Attorney at Large (Thaddeus Murfee Legal Thriller Series Book 3)

by John Ellsworth

  “Exactly. If there’s cash being skimmed or removed, it can’t be proven on paper. At least not on our paper.”

  “So the IRS is going to have to come up with a different theory of proof. What could that be?” Gerry mused.

  “That leaves a pre-count skim. They have to prove that Thaddeus is skimming cash off the tables, out of the slots, before it’s even counted.”

  Gerry spoke up. “The way I understand it, the slots are self-reporting, so it’s not there.”

  “True, the slots cough up electronic reports showing in-going and out-going. No mystery there at all.”

  “And no room for a skim,” Tubby concluded.

  Moretti scratched his head. “So the slots business is clean. We can forget that part of it.”

  Tubby said, “Which leaves roulette, the card games, and craps. We need to focus there and see if we can spot any chance of a skim. How do we do that?”

  Moretti field that one. “I’ve already tipped Berenson that we need extra eyes on those games.”

  “Berenson?”

  “Chief of Security. Highly trusted, passes a lie box test every month.”

  Gerry sounded surprised. “You make him submit to a lie detector test each month?”

  “What can I say? Company policy. Because it’s a cash business there are many of us who face the lie box each month.”

  “Great. Get me those lie detector records, too,” Gerry said.

  “But lie detector tests aren’t admissible in court.”

  “That’s true. But I can use them to influence the judge. If we try to admit them, the judge learns about them, learns all employees are passing the tests with flying colors.”

  “Even if they aren’t allowed into evidence.”

  “Right. We prejudice the judge; then we can get favorable rulings in other questionable areas where the law isn’t so clear. Elementary.”

  Gerry sounded very certain about the game.

  And why shouldn’t he, thought Moretti. He had been before more federal judges than half the lawyers in Las Vegas added together.

  “Rudimentary,” added Tubby.

  “Basic.”

  “Smart. I like your thinking.”

  “Okay,” said Tubby. “Put extra eyes on cards, roulette, and craps. Bring in some outside people. Someone with impeccable credentials.”

  “Will do.”

  Gerry had a follow-up. “This leaves the count room. Is there any way someone is skimming out of there?”

  “Negative. We video all count room activity.”

  “Get me those video logs. Let’s make sure there are no gaps.”

  “Good point. That’s the next item I’ll run down.”

  “In fact, you know what I’m thinking?”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’m thinking we sneak in and install a backup security system in the count room.”

  “Cameras to watch the cameras?”

  “Cameras to watch the workers. A second set of eyes.”

  “In case the official cameras and official recordings are going off-line and the logs are forged.”

  “Exactly. Someone might just be that smart.”

  “Some insider.”

  “Insider, plus they have access to the count room. That means someone highly placed.”

  “That would have to be management level. Or even corporate officer.”

  Tubby pulled at his chin. “No one is above suspicion. I need a list of all management and corporate employees.”

  “Done.”

  Gerry said, “Then I’m going to need you to statementize them all. Get them nailed down.”

  “Got it,” Moretti noted.

  “Including you,” Tubby laughed.

  “Hey, that’s fine. No one is above suspicion.”

  “Not even our CEO Mickey Herkemier.”

  “Not even Mickey.”

  They talked on for another ten minutes about logistical matters, and then signed off.

  Moretti called Berenson. It was time to get more eyes on the tables. Time to call in the cavalry.

  Plus there was the matter of a backup video surveillance system in the count room. Something totally hidden. Somehow foolproof. Something to view all activity, record it, and broadcast it off-premises, so it couldn’t be doctored or manipulated.

  He knew just the person to call.

  “Buddy Bob,” he called to his secretary. “Get Henry Frazier over at BAG on the horn. And make sure it’s a secure line.”

  30

  Thaddeus filed his entry of appearance in Kiki’s homicide case.

  The State, by District Attorney Imogene Alvarez, immediately responded with a motion to disqualify Thaddeus from serving as attorney for Kiki.

