A Matter of Life and Death

by Phillip Margolin

  “Can I have a moment with my client?”

  “We’ll wait outside,” Carrie said. “Take all the time you want.”

  Carrie turned to Bash. “Be smart. Listen to your lawyer. You have a small window to cut your losses. If you play hardball with us, we will charge you with aggravated murder for Ortega and Carasco, we’ll go after you for running the illegal fights, and we’ll charge you for every traffic and health code violation we can dig up.”

  Twenty minutes later, the door opened, and Max Weaver walked into the corridor.

  “What would you offer if Kevin told you the name of the person who killed Mrs. Carasco?”

  “We know his name,” Roger said. “We have an APB out for him. What we need is the name of the person who told Mr. Bash to have Elizabeth Carasco murdered. We want the big baddie.”

  “What’s your wish list, Max?” Carrie asked.

  “You can see that Ortega was in really bad shape after Lattimore got through with him. He might have died anyway. Dr. Knowland probably told you that. So, manslaughter for the case with Ortega.”

  “The Ortega case is the least of your client’s problems,” Carrie said.

  “Take death off the table and put on life with the possibility of parole and Kevin can tell you what you want to know.”

  “He’ll tell us who hired him and testify for the State?” Carrie asked.

  Weaver nodded.

  “We’ll take your offer to Vanessa. She has the final say. But we’ll need a proffer. Who does Bash say ordered the hit on Elizabeth Carasco?”

  “Her husband, Anthony Carasco.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  When Harold Wright walked into the anteroom of his chambers at twelve thirty, he found Vanessa Cole, Robin Lockwood, and Carrie Anders waiting for him.

  “What’s up?” the judge asked Vanessa.

  “Let’s talk in chambers,” the prosecutor replied.

  The judge studied the attorneys and the detective. They looked grim. He frowned. Then he led everyone into his office.

  “Okay, we’re in chambers,” the judge said when everyone was seated and the door was closed. “Why does everyone look so serious?”

  “I’m going to dismiss all of the charges against Mr. Lattimore,” Vanessa said.

  The judge sat up. “I didn’t see that coming. Do you want to tell me why?”

  “He’s innocent, Judge. He was set up. Late last night, Detective Anders phoned me. She’d just finished raiding the barn in Washington County where Mr. Lattimore engaged in an illegal fight with Carlos Ortega. I believed that Mr. Lattimore had killed Mr. Ortega based on a YouTube video that showed the fight. A cooperating witness has provided my office with the full video. It shows a doctor examining Mr. Ortega. We’ve interviewed the doctor. He told us that Mr. Ortega was still alive after the fight. A man named Kevin Bash organized these illegal fights. The full video shows Mr. Bash beating Mr. Ortega to death after Mr. Lattimore leaves the barn.”

  “Where is Mr. Bash now?” Judge Wright asked.

  “In custody. We’re finalizing a plea deal with him. What’s relevant to the case before you is the section of the video that shows Mr. Bash taking Mr. Lattimore’s hand wraps and wearing them while he’s beating Mr. Ortega to death. The wraps were a major piece of evidence in our case.

  “The cooperating witness who gave us the recording of the fight told Carrie that a man named Sal Benedetto dropped the hand wraps in a garbage can on the Carasco property after he beat Mrs. Carasco to death. The cooperating witness will also testify that he brought Mr. Lattimore to Mrs. Carasco’s house after she was dead and abandoned him there to frame him for the killing.”

  “Do you have Benedetto in custody?”

  Vanessa nodded. “The California Highway Patrol picked him up a few miles from the Mexican border.”

  “Has he admitted killing Betsy Carasco?” the judge asked.

  “He’s refusing to talk, and he’s requested counsel. If he resists extradition, I’ll send someone to interview him in California.”

  Vanessa paused. “There’s more, and you’re not going to like this. Mr. Bash will swear that Anthony Carasco paid him to have his wife killed.”

  “You’re shitting me!”

  “I wish I were,” Vanessa said. “But that’s what our witness says.”

  “Is there anyone who corroborates his story?” Wright asked.

