Acts of Malice

by Perri O'shaughnessy

  ‘‘Too remote in time,’’ Nina said, and Artie nodded. ‘‘At most, it shows a propensity,’’ he said. ‘‘Flaherty’s not going to admit evidence of bad character as a teenager. Did Jim confess that he did it?’’

  ‘‘Denied everything. It was her word against his. No charges were filed, nothing like that.’’

  ‘‘Maybe Kelly’s the liar. Who knows? It won’t come in.’’ Artie was thinking like a lawyer, looking for the impact on the case. Nina tried to do the same.

  ‘‘Kelly claims she hasn’t skied since. Bad leg,’’ Tony said. ‘‘Their mother started having problems. Her nerves, whatever that means. Anyway, she decided she couldn’t take it any longer. She wanted Jim sent to a clinic for disturbed adolescents. Philip opposed the idea. He thought Jim would grow out of it.’’

  ‘‘Out of what?’’ Wish said.

  ‘‘Out of being a teenaged Satan,’’ Tony said. ‘‘Anyway, there was a huge family fight.’’

  ‘‘This was all fourteen years ago, supposedly?’’ Nina asked.

  ‘‘Right. While all this is going on, Alex is walking home from school one day and gets hit by a car. No witnesses, he didn’t see it coming. He has a concussion, but no permanent damage.’’

  ‘‘So?’’ Artie said.

  ‘‘So Jim just got his driver’s license the month before.’’

  ‘‘So what?’’

  ‘‘You could say that. But the mother didn’t. She says, I’ve had enough. The mother blames Jim, takes Alex and Kelly, and leaves Tahoe. The family’s torn apart. She goes to Colorado and doesn’t come back. She and Alex and Kelly stay for several years, and there’s a divorce.

  ‘‘Meantime, Philip tries to keep Jim on an even keel. Jim’s furious at his mother and the brother and sister. He thinks they all ran away from him.’’

  ‘‘Which they did,’’ Sandy said.

  ‘‘More years go by. Jim goes to work at Paradise for his father. Meanwhile, Dad’s sneaking away when he can to Colorado, a place high up there in the Rockies called Breckenridge. That’s where he visits with the rest of them. He and Mrs. Strong still have a thing going, divorced or not. But Mrs. Strong still doesn’t want to ever see Jim again, doesn’t want Jim to know where she is. Kelly claims the mother’s still afraid of him.’’

  ‘‘Did Kelly offer any proof about this alleged propensity for harming animals and breaking people’s legs?’’ Artie asked.

  ‘‘I’m lucky she’s talked to me at all, Artie. I don’t worry about proof at this stage. Okay. Now, Alex has turned into a good skier. He and his father decide it’s all under control, Jim’s grown up and straightened out and seems cured of whatever his problem was. The father invites Alex to come back and work at Paradise. Alex moves back to Tahoe, and Jim seems fine with it. Jim doesn’t show any interest in seeing his mother or sister.

  ‘‘Several more years go by. Mrs. Strong dies—a heart attack—Jim marries Heidi, and Alex marries Marianne. All is calm, all is bright, right? So far as Kelly knows.’’

  ‘‘I don’t like this story,’’ Artie said. He’d given up the pretense of taking notes and was leaning back in the chair, just listening.

  ‘‘Kelly moves to North Shore so she can go to the University of Nevada, and Philip’s supporting her. But she still doesn’t want to have anything to do with Jim. He knows she’s around somewhere on North Shore, but that’s it. They don’t communicate. They are estranged. That’s the word, I think.’’

  ‘‘If Kelly thinks her brother ran her into a tree, whether he did it or not, she’s got a whale of a bias. When’s the last time she saw Jim?’’ Artie asked.

  ‘‘Ten years ago, until a few weeks ago. She did go to Alex’s funeral. She and Jim spoke briefly,’’ Tony said. His beeper went off and he got up and left the conference room.

  ‘‘Then she knows nothing relevant,’’ Artie concluded. ‘‘All she knows is background. This whole regrettable story has nothing to do with Alex Strong’s death. That’s my opinion.’’

  ‘‘It is sad,’’ Wish said. ‘‘Nina? Do you think he did bad stuff to animals? And to his sister and brother?’’

