Page 119 of One of Us Is Guilty

The Aztec’s brakes slammed on with a high-pitched whine and it backfired again, sending a huge cloud of black smoke from the exhaust.

That was the sound Bloch had heard.

She didn’t move.

Not an inch.

The wind blew the cloud of black smoke back over the car, masking the identity of the driver as they opened their door.

The smoke cleared in just a few seconds, and Landry stared at Gabriel Lake, who was pointing his Glock straight at the police captain. Landry turned away from Lake and focused all his attention on Bloch.

‘Put the gun down, Lake, and get on the ground.’

‘You can’t take two targets. If you shoot her, you’ll be dead before her body hits the ground. You know that. I’m guessing you want to keep this quiet, so you don’t have back-up on the way. It’s just you and me now. Bloch is unarmed. Put your gun down and we can figure this out.’

Landry said nothing, but Bloch saw the pistol in his hand begin to shake as he weighed up his options. They were limited.

‘Okay,’ said Landry. ‘Let’s do this together. Why don’t we both put our pieces away and then we can talk.’

Lake’s arms were spread through the open windowsill of the Aztec, using the body of the door for cover. He was perfectly still. Aim zeroed.

Ready to rock.

It was then that she noticed Raymond, hands over his head, ducking down in the passenger seat of the Aztec.

‘Okay, let’s put our guns down and figure things out together,’ said Lake.

Landry didn’t move at first. He kept his eye on the iron sights of his pistol, trying to aim for Bloch and keep his aim straight.

‘Okay,’ said Landry.

His neck began to turn to the left, to check Lake’s position, so he could mimic his movements, and together they would put down their guns.

Soon as Lake appeared in his field of vision, his aim moved off Bloch, just a fraction, but enough.

Crack.

The top of Landry’s head came off, and he dropped like a stone.

‘I guess I figured it out on my own,’ said Lake.

49

Eddie

Detective Lorraine Carey wore a brand-new gray pant suit and a cream blouse. Her hair was tied back and she’d had her nails done. This was her big day in her career case. The make-up didn’t fully mask the dark rings beneath her eyes, which suggested she hadn’t slept much. It was only to be expected that she would be nervous. As she sat down in the witness box, I saw her cross her legs, then uncross them and put her feet down flat on the floor, then place her hands on her knees. Her knuckles were white, and her neck flushed red.

Riley established her credentials as the lead detective on the case, but didn’t ask her about her experience, since she had none. Instead, he went straight into the interview with Vanessa in his questions, and at various points asked for the recording to be played in court.

The jury heard Vanessa denying she knew Molly Green, and denying that she had ever been to Molly’s apartment.

‘Was there anything in your subsequent investigations which may have cast doubt on the version of events given by the defendant?’ asked Riley.

‘Yes, two key pieces of evidence directly contradict the defendant’s version of events,’ said Carey, delivering her answer in a deliberate monotonous tone. It sounded rehearsed to me.

‘What were those pieces of evidence?’

‘The first was a jewelry box, which my partner, Detective Benjamin Larkin, had examined in our forensic laboratory. He can speak to that piece of evidence in more detail. The second was security camera footage which I obtained.’