Page 1 of Conner's Choice
Chapter One
Elizabeth blew outthe half-melted candles in the twin crystal holders on the formal dining room table. Blobs of wax resembling icicles marred the elegant beauty of the crystal. The aroma of fresh flowers sickened her. No less so her ruined birthday dinner she’d cooked for herself. The expensive standing prime rib roast dried out hours ago. Perched next to a bowl of cold mashed potatoes was the now congealed gravy. Tender, seasoned asparagus lay like soggy logs in the oval vegetable dish. Her husband hated asparagus, but she’d planned to serve it anyway becausesheloved it. Kevin had promised he’d be home on time to celebrate with her, but he’d missed it—one more broken promise in a long line of them.
She knew the reason why.
Elizabeth roamed the first floor of their stone and glass home in the Rockies above Denver, checking doors and windows before she set the security alarm. She’d begun this routine after Kevin began defending sociopaths. A highly sought-after criminal defense attorney, he represented the scourge of the earth. She shivered as she paused outside his study. Elizabeth stared for several moments at the door, standing sentinel to his private domain. She’d protested vehemently when he’d installed a keypad lock on it, accusing him of doubting her veracity and respect for his privacy. Still, he’d insisted it was for her own protection.
“I represent riffraff,” he’d argued, “the scum of the earth. They’d come after you in a heartbeat if any of them suspected you possessed information you shouldn’t have access to.”
It was pointless to continue the discussion after that. Kevin had sufficiently scared her.
Butnow…
She touched the door. A chill ran up her spine. Soon, she thought.
Elizabeth climbed the winding staircase to the master suite. Kevin insisted they model it after one he’d seen inArchitectural Digest. He kept contacting the magazine editors about their home, but so far, they’d declined to do an article on it. What a blow to his outrageous ego.
After she showered in the spacious walk-in stall, Elizabeth slipped into a sheer nightgown and climbed into the king-sized bed with her tablet. She worked on various clients’ accounts until she heard Kevin enter their home through the multi-car garage. Their bedroom, with floor-to-ceiling windows, faced the Rockies, so he couldn’t have seen the soft lamplight. She switched it off, tucked her tablet into the nightstand, and feigned sleep.
Catching a whiff of Alexa Wainwright’s perfume as Kevin passed by the bed and entered the en suite bathroom, Elizabeth stifled the scream rising in her throat and viciously punched her pillow. Kevin hadn’t touched her in six months, a telltale sign that he was cheating again, this time with his law partner.
Elizabeth vowed this would be the last time she allowed her husband to inflict such indignity upon her. She needed conclusive evidence of his infidelity to free herself from her loveless marriage. He assumed she was a compliant, dutiful wife who lacked the intelligence to match wits with the indomitable criminal defense attorney Kevin Warner. He assumed wrong.
A weak sun broke through a cloud-laden sky in the morning. Elizabeth felt the bed shift as Kevin leaned over to kiss her bare shoulder and offer a half-hearted apology. “Sorry, Lizzie.” He deliberately used the nickname she despised. “For missing your birthday.”
Elizabeth leaned against the decorative headboard. “Is it about your client? The one who kept you from coming home last night to celebrate my birthday?” She made a concerted effort to keep the censure from her tone. He hated any reminder that his behavior was less than perfect.
“Yes. It’s nasty business, Lizzie. A double homicide.”
She gasped and sat up a little straighter. “Surely, you’re not referring to the murder of Terry and Tanya Parker.”
“I am. Ray Farmer is entitled to a defense.”
Her eyes grew round in horror with a trace of disgust. “Didn’t he almost stab his wife to death in their home last fall? Beth Farmer was Britain Sherwood’s client at the time.”
“Allegedlystabbed his wife.” Keven scowled. “Britain Sherwood couldn’t argue her way out of a paper bag.” He glanced at her, noting the closed expression on her face. “Sorry, baby. I know she’s a friend of yours.”
“And so were Terry and Tanya. My God, Kevin, we attended their wedding five years ago. Why did Ray Farmer target them? Was it a random home invasion? The news hasn’t released much information.”
“You’re not going to hear anything about it from news outlets. Or from me.” He dropped another kiss on her shoulder and rose from the bed. “I have to be in court in an hour for Farmer’s arraignment.”
As he turned toward the bathroom, Elizabeth begged, “Don’t do it, Kevin. Don’t represent Ray Farmer. Tanya… He killed a pregnant woman. Please don’t take this case.”
He ignored her.
“Britain, have youheard the news about Ray Farmer? Are you at Legal Aid? Stay put. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Conner O’Donnell grabbed his suit jacket and started to leave his office as he spoke to his former lover on his cell phone.
“Conner, wait. I’m not at Legal Aid.”
“Where the hell are you? Ray Farmer killed Dr. Terry Parker and his pregnant wife, Tanya.”
“Oh, my God. I hadn’t heard the news. William Hughes, Legal Aid’s PI, tried to track him down at a bar not too long ago after he attacked his wife but without any luck. He found Christian there instead.”
Christian Stone was his best friend and Britain’s ex-husband.
Conner grimaced. “Yeah, someone told me he’d been hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. Forget about him, Brit. You never answered my question. Where are you?”
“I’m in Marysville, California.”
