Free OUTNUMBERED volume 1: A Zombie Apocalypse Series by Robert Schobernd Page B

falling. Instinctively she stepped back, spun around on her left foot, and assumed a fighting stance. She was shaking with anger. Connie was under control, so Kira relaxed and faced me.
    "Tom, I ask that you remove yourself from the judicial team as leader of the investigation of this incident. You're too involved in it to sit in judgment. As the aggrieved party in a capital crime it is my right, by the group's rules, to take part in the decision on punishment, with the consent and agreement of the judicial team."
    I sank onto a chair and nodded. "Alright. I concede that leadership duty in this case. When Martin finishes, he'll report to Shane. Shane, will you, Marilyn, Ed, and Kira please adjourn to discuss the evidence after Martin runs the test. The four of you will also decree punishment if Connie is found guilty."
    I looked up and saw Connie staring at me as if in shock. "Tom, I love you above all else. I only handed Cory and Emma over to the zombies because it's you I love. I thought you'd learn to love me that much, too. Stop this so we can finally be together."
    I shook my head in disgust as I stared at the floor wondering what kind of monster I'd gotten involved with. It was incomprehensible that Connie had orchestrated the deaths of her fiancé and the woman I loved because she was jealous of the relationship Emma and I cherished. She wanted to slip into Emma's role and have me love her as I had Emma. What I fool I'd been to get involved with her when I didn't truly love her. An image of Emma as she died flashed into my mind. Suddenly I understood her evident confusion when she saw me approaching from the compound. That was the same confused look Kira had given me at the lake. Connie had lied to Emma as she had to Kira. She'd told both of them I'd gone to the lake alone and under armed. Both of them had put their lives on the line in an attempt to save me.
    Connie sat apart from the rest of us. A guard sat to either side and slightly behind her, and another guard sat directly in front of her and faced her. All three guards kept their attention focused on Connie. She had already confessed to the crimes and had attempted to shoot Kira. They knew they were dealing with a conniving, deranged murderer.
    Forty-five minutes passed before Martin returned. He moved quickly and was unusually somber. He, Shane, Marilyn, Ed, and Kira stepped aside and spoke for several minutes in hushed tones. Since Connie had already confessed, the evidence was merely a formality necessary to protect a mentally disturbed person who might make a false confession. The group spoke a short time before Martin left them and joined the waiting audience.
    Three minutes later, Shane stood in front of the group and raised his arms for silence. The murmuring voices quieted. "Martin found partial fingerprints belonging to Kira and Connie on the bullets found in Connie's pockets and in her room. Connie's prints are also on the magazines Kira changed out from her firearms shortly before she engaged a group of the undead this afternoon. There is no logical reason for Connie's prints to be on those magazines other than the crime she is charged with. We dealt with the physical evidence against Connie, and we didn't take her verbal confessions of murder into account until the evidence was judged separately."
    He turned to Connie. "Connie Diuguid, please rise for the reading of the Judicial Group's verdict on the charge of the attempted murder of Kira Schafer."
    Connie sat sullenly and refused to stand. She struggled violently and cursed the guards as they propelled her upward by her upper arms until she stood facing Shane. "The judicial team and Kira Schafer have discussed the evidence, and we have agreed unanimously on a verdict of guilty of attempted murder. Your punishment for the attempt to murder Kira Schafer is death. Since you have also confessed to arranging the deaths of Cory Petersen and Emma Jacobs, your punishment is to be harsh and fitting of your