  The motion was based on grounds of an alleged conflict of interest and it came on for oral argument on a bright, hot morning in the Clark County Court.

  “Oyez, oyez, oyez,” cried the bailiff, “the District Court of Clark County is now in session. Let all who have business before this honorable court come forward now and be heard.”

  Wanda Morales, Chief Judge, entered the courtroom and sailed to her lofty perch overlooking all mere mortals spread below her.

  Thaddeus and Kiki were at counsel table farthest from the empty jury box; District Attorney Alvarez was seated one table over, closest to the phantom jury, which was one advantage she would have when the case actually got underway at trial. Thaddeus always resented the fact that the State got to sit closest to the jury, human nature being what it is, but there was nothing any defense attorney in the U.S. could do about it.

  Thaddeus came upright, climbed to his feet, motioned Kiki to stand beside him, and was immediately told by Her Honor that all could take their seats.

  The judge pushed the onyx eyeglasses up on her nose and squinted at the file.

  She was a woman probably mid-fifties, Thaddeus guessed, who had an excellent reputation as a fair-minded, but firm, trial judge. She was also one to follow the law to the letter, he knew, so she would be very interested in the pending allegations of conflict of interest being claimed against Thaddeus.

  “Counsel,” the judge said to the D.A., “you may be heard.”

  District Attorney Alvarez leapt to her feet, ready to shoot big game.

  “May it please the court. Judge, this is a case where a lawyer who owns a casino is trying to represent a defendant who was followed out of the casino by two men, one of whom she shot and killed minutes later. She has potentially got a civil claim against the casino for failure to provide safe premises upon which to come inside and gamble, or whatever she was there for. Because she might have a claim against the casino, it’s the State’s position that the owner of the casino would have a conflict of interest and shouldn’t be representing the defendant at all in the criminal case. Which is what he’s trying to do here.”

  Eyes rolled to Thaddeus. “Counsel?”

  Thaddeus stood and scanned his argument points.

  “Thank you, Your Honor. What we have here is a case exactly like the D.A. has framed it, but with one significant fact omitted. Your Honor, the Defendant in this case is my sister. And she won’t sue me. It’s just that simple. So while counsel is theoretically correct in her allegation of conflict, in reality there’s no conflict at all, and there won’t be. Kiki Murphy is my sister and we’ve talked about her legal right to sue the casino. I can avow to the court that that will never happen. Not only that, but Kiki is now an employee of the casino. For what difference that might make.”

  The judge studied the ceiling, then said, “Counsel, was Miss Murphy a casino employee at the time of the shooting?”

  “She was not, Your Honor.”

  “So there is no issue of pre-emption by the worker’s compensation laws of this state?”

  The judge was asking whether Kiki was an employee of the Desert Riviera at the time of the shooting because, had she been, then by law she wouldn’t have been able to sue the casino.

  Thaddeus explained t
hat she was not an employee at that time.

  “No, Your Honor, there’s no pre-emption by the worker’s compensation laws of the State of Nevada.”

  “Judge,” said D.A. Alvarez, “this case has the potential for imposition of the death penalty. The indictment alleges First Degree Murder with malice and premeditation. If Miss Murphy is found guilty, it would place Mister Murfee in the horrendous position of fighting for his own sister’s life in this matter. It’s probably not in her best interests that she have someone so close to the case representing her in that case.”

  The judge shook her head. “That may be, counsel, but that’s not your argument to make.”

  “But you want a clean record when it goes up on appeal.”

  “The Court must weigh what you’re saying against the Defendant’s right to be represented by counsel of her choosing. That’s actually a Constitutional right—or has that flavor—so it’s the Court’s opinion that far outweighs any potential for anxious feelings Mister Murfee might be facing on down the line.”

  “Judge, I will probably associate trial counsel on this case. If that helps with your decision. And one other thing. I have thoroughly discussed this issue with Miss Murphy and she knowingly waives any potential conflict. I can avow that to the Court as well.”

