Icy Betrayal: A Jack Keller Thriller

by David Keith

  Lisa turned to Jack. “Do you think this is possible?”

  “Yeah, it could play out that way. But you never know how plea bargain deals might go. Sometimes the DA wants to play hardball, and that’s what concerns me. You’re a pretty good catch for him—one that he and the RCSO might want to play up to the media and the public. But they need to be careful, though, because having you back in custody wasn’t really due to anything they did. That could be an angle the media plays up. One wildcard in all this is Election Day is just a few days away. The RCSO will have a new sheriff—probably my boss Mick McCallister, and the DA is in a dogfight to keep his job. He may not even win re-election from what I hear, it’s too close to call.”

  “I don’t know about the politics,” Father Jon said. “But I can’t allow you to wait. I’m sorry, Lisa, but you need to go back to Castle Springs right away.”

  Peter held out his hand, bringing the discussion to a halt. “I’d like a few minutes alone with Natalie. Do you mind?”

  “No, of course not,” answered Jack.

  “Okay with you, Father?”

  “Certainly.”

  Peter silently guided her to the beach. They stopped short of the waves lapping on the shore and stood eye to eye.

  Lisa had grown to love Peter deeply, but had no idea how he’d react. She ached at the pain she had caused him.

  “Natalie… Can I call you that?”

  “Of course.”

  “You will always be Natalie to me, no matter what happens.”

  “Okay, Peter.”

  “I’m trying my best to process all this, but my God—I’m numb.”

  “I know. So am I.”

  “Not exactly the way I pictured this day ending,” Peter added, quietly touching the small box in his jacket pocket.

  “I’m so sorry, Peter. I should have told you. I came so close so many times. I just couldn’t do it. I was so scared that you’d leave me.”

  “You should have told me. If I had known all this it wouldn’t have changed anything between us. It just would have allowed me to prepare for if and when this day ever came.”

  “So, what do you think I should do?”

  “If our relationship isn’t built on trust and honesty, we have nothing. You need to do what’s right and live the truth. I can’t make you any promises, but I can say that I love you very much. But we can’t build a life on a lie. You should go. I can only hope that someday you’ll come back to me, and I hope I can be here for you.”

  Natalie saw the pain in his face.

  “Just know, I love you,” she said. “I always have. I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m sorry, too. Now go.”

  She turned and gazed at the moonlight reflecting off the water. Natalie stole a final glance at the man she loved and walked back up the beach to her father. Jack put his arm around his daughter and pulled her close.

  Together they left Puerto Peñasco toward a new reckoning.

  FORTY-SEVEN

  Lisa did her best to hold her emotions in check, mostly staring straight ahead, sitting between the two men that helped her escape to Mexico. Now, the three were crammed into the cab of Frito’s truck, making their way north. She was leaving the place she thought of as her home and leaving behind the man she loved. She had no idea when or if she would ever return or if she would ever see Peter again. The pain of leaving him was raw, but Lisa’s resolve was strong. It was time to do the right thing for her father and for herself.

  Frito dropped the pair at the airport in Tuscon where Jack picked up a rental car for the rest of the trip to Colorado. Jack drove the rest of the way, very careful not to draw the attention of the highway patrol. He had rehearsed a story about how he had tracked Lisa down in the event they were pulled over and she was recognized. He wouldn’t need the story, as they made long trip without a hitch.

  The hotel was one of a dozen located just off Pena Boulevard near the Denver airport. Jack knew that hundreds of travelers went through the place each day, and the staff would be too busy to remember faces. Besides, they wouldn’t be needing much time.

  After checking into the hotel and getting Lisa settled in the room, Jack returned the rental car to the airport and retrieved his pickup from the long term lot. He stopped off at a nearby strip mall for new burner phones and something to eat.

  “Hope you’re hungry. I grabbed a pizza on the way back,” he said to Lisa upon his return.

  She didn’t respond.

  “I also got you another phone—one you should use for the attorney. If you pop open the soda, I’ll serve up the pizza. Then, when you’re ready you can make the call.”

  “I’m scared,” Lisa said.

  Jack hugged his daughter. He held her close, feeling her warm tears through his sleeve. “I know, sweetie, everything’s going to be okay.”

  Danny Velasco was a far cry from the slick, well dressed, defense attorneys that smiled from billboards off the freeway. He was fifty pounds overweight, balding, and wore ill-fitting, off-the-rack suits. He was, however, a hell of a lawyer with a reputation for playing hardball with prosecutors and securing favorable deals for his clients. Jack Keller had seen Velasco work his magic on more than one occasion.

  Divorced and the father of two grown children, work consumed his life. On this particular Friday night, he was sitting in his apartment watching a movie on cable and looking over a case file when his cell phone rang.

  “Danny Velasco.”

  “Mr. Velasco, my name is Lisa Sullivan, and I need an attorney. You were recommended to me.”

  “Lisa Sullivan? I’m sorry, your name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. Have we met?”

  “No, we’ve never met, Mr. Velasco. The Rocklin County Sheriff is looking for me in connection with the George Lombard murder.”

