Chasing Suspect Three

by Rod Hoisington

  “Congratulations, Sandy. It could be very good for your reputation—not to mention the money.”

  “I talked with her at the jail. She was at the murder scene and ran. She’s a certifiable flake. The problem is I started interviewing her before I found out about Chip knowing her sister-in-law. He doesn’t want me to represent her, and after sleeping on it, I agree. I do believe the defense and the prosecution should always get along. In this case, we’re rubbing toes under the sheets. It might be difficult for him unless I give her up.”

  “You’d find other clients.”

  “Not this big in this little town. This isn’t a TV movie set with a new murder every Tuesday night at eight. In fact, I’m wondering if there’s enough evil in this town to support a defense attorney. I may have to get out there myself and stir up trouble in my spare time.”

  “My feeling is this will turn out to be a sensational murder case.”

  “I hope so, Jerry. It could be the criminal defense case of a lifetime for me.”

  “It would indeed help your reputation. However, I predict you’ll have many important cases in your lifetime. That said, I agree it’s just too close for each of you to operate normally. I know how badly you want it, and I’m very fond of Chip. Obviously, one of you must back down.”

  “As much as I’d like to pursue her defense, I’d rather break up with her than him.”

  “You misunderstand. I believe he should be the one to back down.”

  “You do? Why?”

  “It’s not unusual for someone in the police department or court system to know a victim’s family. Chip should ask the chief to remove him from this case because of the conflict. Once he’s out of the equation, they can proceed with their investigation, and you can proceed with the defense of your client.”

  She thought it over for a moment. “He’s not going to like it. I’m still thinking I should be the one to sacrifice. Even so, you’ve convinced me. You came through for me again, Jerry. If this case is a big as I think, I may be calling on you again.”

  She needed to face Chip with her decision as soon as possible to smooth it all over, so she’d still be welcome in his bed. She found her phone and hit Speed Dial. She told him, “I sort of agreed with you last night that I should drop out, but I’ve changed my mind again.” She waited for his argument.

  “It’s fine, honey. This morning I explained to the chief about my acquaintance with a member of the victim’s family, and he took me off the case. No problem, he said it was routine.”

  “Perhaps he’d already heard I was representing the vic’s spouse. News travels fast in this town.” The office phone rang and she heard Martin pick up in his office across the hall.

  Chip went on, “Even if that went into his decision, it’s not your fault. Just a coincidence that I know the sister.”

  “Does the chief know you saw her again three days ago?”

  “I told him, and that definitely was the clincher.”

  “That certainly went well,” she said aloud.

  “You want to come over today after work?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ll let you know.”

  Martin appeared in the doorway as she hung up. “Line one, Sandy, I think the most important client in the entire world wants you back.”

  She picked up the phone and confirmed an appointment at the jail for after lunch. She walked over and relaxed in Martin’s office. “I’m back in business. I’m going to enjoy running around investigating and aggravating all the badasses.”

  “When I heard your client’s name yesterday, I called the police department and asked for the Incident Report to be faxed over.”

  “Thanks, I found it on my desk when I got back. Who said you weren’t good with this crime stuff?”

  “What did you think of her at your first meeting yesterday?”

  “She’s around forty, average height, average weight, average everything—which is part of her problem. I wouldn’t say she’s dumb as an ox, but she’s probably not any smarter either. Brown hair in a ‘what on earth was she thinking’ hairstyle—curly and frizzy. My guess is she’s looking for a good man to exploit her sexually.”

  “Good grief, I hope you’re never asked to describe me.”

  “Oh, I’m not through. I detected broad indications of deception. As Jerry Kagan would say, the truth is not within her. She admitted she lied to Jaworski saying she was with her boyfriend at the time of shooting. So, she wants him as her alibi but doesn’t want me to meet him. She needs mental therapy, and I’ll need it before this deal is over.”

  “So, the boyfriend is a new character in this drama?”

