***
The area was filled with policemen, firemen, and paramedics. Detective Pat Evans led Sabre off to the side as they loaded Ron onto a gurney. Sabre trembled as she walked past the paramedics who were working on Vose.
“Are you okay?” Detective Evans asked.
“I’m pretty shaken up.” Sabre nodded her head toward Vose. “Is he alive?”
“I don’t know,” Evans said as she removed a notepad from her pocket. “What’s your name?”
“Sabre Brown. I’m an attorney, a child advocate. I practice juvenile law in San Diego.”
“Who’s the man who was shot?”
“His name is Gilbert Vose.”
“Who shot him?”
“I did,” Sabre said. “He was about to shoot JP, my PI. I yelled at Vose. When I did, he turned toward me and shot. I pulled the trigger.”
“Why did you have a gun?”
“It wasn’t mine. It belongs to the woman you have over there in the police car. She claims to be an FBI agent, but now I’m sure she’s not.”
“Why were you here tonight?”
Sabre swallowed. “They had my brother. We went in to get him.”
“Who had your brother?”
Sabre had a good view of the front door to the facility. A cop came out the door with Marco’s bodyguard in handcuffs followed by the security guard, also cuffed. Sabre wondered what had happened inside that triggered their arrests. They were both placed in the back of police cars.
“Their boss,” Sabre said, nodding toward the men who were just arrested. “They work for Jimmy Marco.”
“The crime boss?” Evans asked.
“Yes, he’s inside.”
Three paramedics came out the front door wheeling Marco on a stretcher. Two were pushing the gurney, and one was carrying the IV pole.
“That’s him,” Sabre said.
“Someone from the facility called for an ambulance just before the call came in that a man had been shot. Was Marco hurt?”
“No. He was fine when we left him.”
“Stay here,” Evans said. “I’ll be right back.” She walked toward the ambulance where Marco was being loaded.
Sabre saw an old man hobbling toward her. After a few seconds she realized it was the gentleman from Apartment #3.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I will be,” Sabre said. “What were you doing in there setting off that alarm?”
“Just trying to help.”
“Why?” Sabre asked. She was still shaking and confused. She kept thinking about the man she just shot.
“I knew the guy they brought in wasn’t drunk. I know who the despicable, infamous Jimmy Marco is and I could tell by your questions that you were in trouble.”
Sabre smiled at the old man. “And I thought I was being so clever.”
“Just for the record, I’m old. I’m not stupid. And a piece of advice: Don’t play poker, honey. You’re not a very good liar.”
Sabre squeezed his hand, still not sure what had happened. “Thanks.”
The ambulance carrying Ron drove away with the siren blaring. It made Sabre shudder. Her foggy mind tried to make sense of everything as she scanned the area. JP was standing near a black-and-white police car talking to a man Sabre assumed was another detective. The second ambulance, carrying Vose, left the parking lot along with a police car. Two of the firemen walked toward their truck. It’s all over, Sabre thought. She sighed. Her gut wrenched as she thought about the man she had just shot and possibly killed.
Chapter 55
After six hours of interrogation, JP was free to leave the Mesquite Police Station. Sabre was still being questioned. JP wondered if he should retain a lawyer for her, but decided against it. She was smart enough to know when to stop talking.
JP took a cab to the hospital to check on Ron. He checked in at the desk and then went to Ron’s room. Two detectives left the room just as JP came in.
“How are you feeling?” JP asked.
“Much better,” Ron responded. “Is Sabre with you?”
“They still have her at the station. I’m sure she won’t be there much longer.” JP hoped that was true. “Did they take your statement?”
“Yes. I told them everything. They called Marshal Mendoza to verify my time in WITSEC. There was never an arrest warrant issued against me. Apparently, they’ve been trying to find Gina ever since they discovered her real name is Virginia Marco. It turns out she’s Marco’s daughter.”
“I think Sabre had figured that out. After she shot Vose….”
“Sabre shot Vose?”
“Yes. He was about to shoot me, but she yelled at him. Then he turned on her and fired, and so did she.”
“Geez! She could have been killed,” Ron said. “Is Vose dead?”
“The last I heard he was still alive.”
Ron took a deep breath and let it out. “You said Sabre figured out who Gina was?”
“She must have. She turned the gun on Gina and said, ‘She’s the killer.’ That’s all she was able to explain before Gina took off running.”
“I wonder what tipped her off.”
“I don’t know. Your sister’s a pretty smart little filly.”
“And she’ll kick your butt if she hears you calling her a ‘filly.’”
“You’re probably right, although I think she’s getting used to my comments. She usually finds them funny, or maybe she’s just humoring me.”
“Do you know what they’ve done with Gina?”
“The detective told me they have her in lockup. She refuses to talk. Apparently she’s waiting for her lawyer from Dallas.”
“I can’t believe she’s Marco’s daughter. All this time, she was playing me. She said all the right things and she seemed so sincere.”
“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.”
Ron laughed. “I guess you’re right.”
“I’m sorry, man.” JP nodded his head. “When are you getting out of here?”
“This afternoon, I hope. The doctor is coming in to see me a little later. I expect he’ll release me.”