  Velasco certainly recalled the case that captivated Coloradans months earlier. He could still picture the woman RCSO had sought in connection with the investigation. He also remembered Branch Kramer’s bloody mouth.

  “Right, of course. The Scott Lennox case. So, what can I do for you?”

  “I want to turn myself in, and I need your help to do this. I want to stay out of prison, and I want Scott Lennox to pay for what he did.”

  “I don’t do pro bono work. Can you pay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I ask who referred you?”

  “I’d rather not say.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “I’m in a hotel near DIA.”

  “Good. Do you have time right now to tell me about the case?’

  “Yes, I can do that.”

  “Okay, let’s start from the beginning. Tell me everything…”

  Lisa carefully and methodically told Velasco the story, from the time she first met Scott to the trip back from Mexico. He told Lisa he needed to make a call and that he’d get back to her shortly. Lisa gave him the number to the new burner phone.

  Velasco flipped through his contacts for Dave Baxter’s personal cell number. Generally, he dealt with assistant DAs, but this time, he’d go straight to the top.

  “Baxter.”

  “Dave, Danny Velasco.”

  “Hey, Danny. Listen, I’m walking into a fundraiser right now,” he replied, irritated. “The election, you know?”

  “I think you’ll want to hear me out on this one, Dave. I have a new client you may be interested in talking to—her name is Lisa Sullivan.”

  “Hang on.”

  Velasco suspected Baxter was finding a quiet place to talk. It was nearly a minute before he came back on the line.

  “You’re in contact with Lisa Sullivan?”

  “I am, and she may be willing to give up her boyfriend in the Lombard killing.”

  “I have a campaign speech in twenty minutes, let me call you once I finish with it. If we can get something done quickly, I may be open to a deal.”

  Of course he’s interested in a quick deal, Velasco thought. The election was four days away. He had the DA just
where he wanted him.

  Jack and Lisa were both startled by the buzz of the phone.

  “Go ahead, let’s see what Danny has to say.”

  Lisa put the call on speaker. “Hello?”

  “It’s Danny Velasco. I talked with the DA. We’re going to negotiate a proffer hearing. Do you know what that is?”

  “A proffer? No, I don’t know what that is,” she replied, turning to Jack.

  He gave her a thumbs up.

  Velasco continued, “That’s when the DA gives you immunity for a short period of time in order to hear your testimony in the case. Based on that testimony, the DA will either agree to a deal or not. Your testimony has to be completely truthful. Either way, you get to walk out the door when you finish the hearing. If we agree to a deal, then you’ll have to testify at trial. If we don’t, then you’re back to where you are now. There’s no real risk and you get to decide. That’s why they call it ‘Queen for a Day.’ Listen Lisa, this is what I do. I get clients good deals. Do you understand?”

  “I think so.”

  “So do you want to move forward?”

  Lisa again looked to Jack for guidance. He nodded.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “I will do everything in my power to keep you out of prison. You stay put until you hear from me. It’ll probably be mid to late morning tomorrow before I call you again. Once things are in place, I will have one of my assistants come and pick you up and bring you to the DA’s office in Castle Springs. Sound okay?”

  “Yes, that sounds good. Thank you for your help.” Lisa hung up and turned to Jack.

  “Okay, the wheels are in motion. You gonna be okay?” he asked.

  Lisa nodded, trying to contain her emotions.

  “You want me to stay with you?”

  “No, I’ve got to do this on my own. Besides, you’ve taken enough chances. I’ve got to stand on my own two feet now.”

  “Okay, but call if you need me,” Jack told her.

  “So, when will I see you again?” Lisa asked as Jack prepared to go.

  “In all likelihood, tomorrow sometime. It sounds like this thing will happen fast, and typically they will have the lead investigator present for the proffer hearing. If I am there, you can’t let on.”

  “I know. But having you there will help.”

  They hugged tightly.

  “It’s gonna be okay.”

  “I know… I love you, Dad.”

  The words caught him off guard. “I love you too, Lisa,” he whispered. “See you soon.”

  Jack waited until he was down the hall before allowing the tears to fall. By the time he reached his truck, he was nearly sobbing. He couldn’t recall Lisa ever calling him “Dad” as a child, and he certainly never heard the words “I love you” from her before.

  Inside the truck, Jack Keller struggled for the strength to turn the ignition. The emotions churned deep inside him, welling up until he could no longer hold them back.

  FORTY-EIGHT

  The district attorney’s office filled the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of the county courts building in the RC Justice Center complex. On weekdays, the office was buzzing with activity, but on a Saturday morning, the place was deserted except for a small group huddled in a large corner office on the sixth floor.

  “C’mon, Danny, get real. I can’t let her walk,” said Baxter after hearing Velasco’s pitch.

  “Dave, I told you what she’s prepared to offer as far as testimony against Lennox. She’s handing him to you on a fucking silver platter. Five years probation is more than fair.”

  “She pleads accessory to murder, ten years suspended,” Baxter said flatly.

  “You’re wasting my time. Do you want her disappearing again? She’s proven she knows how to do it. You guys didn’t have a clue where to find her. My client has a mind of her own, and I’m telling you she’ll be in the wind in a heartbeat if the deal isn’t to her liking.”

