Read Redress of Grievances for Free Online

of others I scored with who are still alive to
talk about it. Maybe someone followed me and killed those girls after I left
them."
    "Do
you have an alibi for where you were after you left them?"
    "Not
one that anyone would believe. All I can tell you is that I didn't kill those
girls."
    "Okay.
Let me look over what else the police have, and I'll make a decision by Monday
about whether I'll take your case. Do they have you separated from the other
prisoners here?"
    Jared
lowered his head and nodded. "I just want to get out here," he
mumbled.
    "Unless
the police suddenly discover another suspect that probably isn't going to
happen for quite a while."
    Chapter
Four
    BY
THE TIME Harriett pointed her BMW north toward the Texas-Oklahoma border, it
was almost dark. Despite the fact that it was a long weekend, traffic was
light, and she made good time. Ninety minutes later, she crossed the Oklahoma
border not far from Lake Texoma. For over twenty years, her father had owned a
fishing cabin on the lake. When Farley Markham died, he left the cabin to her.
She had accompanied her father to the cabin many times, and she had nothing but
good memories of the times the two of them had spent there. Over the years, the
cabin had fallen into some disrepair. Farley hadn't made many trips after
Harriett left home and had let annual repairs slide. Since his death, she had
expended a tidy sum to have the chimney re-bricked and the exterior of the
cabin repaired and weatherproofed. In the last two or three years, she had
slowly refurbished the two bedroom cabin to the point where a person could
probably inhabit it year round. She thought that one day she might retire to the
cabin, but for now, it was her private getaway to stabilize her hectic life.
She wished she could make more than three or four trips a year.
    As
she turned off the main road and onto a gravel side road, she was eager to get
into the safety of the cabin. Following the road along the edge of the lake,
she saw lights in the cabin windows and a wisp of smoke floating lazily from
the chimney. The sun was setting; and the evening sky held hints of cooler
weather, and the smell of distant rain was in the air. She loved the smell of
impending rain, with its promise to wash everything away and make it fresh and
clean again. She let her vehicle roll to a stop on the grass in front of the
cabin and got out. The lake was as smooth as glass in the moonlight. Good fishing
night, she thought. A short fishing pier jutted out into the water, and in the
quiet, Harriett could hear the water lapping against its pilings. As she stared
out over the water and felt its calmness soothe her, a beam of light cut into
the darkness from behind her. Turning her head, she saw Alex's silhouette
standing on the porch, the light from inside the cabin creating a halo around
her body. The idea of Alex as an angel brought a smile to Harriett's lips for
nothing could have been further from the truth. The silhouette moved across the
porch and down the steps toward her as she resumed gazing out over the water. A
minute later she felt Alex's arms slip around her waist, pulling her closer,
making her feel safe and wanted. As she turned in Alex's arms, she could make
out the fine features of her lover's face.
    "You're
late," Alex whispered.
    "It's
your fault."
    Running
her hand along Harriett's neck, Alex kissed her gently. "I've fixed
dinner," she said.
    As Harriett
entered the front door, she saw candles flickering on the coffee table and two
place settings. Soft instrumental music flowed from the stereo. Alex carried
Harriett's overnighter into the bedroom and then busied herself with putting
food on plates for them. Alex enjoyed eating by candlelight and, although no
one would have guessed it from her formal demeanor at the office, was a
romantic at heart.
    Alex
and Harriett had been clandestinely seeing each other for three years and it
was a relationship they both enjoyed, intellectually as well as