Habeas Corpus

Book 6: The Anna Albertini Files

by Rebecca Zanetti

Genres: Female Sleuths; Romantic Suspense

Synopsis

Aiming for Love, Landing in Mayhem

While Valentine’s Day is supposed to be full of romance and flying hearts, this year, Anna finds herself defending a misplaced Cupid, dodging a gang of thieving arrow shooters, and assisting Nick Bassaneli, her stubborn potential brother-in-law, with a bogus murder charge. Meanwhile, she’s trying to find her sexy boyfriend the perfect gift, when all he wants is for her to show up to Valentine’s dinner without danger on her heels.

Speaking of danger, Aiden Devlin is a little too secretive about his newest investigation, and something is hanging heavy over his head, but the stubborn Irishman refuses to share. Anna begins to fear that the ‘bogus’ murder charge might not be so bogus, and Nick truly could be in trouble. Unfortunately for Aiden, the Albertini family is full of self-proclaimed sleuths, and they’re more than eager to crack the case before he can reach his own conclusions.

During the season of love, Anna is forced to juggle her meddling family, solve the puzzle of the chaotic Cupids, save her potential brother-in-law, and arrive at Valentine’s Day dinner in one piece. Hey, miracles can happen.

Release date: March 12, 2024

Publisher: RAZ INK LLC

Print pages: 280

Sample

Chapter 1

Diamonds sparkled magically beneath the old-fashioned lights, turning me all gooey and happy. “Oh, Nick,” I murmured. “This is absolutely beautiful.”

Nick Basanelli leaned over my shoulder and looked at the ring resting in the black velvet box. “Are you sure, Anna? Do you think she’ll like it?”

My sister would be insane not to love it. “Of course, she’ll love it.”

“It was my grandmother’s,” he said. “I did show the engagement ring to Tessa on New Year’s, but I hadn’t purchased the wedding bands yet.”

It truly was gorgeous. It was a split halo, the center stone at least three carats and cushion-cut, with diamonds around the main stone that cascaded down in two bands. In addition, Nick had purchased two more bands—one for each side.

“I mean, it’s just stunning,” I said, unable to take my eyes off the diamond.

“I agree,” Duke Walls said from the other side of his jewelry store’s counter. Duke’s had been a permanent fixture in Timber City for as long as I could remember, and my new law firm was right next door.

I just couldn’t believe that Tessa and Nick were getting married. If she said yes—which, of course, she would. They’d dated for a fairly short time, which would probably concern most people, but knowing both Nick and Tessa, I was fully on board. They made a great couple.

“How are you going to ask her?” I turned to stare at him.

He straightened his shoulders. “I’m meeting her in an hour for a candlelit dinner. Don’t want to wait on this.”

I clapped my hands together once. “You could wait for Valentine’s Day.”

“Nope. Taking care of it now. It’s the perfect idea.”

“Yes, perfect,” Duke agreed.

In his sixties at least, Duke was as wide as he was tall and had the most cheerful smile I’d ever seen.

“Do you want help with planning what to say?” I held my breath as hope crashed through me.

Nick rolled his tawny brown eyes. “I’ll take suggestions.”

Seriously good-looking, Nick Basanelli stood over six feet tall with thick black hair and Italian features. He was also broad and brilliant. I could not have found a better mate for my sister, who was free-spirited yet oddly responsible. I’d always liked the contradictions in Tessa and loved that Nick did, as well.

“After dinner, maybe you could create a scene with red roses and the snow down by the lake. I can put it together while you two eat.”

Nick turned and looked at the blizzard swirling madly outside the glass doors. “Are you kidding? It’s early February. It’s freezing.”

True. Yet there was something romantic about Lilac Lake, which fronted most of Timber City, and I knew my sister loved the water. “We don’t have to be married to anything right now,” I said, enjoying the pun.

Nick rolled his eyes. “I’ll ask her after dessert. Inside where it’s warm.” His phone buzzed, and he looked down to read a text while I returned to staring at the absolutely incredible rings. I even liked that they were rose gold, which you just didn’t see very often. I was no expert, but the main diamond appeared colorless and clean and was probably an excellent cut. My sister would love it.

Nick frowned and shoved his phone into his back pocket. We’d met up near

 Duke’s closing time to pick up the rings. He’d wanted my approval, which, considering he was going to be my brother-in-law, I thought was very sweet.

Today, Nick wore a white button-down shirt and dark slacks, in contrast to the suit he normally wore in court as our prosecuting attorney. I didn’t have court today either, so I was just wearing black slacks with a pink sweater in tribute to February. Valentine’s Day was only two weeks away.

