Stay of Execution

William P. Wood

Description

National and local publicity coverage
E-mail, e-newsletters, and online marketing campaign
Social media campaign
Electronic press kit
Strand Magazine Summer Issue ad
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Goodreads giveaways and contests
www.williampwoodbooks.com
New designs: Stay of Execution has been redesigned with a thematic cover, branded with Wood’s remaining titles, which will be released throughout 2014. Wood’s newest title, Sudden Impact, was released in February 2014.
International Success: Wood’s books have been translated into a number of foreign languages including French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Greek, and Polish.
Feature Films: Broken Trust was filmed by Jane Fonda Films for TNT and starred Tom Selleck and Academy Award nominee Marsha Mason. The screenplay was written by Joan Didion and her husband John Gregory Dunne. The Bone Garden has been featured in multiple books and the Geraldo Rivera Show, and on The Discovery Channel. Most of Wood’s novels have been optioned for motion pictures and two were produced. Rampage was filmed by Academy Award winning director William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist, Killer Joe) for Miramax and Paramount. It starred Michael Biehn (“The Terminator,” “The Abyss”).
Author: William P. Wood was a Deputy District Attorney who handled thousands of criminal cases and over 50 jury trials, giving him an inside look into Broken Trust.
He dropped his hands from the lectern. Every seat was taken in the courtroom, a collage of faces and reactions. Several of his own deputies sat listening to the boss.
Keegan pointed at Carnes. “What you will hear is evidence from eyewitnesses and evidence you can take and touch in the jury room. This evidence shows a clear plan by Robert Cames to go to the home of Barry Rotich and murder him and his wife and their small nephew. He was a child.” Keegan paused. “Shot in the head. You may hear the defense pick at some small pieces of this evidence, or that witness, trying to throw sand in your eyes. But, you can pick at City Hall here and there and stand back”—Keegan moved a step from the jury—“and still see it’s City Hall. It’s solid and immovable.
“But never forget that small child, alone with his killer, facing his killer.” Keegan pointed at Carnes again and Goodoy got up, huffily.
“Your Honor, this is outrageous. Mr. Keegan is arguing. He’s not making a statement. He’s trying to save his case.”
“I’m showing the jury the evidence that convicts that man,” Keegan said sharply..
Judge Ambrosini put up his hands. “Wait. Not two of you at once. Mrs. Goodoy is correct. This is the time for opening statements. You argue at the end of the trial.”
“Your Honor,” Keegan said roughly, “I know the order of a trial. I don’t need any sarcasm from you.”
It had come out faster than Keegan could stop it. He didn’t regret the retort. He thought the jurors, however much they looked up to a judge, would resent the judge playing favorites.
He turned to the jury without waiting for the judge to rule on Goodoy’s objection. There was a rustling, skittish sound of feet on the hard floor as the spectators shifted around in their seats.
“Mr. Keegan, don’t turn your back on me,” Ambrosini said.
“I thought you were finished,” Keegan said.
“I am not finished. We have a difficult trial ahead of us. I am not going to start it by tolerating displays of disrespect or anger in this courtroom.”
“I can’t do this trial without being angry,” Keegan said.

Sujets

• Policier & Thriller
• Policier
• Thriller
• Thrillers
• George Keegan
• Los Angeles County District Attorney
• William P. Wood
• Fiction
• Los Angeles

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 28 octobre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781620454817
• Langue: English

Extrait

Praise for
William P. Wood

Wood clearly knows the inner workings of the judicial system.
-Publishers Weekly

Wood, a former prosecutor, knows well how to surprise and engross us.
-Vincent Bugliosi, author of Helter Skelter

A natural storyteller!
-Norman Katkov, author of Blood and Orchids
SUDDEN IMPACT

A must-read for those who love a classic, hard-boiled detective novel.
- Publishers Weekly