  “Jesus, RCSO is going to flip out.”

  Velasco wasn’t sympathetic to Baxter’s concern. “With all due respect, Dave, your election is no sure thing, so your current relationship with RCSO is the least of your worries right now. But if you can pop Lennox before the election, it could be just what you need to put you over the top.”

  Baxter was irritated at Velasco’s arrogance, but the DA was nothing if not pragmatic. He knew Danny was right; he and his client were holding all the cards at the moment.

  “Obstruction, five years suspended, two probation. And the deal goes away after today.”

  “Okay, then, I’ll have her here in an hour.”

  Keller stood outside the Justice Center building waiting for McCallister. The captain had called some forty-five minutes earlier saying the DA had requested a one o’clock meeting regarding the Lombard case, saying it was important.

  McCallister was none too happy about it. He was called away from the campaign and time was short. Baxter had simply told him there was a development in the case but offered no other details. As he and Serrano came around the corner toward the entrance, Keller shot them a quizzical look.

  “What is she doing here?” he asked, unlocking the door with his RCSO ID card.

  “What do you think, Jack?” Mia snapped as they entered the elevator.

  “I really don’t know.”

  “Jack, knock it off. It’s her case, too.

  “Whatever you say, boss,” responded Jack, shrugging his shoulders.

  The trio left the elevator and walked through the glass doors of the district attorney’s office. As they approached Baxter’s office, a clerk appeared.

  “Conference room. They’re waiting.”

  Dave Baxter, Deputy DA Phil Killebrew, and a stenographer were standing over the conference table. Danny Velasco and his client were sitting at the table, facing the doorway.

  The door swung open and McCallister, Keller, and Serrano all marched in.

  “Okay, Dave, what’s so important?”

  “Everyone, I think you all know Lisa Sullivan.”

  “Holy shit,” the captain muttered.

  Sullivan had changed her hair color and was deeply tanned, but there she was. They were in the same room with the woman they’d spent nearly a year searching for.

  “What are the rules here?” Keller asked the DA.

  “Miss Sullivan is ‘Queen for a Day,’” Baxter said.

  McCallister couldn’t contain himself, “Dave, can we have a word?”

  Baxter looked around. He didn’t like McCallister’s tone but thought it best to react calmly. “Sure, Mick, we can talk in the hallway.”

  The two left the others in the conference room and faced off down the hall, out of earshot.

  “I feel a bit railroaded here, Dave, and I don’t appreciate it. What kind of deal are you offering her?”

  “Come on, Mick, we do proffers all the time. This is a good deal for both of us. It will enable us to bury Lennox for doing the murder. Yeah, Sullivan makes out on the deal but so what? She wasn’t the mastermind behind it. And I don’t need to remind you the election is in three days. We can go re-arrest Lennox and make a big splash with this story—and it may just help us both. If we don’t like the story and don’t think she can get us a conviction, we can back out.’’

  “I don’t give a fuck about the election. What are we offering her?”

  “Obstruction on the statements at the accident scene. Five years suspended, two probation. Now don’t go all high and mighty on me, Mick.”

  Mick took a deep breath, “We need to do what’s right, and offering her immunity for her testimony is bullshit. You know it, and I know it.”

  Baxter shook his head. “You have a lot to learn, Mick. The deal is done. Right now, you and your team need to get her testimony and make sure that statement is iron clad. Let’s get to it.”

  Testimony given under a proffer agreement is protected from prosecution. Danny Velasco had secured immunity for Lisa in exchange for her testimony, but there was a caveat. If
the investigators found inconsistencies or felt the story wouldn’t hold up in court, Lisa Sullivan would walk away and the deal would be rescinded. The process of piecing together her testimony took nearly ten hours.

  “Okay, Dave,” Velasco said, exhausted leaning back in his chair. “My client delivered. We have a deal, right?”

  “Give us a minute, Danny,” responded Baxter.

  Baxter, Killebrew, McCallister, Keller, and Serrano gathered in the DA’s office.

  “I’m confident that we can get at least manslaughter, possibly murder two,” Baxter said.

  “Manslaughter?” McCallister said angrily. “Are you kidding me? It’s premeditated all the way and Lennox did it for financial gain. This is a murder case!”

  “I’d rather go with what we are sure of and that’s manslaughter.”

  “Dave, we need more from her. I can’t accept this deal.”

  Baxter’s anger was building as he eyed McCallister.

  “That almost sounds like a threat. Tell me I’m mistaken, Captain.”

  “You’re hearing me loud and clear. She’s an accessory to murder and we can’t let her walk in exchange for just manslaughter on Lennox. He’ll be out in four years, if we’re lucky.”

  “May I remind you all that you had almost a year to find Lisa Sullivan and came up with nothing. If we back out now and she walks out that door, she’s gone for good and so is our case on Lennox.”

  “We’ll find her,” Serrano chimed in.

  “Oh, you’ll make an effort this time, Investigator? Forget it, you had your chance. Now this is my ballgame.”

  Tension and silence filled the office until McCallister spoke up. “There is another option. It could give us what we need for murder one.”

  FORTY-NINE