Fugitive: A Novel

by Phillip Margolin

  “I’m going to hit the john,” he told Kate, forcing himself to sound calm. As he walked down the concourse toward the restrooms, he thought about what he was planning to do and he began to feel light-headed. As soon as he was certain Kate couldn’t see him, Dennis took a few deep breaths. Then he started to punch in Martha Brice’s number on his cell phone. Halfway through, he stopped. If he made the call, there was no turning back. Did he really want to do this? Sure he wanted to be rich and successful, but was this the way to get there?

  Dennis’s courage failed him. He cut the connection. His heart was pounding in his chest. Thanks to Werner Rollins, he was certain he knew who had killed Congressman Pope, but how was he going to use that knowledge?

  CHAPTER 40

  Amanda had a tough time reconciling the colorful flower beds and emerald green lawns that encircled Sally Pope’s mansion and the clear blue sky above it with the bloodshed that had taken place inside. It seemed impossible that life could go on as if nothing had happened, when a tragedy of this proportion occurred, but violent death had been a large part of Amanda’s life long enough for her to know that it did. Even so, she was a little disoriented when her father parked in front of Sally’s home.

  Moments after Frank rang the bell, the door was opened by a thick-chested man with unkempt red hair, who looked more like a lumberjack than a writer of literary fiction. He also looked exhausted and terribly sad.

  “Thank you for coming,” Liam O’Connell said. “I would have gone to your office but I don’t want to leave Kevin alone. He’s very fragile and I need to be close by.”

  “Don’t think about it,” Frank said. “It was no trouble for us to drive out.”

  “Let’s talk in the den. I can’t go in there,” O’Connell said, nodding in the direction of the living room.

  Amanda couldn’t help casting a quick glance toward the place where Sally Pope had died and she had sat sipping a cold drink and enjoying Sally’s company so recently.

  “Do you know about Sally’s will?” the Irishman asked when they were seated in the den.

  “No,” Frank answered.

  “Jimmy Pavel drew it up. He told me that Kevin inherits everything but Sally named me his guardian.”

  “That makes sense,” Frank said. “I visited her while you were in Berkeley. She told me Kevin is very fond of you.”

  “It’s mutual. He’s a great kid.”

  “On the phone you said you had a problem you wanted to discuss that involved the will,” Frank prodded.

  “One of Arnold Pope’s lawyers called me. Pope wants custody of Kevin.”

  “What exactly did the lawyer say?”

  “There were condolences. Then there was some patter about how difficult it would be to raise a teenage boy by myself, given that I travel so much for my books and my teaching. All very sympathetic but I could see where he was going, so I told him it would be no trouble and I thanked him for his kind thoughts.”

  “I’m guessing that the conversation didn’t end there,” Frank said.

  “Oh, no. It went on some with a heavy emphasis on Mr. Pope’s concern for me and his grandson and the financial benefits that would accrue to me if I let Mr. Pope raise Kevin.”

  “I bet the amount the lawyer mentioned was substantial,” Frank said.

  O’Connell nodded. “And it grew as we discussed the matter.”

  “What happened when you turned down the offer?”

  “Ah, that’s when the threats commenced, all very subtle but unmistakable.”

  “What type of threats?”

  “A custody battle that would certainly be hard on the poor lad and which I, not being blood kin or even married to Sally, could not possibly win.”

  “How did you respond?”

  “I told the lawyer that Mr. Pope would be responsible for any psychological harm Kevin endured if he brought the suit and that his attempts to intimidate me or make me feel guilty had failed completely. Then I hung up.

  “Fortunately, Sally foresaw the possibility of Pope trying something like this. There’s a provision in the will that specifies that under no circumstances may Arnold Pope Sr. be allowed to have any contact with Kevin. The will permits Kevin’s guardian to use estate funds to protect Kevin in case of a lawsuit, which brings me to my reason for asking you here. Sally had great faith in your legal abilities. She told me how you saved her when she was accused of murdering her husband and she told me how you stymied Mr. Pope’s first attempt to get custody of Kevin. I want you to stop him again.”

