The party had been going for over two hours by the time Rob and Maddy arrived at 4:30. There were already over forty adults standing around chatting or seated at the rented tables under the awnings. At least twenty kids were having a great time swimming and playing in Jordan’s pool.
A catering company had been hired and a full bar was set-up doing a brisk business. There were also three wait people, two young men and a young woman on hand. The three of them were in continuous motion circulating through the crowd and the table areas. Jordan had also gotten lucky with the weather. It was a gorgeous summer day, highs in the mid-eighties, sunny with fluffy cumulous clouds floating overhead.
Rob Judd, holding Maddy’s hand, made his way around the pool and through the crowd. Maddy was in a white cotton dress that ended just above her knees with sandals on her feet and was drawing a lot of attention. Rob introduced her to as many people as he knew and they finally made their way to where Corbin Reed and Jordan were standing greeting guests.
Rob introduced Maddy to them and Reed shook her hand then held onto it while staring at her.
“Didn’t I see you at Vivian Donahue’s party a couple of weeks ago?”
“I was there with Rob,” she politely replied while extracting her hand.
“How do you know her?” Reed asked, referring to Vivian.
For some reason this question sounded an alarm bell in Maddy’s head. It was an obvious question to ask but something about the way Reed asked it set off the warning.
“Oh, I don’t, not really. She’s a friend of a friend,” Maddy vaguely answered without using Tony’s name.
The four of them chatted for a couple of minutes then Rob led Maddy away to a table where several coworkers were seated. Across the pool, Ethan Rask stood watching, drink in hand while Reed and Jordan watched Maddy walk away. When they turned back, Rask motioned to Corbin Reed to meet him on his side of the pool.
“Beautiful woman,” Rask said when Corbin joined him. The two men were off by themselves under a shady tree watching Maddy Rivers across the pool. The kids in the pool were making so much noise they were confident no one could hear them.
“Yeah, she is,” Corbin readily agreed.
“She’s also about as dangerous as a pit viper,” Rask said.
“What?” Corbin asked. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s an ex-Chicago cop and now she’s a private investigator here in Minnesota. She’s killed two men. Threw one of them out a window of her apartment when he tried to attack her there. Oh, I almost forgot. First she kicked his ass, shot him and then threw him out the window.
“The other one she shot five or six times and blew him off the roof of a building. I’m not sure what happened, but there were no charges ever filed.”
“Sounds like a fun girl,” Corbin laughed. “You think we should try to warn our guy before he takes out Rob Judd?”
“What the hell are you two talking about?” they heard the voice of Walter Pascal anxiously ask from behind them.
The two men turned around and faced Pascal who had seen them talking and decided to join them. He had not meant to eavesdrop but had heard Corbin’s comment about Rob Judd as he approached, unnoticed, from behind.
“Jesus Christ, Corbin. First McGarry and now Rob,” Pascal whispered at them. “Where does this stop? I didn’t sign on for this shit!”
“Keep your mouth shut, Walter,” Corbin ordered. “Listen to me,” he continued stepping right up to Pascal, poking him in the chest with a hard finger and snarling into his face. “Did you think we could pull off what we’re going to do without some problems? Grow up. Besides, after McGarry it’s too late to turn back now.”
Rask patted Pascal on the shoulder and softly said, “Relax, Walter. We’ll take care of it. You just take care of your end and keep the cash flow coming in.”
Pascal shifted his eyes back and forth between them, sighed and said, “Okay, all right. It’s just…”
“Not much longer, Walter,” Corbin said while thinking about how much more each would end up with by dividing up Walter’s share.
FIFTEEN
Tuesday morning after the long holiday weekend, Marc Kadella was at his desk reviewing a police report. It was ten o’clock and his new client, an affluent financial advisor with a Fortune 500 company headquartered in downtown Minneapolis, had just left. Arrested last week for his second DUI in three years, the man was looking at a gross misdemeanor, up to a year in jail, his driver’s license suspended and three grand in fines. That was not the worst of it. His securities licenses were also in jeopardy.