  “No.”

  “What does Anthony say?”

  “I would tell you if I knew, but the judge has disappeared.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  As soon as the meeting in Judge Wright’s chambers ended, Robin rode up in the elevator to the courthouse jail.

  “I have wonderful news, Joe. The police have questioned the doctor who was at the fight. He says that Carlos Ortega was alive when you were hustled out of the barn. We have the full recording of your fight with Ortega. What’s on it confirms what the doctor said. It shows you giving your hand wraps to Kevin Bash. Then Bash puts them on and kills Ortega. So, your conscience is clear. You didn’t kill Carlos Ortega. Vanessa is dismissing the manslaughter indictment.”

  For a moment, Joe looked relieved. Then he sobered. “What about Mrs. Carasco?”

  “That’s the other piece of good news. Those charges are going to be dropped too. We know you didn’t kill Mrs. Carasco, that you were set up. All of the charges have been dismissed. So, you’re a free man. You’ll be out of jail in a few hours.”

  Robin expected Joe to be ecstatic, but he didn’t look happy.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I appreciate all you’ve done for me. I really do. You’re fantastic. But Maria, me, and the baby are still homeless. At least with me in jail, Conchita and Maria could stay in the shelter. Now, we’ll be back on the street with no money and no prospects.”

  Robin smiled. “Did you think I was going to abandon you after the case was finished? I talked to Barry McGill. He remembered you. Barry’s got work for you at the gym. It’s mostly janitorial, but he said he can also get work for you as a sparring partner, and there are some young kids who could use coaching. That will give you an income while you look for a better job, and I’ll use some of my contacts to see if I can line one up.

  “And you won’t have to live on the street. Barry invested in rental property over the years, and he’s going to let you stay in one of his apartments. It’s not fancy, but he’ll hold up on the rent until you have a steady income.”

  “Does Maria know I’m free?”

  “As soon as you’re out, my associate, Loretta Washington, is going to drive you to the shelter. You can tell her yourself.”

  Joe began to sob. “I’m sorry,” he said as he swiped at his eyes.

  Robin placed a hand on Joe’s shoulder. “Don’t be. You’ve been through hell, and you deserve a good cry.”

  “One more question,” Joe said when he had calmed down. “Do the police know who set me up?”

  Robin nodded. “We’re pretty sure Betsy’s husband, Judge Carasco, was behind the plot to have his wife killed.”

  “Is he under arrest?”

  “No. The police are looking for him. It’s just a matter of time before they find him.”

  * * *

  After she left the jail, Robin walked back to the law office. As soon as she’d checked her messages, she found the contact number Helen Raptis had left for her.

  “Mrs. Raptis, this is Robin Lockwood. I have news for you. We know what happened to Betsy. Joe Lattimore is completely innocent. You were right; Judge Carasco paid to have your daughter killed.”

  “I knew the sick son of a bitch killed her. Is he in jail?”

  “No. The police are looking for him. Sal Benedetto, the man who did the actual killing, is being held in California. Two other people who were involved in the plot are in custody and have agreed to cooperate with the prosecutor.”

  “Thank you for letting me know. How did the police find out that Carasco killed Betsy?”

&nb
sp; “I’ll let the authorities give you that information. There are confidential sources involved, and I don’t know how much I’m allowed to tell you.”

  “How much do I owe you?”

  “Not a cent. Joe is my client. I just wanted you to know what was happening. I hope it brings you some peace of mind.”

  “I’ll have peace of mind when that bastard is executed.”

  PART FIVE

  THE WAGES OF SIN

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  “That’s all anyone’s talking about,” Portland police officer Marty Webb said as he pointed his bacon cheeseburger at the television over the bar where he and Paul Reese were taking their break.

  On the screen, a female talking head was asking a male talking head where he thought the Honorable Anthony Carasco would be found. The male talking head said that the judge was rumored to be in Mexico, Eastern Europe, or dead.

  “He forgot outer space,” Reese answered as he polished off his BLT.

  “And Easter Island,” Webb said.