  “Not necessary, Mister Murfee. The Court is going to deny the District Attorney’s Motion to Disqualify Thaddeus Murfee as Counsel of Record for Kiki Murphy. It is so ordered. Anything further?” The judge leaned forward and pointed an index finger at each attorney. “Anything?”

  “No, Your Honor.”

  “Thank you, no, Your Honor.”

  “Then we’re adjourned.”

  All stood and the judge sailed back out the door to her chambers.

  District Attorney Alvarez turned to Thaddeus and smiled in a friendly manner. “You sure you want to do this, Mister Murfee?”

  He paused packing his briefcase. “I’m sure. Someone has to do it.”

  “But it could get painfully difficult. Just so there’s no misunderstanding, I am aggressively seeking the death penalty in this case. The victim had broken off his attack on your client and was in fact raising his arms to indicate the attack was over.”

  “I’m aware that’s what you think happened,” said Thaddeus, “but fortunately that’s not the entire story.”

  Alvarez came nearer. “What else do you have?”

  Thaddeus grinned. “You’re going to have to wait for trial to find that out. We wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise, would we?”

  Alvarez jammed a hand against her hip. “You will be required in discovery to reveal your witnesses and your evidence.”

  “But not my theory. You’re not entitled to my thoughts. Which are, in fact, reality.”

  D.A. Alvarez took a step back. “All right, if that’s how you want to do this.”

  “Hey, what choice have you given me? Miss Alvarez, you’re trying to kill my sister. I’m here to tell you, that’s not going to happen. By the way, from now on, for future reference when you’re speaking to me, let’s don’t call the dead guy ‘the victim.’ You know as well as I do that if my sister hadn’t shot the guy you’d be in here prosecuting the bastard for assault on my sister. And in front of the jury, if you ever refer to him as ‘the victim’ you can be sure I’m going to jump up and yell for the court to strike any such reference and I’m going to explain why you shouldn’t be able to use that term and make sure the jury hears every word of what I have to say. If he’s the victim then I’m Santa Claus, and right now I don’t feel very charitable toward anyone, especially the criminal who assaulted my sister. Now, are we done here?”

  “We’re done here,” the D.A. said and petulantly tossed her head. “See you in court.”

  “You just did.”

  As they went out into the bright sunlight and set out on the sidewalk to the waiting Mercedes, Thaddeus noticed that Kiki was unusually quiet.

  They climbed in the back of the car and Thaddeus gave the driver Kiki’s address. He would take her home and drop her off, as it was still morning and her shift at the casino wouldn’t begin for another six or so hours.

  “So what’s going on in your mind?” he finally asked after they had ridden several miles in silence.

  She grimaced. “Did you see CNN last night?”

  “About?”

  “About Oklahoma.”

  “No, what happened?”

  “They executed Mel Robbiny for first degree murder. Lethal injection. Except he didn’t die. They gave him the drugs, he went into horrible contortions, and after nine minutes he strained up against the straps and said something like, ‘Oh, man, there’s something terrible wrong here.’”

  “My God.”

  “Yes, it go so bad they had to close the blinds to the execution chamber as the witnesses were horrified and crying and screaming at the doctors to stop it.”

  Thaddeus spoke very softly. “I’m sorry that happened. And I’m sorry you had to see it.”

  She suddenly sobbed. “Thad, for god’s sakes don’t let them do that to me!”

  He took her hand in his own. “Hey,” he whispered, “I just got you back in my life. I’m not letting go. That won’t happen to you. Nothing like it, I promise.”

  “Promise?”

  “I’m going to walk you out of there, Not Guilty. I promise.”

  “I thought you told me lawyers can’t make promises.”

  “They can’t, unless it’s their sister. Then all bets are off.”

  31

  Sunday night, and Thaddeus with Albert had just finished their biweekly file review for their Chicago practice.

