My Private Detective. Rebecca Winters

      

      “She didn’t kill Amy!” Heidi blurted

      Tears sprang to her eyes. “Dana’s family lives next door to mine. We grew up like sisters. I know her as well as I know myself. She’s dying in that prison, Gideon.” Her voice trembled. “I’ve got to get her out of there or my life’s not going to be worth living, either.”

      “Lord,” she heard him whisper.

      “When I found out that a famous detective from San Diego’s homicide division was teaching a criminology course in my classroom, I considered it a godsend. That’s wh—”

      “You don’t need to explain,” he interjected.

      “You’ll never know how grateful I am that you let me join the class. I’ve already learned so much. I know vital evidence was overlooked in her case.” Heidi gazed up at Gideon. “The other night I phoned John Cobb, Dana’s attorney.”

      “He’s one of the best around.”

      She took a deep breath. “I hope you’re right, Gideon. He believes in Dana’s innocence, but he said that unless we come up with compelling new evidence, he wouldn’t be able to get the case reopened.”

      “That’s because he knows how difficult it is.”

      “But surely it’s not impossible….”

      He reached out to squeeze her hand. “No. Nothing’s impossible if you want it badly enough.”

      Dear Reader,

      Recently I saw a documentary about a retired newspaper reporter who happened to be at a local library doing some genealogy and came across a twenty-year-old article about a murder that had been committed in the town where she lived. Being curious by nature, she made enquiries and found out the case was still open.

      Intrigued, she started to dig around, talk to the police, interview people who knew the victim. Within a few months she’d solved the crime. There was a trial and the culprit was imprisoned.

      When she was asked how she was able to do what no detective had managed to accomplish, she chuckled before answering. “I don’t know why. Perhaps it was a fresh eye, a new look at an old problem—the answer just seemed obvious to me.”

      By the time the documentary was over, I had plotted My Private Detective, a romance novel in which a good cop, Gideon Poletti, brings a fresh eye to a closed murder case—only to fall madly in love with the convicted woman’s friend…who might know more than she’s telling.

      Happy reading!

      Rebecca Winters

      P.S. If you have access to the Internet, I hope you’ll visit my Web site at http://www.rebeccawinters-author.com

      My Private Detective

      Rebecca Winters

My Private Detective

      CONTENTS

      CHAPTER ONE

      CHAPTER TWO

      CHAPTER THREE

      CHAPTER FOUR

      CHAPTER FIVE

      CHAPTER SIX

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      CHAPTER NINE

      CHAPTER TEN

      CHAPTER ELEVEN

      CHAPTER TWELVE

      CHAPTER THIRTEEN

      CHAPTER FOURTEEN

      CHAPTER FIFTEEN

      CHAPTER ONE

      “MR. COBB REALLY TOLD YOU there’s nothing more he can do?”

      “Yes.”

      Heidi Ellis felt her heart plunge as she stared at her best friend through the Plexiglas partition at Fielding Women’s Prison outside San Bernardino, California.

      Dana Turner had always been a tall, dark-haired, vibrant beauty. But seven and a half months of confinement had already taken their toll.

      Haunted by the pale, fragile-looking creature, who’d grown even thinner since her last visit, Heidi feared her friend wouldn’t last the year in this place, let alone thirty more. She was in prison for the murder of her sister—a murder she didn’t commit.

      Heidi gripped the phone receiver more tightly. “I don’t believe that.”

      “You have to,” Dana said in a dull voice. “He’s supposed to be one of the best criminal attorneys in Southern California. I’m resigned to the fact that this is my life from now on.”

      “I’ll never be resigned to it!”

      “You don’t have a choice. I told Mom and Dad the same thing. They’re so devastated that every time they see me, they age another year.”

      That wasn’t surprising. They’d lost Amy, and now their older daughter was wrongfully incarcerated for her murder.

      “I think it would be better if no one came to visit me anymore. It can only drag everyone down further than they already are.”

      None of the Ellises—neither Heidi nor her parents—had been subpoenaed to testify at Dana’s trial. In fact, Dana had asked that they not attend. It had made Heidi feel so helpless. She still felt that way, but anger had begun to replace her fears.

      “You know me better than that, Dana. I refuse to just sit by. There has to be a way to reopen your case and get it heard again. Someone else killed your sister. Whoever committed the crime is running around free while you’re…”

      Her voice trailed off because she was afraid she’d dissolve in tears in front of Dana. That wasn’t going to help her friend. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she said, “I’m not sure how to go about it, but I’m going to find a way to get you out of here, no matter what I have to do!”

      Dana’s sweet smile tore Heidi’s heart to shreds. “I love you for being so loyal. But there’s a time to quit, and this is it.”

      “No! As soon as I leave here, I’m going to call your lawyer and ask him exactly what I have to do in order to get the court to take another look at your case.”

      Her friend shook her head sadly. “He’s worked tirelessly on my behalf. If he says it’s all over, then it is.”

      “He’s only one person, Dana. No one’s infallible. I’m thinking of hiring someone else and starting from scratch. Dad’s attorney knows a trial lawyer in Los Angeles who has the same kind of reputation as Mr. Cobb. If your attorney can’t help, then I’m phoning this other attorney as soon as I get home this evening.”

      Dana frowned. “Don’t you dare use your money to try to help me. You’d be throwing it away. I couldn’t bear that.”

      “My mom and dad love you, too, Dana. They told me they want to contribute because they believe in your innocence. They’ve known you all your life!”

      Dana’s lovely face crumpled, and she broke down sobbing.

      “I’m going to get you out of here. As long as you’re behind these bars, I’ll never be happy again.”

      “Don’t say that. You’ve got your own life to live.”

      “What life would that be? We’re like sisters! When you bleed, so do I. You’d stand by me no matter what, so let’s not resume that discussion. When you go to sleep tonight, be assured that I’ve already made phone calls to get the process started.”

      “You mustn’t ruin your life for me!” Dana cried, burying her face in her hands.

      “That’s my decision. In fact, the sooner I leave here, the sooner you’ll be freed from this place. So