressure. From the school. The neighbors. The village honchos. No one wants this hanging over the community. At the same time, Ramsey’s got to be pretty damn sure he’s gonna win. I mean, they got the guy’s prints on the bat and her blood on his shirt.”
    “I’m guessing that doesn’t give me much time,” Georgia said.
    “You got it.” Kelly eyed her. “Look. I know why Ruth Jordan hired you. I know she’s convinced he didn’t do it. But I can’t, in good faith, tell either of you that it’s gonna make a difference. I think our best shot is to plead it out. Let the boy go into the system. They’ll get him a shrink. Who knows? Might even do him some good.”
    Georgia uncrossed her legs. If Kelly didn’t want to mount a defense, working with him would be a nightmare. She considered her options. She could tell him what O’Malley said, but she didn’t want to get O’Malley in trouble. Still, she had to give him something, if only to keep him from pleading it out right away. “Actually, the idea of getting me involved came from a cop on the North Shore.”
    Kelly arched his eyebrows.
    “Ruth didn’t mention that?”
    “No.” He leaned forward. For the first time he looked interested in the conversation. “If the cops get their man, they usually don’t go looking for evidence to exonerate them. What’s the deal?”
    “A hazing incident was going on at the time of the crime.”
    “Hazing?” He frowned.
    “The public defender didn’t brief you?”
    Kelly shook his head. “I was lucky the PD knew his client’s name.”
    “I figured it would be in the police reports. The hazing, I mean.”
    “Haven’t read them yet.”
    Georgia pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay. Let me fill you in.”
    As she explained about the hazing incident two years ago, Kelly started to nod. “I remember that.” He shifted. “Hold on. Are you saying another kid clubbed her to death?”
    “It’s a possibility.”
    Kelly shook his head. “But how could—”
    “What if things—just spun out of control? They were drinking, don’t forget. What if someone had a few too many and tackled a girl by accident?”
    “By accident?”
    “It was supposed to be a touch football game.”
    “Oh.”
    “And, say, a few minutes later, another girl tackles her back. Then someone else picks up a baseball bat, and it escalates. And if one of them had a grudge against the other...” She leaned forward, mirroring his movements. “You know how high school girls are.”
    “No. How are they?”
    Somehow Georgia wasn’t surprised. “Like quicksilver. They operate mostly on hormones. Which means they can turn on their friends in a heartbeat. Especially if the ‘group’,whoever that group is at the moment, says to. The need for acceptance makes kids do wacko things.”
    “A girl would have had to be pretty damn strong to do the kind of damage that was done to the victim.”
    “A six-year-old could do plenty of damage with a baseball bat.” She shrugged. “And what if it wasn’t a girl? What if it was a guy? There were boys in the Forest Preserve, too.”
    For a moment Kelly looked curious, even engaged, and Georgia dared to hope. Then his expression turned grim. “So there’s a few kids in the woods. And they’re running around half drunk whooping it up. That doesn’t mitigate the evidence