He had left a five thousand dollar check on Marc’s desk with the hope Marc could do something for him. The client’s wishes were dubious at best. From what Marc could tell from the police report, the arrest appeared to be solid.
Marc set the paperwork and check aside. He would give it to Carolyn or Sandy to open a new case file for him and deposit into his Trust account. He leaned back and thought about the past few days with Margaret. He loved her, he was sure about that. But was he in love with her enough to give up the lifestyle he was enjoying to spend the rest of his life with her? That he was not sure about.
Marc also thought about Mackenzie Sutherland, a woman he became involved with while Margaret and he were separated. Mackenzie had definitely lit a fire in him which mostly burned out just as quickly and with good reason. But he still was not quite over her and that was the heart of the matter.
His intercom buzzed and when he answered it Sandy told him Tony Carvelli was calling and it was urgent.
“Hey, what’s up?” Marc asked him.
“I just got a call from Owen Jefferson,” Tony began referring to a Minneapolis homicide detective they both knew. “Maddy’s in some kind of trouble at her boyfriend’s place. I’m on my way,” he added then gave Marc the address.
“What’s going on?” Marc asked trying to remain calm and keep the panic out of his voice.
“Jefferson wouldn’t tell me. He just said to call you and for both of us to get there ASAP.”
“This is two minutes from me,” Marc said referring to Rob’s address. “I’ll meet you there.”
Marc barely hung up the phone before he grabbed his coat and ran through the office. While running to the exit door he managed to yell out something about canceling appointments and that he would call later.
Marc ran two red lights as he sped west on Lake Street passed Lake Calhoun. He could see the fifteen story condo building from a half mile away and pulled into the parking lot ten seconds before Carvelli.
There were six squad cars, lights flashing, Jefferson’s car and an ambulance in the fire lane by the door. Marc saw Tony and waited for him then the two of them ran toward the building.
“I don’t know any more than what I told you on the phone,” Tony managed to say.
They were stopped at the door by a uniformed officer and while Marc explained who they were, Tony saw a vehicle from the medical examiner’s office pull into the lot and up to the front of the building. The officer stood aside, opened the door for them as Tony poked Marc on the shoulder and pointed to the M.E. vehicle.
Inside another MPD uniformed officer escorted them onto the elevator and rode up to seven with them. He led them down the hall to Rob’s condo and before they went in, the cop stopped them.
“It’s pretty gruesome in there,” he whispered. “Just so you know.”
When they got inside the first thing they saw was Madeline sitting on the couch by herself. She was wearing a man’s white T-shirt, white cotton panties and nothing else. Her hair was a mess, she had a scared and confused look on her face and her hands were pressed together being held between her knees. What shocked both Marc and Tony was the amount of blood that was splattered all over her.
“Jesus Christ,” Tony whispered. “What the hell…”
Before he could finish his thought, Marc was already on his knees in front of her. As soon as she saw them, tough-as-nails Maddy had burst into tears. Now, despite
the blood, her arms were around Marc’s neck while he held her. They stayed this way for almost two minutes; Maddy letting it out while Marc gently rocked her like a child.
“Tony,” they heard a deep, male voice say from behind them.
Tony turned and saw Owen Jefferson standing in the opening of a hallway leading to the bedrooms. Marc saw him too and gestured with his head for Tony to see what the detective wanted.
While Maddy was gathering herself, Tony followed Jefferson down the hall and saw Jefferson’s partner, Marcie Sterling, standing in a bedroom doorway.
“It’s a mess in there, Tony,” Jefferson said as a polite warning.
“Okay, Owen, let me take a look. Hi, Marcie,” Tony said as he stuck his head into Rob’s bedroom.
What he saw would have made a normal person vomit almost immediately. Lying on the bed, covered in blood, was the obviously dead body of Rob Judd. The blood had sprayed over almost the entire room. Obviously a fight had taken place. There were items smashed and scattered throughout the large bedroom. There were also two crime scene techs inside. One was holding a camera filming while the other was beginning the job of processing the room.
