Free Trapped by Revenge: A Shelby Nichols Adventure by Colleen Helme

office, he found her lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She was still breathing, but died before the paramedics got there. A gun belonging to the suspect was found in the women’s restroom in the garbage can. But get this… it was in a plastic bag along with some cloth gloves and a rag.”
    That caught my attention, and my heart skipped a beat. “That’s how my gun was found, but how did you know?”
    “Dimples told me, but only after I told him about the case I’m working on. I specifically asked him if anything was found with the gun just to see if it matched. When it did, we were both a bit surprised, to tell you the truth.” She was thinking he also didn’t want her to tell anyone, especially not me, and that he had violated all kinds of rules when it slipped out. He could even lose his job over this.
    “I’ll bet,” I said. “So what happened to the suspect? Did they arrest him?”
    “His proximity to the victim at the time of death, along with the gun, gave them a reason to formally charge him with murder. It was a pretty shut-and-dry case. Fingerprints, DNA, everything matched. The prosecution even offered him a plea bargain so he could avoid the death penalty, but he claimed he was innocent and wouldn’t take it. The jury found him guilty and sentenced him to death.”
    I felt the blood drain from my head. “When did this happen?”
    “Not too long ago, but he’s scheduled for execution next week.”
    “Whoa, that’s fast. Don’t they have mountains of appeals and that sort of stuff to get through first?”
    “Normally… yes. But it looks like someone’s pulling strings here, and pushing it through the system. That’s why I got involved. With everything happening so fast and his claim of innocence, I was interested in interviewing him. Though, I have to admit, I was also thinking this could be my claim to fame. You know, maybe even a Pulitzer Prize? Now I’m starting to believe him. When I saw the similarities in your cases, I thought it couldn’t be a coincidence.”
    “So you think the same person is behind both murders.”
    “It sure looks that way.”
    “But what’s the connection?” I asked. “What do the girlfriend and Killpack have in common, and why were they killed?”
    “Good question,” she said. “I got his permission to look through his case files. Maybe you’d like to look at them too? Perhaps something will pop out at you.”
    “Yes. I’d like that. I’d also like to talk to him. What’s his name?”
    “Jim Porter,” she said. “Do you remember hearing of him?”
    “Oh yeah, the name sounds familiar. I think there was something in the paper just yesterday about his execution coming up.”
    She smiled proudly. “Yeah, that was my article. I’m going to visit him at the prison tomorrow morning. Do you want to come?”
    “That’s probably a good idea.”
    “Maybe with both of us working on this we can figure it out. I’ll call and make sure you can get in with me.” She was thinking that Jim’s time was running out and she could use a real pro like me. And even better, since my neck was on the line, she wouldn’t have to pay me a dime. “If you like, I can give you the files, and you can look them over tonight. That way if you have any questions you’ll be ready to ask him tomorrow.” She was hoping I could see something she might have missed.
    “If it weren’t for the gloves and rag found with the gun, I’d think you were just telling me this to get me to work for free,” I couldn’t help saying.
    Her eyes widened. I hadn’t missed a trick. Wow, I was really good at reading people. “I believe the similarities are worth checking out, and really… what have you got to lose?”
    “You’re right about that. Where are the files?”
    “In my car,” she answered.
    I followed her out and managed to get the boxes from her car into my trunk. She was thinking that she’d hate to be in my shoes, and couldn’t imagine how that felt. No wonder I