“Do you know what drug Vose gave you?”
“I can’t remember. The doctor told me what it was, but I can’t remember. Obviously it wasn’t anything lethal. They just needed to keep me sedated until they could get me to Marco so he could kill me. They kept me drugged enough to not give them any trouble on the trip down, but a lot of the time I could hear what they were saying.”
“Like what?”
“Like Marco’s plan to make me sweat before he blew me away. Vose kept talking about how he had pulled one over on Virginia. How he got her to kill all the other contenders who were fighting to head up Marco’s business. I didn’t know at the time that it was Gina they were talking about.”
“What else did you hear?”
“They kept joking about an FBI agent. I guess that should have triggered something for me, but I was pretty groggy and not thinking very straight.”
“Well, it’s all over now.”
A big smile crossed Ron’s face as Sabre walked in. “Hello, sunshine,” he said.
Sabre dashed to his bedside and hugged him. Then she stepped toward JP and she fell into his arms.
“You okay, kid?” JP asked.
“I will be.”
“What took so long?”
“I asked for a lawyer. It took a while to get one and then I spoke to her before I would give a statement. I ultimately told them everything that happened, but I wanted to run it past another attorney before I spilled my guts. I would have advised a client to do the same. I thought it best to heed my own advice. Once I found out that no warrant had been issued for Ron, the number of felonies we committed dropped considerably. I don’t think we’ll be charged with anything. We’re worth way more to them as good, credible witnesses than we would be as felons facing major jail time.”
A doctor and a nurse walked int
o the room. Sabre and JP stepped out while they examined Ron.
“What happens now?” JP asked. “Can you leave the jurisdiction?”
“Yes. There’ll be a full investigation, but for now they don’t need us. My lawyer said they’re hoping Vose will roll on Virginia, if he lives.” Sabre’s voice cracked. “I sure hope he does. I’m not sure I can live with myself if he doesn’t.”
“You will. It won’t be easy, but you can do it.” JP squeezed her shoulder.
“I’m ready to go back to San Diego.”
“We can fly or rent a car and drive. When do you want to leave?”
“As soon as Ron is able to go.”
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to see what I can find out about Vose.”
“Thank you,” Sabre said.
Sabre paced outside Ron’s door until the doctor left. She went inside to see Ron helping the nurse fill out some paperwork.
“I’m being discharged, Sis,” Ron said.
“Good, we can all go home.”
“Sounds good to me,” JP said, as he came in the door. “I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that Vose is out of surgery.”
“Is he going to live?”
“He’s still in critical condition,” JP said. “But he’s alive. You just need to hold on to that for now.”
Sabre, JP, and Ron sat around waiting for the final discharge papers and hashing over what had happened the night before.
“So, Sis, JP said you turned the gun on Gina. How did you know she was involved?”
“Yeah,” JP said. “What tipped you off?”
“When I went into the bedroom and saw Marco lying in bed and Gina standing by his side.”
“She had a gun to his head,” JP said.
“Yes, but when he shivered, she reached down and pulled the covers over him. Then she placed her hand on his shoulder. She wouldn’t have shown that kind of compassion for him if she didn’t care for him. Maybe she would have covered him, but she wouldn’t have touched him. And remember when Marco yelped with pain?”
“Yes,” JP said.
“Gina seemed to stroke Marco’s shoulder. At first, I thought she was the reason he cried out, but then I realized she was comforting him. On the ride down here she told me her father was very ill. Another thing that made me question her was back in the motel when she talked about Gilbert Vose. She called him Gilbert. Everyone else she referred to by their last name, which is more standard for law enforcement. It was as if she knew him personally. Then I remembered Ernie’s email about Marco having a daughter who was involved in his legitimate business. Suddenly, it all made sense.” She paused. “Besides, she looks like Marco.”
“That’s why I can’t ever get anything over on you,” Ron said.
“You do plenty,” Sabre said.
A male nurse came in with a wheelchair. “You’re good to go,” he said.
JP had a cab on standby. He called to let them know they were ready. “I also called about a car rental. The cab can take us there, and we can pick up a car and drive to Kingman this afternoon. It’s only about three hours.”
Sabre felt the desire to reach out and touch JP. Instead, she smiled up at him. Then she turned to Ron. “Mom will be so happy to see us. We can stay the night in Kingman and drive home tomorrow.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Ron added.
They exited the hospital to find three news station trucks lined up outside. Several reporters had gathered a crowd around them. A hospital administrator was answering questions.
“What’s going on?” Sabre asked the male nurse.
“The word just got out that mob boss Jimmy Marco didn’t make it.”
Chapter 56
Sabre had been home for less than a day when she sat down with Bob to go over her cases. But before he would discuss those with her, Bob insisted that she tell him the whole story about her recent adventure.
“Wow! There’s never a dull moment with you, Sobs,” Bob said after she explained the whole ordeal.
“I’m just glad it’s finally all over and Ron is safe. And now you’ll get to know him better.”
“I’m not sure I want to get to know someone who calls me Butthead O’Brien. I’m not even Irish,” Bob joked.