I looked around the wide jewelry store, taking in all the glass counters with their stunning baubles. Maybe I should find Aiden something in there. He was a tough guy to buy for, and I nailed it at Christmas time, but it had taken some serious effort. We’d dated for less than a year. I bit my lip.

“What are you getting Devlin for Valentine’s Day?” Nick asked, as if reading my mind.

I shook my head. “I have no clue.” I concentrated on him. “Isn’t Valentine’s Day more of a woman’s holiday?” Yeah, I wanted an easy out.

“Nope. Get on board, Albertini. I don’t know. Buy him something for his truck or motorcycle.”

Like what? His motorcycle was in storage for the winter, and his truck seemed fine. “Maybe he could use a new gun.” As an ATF agent, he probably had more guns than I knew about.

Nick looked up at the ceiling. “The holiday is easy for women. Buy a sexy pink outfit, put a bow on top of your head, and there you go.”

Practical. Very good advice. I slapped his arm. “You’re going to make a great brother.”

Did he pale at that? I thought he did. Amusement filtered through me. “If you marry Tessa, you’ll become a brother to Donna and me.” I was the youngest.

He gulped. “I can handle Donna, but you get shot at a lot.”

I frowned. “Not anymore.”

He looked toward the door, his gaze intense.

I secured my purse farther up on my shoulder. “Do you have to go back to the office before you meet Tessa for dinner? I recognized the expression you just wore.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I have a desk full of cases, and Friday night is usually pretty quiet at the office. I have a couple of phone calls to make before I meet your sister.”

I had worked for Nick for a while until he fired me, which, frankly, I’d probably deserved. I’d never really been one to hold a grudge, and since I’d 

opened my own practice with my partner, Clark, everything had turned out fine. “Is everything good?” Nick and I didn’t have any cases against each other right now, so he had no reason to hide anything.

Nick shook his head. “Did you read the newspaper article about the two bodies found last weekend?”

Definitely. Two deaths were big news in our neck of the woods. The paper had reported limited facts about the entire situation, and it was extremely rare for the rumor mill not to have filled in the details yet. The police department was never this locked down. “Yes,” I said. “Have the bodies been identified?”

Nick’s frown darkened. “I don’t know. I’m getting the runaround from the police, which is rare and surprising—considering I’ll prosecute whoever murdered them.”

“It was murder for sure?” I asked, curious.

“That’s as much as I know,” he said.

“Wow, it’s kind of bizarre.” The bodies had been found in the basement of the old Marsh place on the far east side of Lilac Lake. It had been a functioning mansion years ago and then fell into disrepair. In fact, I remembered partying out there quite a bit in high school. We used to have large keggers in what we considered a haunted house.

Of course, now that all the property around the lake was in such high demand, some folks from California had purchased it to tear it down and build something more modern. When they excavated, they’d found two bodies in a blocked-off cement room in the basement. Rumors flew around town regarding who it could be, but so far, the police had been inexplicably quiet.

“Maybe they can’t identify the victims,” I said.

“Probably not.” Nick

 reached for the ring box. “I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough. It’s not like my docket isn’t full.”

No kidding. It’d already been a busy beginning to the year. I took a deep breath. The smell of lemon oil and cookie-scented candle filled the air and just made me happy. Okay, maybe all the gorgeous jewelry around me did. I was a girl who loved her sparkles.

A jingle of the bell above the door trilled, and Nick and I both ignored it as Duke handed over a credit card receipt for Nick to sign. I angled closer to him, trying to see how much the bands had cost, but the print was too small to read. Darn it. It was none of my business, but curiosity had always been my downfall.

Well, I had several downfalls, but that was one of them. I moved even closer just as something flew by my head to hit the wall. I jumped back, my gaze catching on an arrow stuck into an older picture of the lake next to Duke’s ear. An actual freaking golden arrow.

Nick swiveled around as I did, and then my mind went blank. Three men stood in front of us, all dressed like...various Cupids.

“What the fuck?” Nick snapped, smoothly sliding the ring box into his pocket.

My jaw dropped open. Three men were dressed as close to Cupid as possible in such a cold climate. The first guy, the one with the now empty bow, was extremely tall and appeared muscular in a tight black shirt, black jeans, and black boots with thin, gold-colored laces. He wore a golden mask covering his angular face and had even dyed his curly hair gold. Maybe it was a wig. A gold and black quiver hung over his shoulder, the strap also a bronzy gold. Even his hands were covered in black gloves with burnished gold cuffs.

The other two men were much shorter, and one held an arrow already nocked in his bow. They were dressed similarly, except both wore white shirts and had the cuffs of their pants rolled up slightly over their boots. They were also both very wide with big bellies and couldn’t be much taller than me.

