Fugitive

by Phillip Margolin

  Out of the corner of her eye, Amanda saw Burdett’s face turn the color of severe sunburn.

  “Why has Mr. Marsh waited twelve years to turn himself in?” a reporter called out.

  “We’re all exhausted from our plane ride and we won’t be making any statements right now. I can say on Mr. Marsh’s behalf that he’s excited to be back in America and he is eager to have his day in court.”

  “Why did he flee the country, Amanda?” another reporter shouted.

  “This venue is an inappropriate place to try Mr. Marsh’s case. The district attorney and I will both be in court and we’ll have our say there. Thank you for being understanding.”

  With that, Amanda led her brood down the rest of the stairs. Karl Burdett stepped in front of her.

  “I had nothing to do with this, Karl,” Amanda said before he could get a word out. She threw a thumb over her shoulder. “That’s Dennis Levy. He’s a reporter for World News. He called the press without my knowledge.”

  Burdett was furious but he knew he couldn’t arrest Charlie without looking bad. Amanda started walking, and Burdett hurried to stay by her side.

  “Your client dodged a bullet today, Jaffe. You’d better not try anything like this again.”

  “I’m as upset as you are, Karl.”

  Amanda pushed through the shouting reporters, who obviously had not taken seriously her statement about not answering questions. Several of them followed her into the terminal. Amanda spotted Kate waiting at the front door. As soon as the investigator saw her boss, she left the terminal and started the car that she’d parked in front.

  “I’ll see you at the bail hearing, tomorrow,” Amanda told Burdett as she left the terminal. “Thanks again for not arresting Marsh.”

  Amanda held the rear door of Kate’s car open for Charlie and Dennis, then jumped in the front passenger seat. The reporters were still shouting questions when they drove away. As soon as she was out of camera range, Amanda leaned back against the headrest and exhaled.

  CHAPTER 30

  Gary Hass sat on a metal folding chair and looked out the window of the abandoned loft at the Space Needle as he waited for Ivan Mikhailov to revive. It was a beautiful summer night, and the illuminated Seattle landmark stood out against the starry sky, but Gary was not thinking about the beauty of the moment. He was daydreaming about the carnage that would result if the Space Needle were toppled by a set of carefully placed explosives.

  The Russian drug dealer groaned. Gary sighed, displeased that his reverie had been interrupted. Mikhailov was naked and secured to an uncomfortable wooden chair by duct tape in such a way that all of the places where Gary might wish to inflict pain were exposed. Gary waited patiently as Mikhailov became conscious and slowly figured out his predicament.

  “Good evening,” Gary said. “How are you feeling?”

  Mikhailov stared stupidly for a moment before his features hardened into an icy stare.

  “Do you know who I am?” he asked in a voice that would have turned Gary’s blood cold if their positions had been reversed but which he found merely amusing considering that the Russian was naked and helpless.

  “You’re Bob Smith of Omaha, Nebraska, aren’t you?”

  Mikhailov gaped at Gary. Then he shouted, “No, you idiot. I am Ivan Mikhailov and you will set me free immediately or I will have you cut into pieces and fed to my dogs.”

  “Oh, shit,” Gary said. “I’m sorry, sir. I thought you were Bob Smith of Omaha. Man, did I fuck up.”

  “Yes, you did, but you can save yourself by setting me loose at once,” Mikhailov said imperiously.

  Gary grinned. “Actually, Ivan, I’m just playing with you. I knew who you were when I killed your men and Tasered you in the parking garage. You’re Ivan the Terrible, the violent drug dealer who’s been poaching on Julio Dominguez’s territory and beating up his dealers. Do I have that right?”

  “You won’t think you’re so funny when I skin you alive.”

  “Will that be before or after you feed me to your dogs?”

  The Russian began struggling against his bonds. Gary watched for a moment before walking over to his captive and slapping him across the face several times. The slaps only stung Mikhailov but they were humiliating, and the ease with which the strikes were delivered emphasized his helplessness.