  ‘‘I have no idea, Wish.’’ Wish looked troubled that she couldn’t reassure him. Nina continued, ‘‘You know, Wish, this young lady’s told a shocking story that makes Jim look really bad. You often hear shocking stories in a law office. It doesn’t mean they are true.’’

  ‘‘Yeah, but all this stuff is from a few Ice Ages ago— no problem,’’ Artie said. ‘‘Let’s do a Motion in Limine and get an order that Hallowell can’t even begin to bring up that ancient history.’’

  ‘‘I agree. Alex’s death was an accident,’’ Nina said. ‘‘Nobody’s been able to prove otherwise. This case isn’t going to trial. We’re going to dispose of it again at the second prelim, and that will be it. They can’t do a third prelim. Kelly’s story is pretty flamboyant, but I agree with you, Artie, true or not, it’s ancient history. We ought to be able to get an order excluding it at the prelim.’’

  ‘‘So what else has the prosecution got? I mean, they rearrested Jim, there must be something else,’’ Sandy said.

  ‘‘If there is, Collier will have to disclose it within the next couple of days. I know the DNA results still aren’t in,’’ Nina said. ‘‘They have a forensics expert from Sacramento coming up to testify. Ed Dorf. I have his report. He still can’t prove the fibers came from Alex’s shirt. He doesn’t add anything about the skin markings, so he’s not much of a help for the prosecution.’’

  ‘‘How can they hope to win this one?’’ Artie said. ‘‘Why are they pursuing it?’’

  Tony came back in and took his seat. He looked excited about something.

  Nina chose her words carefully. ‘‘I believe that Collier has a personal belief that Jim killed his brother. I believe he’s pushing it even though he knows the evidence is weak.’’

  ‘‘He’s not in a position to push losing cases,’’ Artie said. ‘‘I’ve heard about him, though I haven’t had him on a case yet. He used to be good, but he lost it. He’s a flake.’’

  He looked around at the grimacing faces in the room. Wish was doing a strange dance with his hands, waving something away. ‘‘Hey, what’d I say?’’

  ‘‘He’s not a flake, Artie,’’ said Nina.

  ‘‘Okay, he’s not a flake. He’s just stupid.’’

  ‘‘He’s not stupid. He just believes in what he’s doing.’’

  ‘‘Fine. I have no problem with that,’’ Artie said. ‘‘Just so he loses.’’

  She changed the subject. ‘‘Sandy, pull up some form Motions in Limine for me. I’ll start working on that tomorrow. Tony, I want you to keep working on Marianne Strong. She’s on the subpoena list and I need to know if she’s going to add anything.’’

  ‘‘Which brings up a point,’’ Tony said. ‘‘The half-brother who gave Alex a black eye. The ex–night host.’’

  ‘‘Gene Malavoy.’’

  ‘‘Yeah. I just got a call. Malavoy was picked up this morning. Possession of crystal meth. Looks like they’re going to charge him. He went for the arresting officer and had to be subdued. He’s in big trouble.’’

  Nina said, ‘‘So Jim was right. He is a druggie.’’ So Jim had told her the truth about Malavoy! She stored that up to use against her doubts on her next sleepless night.

  ‘‘Let me know the prelim date,’’ Artie said. ‘‘I’ll be there.’’

  ‘‘Okay. And, Wish, would you be able to go up to Incline to see Kelly Strong with me this afternoon? I have to talk to her, obviously.’’

  ‘‘You bet!’’ Wish said.

  They left about three. Kelly hadn’t answered the phone, but Nina couldn’t wait. She felt a sense of urgency about the girl. She was kicking herself for not talking to Kelly earlier, but Jim’s sister hadn’t seemed to be involved with the events in South Lake Tahoe. Marianne and Malavoy had taken up her attention, rightly or wrongly, and the forensics problems had been so thorny
. . .

  Collier had obviously just talked to Kelly, that day he had come back to grab Nina and insist she get out of the case. Kelly must be believable.

  Nina didn’t like the sensation that she was following Collier around. She needed to move faster. The problem was, she was dog-tired, this afternoon especially. One problem was, she had no Paul to keep ahead of the case. Tony was great at carrying out orders, but Paul had always taken the initiative.

  Wish, buckling up in the passenger seat of the Bronco, said, ‘‘Look.’’ They could see Paradise, looming off to the right. Only the upper part of the mountain was visible, vertically striped with white runs. ‘‘It looks so smooth until you’re at the top of the run and looking down. Then it looks like corrugated cardboard covered with ice.’’

