Chapter 3
Monday late morning
Sabre left the courthouse with a knot in her stomach. She stood beside her car for a moment, cool air brushing her face, trying to clear her thoughts.
The girl’s words replayed in her mind. You said if anything ever happened, I should find you.
Sabre had said that many times to clients, but she didn’t think this girl was one of them.
Yet the girl believed it. That was the unsettling part.
Sabre pulled out her phone and scrolled to JP Torn’s number.
He answered on the third ring. JP had spent twenty years chasing killers before trading his detective’s badge for a private investigator’s license. Some habits, however, didn’t retire with him.
“Well,” he said, “this is either very good news or very bad news.”
Sabre almost smiled. “Why’s that?”
“You only call me in the middle of the day when something interesting is happening.”
“This qualifies.”
Sabre slid into the driver’s seat but didn’t start the car. “I just met a teenage girl accused of murder,” she said. “She asked for me as her lawyer.”
“Murder is a serious charge, but asking for you isn’t unusual if she’s a previous client.”
“I’ve never seen her before. I’m sure of it. Or, not. But it’s not like me to forget any of my kids.”
“That is unusual. But maybe you represented someone she knew. You have quite a reputation.”
Sabre leaned back against the seat. “She claims I represented her when she was younger.”
“And you didn’t?”
“I don’t think so.”
JP was quiet for a moment. “Maybe you forgot.”
Sabre shook her head, even though JP couldn’t see her. “In this line of work, you remember the ones who look at you like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re the only person standing between them and something terrible.”
“How old is she?” JP asked.
“She says she’s fifteen, but I’d bet younger.”
“If it was an old case, she’s probably changed a lot.”
“Maybe.”
“So, what do we know about her?”
Sabre stared through the windshield. “Almost nothing.”
“That’s a problem.”
“That’s not the strange part.”
JP sighed. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“I asked the clerk to pull her records, both dependency and delinquency.”
“And?”
“There aren’t any.”
“None?”
“No juvenile referrals. No dependency history.”
“Now, that’s unusual.”
“There’s more.”
JP laughed softly. “Of course, there is.”
Sabre tapped her fingers against the steering wheel. “According to the police report, she has no birth certificate on file.”
JP went quiet for a moment. “What about school records?”
“Nothing. And no medical records.”
“That’s… not possible.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“You can’t just exist without paperwork.”
Sabre looked back at the courthouse again. “Apparently she can.”
JP let out a low whistle. “So, who is she?”
“That’s what I need you to find out.”
“Do you have a name?”
Sabre told him.
JP repeated it slowly. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll start digging.”
“And JP?”
“Yeah?”
“The man she’s accused of killing.”
“What about him?”
“I want to know everything.”
“Now that sounds like the Sabre I know.”
She allowed herself a small smile. “It feels like it was engineered.”
“You think so?”
“I feel it in my gut.”
“Why?”
Sabre thought about the girl who had sat across from her in the interview room, the certainty in her voice, the way she had said Sabre’s name. “Because she expected me,” Sabre said quietly.
JP didn’t answer right away. “Finally,” he said, “That’s… unsettling.”
“Yes, it is.”
She ended the call and sat there for another moment. Then she reached over to the passenger seat and picked up the file the clerk had given her. Inside was the preliminary police report from the El Cajon Police Department. Sabre flipped it open and began reading it.
It listed the case number, date, time reported, and the address in El Cajon. She continued to skim it.
VICTIM:
Name: Todd Maddox
DOB: [Pending Confirmation]
Sex: Male
Race: White
Paramedics arrived at approximately 4:26 PM and pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.
INCIDENT SUMMARY:
Officers responded to a 911 call reporting sounds of a disturbance followed by screaming inside the duplex.
Upon arrival, officers located the victim lying on the living room floor suffering from an apparent stab wound to the upper chest and visible blunt-force trauma to the head. Large amounts of blood were observed surrounding the victim.
The apartment showed signs of a physical altercation. Several items of furniture were displaced, and a floor lamp was overturned. No indications of forced entry were observed. The front door was partially open upon officers' arrival.
Cause and manner of death are pending examination by the Medical Examiner.
SCENE OBSERVATIONS:
Apparent stab wound to victim's chest.
Apparent blunt-force injury to the right rear portion of the victim's head.
Significant blood loss observed.
Kitchen knife recovered inside apartment.
Victim's wallet, identification, cellular phone, and other valuables remained at the scene.
No indication robbery was a motive.
Crime Scene Unit requested for processing.
EVIDENCE COLLECTED:
Item #1 – Kitchen knife recovered from living room floor.
Item #2 – Swabs of suspected blood evidence.
Item #3 – Latent fingerprint processing requested.
Item #4 – Footwear impressions photographed near front entry.
Item #5 – Digital evidence (victim's cellular telephone) secured.
Additional evidence pending Crime Scene Unit processing.
WITNESS INFORMATION:
Witness #1 (Neighbor)
Reported hearing a verbal argument followed by loud noises consistent with a physical struggle. Witness observed a juvenile female with dark hair running from the apartment shortly afterward. Unable to provide further identifying information.
Witness #2 (Neighbor)
Reported hearing a loud impact several moments after hearing the front door open. Did not observe anyone entering or leaving the apartment.
Witness #3
Observed an unidentified juvenile female near the apartment complex earlier in the afternoon. Unable to provide further description.
SUSPECT INFORMATION
At approximately 5:12 PM, officers located and detained juvenile Bay Mercer approximately two blocks from the scene. The juvenile was advised of her rights in the presence of a juvenile officer.
The juvenile identified herself as: Bay Mercer, age 15, but refused to give any other information.
When questioned regarding the incident, the juvenile declined to answer investigative questions and repeatedly requested to speak with Attorney Sabre Brown.
The juvenile refused to identify any additional persons involved or provide any further statement.
The juvenile was transported to Juvenile Hall without further incident.
Investigation identified juvenile Bay Mercer as the primary suspect based upon witness statements and evidence collected at the scene.
Investigation remains active.
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIVE NOTES
At this stage of the investigation, evidence indicates an altercation occurred inside the apartment resulting in fatal injuries to the victim. Medical Examiner findings, forensic testing, and additional witness interviews are pending. No further conclusions are drawn at this time.
It was signed by the lead homicide detective, Greg Nelson. There was not a lot of information to go on, but Bay was adamant. Sabre wondered again if maybe she had represented her.