No one writes a better police procedural than Bill Wood, and Sudden Impact is his best one to date-lucid prose, meticulous legal detail, and unforgettable characters struggling in various moral quandaries. Terrific, unputdownable stuff.
- John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Juror and The Hunt Club

William Wood is a master of suspense. Sudden Impact is Wood at the peak of his powers, tense and eloquent, with characters and a story of political intrigue and riveting tragedy.
- Steve Martini, New York Times bestselling author
BROKEN TRUST

A spellbinding tale about the men and women who dispense justice from the bench.
-Associated Press

Fast-moving Fascinating Convincing Chillingly informative.
-Sacramento Bee

A tour de force of compelling courtroom drama and spellbinding storytelling. William Wood draws us suspensefully into a classic tale of the individual and the system, of decision and verdict, and of good and evil.
-Gus Lee
GANGLAND

The nonstop action and relentless pace will satisfy fans of the hard-boiled thriller genre.
-Publishers Weekly

The story never cools down and never plays tricks.
-Kirkus Reviews
RAMPAGE

A taut courtroom drama hard to put down.
-William J. Caunitz, author of One Police Plaza and Cleopatra Gold

One of the better courtroom dramas in years.
-New York Times Book Review

From first to last, Rampage is superior Please do not miss this one.
-Cleveland Plain Dealer
Also by William P. Wood
Sudden Impact
Gangland
Pressure Point
The Bribe
Broken Trust
Rampage
Quicksand
Fugitive City
The Bone Garden

Turner Publishing Company
424 Church Street Suite 2240 Nashville, Tennessee 37219
445 Park Avenue 9th Floor New York, New York 10022
www.turnerpublishing.com
STAY OF EXECUTION
Copyright 2014, 1993 by William P. Wood
All rights reserved. This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Cover design: Maxwell Roth
Book design: Glen Edelstein
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014954225
ISBN: 978-1-62045-473-2 (paperback), 978-1-63026-755-1 (hardcover)
Printed in the United States of America
14 15 16 17 18 19 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
MAY
ONE
TWO
SEPTEMBER
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
OCTOBER
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
NOVEMBER
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For the Kings, Emory, Shannon, Jessica, Emory Jr., and Zachary, friends in good times and bad.
If Soules to Hell s vast Prison never come
Committed for their Crimes, but destin d be,
Like Bondmen born, whose prison is their home,
And long e re they were bound could not be free;

