Deadly Charade by Virna Depaul Page A

moving toward them, but Moser was close enough to get in a couple more shots.
    Hell, Tony thought, throwing up an arm and managing to block the man’s next punch. Instinctively Tony raised his knee, ramming Moser in the chest, but the guy was so well padded it barely seemed to faze him. He did stagger back a few steps, however, giving Tony time to plan his next move. He danced in place for a second. Then, calling on the recent training he’d had, he kept his bad leg on the ground and struck out with his good one. As he did so, his instructor’s words echoed in his head. “Even if a karate kick reaches its target, it will lack destructive power if it is not withdrawn sharply. Think of your leg as a whip.”
    Tony tried to be a whip, he really did. But although he landed what he thought was a powerful kick to Moser’s torso and although Moser again staggered back a few steps, he was on Tony much faster this time.
    Moser got Tony into a headlock and mercilessly squeezed. Tony thrashed and rammed his elbow into Moser’s gut. Even as the man grunted, a faint buzzing sound rang in Tony’s ears and the world began to fade, but he could still hear the guards shouting.
    He wondered if they’d get to them before Moser snapped his neck.

Chapter 9
    I n her office Linda rubbed her eyes tiredly, telling herself for the hundredth time that she needed to get her eyes checked. Or maybe her judgment checked. How could she run for a position on the bench, manage her own caseload and figure out what was going on with Tony all at the same time? She’d always thrived on the adrenaline rush, on the challenge, but she was down to about five hours of sleep a night, if that.
    Linda was no longer prosecuting Tony’s case, but that didn’t stop her from reading his file for about the twentieth time. She reread the preliminary findings of Guapo’s autopsy report, once again struck by a feeling that she was missing something. Allie, who’d promised not to share any additional facts about Tony’s case with anyone except Neil, was seated in the guest chair in her office, reading the same report.
    Dr. John Peluma had conducted the autopsy. “Cause of death was blood loss, blunt force trauma to the back of the head and a slash to his jugular. According to Peluma, Guapo wouldn’t have died right away,” Allie said, more to herself than Linda.
    “No, he would have died a slow and agonizingly painful death.”
    “Maybe that’s what the defendant wanted. Why else wouldn’t he have just brought a gun and gotten it over with? Maybe he wanted Guapo to suffer?”
    Linda shuddered, horrified at the thought. But Allie had a point. A wrench or even a knife seemed an impractical way to carry out the deed. That’s what kept leading Linda back to the idea that Tony had attacked Guapo in self-defense or in defense of another. But then again, Guapo had suffered, just like Tony, a blow to the back of the head. That pointed to an offensive attack on him as much as it had on Tony.
    “Maybe Cooper killed Guapo because of a woman?” Allie asked.
    The thought of Tony loving another woman at all, let alone enough to kill for her, made Linda’s stomach twist. Of course it was possible—probable, even. After all, he and Linda had broken up years ago. Despite his drug problem Tony had always been a charmer and an amazing lover. It wouldn’t have taken a woman long to snatch up what Linda had tossed aside.
    “Makes sense,” she responded, hating the tension in her voice. “But something else that doesn’t make sense are the wounds Guapo sustained. They’re contradictory. There’s the blow to the back of the head, but also...”
    “Right. The autopsy report specified that Guapo’s jugular had been slashed with a deep vertical wound.”
    “Vertical,” Linda repeated. “Here, hand me that report,” she said, gesturing impatiently.
    Allie tossed her the report and she flipped to the front to confirm her suspicions.
    “Tony Cooper is at least six