Tony stepped back, looked at the two detectives, then asked the obvious question, “What happened?”
“He didn’t show up for work this morning and one of his coworkers came to check on him. No answer at the door so he got the maintenance guy to let him in and they found this,” Jefferson said referring to the mess in the bedroom.
“Maddy was lying on the floor, a knife in her hand and the coworker thought she was dead too,” Marcie added.
“They got the hell out, called 911 and a squad showed up. He took a look, thought they were both dead and called it in. When we got here, Maddy was starting to make some sounds, groaning and such,” Jefferson said. “We got her up and took her out into the living room. I asked her what happened and she says she can’t remember anything.
“Tony right now it looks like there was a fight of some kind, she got a hold of the knife and…” Jefferson said.
“Bullshit!” Carvelli said. “You don’t believe that any more than I do. Besides, she wouldn’t need a knife to handle this guy.”
“Maybe he had the knife and she took it from him,” Marcie said.
“Then its self-defense,” Carvelli said.
“There’s a shitload of stab wounds on the body, Tony. At least a dozen,” Jefferson said.
“I’ll let her lawyer deal with you guys,” Carvelli snarled then turned and walked back to the living room. He found Marc sitting next to Maddy on the couch. Marc had found a blanket and wrapped it around her. Carvelli pushed a chair up to the couch so he could listen in.
“I don’t remember anything after the fireworks,” Maddy was saying.
“What fireworks?” Marc asked.
Maddy told her two good friends about the party they had been to the previous day. It was pleasant enough if somewhat boring.
“How much did you have to drink?” Marc asked.
“Not much,” Maddy said, shaking her head. She still had a somewhat glazed, far-away look in her eyes, which were very dilated. “I remember I had a couple beers before we ate…”
“Bottles or glasses?”
“Glasses,” she answered Marc. “I remember they had a keg and I had two small glasses. Plastic cups, probably ten ounces.”
“Okay, go on,” Marc said.
“Then I had another one when we ate. After that I switched to wine and had a couple small glasses of wine.
“About ten o’clock there was a fireworks show and I remember telling Rob I wasn’t feeling well. Oh God,” she said as she covered her mouth with her left hand and her eyes began to tear up again. “Rob. I saw him when the police came. Is he dead?”
Marc looked at Tony who took her right hand and quietly said, “Yes, sweetheart, I’m sorry.”
For the next minute or so, Tony held her hand and Marc put his arms around her while she cried and quietly sobbed some more. When she stopped, Marc gave her his handkerchief and she wiped her eyes and blew her nose with it.
“Okay,” Marc softly said to continue, “you told Rob you weren’t feeling well.”
Maddy stared across the room for a few moments then said, “And that’s it. I swear, I don’t remember anything else.”
“What do you think?” Marc asked Tony.
Before Tony could answer an obviously distraught Maddy blurted out, “Don’t you believe me? You believe me don’t you?”
“Of course,” Marc said smoothing her hair to soothe and reassure her.
Tony took both of her hands, held them, looked directly into her eyes and emphatically said, “Yes, of course we do.”
Still holding her hands, Tony looked at Marc and said, “She was drugged.”
“I think so too. Wait here with her. I’ll be right back. I need to make a call,” Marc said.
Marc came back in less than five minutes and said, “I have a doctor who owes me a favor. I’m going to have him draw some blood and a urine sample from her for testing. We need to find out what you were given.”
“The cops will want to test it too,” Tony said.
“That’s their problem. I need to get her out of here now. Let me talk to Jefferson and see if we can leave.”
Marc went down the hall and found Jefferson and Sterling watching the M.E. and the crime scene guys. They knew each other and politely, if somewhat grimly, shook hands.
“I’m going to need your prints and a DNA sample,” Jefferson told him.
“What?” Marc asked.
“This entire place is a crime scene and I’m going to need yours, Maddy’s and Carvelli’s prints and DNA.”