  “Stop that, Ivan. It’s unbecoming. Besides, you can’t pay attention to what I have to say if you’re twitching and jumping up and down.”

  “Do you want money?”

  “Well, duh, who doesn’t? But if you’re thinking ransom or a bribe, that’s not on my mind. Julio already paid me.”

  “I’ll double what he gave you.”

  “I’m sure you would, but I wouldn’t be able to torture you if I took your bribe, and I’m in this as much for the fun as for the money. I mean, if you don’t enjoy your work you should find some other type of employment, right?”

  Gary watched the Russian’s face. The sweat that suddenly dampened his captive’s brow and the way his pupils were snapping back and forth, as if searching for a way out, let Gary know that Mikhailov finally got it.

  “See, Ivan, you’re affecting Julio’s profits and we can’t have that. Before you appeared on the scene, Julio had a nice thing going. He’s got a supplier in Colombia who’s happy with him, a snazzy house, and plenty of pussy, not to mention the biggest television set I’ve ever seen. If you still had eyes when I finished with you I’d take you over to watch a game. Anyway, Julio wants me to make sure he doesn’t have to cancel HBO because your shenanigans are eating into his bottom line.”

  Gary walked behind Mikhailov and wrapped tape around his mouth. That was when the Russian started to scream, but the muffled cries were barely audible.

  “That’s why I gagged you, Ivan,” Gary said. “I knew you’d wake the neighbors, and unlike you, I am very considerate of other people.”

  GARY GREW TIRED of playing with the Russian after a few hours. The so-called tough guy hadn’t been so tough after all and had ceased to be a challenge during the preliminaries. Gary would have killed him to stop his whimpering but Julio wanted his rival to suffer, so he’d plugged away, not really enjoying himself but earning his pay.

  After tidying up, Gary made an anonymous 911 call to the police. Julio wanted the murder publicized so no one else would try to move into his territory, and he couldn’t scare anyone if no one knew what happened to Ivan.

  Gary was tired and not particularly satisfied with the evening when he locked the door of his seedy hotel room. The paint was peeling, the mattress sagged, the only window looked out on an air shaft, and the porcelain on the sink was chipped. The room was depressing but it was in a hotel where no one noticed anything, and he would be gone by morning.

  After showering in the narrow bathroom, he turned on the television to see if the media knew about his handiwork yet. Gary was fully awake within seconds of seeing the lead story on the late news. Charlie Marsh was back in the US of A only a few hours from Seattle down the I-5. The same Charlie Marsh who had skipped out without paying Gary for the use of his life and who’d been sunbathing on some African beach, sipping piña coladas, while Gary was compelled to scratch out a living getting rid of other people’s problems.

  Gary walked over to the window and stared down the shaft at the years of accumulated trash. He had no trouble imagining Charlie’s broken body rotting down there.

  CHAPTER 31

  Kate drove Dennis Levy to the bail hearing so Amanda could discuss the case with Charlie, but Charlie didn’t feel like talking during the ride to the Washington County courthouse. He spent most of the time staring at the scenery with the window rolled down, even though Amanda’s car had air-conditioning. The wind on his face and the smell of fresh air were physical manifestations of the freedom that could be snatched from him later that morning if Amanda couldn’t convince the judge to grant him bail. Between his prison stretch and the psychological prison he’d inhabited in Africa, Charlie realized
that he’d enjoyed very little real freedom in the past fifteen years. It made him wonder about the life he’d led.

  Amanda worried about fighting her way through the crowd of reporters at the courthouse, but Karl Burdett unintentionally created a diversion by pontificating to the press at the front entrance. That made it easy for Amanda to smuggle Charlie through a little-used side entrance. She could have been angry at the DA for using the media to bias the jury pool, but she couldn’t feel too self-righteous after yesterday’s fiasco at the airport.

  Amanda threw curt “no comments” at the reporters who were camped outside the courtroom door as she hustled her client to the relative sanctuary of their counsel table. Charlie had his head down, so he didn’t see the slender African man in the back row of the spectator benches until he turned to watch Karl Burdett and a female district attorney push through the courtroom doors. Charlie experienced a violent urge to rush to the restroom the second he made eye contact with Nathan Tuazama. Then Burdett and his assistant passed between the two men. Charlie turned away quickly and shivered.