  “It would be my pleasure, Liam. I can’t think of anything more harmful to Kevin than living with Arnold Pope Sr. I’ll do everything in my power to prevent it.”

  O’Connell flashed a smile of relief and the tension that had bunched his shoulders dissipated. “Thank you, Frank. I knew you wouldn’t let Kevin down.”

  “Or Sally. I know how much she detested Senior.”

  Frank opened his attaché case and took out a legal pad. “If we’re going to prevail, we’ll have to convince the court that there’s no reason to overrule Sally’s wishes. Senior is going to go after you unmercifully, so you’ll have to tell me how he might attack your character and how we can defend it.”

  “Mr. O’Connell,” Amanda interjected. “I came here with my father because I’m representing Charlie Marsh. What happened here may impact his case. I’d like your permission to talk to Kevin while you two are conferring.”

  The Irishman hesitated.

  “I know how badly he’s been affected. But Charlie Marsh is facing the death penalty and Kevin might know something that can help him. I promise I won’t push Kevin. I’ll back off as soon as I see the first sign of a problem. But I’d really appreciate the chance to try to find out if he knows anything that will help clear Charlie’s name.”

  O’Connell sighed. “Kevin spoke with the police yesterday. He seemed able to handle it. Go ahead, but please be gentle. This has been awful for him.”

  KEVIN WAS LYING on a chaise longue at the side of the pool, dressed in a swim team T-shirt and khaki Bermuda shorts. He had a paperback science fiction novel with him but it was lying facedown across his thigh and he was staring across the water and into space.

  Amanda took off her flats and walked barefoot onto the pool deck. The sun was behind her shoulder. Kevin squinted at her then shaded his eyes. Amanda sat next to him on the edge of another lounger.

  “Hi, I’m Amanda Jaffe. I was out here about a week ago but we didn’t get a chance to meet.”

  Kevin watched her but he didn’t say anything.

  Amanda pointed at the T-shirt. “What’s your stroke?”

  “The fly,” he answered without enthusiasm.

  “Are you varsity?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “You on a club too or do you just swim for the high school?”

  “I work out with Tualatin Hills,” he said, this answer no more animated than his others.

  “I swam for them and Wilson High. My best distance was the two-hundred free.”

  Kevin looked Amanda in the eye. “Who are you?”

  Amanda smiled. “Tired of my small talk?”

  Kevin didn’t answer.

  “I’m a lawyer. I’m representing Charlie Marsh. Do you know who he is?”

  “He was charged with killing my father but he ran away.”

  “That’s right. Charlie is the man who came to your house the evening your mother was murdered. You tried to warn him.”

  Kevin looked away at the mention of his mother’s murder.

  “He’s very grateful, Kevin. A lot of people would have been too scared to try to warn Charlie but you risked your life to do it. That’s the important thing.”

  “He still got shot.”

  “Sometimes events are out of our control and the best we can do is try.”

  Kevin looked away and sobbed. “It’s not fair. She was so good.”

  Amanda wanted to say something to comfort Kevin but she knew Sally’s death was too
recent for anything she said to help. After a while, the tears stopped. Kevin lay quietly with his eyes shut and his chest heaving.

  “Can you tell me what happened in your house?” Amanda said when Kevin’s breathing eased.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I know you don’t, but someone has made two attempts to kill Charlie. The police are certain he’ll try again. The person who murdered your mother is the man who is after Charlie. You may know something that will help the police catch him.”

  “I told them everything I know.”

  “Can you tell me?”

  Kevin closed his eyes. Then he took a deep breath. “He came into my room. It was dark and he had a mask on, so I can’t tell you what he looked like.”

  “That’s okay.”

  “He put tape over my mouth. That’s what woke me. I tried to yell, to warn Mom, but I couldn’t.”

  “No one could have.”

  “I tried but my mouth was taped and he…he had a gun. He said he’d kill Mom if I tried to warn her. I…I believed him, but he killed her anyway.”

