I could hear Tina crying in the background. “Mom? Mom, I’m scared!”
“If you hurt her—” I started, but he cut me off. “She won’t be hurt if you do exactly what I say. Get the money. Wait for instructions. And Judge Hartley? Don’t think too hard about that verdict you gave yesterday.”
Yesterday I’d sentenced a man named David Chen to life without parole for murdering his six-year-old daughter. The evidence was overwhelming. The little girl had been beaten to death.
The medical examiner testified she’d suffered for hours. It was one of the worst cases I’d ever presided over.
The FBI arrived within minutes. They set up tracing equipment, mobilized SWAT teams, put out an Amber Alert.
The school’s security footage showed a large man in a leather vest and motorcycle helmet leading Tina to a van. She seemed to go willingly, which made no sense.
“Do you recognize him?” Agent Morrison asked, showing me enhanced footage. The man’s face was hidden but his vest was visible. “Lost Souls MC” with a president patch.
I knew that club. Small, local, mostly older veterans. I’d sentenced two of their members five years ago for a bar fight. But kidnapping a child? It didn’t fit their profile.Continue reading…