  “She gave me his name. I have to nail down everything else about him. I’ll try again today.” She picked up the police report. “Witnesses reported hearing shots fired in the condo Tuesday night around ten. A witness saw Margo’s vehicle leave the condo just as the police arrived. Neighbors recognized her car as she used to live there.” She looked up at him. “That puts her at the scene, not at her apartment, and agrees with one of the versions she told me. Whoops, I wasn’t supposed to divulge what my client told me. Forget she told me she was at the crime scene and across town in her apartment at the same time.”

  “I guess that’s one divorce case we won’t be getting,” he said. “If wives keep shooting their husbands, the divorce lawyers are going to starve.”

  “How about if they shoot them after the divorce, and then we’d both be busy.” She set her briefcase on her desk preparing to leave. “I did a lousy job of interviewing her. I don’t actually know what happened. I’ll do better this afternoon.” She finished her lukewarm coffee. “I hear the fax. You expect something?”

  He retrieved the fax and slowly walked back into her office reading it. “Another police report. I didn’t request this one. Someone over there just sent it to me.” After a minute of reading, he handed it to her. “It seems there was a shooting incident at the Community Center around seven p.m. the evening of the murdeer. No one was injured.”

  “Ask me if I care.”

  “One of the bullets hit a car registered to a Margo Larena.”

  Chapter Six

  At one o’clock the same afternoon, a deputy ushered Sandy into one of the conference rooms at the jail for her second meeting with Margo. She was determined not to let the woman out of the room until she had agreed Sandy would be her attorney, and would cooperate in her own defense. She also needed to hear the woman say something positive about paying.

  On the drive over, she rehearsed what she would say. Defending this evasive, uncooperative, and likely guilty, woman would be a challenge. A successful defense would entail difficult litigation; she’d earn every dime of her fee. Even in simple murder trials, a defense attorney might charge hundreds of dollars an hour. The total cost could be well over a hundred thousand dollars, not counting the cost of expert witnesses. Yet, she couldn’t point to any actual experience to command such a high fee for herself.

  Consequently, she had decided on a retainer of eighty thousand. Enough to cover the expenses, if the trial didn’t go on too long or get too wild, and give her something in addition to invaluable publicity. Still, a lot of money for a novice criminal attorney to be asking.

  Margo was in the room waiting. “I think I’ll take a chance on you, Sandy. I asked around, and the word is you’re a kickass little bitch.”

  “Isn’t that sweet? I’ll have that printed on my business cards.” She wasn’t aware anyone had slapped her with that particular tag. Pit bull, perhaps, but not kickass little bitch. She didn’t mind. At this stage, she needed all the notoriety she could get. Her reputation was beginning to spread and that was one of her career objectives.

  She put her briefcase on the floor and stood with both hands on the back of the chair to give her more reinforcement for asking for eighty thousand dollars. The moment of truth. She looked seriously at Margo, opened her mouth, yet couldn’t say “eighty thousand dollars.”

  “Yes?” Ma
rgo waited expectantly.

  The words wouldn’t come out. Sandy sat, folded her hands in front of her, took a deep breath, and tried again. “Margo...my fee is going to be—.” She couldn’t say the word eighty. “Fifty. Fifty thousand dollars,” came out.

  “You mean I still have to pay you?”

  “What is that, a trick question?”

  “Wow, how soon do you need it?”

  “Immediately.”

  “I don’t have it. I’d really have to scratch around.”

  Sandy didn’t want to lose her, so she added, “Pay me ten thousand now, and we’ll talk about the rest later.”

  “Make it a lot later.”

  Sandy took out the police reports and her yellow pad. “I need some background on you. Where you’re from, how you met John. Stuff like that.”