  Kevin sobbed again and Amanda waited.

  “What did this man sound like? Was there anything distinctive about his voice?”

  “He whispered when he talked to me. He was trying to disguise his voice.”

  “Okay. What happened next?”

  “He tied me up and left me. I tried to get out of the tape but I couldn’t. When he came back he told me that he wouldn’t harm me if I did what he said. Then he brought me down to the living room. Mom was tied to a chair. Gina was…she was on the floor.”

  Kevin licked his lips and looked off across the pool.

  “What happened then?”

  “He made Mom call Mr. Marsh. He said he’d shoot me if she didn’t. He told her what to say and she called him. Then we waited. We heard the front door open. That’s when…when he…”

  “You don’t have to say it. I know what happened.”

  Kevin nodded. He started to cry again.

  “Kevin, what did you see when Mr. Marsh came into the living room?”

  “I tried to tell him there was a man behind the drapes. I was trying to warn him when the man stepped out and shot Mr. Marsh. Then there was a shot from the front of the living room and the French windows shattered and everyone was shooting.”

  “Did you see who saved Mr. Marsh?”

  “When the shooting started I threw myself down on the floor. I was facing toward the French windows. I never looked at the door but I saw a reflection in the glass. It was wavy and there wasn’t much light but I think I saw a black man.”

  “How sure are you that he was black?” Amanda asked as she tried to picture Nathan Tuazama as Charlie’s guardian angel.

  “I’m pretty sure,” Kevin said hesitantly.

  “What happened to the man who killed your mother?”

  “He ran away. He got out through the windows.”

  “Do you know if he was wounded?”

  “No. My face was pressed to the floor. I only saw his sneakers when he ran out.”

  Amanda could see that Kevin was exhausted and she decided he’d had enough.

  “Thank you for talking to me,” she said.

  “Did it help?”

  “Yes. You’ve cleared up a few things for me.”

  But the truth was that Kevin’s story had only muddied the waters. It made sense for Tuazama to keep Charlie alive so he could get the diamonds. But how had he known Charlie would go to Sally’s house in the middle of the night? She guessed it was possible that Tuazama had Charlie’s hotel staked out but it didn’t really make sense that he would be watching the hotel at two in the morning. Tuazama had to sleep.

  And why didn’t the killer murder Kevin? Maybe the killer had planned on murdering Kevin and the person who saved Charlie had forced him to run before he could finish off the last witness to his crime. That made sense, but Amanda could think of another explanation for Kevin’s survival that was equally viable.

  CHAPTER 41

  Amanda went to see Kate as soon as she returned to the law office.

  “How did it go in Denver?” she asked.

  “Excellent. Rollins admitted lying at Sally Pope’s trial. He claims Burdett pressured him to say he saw Charlie shoot Pope by threatening to go after him for assaulting the security guard. He told me he never saw who fired the shot. There’s a report on your desk.”

  “That’s fantastic news. Rollins’s testimony was the only solid evidence against Charlie. Now that he’s retracted it, Burdett may have to drop the charges.”

  Suddenly Amanda smiled wickedly.

  “Did you have any trouble with the boy wonder?” she asked.

  “Not a bit. He didn’t come on to me once during the trip and he didn’t tell me how fantastic he is or brag about how rich and famous he’s going to be. Actually, he kept pretty much to himself.”

  “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” Amanda said.

  “Yeah, you’re right. So what have you been doing while I’ve been winning your case for you?” Kate asked. Amanda sobered instantly.

  “I was at Sally Pope’s house with Dad. Senior is going to sue for custody of Kevin. Liam O’Connell wants Dad to represent him.”

  “Did you get a chance to talk to Kevin about what happened when Charlie was shot?”

  “Yeah. The poor kid is a mess. He was so upset I cut our talk short.”

  “Could he identify anyone?”

  “Kevin can say that a man killed his mother, but it was dark and the murderer wore a mask. There was one interesting thing that came out of the interview. Kevin thinks that the person who saved Charlie was black.”