  ‘‘I take it you don’t like skiing, Wish.’’

  ‘‘I tried it once. I snowplowed all day. My legs were so sore I spent the next two days in bed. Do you like it?’’

  ‘‘Sometimes better than other times,’’ she said, thinking of her day with Jim.

  They drove slowly, stopping at the series of traffic lights at Stateline, then left the town and got stuck behind a loud snowplow chugging along at about twentyfive. There were no detours, and there was no other lane. Nina bit her fingernails and chatted with Wish about the wedding, and at Spooner Junction the plow turned right. After that the road lay clear ahead, and they pulled into Incline by four-thirty.

  The town was so hidden in thick forest they should have left a trail of crumbs as they turned onto Country Club Drive. Only a block or so from the lake, there was no snow on the lawn in front of the condominiums where Kelly Strong lived. They went to number twenty and waited.

  No one home.

  Back to the car. It was getting dark.

  ‘‘We could go take a look at the lake,’’ Wish said. She would have preferred to doze in the car, but they walked down and watched the stars coming out one by one, reflected in the burnished water. Nina was tired of talk. She just wanted to get on with it, get a personal impression of Kelly so she’d know how to attack her at the prelim . . . Her shoes were full of sand. She pulled them off and touched the ice-cold water with her toe.

  She felt ice cold too. She’d have to be that way to get through another hearing. She felt a pressure building inside. She was holding something back from herself. The combination of fatigue and anxiety wasn’t good.

  The lights came on just as they drove up. ‘‘On second thought,’’ Nina said, ‘‘this is a young girl. She’s going to be hard to talk to. I might do better alone, okay, Wish? It won’t be as threatening.’’

  ‘‘Whatever you say. I’ll wait.’’ She got out of the car, leaving her briefcase behind, and walked along the asphalt path and up the stairs. ‘‘Hi,’’ she said when Kelly Strong opened the door.

  ‘‘Yes?’’

  ‘‘I’m Nina Reilly.’’

  ‘‘Oh.’’

  ‘‘Your brother’s attorney.’’

  ‘‘I know.’’

  ‘‘I’d just like a minute to talk to you. Please?’’

  Kelly hesitated. Then she stepped out onto the landing, closing the door.

  After the ultra-athleticism of all the other Strongs, Kelly was a relief. No suntan, no muscles, just a small, rather frail-looking student in a UN baseball cap. She looked like a washed-out, watered-down version of Jim, with sloping shoulders and freckled hands. A kid.

  Nina looked at her, hard.

  Kelly took the look. ‘‘Talk away,’’ she said, her voice sounding just like a kid’s, too. ‘‘Mr. Ramirez told me you might come.’’

  ‘‘I understand you’ve agreed to testify at your brother’s preliminary hearing.’’

  ‘‘Yes.’’

  ‘‘I was wondering, why now? Why didn’t you come forward the first time around, if you had something to say?’’

  She crossed her arms over her chest. ‘‘Because it has to stop somewhere,’’ she said. ‘‘You know, I’m not going to go through the whole story with you again. I’m tired, and I have to work on a term paper tonight.’’

  ‘‘What are you studying?’’

  ‘‘Poli Sci.’’

  ‘‘Great. Want to teach?’’

  ‘‘No. I’m going on to law school, if things work out.’’ She gave Nina a curious look, vulnerable, as if Nina was the first woman lawyer she had ever seen.

  She was one of those kids who dream of the law, of being respected and doing some good in the world and making pots of money. Nina was always surprised to come across such old-fashioned attitudes in these jaded times. ‘‘Good luck,’’ she said. Kelly would need it.

  ‘‘Whatever. So what do you want to know?’’

  Nina had come to cross-examine Kelly, if Kelly would let her. But she was off-key tonight. She wasn’t up to it.

  ‘‘I suppose—I’ll be honest with you, Kelly. I came to meet you. That’s about it. I need to see people who are coming to court. I wanted to get a feeling as to whether you’ll be a credible witness. I don’t really need to talk with you for a long time. It’s just a feeling that I get right away.’’

  ‘‘I won’t tell anything but the truth.’’

  ‘‘No, I believe you won’t.’’ Nina hadn’t meant to say this. She felt again that something was wrong with her.

  Kelly relaxed somewhat on hearing this.

