Life's a Beach Then You Die

by Falafel Jones

  Chapter Twenty

  Torres stopped next to me, stared down and said, “Fried. What are you doing here?”

  I didn’t answer.

  Detective Fitzpatrick walked over to Corky and asked, “Corky Eastwood?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m Detective Fitzpatrick.” He nodded his head to the side. “My partner, Detective Torres. We’d like to ask you some questions.” Fitzpatrick looked at me and then at Finch as if he wanted us to leave. When we didn’t, he asked Corky, “Is there someplace we can talk?”

  “We can talk right here. What do you want to know?”

  Fitzpatrick hesitated a moment as if considering his options, then asked, “How long have you known Ben Horton?”

  Corky looked at me, then at Fitzpatrick, “Why do you want to know?”

  “Corporate papers show you as Vice President of Horton’s company.”

  “I’m an officer of many corporations.”

  “Yes, ma’am, but someone tried to kill Horton.”

  She seemed surprised. Maybe I should have told her about the attempt to kill Horton. Maybe I should have told her Ray was murdered. I held off because I didn’t want to color her answers. Maybe I was wrong. She looked at me again. This time, her expression wasn’t that pleasant. “And you sent Mr. Fried to see what he could learn first?”

  Torres sprang to life. “What? Fried? No. He’s got nothing to do with us. I’d like to know what he’s doing here myself.”

  He didn’t have to act as if working with me was so repulsive, but at least his reaction seemed to reassure Corky I was on her side. To buttress that position, I said, “I’m working for Ms. Eastwood’s attorney on a private matter.”

  Fitzpatrick ignored the sideshow and continued to question Corky. “Are you aware that Ben Horton was buying trade secrets from a competitor?”

  “No.”

  “How did you meet Ben Horton?”

  “I’d prefer not to answer anymore questions without my attorney present.”

  “Is she here?”

  “No.”

  Fitzpatrick reached out his hand towards Corky. “Then you’ll have to come with us. Your lawyer can meet us at the station and we can chat.”

  Corky stood up and turned to her assistant Amanda. “Please arrange for appropriate counsel to meet me.”

  Amanda just nodded. She seemed too shocked to speak. She and I stood and watched Corky leave with the Detectives. As soon as they were gone, I ran to the elevator and pressed the button. I decided to follow them to the police station.

  When I got to my car, I phoned Ed’s cell but got only voice mail. When I got to the police station, I tried to get in to see Corky or Torres, but they refused me entry. I went back to my car and watched for anyone that looked like an EFH lawyer. I thought it likely that only a lawyer would drive an expensive car and wear a suit to a police station.

  I watched the parking lot entrance for 10 minutes. No one came or left. Then, a silver Mercedes pulled into a spot near the door. I got out of my car so I could see the driver. It was Ed. I ran over and called his name. I wanted to catch him before he went inside.

  He stopped and turned to see who was calling him. When he saw me, he started in my direction so I slowed to a walk. We met halfway.

  “Max, what are you doing here?”

  “I was talking to Corky about Horton when Torres and Fitzpatrick came to question her. What about you?”

  “I’m her lawyer.”

  “I thought EFH was sending someone.”

  “They did. Me. At this location, EFH legal only handles contracts and civil litigation. I’m on retainer to fill in the gaps. I can’t talk now. I’ve got to go.” He got about three feet and then turned back to face me, “You promised me that you’d keep Corky out of this and now she’s in police custody. I should have cut you loose earlier.” He showed me his back and started walking away.

  I ran after him. “Wait, Ed. I had nothing to do with this. The police found the same records I did. They came to see Corky because she’s listed as VP in Horton’s company.”

  Ed stopped, “How do you know this?”

  “I heard them say so when they arrived.”

  “For sure?”

  “For sure.”

  Ed turned to enter the building and I walked with him. When we got to the door, he paused and gave me a puzzled look. “You following me?”

  “Yeah. Corky already told me what she knows. I may be able to help you. Besides, if the police are questioning her about Horton, I may be able to learn something from their questions.”

  Ed shrugged and we went in to see Corky. A cop escorted us into the squad room where Corky was sitting in a side chair at Fitzpatrick’s desk drinking bottled water. When he saw us, Fitzpatrick stood up. “Mr. McCarthy. Mr. Fried.”

  Ed said, “I’m here to represent Ms. Eastwood.”

  “Very good. This way please.” We followed him into an interview room.

  We all sat and Fitzpatrick began.

  “Ms. Eastwood. How long have you known Ben Horton?”

  “I’d rather not answer that.”

  “OK, how did you meet?”

  “I’d rather not answer that either.”

  “How about, how did you come to be Vice President of his company?”

  She shook her head.

  “Ms. Eastwood. Ben Horton was your business partner. We know he was buying trade secrets stolen from a competitor. If you won’t answer our questions, we can’t know that you weren’t involved in the theft or that you didn’t have anything do with the attempt to kill him.”

  Ed leaned in towards Fitzpatrick. “My client is innocent until proven guilty. She has no burden of proof here. You do.”

  “OK,” Fitzpatrick said, “How’s this? I’m going prove your client and Horton were stealing from A. V. Designs. She knew that we were onto Horton and she paid someone to shut him up before he incriminated her. Plus she had to protect her investment.”

  Corky laughed. It seemed genuine. “Do you know how much I invested in Ben’s company? Twenty thousand dollars. Do you think anyone is going to believe that I’d have someone killed over such a small amount?”

  “So you don’t think it’s a lot of money. Working folks on a jury might not agree. Besides, even if the money wasn’t a factor, you’d still want to avoid going down with him on the theft charges.”

  Ed stood up. “We’ve had enough. You’ve got nothing to justify holding Ms. Eastwood. We’re leaving.”

  Fitzpatrick sat and watched us leave the room. Torres was waiting outside watching us. Just as Corky walked past him, he said, “Ma’am, you must realize that if you didn’t try to kill Ben Horton, someone else did. Since you’re Horton’s business partner, you might be next on some killer’s list.”

  Corky stopped and turned to glare at him. He shrugged and escorted us out of the building.