  It was four in the morning on Saturday when the officers walked out of the bar. A cold front had swept in shortly after midnight. Webb hunched his shoulders and cursed the weather. His partner didn’t seem to mind the frigid air. Reese started the engine moments before the dispatcher told them that there had been a report of a dead body at the Grandview apartments. Fifteen minutes later, their headlights illuminated a security guard who was pacing back and forth next to his car in the parking lot. He looked stressed. Reese parked next to the guard.

  “You the one who called in a body?” he asked.

  “Bert Solomon. I work for Northwest Security. We patrol several apartment complexes in the city on a rotating basis. A woman named Stacey Hayes lives in number 5, but her car hasn’t been in her spot for a while, and the place has been dark. When I got here just before midnight on Thursday night, I saw a car driving very slowly through the parking lot. It looked suspicious, so I drove over to talk to the driver. As I approached, the car sped up and drove away.

  “Moments later, I noticed a light on in number 5 and a car parked in Miss Hayes’s spot. It wasn’t the one that was usually there, but I thought she might have bought a new car. I stopped in front of the door. It was closed, so I drove on.

  “I didn’t look that closely again at number 5 until tonight. That’s when I noticed that the door wasn’t completely closed. I knocked. When no one answered, I called for Miss Hayes. There was still no answer, so I took a few steps inside. That’s when the odor hit me. I’ve been in combat, and I knew the smell. When I went into the bedroom, I saw a man lying on the floor. It was the guy everyone is looking for.”

  * * *

  Vanessa Cole walked around the lab techs who were working in the living room and followed Anders and Dillon to the bedroom entrance. She stopped to study Anthony Carasco’s corpse, which sprawled facedown on a bloodstained carpet. Then she shook her head.

  “I thought we had this case gift wrapped and secured with a nice red bow.”

  “Someone wants to keep us employed,” Roger quipped.

  “What’s Sally say?” the DA asked.

  “Two shots,” Roger answered. “One to the body and one to the head. The blood spatter patterns suggest that the head shot was administered when he was on the floor.”

  “Did we find the murder weapon?” Vanessa asked.

  Carrie shook her head. “We’ve searched everywhere in the apartment. It looks like the killer took the gun.”

  “What about time of death?” Vanessa asked.

  “Sally’s guessing he’s been dead a few days,” Roger answered. “The car parked in front of the apartment is registered to Judge Carasco, and the security guard says it showed up late Thursday night.”

  “So, shortly after we raided the fight.”

  Roger nodded.

  “Did the guard see anyone going into or out of the apartment?”

  “No, but he did say that there was a car driving in the Grandview complex when he pulled in on Thursday night. He started driving toward it, and the guy peeled out.”

  “Did he get a good look at the driver?”

  “So-so. It was through the driver’s-side window, and it was pretty quick. But he did get the license. He’s going to give it to us as soon as he gets to his office.”

  Vanessa skirted the body and walked around the bedroom. There were no clothes in the closet, and all the drawers in the dresser and nightstands were empty. A bookcase stood across from the bed. The top shelf was almost empty, and several books were scattered around the floor in front of it. Carrie saw where Vanessa was looking and pointed at the top shelf.

  “There’s a camera up there that’s aimed at the bed. It was probably hidden by some of the books. You can just see it now that the books are out of the way.”

  “The sex tapes Rostov said Hayes was making?” Vanessa guessed.

  Carrie nodded. She pointed at two of the books that lay on the floor. There was a hollowed-out cavity in each one.

  “The tapes were probably hidden in those books.”

  Vanessa walked around the bathroom. There was nothing on the sink or in the medicine cabinet. Vanessa looked around the bedroom once more. Then she headed toward the front door.

  “Any idea who killed Carasco?” Vanessa asked when they were outside.

  “Just theories right now,” Roger said.

  “Hit me with them.”

  “There were always rumors that Carasco was fixing cases,” Roger said. “A few of the criminals he was friendly with might have been worried that he would name names to cut a deal when he was caught.”

  “Sal Benedetto might have wanted to shut up the judge for the same reason,” Carrie said.

