Free Compulsion (Max Revere Novels Book 2) by Allison Brennan

trunk?”
    “A white female later identified as Ava Raines. Her feet were bound and she had duct tape hanging from her cheek. She had duct tape on her hands, but she had managed to cut the tape off on the inside of the trunk lid.”
    “Objection,” Warren said. “Speculation.”
    “Sustained,” the judge said.
    Charlene nodded and said, “Did you see remnants of duct tape on her wrists?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Did Ms. Raines say anything at that time?”
    “She said, ‘Help me. Thank God you’re here. Please help me.’”
    “And then what did you do?”
    “We removed the woman from the trunk, called for an ambulance, and took her statement.”
    “The official statement is Exhibit Four,” Golden told the jury. “Continue.”
    “Ms. Raines informed us that she woke up in the trunk of the car, which she realized was her car because her things were in the trunk, and her hands and feet were bound. She kicked and tried to signal for help.”
    “Thank you, Officer.”
    Max wrote her impressions in her own unique shorthand. Clear and straightforward, Max noted. Established the facts and a time line, plus probable cause, which was important for the jury. Very typical of an experienced officer. He’d probably testified in a hundred trials during his tenure. Score one for the prosecution.
    Warren’s cross-examination was brief, but he asked the one question Max knew he would.
    “Did you ask Ms. Raines who abducted her?”
    “Yes.”
    “And what did she say?”
    “She said she didn’t know.”
    “Did you ask her if she recognized the man driving her car?”
    “Yes, I did. She said he looked familiar, but she didn’t know why.”
    “And did Mr. Bachman comply with your orders?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Mr. Bachman in no way resisted arrest?”
    “No, sir.”
    “And you read Mr. Bachman his rights?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Did Mr. Bachman say anything before you read him his rights?”
    The officer looked confused and glanced at Charlene. Max agreed—the question was odd. She put a star in her notepad then wrote down the question and waited for the answer.
    The judge said, “Answer the question, Officer.”
    “He repeated several times, ‘I don’t understand.’”
    “Did you think that he didn’t understand why you were arresting him?”
    “No, sir. He understood his rights and verbally acknowledged such.”
    “Meaning, did he seem surprised that there was a woman bound in the trunk of the car?”
    “Objection,” Charlene said.
    “It goes to my client’s emotional state of mind, Your Honor.”
    “You may answer the question, Officer. But, Counselor, please tread carefully in this area.”
    “Thank you, Your Honor. Officer, did Mr. Bachman seem in any way surprised that there was a woman bound in the trunk of the car?”
    “I really can’t say, sir. The only thing he said was, ‘I don’t understand.’ He didn’t say anything after we read him his rights, except to affirm that he understood them.”
    “Thank you.”
    I don’t understand.
    Max underlined the comment. It was odd for Bachman to have said it to the police, and equally odd in how the defense brought it up to the officer. What was his purpose? To attempt to show confusion on Bachman’s part? To cast doubt on his knowledge of Ava Raines being in the trunk? He was driving her car, after all.
    “Redirect,” Charlene said and rose from her chair. “Officer, were you aware that Mr. Bachman was driving a car registered to Ms. Raines?”
    Max smiled. Charlene could have pulled the question right out of Max’s head.
    “Not until after we placed him under arrest. We then ran the plates on the car and determined that it was registered to Ava Raines of Long Island. That coincided with the registration we found in the glove compartment box.”
    Bachman shifted in his seat and whispered something to his lawyer. Max wished she was a fly on the table in front of them. What was he saying? He looked agitated, as if he wanted to say