  “Are you okay?” Amanda asked when she saw Charlie’s ash gray complexion.

  “I’m just nervous,” Charlie lied as he imagined Tuazama’s eyes boring through his back into his soul.

  “Good morning, Karl,” Amanda said as Burdett tossed his attaché case onto the prosecution table.

  Burdett nodded but didn’t return her greeting. Then he turned his back on Amanda and began organizing his papers. Amanda wondered why the DA looked tense when he had the edge at the bail hearing. Before she could puzzle out the problem, the bailiff rapped his gavel and the Honorable Marshall Berkowitz hurried out of chambers to take the bench. The judge, who was short and grossly overweight, wheezed as he waddled to his position on the dais.

  “Good morning,” he said with a friendly nod to both parties. If Judge Berkowitz was intimidated by the large contingent of reporters in his courtroom and the publicity his case was receiving, he didn’t show it.

  “Good morning, Your Honor,” Burdett said as he rose to address the court. “This is the time set for the bail hearing in State v. Charles Lee Marsh aka the Guru Gabriel Sun. Let the record show that the state is represented by Karl Burdett and Rebecca Cromartie. The defendant is present, represented by his attorney, Amanda Jaffe.”

  “Good morning, Your Honor,” Amanda said. “As a preliminary matter, I’d ask the court to strike Mr. Marsh’s aka. He took that name years ago to promote his book and seminars and he hasn’t used it in over a decade.”

  “It’s how people know him, Judge,” Burdett countered. “We’ll have witnesses referring to him as Gabriel Sun or the guru. Besides, Miss Jaffe hasn’t given me notice so I’m not prepared to argue this issue, this morning.”

  “I’m inclined to agree with Mr. Burdett,” the judge told Amanda, “but you can file a motion with some law if you’re concerned.”

  Amanda wasn’t really concerned about the relatively benign aka in the indictment. What did worry her was the possibility that any juror who remembered Charlie’s alias would also remember that the tabloids had started calling her client Satan’s Guru as soon as he was accused of murder. But she decided to fight that battle another day.

  “Let’s get to the matter of bail,” the judge said.

  “I think I can save the court some time,” Burdett answered before Amanda could get a word out. “If Mr. Marsh surrenders his passport, the state will not oppose bail in light of his voluntary return to face trial.”

  Amanda was shocked by Burdett’s concession but she was also surprised by his tone. The DA sounded like he regretted giving Charlie a break. If he felt that way, why was he agreeing to bail?

  “That seems to take care of your motion, Miss Jaffe,” Judge Berkowitz said.

  “It does, and I want to thank Mr. Burdett for being so reasonable.”

  Burdett didn’t respond to Amanda. Instead, he told the judge that Charlie would have to be booked into the jail so he could be fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken. Then the DA suggested a bail amount that was well within Charlie’s means. Amanda agreed to the sum quickly and the judge told his clerk to prepare the paperwork. As soon as Amanda and Burdett agreed on a trial date, the DA and his assistant left the courtroom, followed by a pack of reporters.

  “Am I free?” Charlie asked, unsure of what had just happened.

  “As soon as we post bail.”

  Charlie grinned. Then the grin faded as he remembered Nathan Tuazama. He scanned the crowd but the African was no longer in the courtroom.

  “Something wrong?” Amanda asked.

  “No, no. I’m just, uh, shocked by how fast everything went.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “I bet you didn’t see that coming,” Kate said as she and Dennis joined Amanda and Charlie at counsel table.

  “No, I didn’t,” Amanda answered, still confused by Burdett’s concession.

  A sheriff’s deputy walked over to escort Charlie to the courthouse jail for booking.

  “Kate, can you go with Charlie?”

  “No problem.”

  “I’ll get up to the jail as soon as I post your bail,” Amanda told her client. “Do not say anything about your case to anyone, understood?”