“Not without a court order,” Marc said. “Look, Detective Jefferson, I don’t mean to be a pain-in-the-ass but the bedroom is a crime scene. Nothing happened out here, obviously. I’m a little reluctant to have my DNA and prints in your database,” Marc said, even though having served in the Air Force, his prints were already in the government’s database.
“I know,” Jefferson said. “I was just jerking your chain a bit. When do I get a statement from Maddy?”
“Is she under arrest?” Marc asked.
“Not yet, but she’s obviously suspect number one,” Jefferson admitted.
“She didn’t do this, Owen and you know it,” Marc said testing him to see what he would say to that.
“I don’t know any such thing, Marc. How well do we know anyone?”
“Okay. Look, I’m going to take her home. I’ll think about bringing her in and let you know,” Marc said.
“You’ll let us know?” Marcie said clearly annoyed.
“Marcie…” Jefferson started to say knowing what was coming from Marc.
“If she’s not under arrest, detective, I’m taking my client out of here,” Marc sharply told her. “Is she under arrest?”
“No, not at this time,” Jefferson admitted while looking at an angry Marcie Sterling.
“Owen,” Marc continued much softer, “If you decide to arrest her, give me a call and I’ll bring her in. Okay?”
“All right,” Jefferson agreed.
SIXTEEN
When Marc, Tony and Maddy exited the building they were confronted by a small herd of reporters. There were only two cops doing crowd control in the front of the building and they evidently needed help. Along with the dozen or so media types, there was a crowd of almost one hundred curious observers milling about. The three of them turned to their left to head toward the parking lot. As they did this, Tony did a quick double take to look back over his shoulder at a couple of men dressed in plain clothes. They were certainly cops, Tony could spot the look, or at least law enforcement from somewhere. One of the men in particular looked familiar but Tony couldn’t place him.
A couple of TV news reporters recognized Marc and with microphones drawn and cameramen in tow, made a beeline toward him. The fluffy blonde from Channel 3 was a little quicker than the cute and perky br
unette from Channel 6.
“Mr. Kadella,” the blonde said aiming the mic at Marc’s face, “can we have a word?”
Madeline, still quite disheveled with the blanket wrapped around her, was being shielded by her two friends. As soon as Marc saw the clamoring herd heading their way, he whispered to Tony to get her to Tony’s car.
While Tony was hustling Maddy to his car, Marc stepped up to stop the stampede and take a few questions.
“Mr. Kadella,” the Channel 3 blonde started to ask, “what can you tell us about what’s going on inside?” She jabbed her mic at his face so quickly that his head involuntarily snapped back.
“Nothing,” Marc said. “I’m sure the authorities will have a statement to make soon. You should probably wait for that.”
“Why are you here? Who is that woman you were with who had the blanket wrapped around her?” the perky Channel 6 brunette asked.
“No comment,” Marc said.
“Mr. Kadella,” a man that Marc knew from the Minneapolis paper started to ask, “we know there was a homicide that took place and it was quite bloody. Can you elaborate? Was the woman you were with involved and what is her name?”
“How do you know that there was a bloody homicide?” Marc asked. He looked over his shoulder and saw Tony’s black Camaro leaving the parking lot by the back exit. “I have no further comment,” Marc said and turned to leave. He took several steps ignoring the questions still being thrown at him when he saw two casually but well-dressed men coming his way.
“Excuse me, sir,” the younger one said to Marc. “I’m Corbin Reed, I’m with CAR Securities.”
Marc tried to ignore the man and keep walking until the man told him he was Rob Judd’s boss. Marc stopped, looked them over then introduced himself to Reed and the other man, Ethan Rask.
“It was one of our people who found him,” Reed whispered.
Marc noticed the media people heading their way.
“Come with me,” he quietly said to the two men.
He took the two CAR executives inside, introduced them to a uniformed cop and asked the cop to call up to Owen Jefferson. Marc then slipped out a back door, got to his car and left. As he drove away he was trying to remember where he had seen the one named Corbin Reed before. He was sure he had but could not remember where.
Marc Kadella Legal Mysteries Vol 1-6 (Marc Kadella Series) Page 232