  Kate frowned. “There aren’t any African-Americans involved in this case, are there?”

  Amanda decided to keep Charlie’s confidences about Nathan Tuazama to herself.

  “No African-Americans I’m aware of,” she answered honestly.

  Amanda stood up. “I’ve got to work on my other cases or I’m going to get disbarred.”

  “See you later,” Kate said.

  Amanda started to turn when Kate remembered something she’d meant to ask her friend.

  “Say, did you do something with the photograph of Charlie and his entourage at that Dunthorpe estate seminar?” Kate said.

  “What photograph?”

  “Someone took a picture of Charlie and his people at the seminar in Dunthorpe; the one where he met Sally Pope.”

  “I don’t remember seeing it when I went through the file but Burdett will have the original. We can get a copy if you need it.”

  “No, it’s not important. I just can’t find it and it’s bugging me.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I probably put it in a file with a lot of other stuff and just missed it.”

  “I’m sure it will turn up. See you later.”

  CHARLIE’S CASE HAD come at Amanda so fast that it had dominated her practice. Unfortunately, her other cases had not disappeared and some of them required immediate attention. Amanda worked on a motion for a schoolteacher accused of possessing cocaine until hunger pangs drove her to a nearby Chinese restaurant for takeout. While she shoveled General Tso’s chicken into her mouth in a distinctly unladylike manner, Amanda read through the discovery in a securities fraud case she was handling for a stockbroker who had initially appeared to be honest and forthright but was now looking decidedly shady.

  Amanda finished the discovery just as the last rays of sunlight faded behind the West Hills. She was deciding whether to call it a night or tackle another file when her cell phone rang.

  “Is this Amanda Jaffe?” a man asked, slurring his words enough so Amanda had a hard time understanding him.

  “Who is this?”

  “It’s Karl, Karl Burdett. Thank God I caught you. I know it’s late, but we have to talk.”

  Amanda frowned. The DA sounded frightened and she was certain he’d been drinking.

  “Is something wrong?”<
br />
  “I need legal advice. I’m in over my head. I didn’t see it until Cordova called me tonight.”

  “The FBI agent?”

  “You’ve got to help me.”

  “Can you tell me what this is about?”

  “Not over the phone. Meet me in the parking lot of the Tillamook Tavern.”

  “Why there?”

  “That’s where I am now. I’m afraid to go home. I’ll be in my car in the last row in the back. It’s dark. No one will see us.”

  “I don’t think I can be your lawyer, Karl. We’re adversaries in Charlie’s case.”

  “This concerns Charlie. That’s why I called you. Please, you have to help me.”

  “Okay, Karl. Calm down. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  “Thank you. Hurry.”

  AS SHE DROVE to the tavern, Amanda tried to figure out why Karl Burdett would ask her for legal advice. After her father, she was the least likely person Burdett would consult if he had legal problems. Before she’d left her office, it had occurred to her that someone might be using Burdett to lure her into a trap similar to the one that had snared Charlie, so she’d slipped a handgun into her pocket. Amanda had been attacked a few times while working a case and she wasn’t going to this meeting unarmed.

  The Tillamook Tavern was a squat, one-story workingman’s bar situated on a side street near an industrial park. On the same street were a rundown twenty-four-hour market with bars on its windows, which sold beer, cigarettes, and junk food, and a vacant, rubble-filled lot. Streetlights cast a pale yellow glow over one side of the bar but the only other light came from the neon sign with the tavern’s name and smaller neon signs in the narrow front windows, advertising brands of beer. There were two pickup trucks and a weather-beaten Chevy scattered around the tavern lot. Karl’s car was alone on the edge of a sea of asphalt in the last slot in the last row. When Amanda was a few rows from the DA’s car, she made out Burdett’s silhouette staring through the windshield into the darkness. Amanda parked a car length away. The DA did not look at her. She got out of her car and closed her hand around the grip of her gun. As she drew closer to Burdett’s car, Amanda noticed that the driver’s-side window was down.