  “From Indiana, down here on vacation with a girlfriend maybe...ten years ago. We came down here to go diving. You know, scuba diving out on the reef? Well, we were all screwed up. We got a lot of bad information back in Indiana. You can’t just go put on a cute mask, go out in the ocean, and see things. You have to take classes. It takes time and money. It’s a bunch of serious stuff. No one in Indiana mentioned we had to rent any of that other equipment junk. The guy that owned the dive boat had a good laugh at all of it. Dennis. He was really built from working the boat. Tanned and seldom wore a shirt. A real hunk. Said he’d take us out after his regular trip and show us how to snorkel, so we’d salvage something out of our vacation. So, we’re out in the middle of the ocean...not actually the middle, you could still see the shore. He showed us some stuff, and we had a lot of fun in the water.

  “He was seriously eyeballing Gloria like she was some piece of candy, but she was beginning to feel seasick. So, he grabs my hand and—.”

  Sandy interrupted, “You’re telling me more than I want to know. Want to cut to the chase?”

  “Oh yeah, sure. So, Dennis led me down to the little bunk he had below and—.”

  “No. I meant later, much later, years later.”

  “Oh, Gloria and I flew home. But I kept dreaming about how it was with hunky Dennis with his gorgeous tanned body and skimpy Speedo trunks. Thinking about him kept me busy for a month. Got to be too much, and I decided to fly back here. After spending on clothes, airfare, and all that, he ignored me. Can you believe it? Claimed he didn’t even remember me. I knew he had to be kidding, because you know...we had done it.”

  Sandy closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. She motioned for Margo to continue.

  “I had used a one-way ticket and couldn’t get back. Well, to tell the truth, I didn’t have a job. I had to quit, because my mean boss wouldn’t give me any more time off. So, I hung around the dock and Dennis started letting me help him. After a while, he let me take reservations for the dive boat and keep things straight in his little office-shack at the marina. You might say I lived with him. Those dive boat captains sure get a lot of attention from silly girls on vacation. He was nice to me too, when business was slow. After four years I began to wonder if he was going to get serious about me.”

  “You and John were married about three years ago, you said. How’d you meet him?”

  “First I met Claudia Mertens, his sister, around the docks. She was seeing some local politician who had his fancy yacht tied up there. His boat never left the dock. Married, but his wife hated the water and boats and never came around. Pretty cushy setup for Claudia. She practically lived on it, had food and booze delivered right to the dock. Even had some woman come in and clean up after their parties. I’d drink with her sometimes and run errands. Anyway, that’s how I met her brother. We didn’t hit it off right away. During that time I met Officer Goddard...Chip.”

  “Why are you mentioning him?”

  “You told me yesterday you’re in a relationship with him, that’s why. Lucky you.”

  “Okay. Yes, he told me he had met you.”

  “Yeah, he patrolled around the marina area for a few months.”

  Sandy couldn’t resist. “Were you friendly with him?”

  “Oh, sure.”

  “I mean did you get to know him?” As soon as she said it, she wanted the question back and didn’t want to hear the answer. “Never mind.”

  “Only in my dreams and I had plenty of those. He wouldn’t know me from Adam, but I knew who he was. You ever fantasize about men?”

  “Your sister-in-law also knew him back then.”

  “I’m not sure if he met Claudia at the docks, or not. I think they dated later. I forget the details.” Margo made a twisted smile. “She never deserved him.”

  “I thought you liked her. It sounded as though you were in fact chummy.”

  “Only Claudia likes Claudia. I guess we were okay with each other back then. I never see her anymore. Fortunately, John didn’t care for her. We didn’t have to spend any time together. She probably won’t even come to his funeral.” She leaned forward. “Come to think of it, who’s going to run the funeral? I’d be happy to help throw some dirt on his coffin, but I’m not paying one damn cent. Hey, you’re my lawyer. Can they make me pay for the bastard’s funeral?”

  “One problem at a time. So, you can’t tell me anything about the Claudia—Chip Goddard thing?”

  Margo shook her head. “Don’t know anything about it. I don’t think it lasted very long.”

  “I need her name and address. What’s she do?”