“You two are going to get along great. You were both cut from the same cloth. I’m just not sure I can put up with both of you in the same town.”
Bob squinted and wrinkled his nose. “You really shot a guy?”
Sabre nodded.
“What was that like? Did you kill him?”
“No, he’s still alive, at least for now. It was pretty frightening, but I didn’t think much about it when it happened. I was sure JP or I was going to be killed if I didn’t do something. So I pulled the trigger. Just shooting the gun was freaky. My whole body trembled and then the realization set in that I may have killed someone. I think I went into shock after that. I’ve had trouble sleeping the last few nights, but I’m sure that’ll get better.”
“I’m sorry, Sobs.”
“Hey, better him than JP or me, right?” Sabre didn’t wait for an answer. “So, Sophie’s trial was continued until Monday?”
“Yes, everyone showed up ready to go yesterday. County Counsel had several witnesses there, but Judge Hekman got bogged down on another trial and never got to us. After waiting around for about two hours, she finally called us in and continued it.”
“I’m sorry you had to sit around all afternoon.”
“No biggie. Mike Powers and I had a good time harassing the social worker. And we met the neighbor.”
“What neighbor?”
“Stuart Rhodes, or Stu, as he likes to call himself.” Bob elongated his name, emphasizing the “oo.” “He’s the guy who saw Sophie’s stepfather return home the afternoon she was molested.”
“Why are you saying his name like that?”
“That’s the way Stoo says it.”
Sabre smiled and shook her head. “Did you get a chance to talk to him?”
“Yes. I questioned him about what he saw. He said that Mark came home that afternoon just after Sophie got there. He pulled into the garage and closed the garage door behind him. About an hour later Stu saw him leave. Shortly after that her mother came home.”
“Did he seem credible?”
“I guess so. He was kind of creepy, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. I just got a bad vibe from him. His eyes are kind of shifty.”
“Do you think he’s lying about what he saw?”
“Not necessarily. Have you had a chance to talk to other neighbors?”
“JP did some investigation before he left. Neither he nor CPS found anyone else who had seen Sophie return home or had seen Mark there. Now that the trial has been continued, I’ll have JP check further.”
Sabre called JP and asked him to further investigate the neighbor. Then she continued her visit with Bob as he caught her up on the cases he had covered for her and all the latest juvenile court gossip.
***
On Saturday morning Sabre was in her office early attempting to catch up on the snail mail, the e-mail, and the phone calls she had neglected for the past two weeks. She was still having trouble sleeping so she came to the office about 6:30 a.m. About 7:30, JP stopped by with a large Coffee Bean cup with her decaf mocha just the way she liked it.
“I have the report for you on the Sophie Barrington case.”
“Anything interesting?” Sabre asked, as she continued to separate her mail.
“Not really. I still couldn’t find anyone else who saw Sophie or Mark come home on the day in question. I dug deeper into Stuart Rhodes’ background. He has no criminal history. His work history was pretty sporadic until his brother got him a job at a plant the brother managed in Victorville. Mr. Rhodes worked there about seven years. About eight years ago he won a big lawsuit and he hasn’t worked since.” JP handed Sabre the report.
She glanced through it. “Really?”
she said as she read the name of Rhodes’ employer. “That’s the plant he worked at in Victorville?”
“Yes, why?”
“Does his brother still manage the plant?”
“Yes, he does. Why? How does that help your case?”
Sabre stood up, picked up a file from her desk, and walked around to where JP was seated. She bent down and kissed him lightly on the lips. “You are amazing. What would I do without you?”
“I’m hoping we don’t have to find out, but what did I do?”
Sabre smiled. “I’m going to see Sophie. Do you want to go along? I’ll explain it all on the way.”
JP stood up and walked with her to the door. “Sorry, I can’t. How about you explain it tonight over dinner.”
“You mean like a real date?”
“Like a real date.”
***
Sabre sat with Sophie in her room at the foster family’s home. They talked about school and the family pets. They played a game of Hungry Hippo and Sophie seemed relaxed. Sabre went to great lengths to make her comfortable before broaching the subject that had brought her there.
“Sophie, do you know the man who lives next door to you?”
Sophie squirmed and nodded.
“Do you know his name?”
“He says to call him Uncle Stu,” she said softly.
“When did he tell you that?” Sabre asked.
“Before.”
“Before what?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sophie, has Stu ever given you M&M’s?”
She nodded, but she had a terrified look on her face. Then she started to cry. “He has lots of M&M’s in his house.”
“Did you go into his house?”
“Yes, but I shouldn’t have.”
***
Bob, Sabre, Tom Ahlers, the County Counsel, and the attorneys for the parents—Mike Powers and Regina Collicott—all sat at the table in Department Four waiting for Judge Hekman to finish reading the reports on the Sophie Barrington case. The attorneys had met earlier, and although they couldn’t come to an agreement, they had stipulated to a lot of the testimony. The Department wanted to offer a voluntary agreement and provide the family services for six months. Sophie would be returned home in the interim, but the mother and father both wanted the case dismissed now. None of the attorneys were sure what ruling Judge Hekman would make. She was unpredictable but generally fair in her decisions.
The Advocate's Felony Page 26