“Now,” the fit guy muttered to the other two. He reached for another arrow and nocked it in his bow. “I don’t want to hurt anybody,” he growled, his voice low and sounding a little tinny, like he was wearing some sort of voice synthesizer behind the golden mask.

Nick angled himself in front of me. “Are you supposed to be a fucking Cupid?”

“We all are,” the fattest guy spat as he ran toward the nearest display case and smashed it with what looked like a steel-tipped arrow. Glass flew in every direction as he started gathering up jewelry to shove into a black bag.

“This is a bad idea,” Nick said evenly, stepping even more in front of me to block me from the arrow.

The guy in the black shirt turned slightly and aimed at Nick’s chest. “Don’t be a hero.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Nick murmured.

Yeah, he was. I knew Nick Basanelli, and he wouldn’t stand for this. I put my hand on his lower back. There was no need for him to get shot with an arrow.

Duke started sidling toward the back, and the short guy not smashing jewelry

cases pointed his arrow at him. “I will shoot you,” he said, his voice also tinny. His hair was long and white with gold tips. Most certainly a wig.

The other guy kept smashing cases and shoving jewelry into the bag. Nick’s back tightened visibly, and then he lunged. The guy in black loosed the arrow, and even though Nick moved to the side, the point pierced his chest. He grabbed the golden shaft and went down.

Blood spurted everywhere.

“Nick,” I gasped, falling to my knees. “Holy crap.” I pressed on the area around the arrow, which was embedded in his now bloody torso. Was it close to his heart? I couldn’t tell. He looked up, fury glittering in his eyes.

“Let’s go,” the shooter yelled, and as suddenly as they’d appeared, they all ran out the door and into the storm.

I pushed harder and looked up at Duke. “Call 911.”

“Already on it,” Duke said.

I pressed harder against the wound as Nick reached for the arrow. “No, no, no. Don’t take it out,” I said. “You have to leave it in for the doctors. If you remove the arrow, you could bleed out.”

He sighed and tried to pull the arrow out by grasping the metal shaft.

“Damn it, Nick.” I grabbed his good arm, shoved it to the floor, and put both my knees on it.

“Jesus, Albertini,” he snarled. “Get the fuck off me.”

I’d never heard Nick Basanelli swear this much in my life. “No, you can’t pull it out. I know that. I saw it on TV. You have to let the doctors remove the arrow in case the tip hit an artery.”

The projectile looked deadly, with its black feathers seemingly made of metal spikes, and the nock and shaft steel or something close to it.

“Please, Nick, just hold on.” I heard sirens in the distance. “Are you with me?”

“I can’t believe I just got shot by Cupid,” he muttered and then passed out.

 

Chapter 2

 

he hospital smelled like antiseptic and latex gloves, and the combined scents made me squeamish like usual. I sat in an orange guest chair with Nick in a hospital bed, a bandage covering his shoulder and an angry expression darkening his face.

“Grab me my pants, would you?” he asked.

“You are so cranky.” I shook my head. The hospital staff had removed his clothes and put a hospital gown on him, and he’d protested the entire time. I only knew that because I’d heard him through the curtain as they removed the arrow and stitched him up.

The good news was that it hadn’t hit anything important. The bad news was that Nick was truly and completely pissed off. He had to put off his marriage proposal and didn’t like the uncertainty.

I heard running footsteps and wasn’t surprised when my sister barreled into the room, her hair a wild mess and her eyes wide.

She reached the bed in two seconds, her snow boots sliding across the sparkling tiles. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he said, his face instantly transforming from grumpy to sweet. “Honestly, the arrow barely did any damage.”

“Because you were lucky,” I piped up.

He ignored me. “Tessa, I’m okay.”

She looked at me for confirmation.

I nodded at my older sister. “He’s fine,” I said. “Take a deep breath.”

With her strawberry-blond hair and green eyes, Tessa took after the Irish O’Shea side of our family. She looked a lot like our mother. She took several deep breaths and then perched on the bed. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” He pulled the covers away and swung his legs over the side.

“No, no, no. Stay here,” she said, patting him into place.

“Tessa, I’m just waiting for the discharge papers. And my clothes,” he said pointedly to me.

I reached for the bag of his clothing on the counter. The nurse had cut off his shirt, but his pants remained intact. And Nick, being Nick, had slid the engagement ring and wedding bands into his pocket before turning to face the armed Cupids. “Everything’s in there.” I handed over the bag.

“Good.” Relief crossed his face.

Heavier footsteps sounded in the hallway, and Detective Grant Pierce walked in, taking in the scene. “Did you really get shot by a Cupid?” he asked unceremoniously.