Then hard is Destinie s dark Law, whose Text
We are forbid to read, yet must obey;
And reason with her useless eyes is vext,
Which strive to guide her where they see no way.
- Sir William Davenant
STAY OF EXECUTION
MAY
William P. Wood
ONE
ROBERT CARNES SAT ON the bed in his underwear, his back against the headboard, and pretended to read TV Guide. The girl lay beside him on her stomach, a faded blue towel draped over her backside. The air conditioner in the motel room was on high, rumbling and hissing faintly, and from the bathroom, Carnes heard Lee singing an old Stones song off-key.
Carnes had been staring at the same page for ten minutes. He really did not see it. He owed a great deal of money, and he was waiting for the phone call that would save his life. He did not want the girl or Lee to know he was anxious.
What do you think, Bobby? Melanie asked. She said her name was Melanie, and that was fine with Carnes. He and Lee had picked her up at Rico Taco on Washington Boulevard as they came from the airport into Los Angeles last night. Melanie Vogt she called herself. She confessed to using Ginger or Amber sometimes. Carnes could not recall all the names he had used over the years.
What do I think about what? he asked gently.
Your horoscope I just read.
Sorry, honey. I wasn t listening.
She sighed slightly and turned back to the newspaper folded on her pillow. I said, Capricorn. That s you. Today will be a day of much activity. Watch for strangers and legal matters. Pisces will play a part as well. Lee, he s a Pisces, right? See what I mean? She stopped reading and looked at him expectantly.
I don t know what he is.
You should find out.
I m thinking about a few other things. I don t care about that stuff.
The singing from the bathroom was getting on his nerves. It was already past eleven in the morning and no phone call, and Carnes didn t think there was much to sing about. Spread on the small table beside the bureau were eight neatly folded sandwich bags of white powder, the very best methamphetamine Carnes had been able to get on short notice. The eight bags represented every cent he had and were the basis of his deal today.
One bag was nearly empty, open and deflated. Lee had been working on that pretty steadily since they got Melanie into the room last night. Carnes admitted only to a tablespoon in his coffee a few hours ago. The room still smelled of burnt coffee.
I believe this. Melanie solemnly tapped the newspaper. My daddy was a trainer, you know. Here in LA? LA s all I really remember, but we moved around a lot of tracks when I was a kid. She had a blithe way of talking about serious things and a solemn tone reserved for the frivolous, Carnes noticed.
He get fired a lot?
He quit. Anyway, my daddy always got good jobs because he was good with horses.
Some talent.
It is. They liked him, he could just touch them, they knew he was okay for them. Didn t matter what happened, he always got jobs because horses liked him. We stayed the longest near Anita, you know? Santa Anita? You like horses, Bobby?
Could care less. Jesus, what s he singing so loudly about?
Melanie went on, Well, a man should like horses.
Like Daddy?
They like you, it shows you got sincere qualities. She shifted a little so the rest of the newspaper under her crinkled. See, horses are smarter than people.
I believe it.
Lee shut off the shower and his bad singing was louder.
Carnes smiled at her gently. If anybody asked, he would say he was first attracted to her eyes. Violet eyes. Set in a small, tan face. He put his hand on the lower part of her back as she talked, feeling the warm skin, the rise of her buttocks where the towel just barely covered her. They had her for another couple of hours and he seriously considered paying her until they got back. It was her eyes. So wide and clear and innocent, although there was little real innocence about Melanie.
She wiggled unconsciously under his hand. He let her voice wash over his anxiety about the silent telephone. Anyway, so my daddy always made fun of horoscopes, stars, the whole thing. People been reading them for thousands of years. So there s something. But he d read the horoscope to me, made faces because he said my mother, who I never saw too much, he says she s always going, Watch out, the stars got it right, you better listen. And he thinks it s really funny.
Isn t it funny? His white hand paused on the tan skin.
No. It ain t funny. Nope. Nope. My daddy read this one, this s what I m telling you, you re so smart. He read this one, maybe I read it for him. It goes, Beware of animals today. Trust your instincts and make travel plans, attend to loved ones. He s a Taurus. She recited from deep memory. And Jesus, that s the day a horse named Rose Queen went crazy and bolted from her stall, and my daddy tried to stop her, only she s scared of something, so scared she just keeps on going, and he s knocked against the stall gate, kind of snapping because Rose Queen bolted. My daddy hit his head and he went blind. She sighed again.
Blind?
Can t see nothing. You hold your hand up, he don t see it. Somebody s got to help him do everything. He can t even like walk around.
Somebody else? Not you, honey?
Not lately. She pursed her lips in anger.
You think this horse knew about his horoscope? Carnes asked in his always gentle voice.
No, dummy. It s just there s a lot goes on we don t know about. I don t mind taking advice anyplace I get it, if it s good advice. There s got to be something to this, it s so old. Melanie squirmed on the bed, the newspapers crinkling and crackling, until she was opposite his face. I know my daddy always wished later he d listened to that advice. He cursed the day he laughed at it.
Carnes grinned and stroked her head, amused at the melodrama, the cheap moral and ready sentiment. She believed in a simpler existence of signs and omens, determined ends laid down and as observable as sunrise. She did not, he saw, understand the chaotic vortex of people s lives. There were no guideposts.
Over the long, sleepless night, he and Lee taking turns with Melanie, Lee stopping only to recharge his battery with the very pure methamphetamine in the sandwich bags, Carnes came to know the signs of her excitement, real or feigned. She knew what was in the