Laura Caldwell - Question of Trust

Praise for Laura Caldwell’s IZZY MCNEIL novels

Claim of Innocence

“Caldwell’s trial scenes, breezy but effective, are key to the unmasking of the real culprit. Izzy’s successful juggling of personal and professional roles should win her more fans.”

– Publishers Weekly

Red, White & Dead

“A sizzling roller coaster ride through the streets of Chicago, filled with murder, mystery, sex and heartbreak. These page-turners will have you breathless and panting for more.”

– Shore Magazine

“Chock full of suspense, Red, White & Dead is a riveting mystery of crime, love, and adventure at its best.”

–New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds

Red Blooded Murder

“ Red Blooded Murder aims for the sweet spot between tough and tender, between thrills and thought–and hits the bull’s-eye. A terrific novel.”

–#1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child

“Izzy is the whole package: feminine and sexy, but also smart, tough and resourceful. She’s no damsel-in-distress from a tawdry bodice ripper; she’s more than a fitting match for any bad guys foolish enough to take her on.”

–Chicago Sun-Times

Red Hot Lies

“Told mainly from the heroine’s first-person point of view, this beautifully crafted and tightly written story is a fabulous read. It’s very difficult to put down–and the ending is terrific.”

–RT Book Reviews

“Former trial lawyer Caldwell launches a mystery series that weaves the emotional appeal of her chick-lit titles with the blinding speed of her thrillers … Readers will be left looking forward to another heart-pounding ride on Izzy’s silver Vespa.”

–Publishers Weekly

LAURA CALDWELL,a former trial lawyer, is currently a professor and distinguished scholar in residence at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She is an author of eleven novels, including Burning the Map, The Rome Affair and the award-winning Izzy McNeil series. She is also the author of the nonfi ction book Long Way Home: A Young Man Lost in the System and the Two Women Who Found Him, based upon her work on a Chicago murder trial. She is a nationwide speaker and the founder of Life After Innocence, which helps innocent people begin their lives again after being wrongfully imprisoned. Laura has been published in thirteen languages and over twenty countries. To learn more, please visit www.lauracaldwell.com.

www.mirabooks.co.uk

For AMB, who believes .

Thank you to Amy Moore-Benson and Miranda Indrigo for shepherding the book. Thanks also to everyone at MIRA Books, especially Michelle Venditti, Valerie Gray, Donna Hayes, Dianne Moggy, Loriana Sacilotto, Craig Swinwood, Pete McMahon, Stacy Widdrington, Andi Richman, Andrew Wright, Katherine Orr, Alex Osuszek, Erin Craig, Margie Miller, Adam Wilson, Don Lucey, Gordy Goihl, Dave Carley, Ken Foy, Erica Mohr, Darren Lizotte, Reka Rubin, Margie Mullin, Sam Smith, Kathy Lodge, Carolyn Flear, Michelle Renaud, Kate Studer, Stephen Miles, Jennifer Watters, Amy Jones, Malle Vallik, Tracey Langmuir, Anne Fontanesi, Scott Ingram, Marianna Ricciuto, John Jordan and Brent Lewis.

A massive thanks to Loyola University Chicago School of Law—a vibrant, creative and generous place to work. And especially to Father Michael Garanzini, Dean David Yellen, James Faught, Michael Kaufman, Jean Gaspardo, Alice Perlin, Michael Patena, Alan Rafael and Joyce Marvel.

Much gratitude to my experts—criminal defense lawyer Catharine O’Daniel, former federal prosecutor Professor Mary Ramirez and my Cook Islands insider, Margaret Caldwell. Thanks also to Carol Miller and Liza Jaine.

I didn’t know Kim Parkway very well. Sure, she moved into the condo below me. And yes, she reached out to me on a day when I really needed it. She even borrowed something a few days later because she hadn’t completely unpacked yet.

What I knew of Kim, I liked. I think she enjoyed me, too. But ultimately, she would have been one of those friends—an acquaintance, really—who fades from your life, remembered once in a while, and even then somewhat foggily.

But now I know that Kim Parkway will be in my life forever. I’ll never forget her. Because on a Monday night in November, I found her dead.

“We’ve got a boatload of cocaine. Literally.”

I looked at my friend Maggie, barely five feet tall, standing in the doorway of my office. (Technically it was her office, since I was employed by Maggie and her grandfather, Martin Bristol, at Bristol & Associates.)

“You know,” I said, “when I met you in law school, I never thought I would hear you say things like that.”

Maggie frowned for a second, pushing her blond, wavy hair out of her eyes. “It’s the Cortaderos.”

“Oh.” I leaned my elbows on the desk, interested. I’d been hearing about the Cortaderos for a long time. They were clients of Maggie and Martin’s. They were a Mexican drug cartel family ( allegedly a cartel family, I should say), but I hadn’t been privy to the details of any cases.

She sighed and waved a hand. “They’re always getting into trouble.” This was not said without fondness. Maggie had a soft spot for most of her wayward clients.

Q, short for Quentin, stuck his bald, black head in my office, as if he’d been lingering outside the door. “Did I just hear something about a drug bust?” Q had been my assistant when we were at the white-glove firm of Baltimore & Brown. He was the office manager now at Bristol & Associates. But more important, Q loved a juicy story, especially on an otherwise slow Monday afternoon.

Maggie slumped into a seat across from my desk, then waved Q inside. “Have you ever seen the boats parked on the river? By Lower Wacker?” she asked.

“Sure,” I said. “Sam and I did a sunset cruise once. We went through the locks and out onto Lake Michigan.”

“They did a post-Pride cruise one year,” Q said. “Epic.” He cleared his throat. “That was before I was monogamous, of course.”

“Of course,” Maggie and I echoed.

I nodded at her to continue.

“Right. Well, the Cortaderos own one of those boats. It was about to be taken down the Mississippi for winter, but it was seized today.”

“And cocaine was found on it?”

“A lot.” She sighed the way a mom would when discussing a teen who spent too much time in front of the computer. “Forty-five kilos.”

“What’s that worth?” Q asked.

“Millions. Many.”

“Many millions?” Q said.

Maggie nodded. “They usually wouldn’t have that much in one place. Strange. I don’t know what’s going on with the Cortaderos.” She looked out my window, lapsing into silence. There was nothing to see there except the blue-tinted high-rise across the street.

Q and I exchanged glances. Maggie had been like this lately—a little distracted, and also a little secretive, closing her mouth suddenly when she seemed about to disclose something, lapsing into long, thoughtful silences. I wondered what was going on behind the scenes at the firm.

“What were you saying, Mags?” I prompted her.

She blinked a few times as if clearing something, coming back to us. “Oh, um …” She looked at me. “Right. Right. So, I need you on this, Iz. I have a motion to suppress that’s taking a lot of time.”

The other thing Maggie had been doing lately was throwing a lot of casework my way. I appreciated that, since I was a civil lawyer by training now learning the oh-so-different criminal defense world. In general, I would do anything in the world for Maggie. Now that she was my boss, I’d certainly do anything she needed for one of her clients, no matter who they were. Drug lords from Mexico, though? Interesting, sure, but actually representing them? That made me nervous.