Nick sighed and reached for his pants before sliding more to the edge of the bed, his muscular legs bare. “Yes.”

I averted my eyes. I mean, the guy might be hot, but he was about to be my brother-in-law. Probably.

“You were there, I take it?” Detective Pierce asked, looking at me with no surprise on his face.

I held up both hands. “This wasn’t my fault...not this time, anyway.”

He shook his head. “I find that hard to believe.”

Not very nice words, yet I kind of understood. “Hey, I haven’t gotten shot at, blown up, or attacked since before Christmas.”

“It’s only the beginning of February,” Pierce said slowly.

I had to admit, he was a pretty good detective. He was about six foot two with sandy-blond hair and piercing green eyes. And he’d gotten me out of trouble more than once. He had to be in his late thirties or early forties, but his eyes showed that he’d seen too much in this life. He’d once asked me out, and I had no doubt he thanked the

gods every day that we hadn’t made it to that picnic.

He reached for a notebook in the back pocket of his jeans, his green sweater stretching over his broad chest. Apparently, the detective had been off duty when he was called in. “All right. Run me through what happened.”

Nick did, and I corroborated, asking if Duke was okay.

“He’s fine. I’ve already taken his statement,” Pierce said.

“Were there any witnesses on the street?” I asked.

“No, the blizzard’s too bad. Most people had already taken off.” Since it was early February, darkness fell around three in the afternoon. It wasn’t a surprise that not many people had been out in the swirling snow.

Sometimes, we had decent weather in February that turned wintry again afterward. But we had yet to see any sunshine this year. Well, there was sunshine sometimes, but it still snowed.

“How much jewelry did they steal?” I asked.

“Duke is still taking inventory,” Pierce said. “They hit the diamond, opal, and emerald cases as if they knew what they wanted.”

I shook my head. “I can’t believe it. I wouldn’t have thought arrows would be a way to rob a jewelry store. I mean, it’s still armed robbery, so using an arrow instead of a gun doesn’t help their case any.”

“They were making some sort of statement,” Nick muttered. “Hence, the Cupid getups.”

“Pretty modern-day Cupids.” I thought back. The masks were modern, and they wore jeans instead of togas. But yeah, the whole Cupid vibe was there. “Have there been any similar crimes in the outlying areas?”

Pierce shook his head. “Not that I’ve found, but I’ll keep looking.”

Nick finished buttoning his pants and tore off the offending hospital gown. “I don’t suppose there are some scrubs around here I could borrow?”

“I’ll find some,” Tessa said, patting his arm. “Be right back.” With a nod at me, she squeaked out of the room in her black snow boots that matched her puffer jacket.

Nick pushed a hand through his hair before reaching into his pocket. “The rings are good.”

“That was smart,” I said.

“I’m not letting these go,” he said. “I’ll need to plan another proposal, though.” He turned

toward Pierce. “Do you have anything on these guys?”

Pierce paused. “Rings?”

I grinned. “You should see them.”

Nick pulled out the box and flipped open the top.

Pierce whistled. “Nicely done. I take it you hid the box the second the Cupids arrived?”

Nick nodded.

Thank goodness. Even wounded, Nick would’ve gone after them if they’d taken the rings.

Pierce glanced back down at his notebook. “You didn’t see them escape?”

Nick slipped the box back into his pocket. “I was on the ground at that point.”

“So was I,” I said. “They just ran outside. I didn’t even hear a vehicle.”

Pierce straightened. “Thus far, we have no witnesses.”

“Any CCTV in the area?” Nick asked. “I know there must be a couple around the jewelry store.”

Pierce nodded. “There were two cameras in the store, and we have the videos, but those costumes effectively hide their identities.”

“Great,” I muttered. Why rob with a bow and arrow? The robbers had been making a statement, but what was the point? I couldn’t quite grasp it.

Nick looked at Pierce. “Hey, I’m trying to get information on the two bodies found around Lilac Lake last weekend, and your precinct is stalling me. What’s up?”

“I don’t have anything to report on that right now,” Pierce said evenly.

I cocked my head. That was weird. Detective Pierce usually worked very closely with the prosecuting attorney’s office. Perhaps his reluctance was because I didn’t work in law enforcement any longer. “I can go help Tessa if you two want to talk.”

“No, we’re good,” Pierce said. “I want you to run me through the description of the perpetrators again, step by step. I want you to think of anything, from the inflection of their voices to their movements, to them being left or right-handed. Everything. Both of you. I need a lot more than we have.”

Nick frowned. “What’s going on, Grant?”

“At the moment, nothing. I need to concentrate on this case. You’re a witness, not a prosecutor, Basanelli.” Pierce tapped his pen on his notebook. ...