  “We can eliminate Joe Lattimore,” Roger said. “He might have wanted revenge, but he was still in jail Thursday night.”

  “What about Betsy Carasco’s mother?” Vanessa asked. “Helen Raptis was certain that Carasco was behind her daughter’s murder. She has that spooky bodyguard for heavy lifting, and she knew about the Grandview. When Raptis met with me, she showed me pictures of Carasco with Stacey Hayes in this apartment. She told me that her daughter was going to file for divorce because she found out about his affair. You should talk to her.”

  “Will do,” Roger said. “And Hayes is someone we should check out.”

  “Rostov said he chased her out of Oregon after he beat up her pimp,” Vanessa said.

  “She had to hate the judge for siccing Rostov on her,” Roger said. “She could have come back.”

  “Do we know anything about her?” the DA asked.

  “No,” Carrie said. “But we’ll probably find her prints in the apartment. I’ll run them.”

  “Ian Hennessey met Hayes at the Grandview, and he was the judge’s alibi,” Roger said.

  “Okay. Question him. Let’s get on this fast.”

  What Vanessa didn’t say was that she couldn’t afford another screwup like Lattimore. The press was having a field day roasting her for prosecuting an innocent homeless man, and she had dropped six points in the polls.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  At nine the next morning, Roger Dillon settled onto a chair on one side of a scarred wood table in the interrogation room in the detective division.

  “Have a seat,” Roger told Ian Hennessey. Hennessey looked terrified, and Roger felt sorry for him.

  “Do you mind if I record our conversation?” Roger asked.

  “I guess not. Am I in trouble?”

  “What do you think?”

  Hennessey’s eyes dropped to the tabletop. “I don’t know why I’m here,” he said, stalling for time.

  “Let me give you a hint. Does the name Stacey Hayes mean anything to you?”

  Hennessey looked like someone who’d just seen his pet puppy run over by a truck.

  “I … Yeah. I know her.”

  “Ever been to her apartment at the Grandview?” asked Roger.

  “Yes,” Hennessey answered, his voice barely
above a whisper.

  “Been in her bedroom?”

  The young DA looked like he was going to throw up.

  Roger flashed a grandfatherly smile. “I apologize for busting your balls, Ian. I have a very open mind when it comes to sex. The problem is that prostitution is against the law, which you have sworn to enforce.”

  Hennessey’s head snapped up and he looked at Dillon.

  “It wasn’t that way. She set me up.”

  “I’m confused.”

  “I was only in bed with Stacey twice, and I never paid her. You’ve got to believe me. I never broke any laws. I was just stupid.”

  “Okay, Ian. Calm down and explain this to me in an orderly manner. Pretend you’re giving a closing argument to a jury. Convince me you’re not guilty of prostitution.”

  “I’m not. It was Judge Carasco, and I didn’t have anything to do with his murder,” Hennessey blurted out.

  “Why would we think you might?”

  “Because he was killed in Stacey’s apartment, and I hated him for trying to ruin my life.”

  “The judge was killed late Thursday night or early Friday morning. Do you have an alibi for that time period?”

  “No. I was home, alone.”

  “Okay. Let’s get back to you and Miss Hayes.”

  Ian told Roger how Carasco arranged for him to have dinner with Stacey at Bocci’s and how he ended up in her bed at the Grandview after the second date.

  “After that weekend, she disappeared. Then, a week later, she called me at the courthouse in the morning and said she wanted to make love at the apartment. My next court appearance wasn’t until late afternoon. It was supposed to be in front of a different judge, but it was mysteriously switched to Judge Carasco’s court that morning. Since I didn’t have anything scheduled for a few hours, I went to the Grandview. This was the second and last time we were in bed. I never went back to her apartment after that.”

  “Why is that?”

  Hennessey turned red with embarrassment. “After we had sex, Stacey told me that she had been arrested in Portland for prostitution a few years ago and had outstanding warrants because she’d skipped town. She asked me to make the warrants disappear. I told her that was illegal. That’s when she said she’d tell Mrs. Cole that I’d paid her for sex if I didn’t get rid of the warrants.”