  Meeting her, seeing the big innocent eyes behind the wire-rimmed glasses really had been enough. Feeling defeated, she thought about leaving, but Kelly said, ‘‘You can come in for a minute if you want.’’

  Inside, a student’s room, a room full of books from floor to ceiling, a few scruffy chairs and tables. No TV. Nina walked over to look at the books. Twentieth century French writers, books on Dadaism and Surrealism, poetry, psychology—nary a book on political science or law in sight. ‘‘I’d really rather be reading anything but,’’ Kelly said with a nervous laugh.

  ‘‘Could I take a look?’’ Nina pulled out a heavy volume on twentieth century art and checked the index for Max Ernst. ‘‘If you don’t mind. There’s a painting that’s been on my mind, and—here it is.’’

  Such a hideous painting! Dreary industrial sky, sharp shadows. The sky had a crack in it, and the plantlike structure on the right was collapsing. In the center was the Elephant Celebes, a dream monster like a crude elephant, its back to the viewer, shaped like a boiler with a pipe for its tail, a fake misshapen horned head growing from that tail. You couldn’t see the real head, and you didn’t want to see it, you really didn’t. Enough to see that the long tusks were just turning toward you, turning in spite of the artist’s struggle to keep the real head hidden because it was too awful to see . . .

  In the forefront of the picture, a naked classical woman’s torso running away. Headless, charred around the neck.

  Nina stared at the painting, fascinated. It had been at the back of her mind for weeks. It seemed to her to encapsulate her current position, but in some nightmarish way, indescribable in words.

  When she had first seen it, years ago, she had thought the picture was funny. It had never been funny, but she had been too inexperienced to see the horror in it.

  Her heart pounding, she closed the book and propped herself against the bookshelf, gasping. ‘‘Sorry,’’ she said. She was hyperventilating. Panic seemed to have a grip around her middle—she was going to fall down— she couldn’t breathe at all—she had never been so frightened in her life—was she about to die? She was, she was going to die now, and it was going to be bad, terrible, awful—

  ‘‘Are you all right? What’s wrong? Here, let me help you sit down.’’

  Kelly brought her a glass of water, then sat down in the chair opposite. Slowly, Nina brought herself under control. She counted mentally, bringing her breath back to normal and relaxing the tense muscles.

  ‘‘You had an anxiety attack,’’ Kelly said. ‘‘I know a bit about that myself.’’

  ‘‘I’m embarrassed. One minute I
was looking at that picture, and the next—I imagine that’s what a heart attack feels like. I’m afraid it’ll come back.’’

  ‘‘It’s over now. You know,’’ Kelly said slowly, ‘‘I make my judgment right off the bat, too. I believe you are a decent person. And because of that, I’m going to tell you something you better pay attention to.’’

  ‘‘I’m not sure I want to hear it.’’

  ‘‘I have to say it anyway. You’re right to be afraid.’’

  ‘‘Of what?’’

  ‘‘Of my brother.’’

  ‘‘I’m not afraid of Jim.’’

  ‘‘Sure,’’ Kelly said.

  Nina drank some more water. ‘‘Feeling better?’’ Kelly said.

  ‘‘Yes.’’

  ‘‘Could I ask you a question, then?’’

  ‘‘Go ahead.’’

  ‘‘Where is Heidi? Jim’s wife? You know, she called me.’’

  ‘‘When?’’

  ‘‘A couple of weeks ago. I met her at the funeral, and we talked, and exchanged phone numbers. I was very surprised to hear from her. She was right next door in King’s Beach, staying at a motel. She wanted to talk to me, so we agreed to meet at the casino. But she didn’t come.’’

  ‘‘Did she leave any number where you could reach her?’’

  ‘‘Just the old number of the place where she was staying. I called it, but it was just some place in King’s Beach. She took off and left all her stuff. They were gonna keep it to pay her bill. Is Jim after her?’’

  ‘‘No. Not in the way I think you mean. He’s worried about her too.’’

  ‘‘So you don’t know where she is either?’’

  ‘‘No.’’

  Kelly said, ‘‘Good, then.’’

  ‘‘What’s that supposed to mean?’’

  ‘‘Just that people are safe,’’ Kelly said. ‘‘Except my father. I worry about him now.’’

  ‘‘Kelly, I don’t understand you, all of you. Your family.’’

  ‘‘Don’t include Jim in that word.’’