  “Mum’s the word.”

  “Good. See you in an hour or so.”

  “I take it that this was unexpected?” Dennis Levy said.

  “Very. I thought Burdett would fight to the death to keep Charlie in custody.”

  “Any idea why he caved?”

  “He didn’t cave, Dennis, and don’t you dare put it that way. I don’t want to make Karl sorry he gave us a break by making him look like a coward.”

  “No, no, you’re right. I’ll write it up as a magnanimous concession.”

  “Good.”

  “So, why did he cave?” Levy asked with a grin.

  “I have no idea. And now, you have to excuse me. I want Charlie out of custody as soon as possible.”

  FIFTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER, Amanda escorted Charlie out of the jail and into the sunlight. He paused in the warm summer air to close his eyes and take a deep breath. Amanda noticed a group of reporters moving toward them. Kate was waiting at the curb to drive Amanda to her car. Amanda grabbed Charlie’s elbow and hustled him toward the street. They were almost there when Kate’s windshield exploded.

  Kate threw an arm across her face. Charlie froze. Amanda slammed a shoulder into his back and drove him to the pavement just before another bullet passed through the space where his head had been, before blasting a chunk of concrete from the courthouse facade.

  A reporter screamed. Others ducked for cover. A cameraman swung around and foolishly looked for the shooter through his lens. Two sheriff’s deputies crouched at the entrance to the courthouse, guns drawn.

  “Keep down,” Amanda shouted as she pushed her client halfway under the car.

  “What happened?” Charlie asked.

  “Someone shot at you. Stay still. The shots came from the other side of the car. The chassis will block you from view.”

  Dennis Levy cowered on the floor in the back of Kate’s car. Kate crawled across the glass littering the front seat. She paused long enough to draw her gun before pushing open the passenger door and rolling to the pavement.

  “Are you okay?” Amanda asked.

  “Yeah.”

  Amanda heard a siren. Kate got to one knee and peeked over the hood. An ambulance was speeding toward them and the cameraman who had tried to locate the shooter was pointing the police toward a row of two-story commercial buildings several blocks away. When Kate was certain they were safe she signaled Amanda and the women helped Charlie to his feet.

  “You saved my life,” Charlie told Amanda.

  “Jaffe, Katz, Lehane and Brindisi is a full-service law firm,” she joked, trying to keep her tone light while she fought the shakes that grew worse as her adrenaline wore off.

  “I’m going to need a statement,” a police of
ficer told Charlie. Charlie looked at Amanda.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “You’re the victim here. Did you see who shot at you?”

  “No. I was looking at the car door. I was going to get in when the window exploded. Then you pushed me to the ground.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t add anything to what Mr. Marsh said. I didn’t see a thing. As soon as the window exploded I knocked him down. After that, the car blocked my view.”

  “I’m going to need you to come inside anyway so the detectives can take a statement,” the officer told Amanda.

  “That’s okay. We’ll just be hounded by the reporters if we stay outside,” Amanda said just as Karl Burdett raced out of the courthouse followed by some of his staff.

  “What happened?” he asked Amanda.

  “A sniper took a shot at Mr. Marsh.” Burdett turned pale. Amanda pointed to the place where the police had gone. “He was probably on one of those buildings.”

  “This is terrible,” Burdett said, more to himself than Amanda. He looked stricken as he walked over to confer with one of the police officers, leaving Amanda confused by the DA’s reaction, which seemed wrong somehow, even given the upsetting event she had just witnessed.

  CHAPTER 32

  Amanda had reserved rooms for Charlie and Dennis in a boutique hotel on the outskirts of downtown Portland. Levy chattered nonstop during the ride to the hotel but Charlie barely uttered a word. Amanda attributed his silence to trauma from the assassination attempt, but Charlie was thinking about Nathan Tuazama.

  Charlie was exhausted when Amanda parked at the hotel. Levy invited them into the bar for a drink, but listening to the reporter drone on about himself was more than they could bear. Amanda begged off for both of them by saying that she had several matters to discuss with her client.