  They were in Thaddeus’ office at the casino, seated across Vermont from one another.

  An order was placed to room service for two Diet Cokes and two bagels, as both were famished after the three-hour review.

  Albert had flown the Learjet out from Chicago; Thaddeus’ own driver had picked him up at McCarran late that afternoon and would take him back out to the airport so he could fly back out that night.

  Both men were wearing blue jeans and T-shirts, and Thaddeus was in moccasins while Albert was in his usual Air Jordans.

  The food and drinks arrived and they kicked back and were shooting the breeze about everything and nothing when Albert’s expression without warning turned serious.

  “Thad, there’s one more thing I guess I need to bring up,” Albert slowly began.

  “Uh-oh, this sounds ominous.”

  “It’s about you and Ilene. And her baby, Andromeda.”

  “Her baby? Don’t you mean my baby?”

  Thaddeus had abruptly stopped chewing a mouthful of bagel and was waiting, very puzzled at the direction their BS session had suddenly taken.

  “Well, that’s just it. Turns out Andromeda is not your son.”

  “Yeah, right. What else you got to say?”

  Albert raised a hand. “I’m serious, Thad. We had paternity tests run.”

  “We did?”

  “Ilene and I.”

  “You and Ilene?”

  “Thad, while you had disappeared two years ago, when Bang Bang was after you, you had me go to Ilene and talk to her.”

  “That happened more than once. So you talked to her, so what?”

  “Well. One night—and you’re not going to like this. In fact, you might throw me out. But please, for god’s sakes stop and think before you say anything radical. One night things got out of control, we had dinner and wine, her little girl went to bed, and it just happened.”

  “What was that??”

  “We slept together.”

  “Bullshit. Ilene would never do that.”

  “Excuse me, but she would. And she did. And I’m so sorry about it, it’s just been killing me and I’ve been covering up. You’re not Andromeda’s father; I am.”

  Thaddeus stood and walked to the window overlooking the casino floor. He was silent while several minutes dragged by. Then he turned and faced Albert.
Tears were in his eyes and close to overflowing.

  “You’re sure about this?”

  “Positive.”

  “And Ilene has known about this how long and hasn’t told me?”

  “Don’t go there. We both found out Friday. We just had the testing done ten days ago. It was my idea to get the tests. Drommie looks nothing like you and he’s beginning to have some of my features.”

  “What, he can’t speak English, only Spanish?”

  Albert smiled. “So you’re not mad?”

  “Hell yes, I’m mad. You screwed my girlfriend, the woman I was in love with. Or thought I was in love with. The first real love in my life. And you screwed her. Now how can I ever trust you again?”

  “You can trust me. It had nothing to do with you.”

  “How can you say that, it has nothing to do with me?”

  “It doesn’t. What happened was between Ilene and me. It happened without any reference to you at all. She was lonely, I was finding myself more and more attracted to her, and you weren’t around and hadn’t been for a long time. Plus, there was the wine that night.”

  “Shit, Albert. Shit.”

  “I know. I’m very sorry. But I promise you, everything about our law practice is foursquare. We’re totally good there. I am one hundred percent loyal.”

  Thaddeus shook his head. “Well, I’m so buried out here, I don’t have time to make any changes in Chicago.”

  “Besides all that, there’s no reason to make changes in Chicago. You know the money’s a hundred percent accurate and accounted for, you know I’m the best med mal lawyer in the entire city, and you know I’m taking care of our clients.”

  “Like you took care of my girlfriend?”

  Exasperation crept into Albert’s voice. “You can fire me, or give the cases away and close up shop back there, but that really doesn’t do anyone any good.”

  “Least of all you and Ilene. What do you plan to do about all this?”

  “This is crazy, but I want to ask you for the right to marry her.”

  “I can’t give you that right. It’s not mine to give.”

  “Still.”

  “No, I have no right to control who she marries. I’ve made my choice. I’m with Katy.”