Excerpt of Wrong Turn by Diane Fanning

'Yes. I'd been assisting Boz since the first day of the investigation. I was with him all the way. I knew the case inside and out. I was on the witness list from the beginning but the DA had said he wouldn't be calling me because Boz could cover it all. I was ready and willing already. Did he think I needed to be bribed with a promotion to do a good job on the stand?'

'No. He didn't have a doubt that you'd do an excellent job. In fact, he remarked on the eye patch you wore back then as something that would add to your gravitas while simultaneously tugging at the sympathies of the jurors.'

Lucinda rolled her eye. 'Then what are you saying, captain?'

'He insisted that I give the job to you and the chief concurred. They believed it was vital that whoever took the stand to deliver the evidence was a detective – someone who would be addressed that way by the state. And if the defense refused to use that honorific with you, they could appeal to the female majority on the jury by pointing out that lack of respect at every opportunity.'

Lucinda's palms flew to her temples, her fingers sticking through her hair on either side. This was awful. In a quiet voice, she whispered, 'I only got the job so the state could use me as a political tool in the courtroom? I got the job because my gender was right – not because of anything I'd done?'

'Not exactly, Pierce. No matter who assisted Boz on that case, male or female, they would have found a spin for it. The DA was just using what you were to their best advantage. They were determined to get a conviction in that case and they knew you were the only person who could get them there.'

'And you went along with this?'

'You've got to understand, Pierce. Andrew Sherman, the dead girl's father, could apply a lot of pressure. He was powerful, wealthy, and a major political contributor. He wanted his second, and soon to be ex, wife to spend the rest of her life behind bars for killing his daughter. I really had no wiggle room.'

'Really, captain,' she sneered.

'Really, Pierce,' he said giving her a hard stare before continuing. 'They did give me an out, though. They said after the trial was over, I could demote you as fast as I promoted you. And they'd back me up all the way.'

Lucinda exhaled sharply through her nose and pursed her lips. She was well past the embarrassment and humility phase now. She was flat–out pissed. She moved her focus away from the captain and stared at the wall behind him.

'Well, I didn't, Pierce, did I?'

Lucinda turned her head towards him then jerked it back facing the wall. She didn't trust herself to speak. Too often words she'd spoken in the heat of the moment had come back and knocked her off her feet. She was trying to get some control over her temper, but it wasn't easy.

'I didn't because I didn't believe it was fair. You did perform admirably in the courtroom. The state did get a conviction. It only seemed right to give you the opportunity to prove yourself.'

Lucinda jerked back. 'Or fall on my face?'

'Yes, Pierce. Or fall on your face. I gave you control of your own destiny and quite frankly, I think that is significant. And you did prove yourself. Every time. Never once did you give me reason to regret my decision.'

'Oh, stop, captain, you know that isn't true. Stop patronizing me.'

'OK, Pierce, there were times when you made me doubt the wisdom of my decision. You caused me to question it from time to time; but in the end, you always came out on top. Not for one moment did I ever regret offering you the job.'

'OK, I'll take your word on that, sir,' she said, not really certain whether she should believe him or not. 'But why are you telling me all of this now?'

'The body of Emily Sherman has been found.'

'That's wonderful – I thought we'd never find her.'

'Actually, the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body are a bit problematic for all of us.'

Lucinda tilted her head to the side. Why would he be conflicted by this? Andrew Sherman would finally be able to bury his daughter. Isn't that what we always wanted – to bring a missing victim home? 'I don't understand, sir.'

'Emily Sherman is now part of the Mack Rogers case.'

'What? That is ridiculous. Why would anyone come to that conclusion?'

'Last night, the forensic anthropologist identified one of the skeletonized bodies you found in the basement.'

'No! That can't be true.' Lucinda jumped to her feet and rested her hands on Holland's desk. 'It couldn't be her. It just couldn't.'

'It was, Lucinda. The forensic odontologist suspected it when he compared the dental X–rays, but couldn't be positive about his identification because of the rodent damage to the skull that dislocated some of her teeth. But the DNA results are in now. There's absolutely no doubt that one of the bodies in that basement belonged to Emily Sherman. And very, very little doubt that Martha Sherman was wrongfully convicted.'