  “She owns a beauty spa. Started out she was supposed to be a partner with this other woman in a little beauty and wig shop. The deal was the woman puts up all the money, and Claudia was to run it and get a half interest. According to John, the woman spent all of her money to equip the place and even mortgaged her house to get more. As soon as it was up and running, Claudia squeezed the woman out. She bought out the woman for peanuts with an interest-only note, whatever that is, which she never intended to pay off. She ended up with the entire business without paying a dime. John laughed about it. He always said you take your life in your hands when you start dealing with Claudia.”

  “What’s the name of the shop?”

  “She changed the Lovely Locks Beauty Shop into the upscale Broadmoor Spa. Business improved immediately, but was still lousy until she got the bright idea to triple her prices. As soon as she did, the business absolutely took off with upper-class-wannabe Claudia strutting around showing off her designer clothes and talking down to her upper-class-wannabe customers. She insults them, and they think she’s kidding. They come rushing back sending in friends.”

  “Where does she live?”

  “A nice apartment over on Holly...27th, 28th...look it up. Lives rent free, another Claudia scheme.”

  “Screws the landlord?” Sandy didn’t think that was too wild of a guess from the sound of things.

  “That would be too much bother for her. She doesn’t screw the landlord, and that’s her angle and his problem. Got all this from John. This young guy, Billy, inherited the apartment building from his grandfather. Not a tremendously big deal, four apartments, but they’re nice. Claudia is one of his tenants. She’s trying to talk him into some real estate deal to buy some supposedly fabulous property that would make him unbelievably wealthy. She told him if he doesn’t get rich, he won’t be worthy of her. The deal is Billy signs over his apartment building, and she signs over the Broadmoor Spa...ha, ha, ha.”

  “As if she’d ever in truth do such a thing.” Sandy guessed. “Meanwhile, he gets nothing but teasing and denial.”

  “Sounds like you already know all about her. Yeah, she’s playing him. Some groping, but he can’t quite get at what he wants. He’ll lose interest if she comes across. She knows that. John says the poor guy isn’t going to get anything even after he does sign away his apartment building. She has him crawling the walls. Why can’t I manipulate a man like that?”

  “You’ve got to start practicing when you’re about thirteen.”

  She watched Sandy writing on her yellow pad. “You write ever
ything down?”

  “Just making short notes on her.”

  “Girls like us could never trick a man like that.”

  “Not girls like us.” Sandy raised an eyebrow but kept on writing.

  “I mean she’s got the good looks going for her.”

  “Not like us.” Sandy rolled her eyes.

  “That’s right, you and I don’t affect men the way she does.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  “Can you imagine screwing for an entire apartment building? Most of us would settle for dinner and a movie, wouldn’t we?”

  “Okay, okay, I’ve got it.”

  Margo moved her chair back up to the table. “Why are you interested in her? Oh, I get it, she dated your man. You want to know if she’s hot. So ask him about her. Hey, worry about your sex life on your own time—I’m paying fifty big ones for this. Can we talk about me?”

  Was she that obvious? “She’s the victim’s sister. Of course, I want to talk with her.”

  “Some cop said I should use you. And people around the jail have heard of you. Did I make a mistake? You are sort of chummy with the police.”

  “It’s no problem for me, if you want to find someone else. It’s early in this case. If you want out, now’s the time. It’s not unusual for criminal lawyers to fraternize with the prosecution.”

  “Why don’t you just say you like screwing cops? It’s your thing, nothing wrong with that.” She dropped her head to her chest and then looked back up. “What the hell am I doing here depending on you? I don’t know who to trust anymore, the difference between you and me is you know when you’re getting screwed.”

  “Then back out now.” She didn’t want to tempt Margo into firing her, yet she needed the woman to trust her and be more cooperative.

  “No, I’ll stick with you. Except I’ve got no ten thousand. I’m in between jobs.”

  “What do you do?”

  “Bookkeeper. Find me a decent job, and I could embezzle ten grand in no time. A little bookkeeper humor there.”