For the Defense (22 page)

His mother’s laughter sang out in the darkened garage.

D
IANA HAD NO SOONER WALKED IN
the door of Kozen and Kozen the next morning when Gail pulled her into her office and closed the door.

“He’s getting it on with our clerk,” Gail said, her tone both angry and sad.

Recognizing the hurt beneath her friend’s words, Diana figured out what Gail was referring to. “Staker and Kelli are having an affair?”

Gail nodded as she paced the office, her movements jerky, her hands fists at her sides. “I dropped by to talk to him about the baby thing yesterday after work. When he didn’t answer the door, I used the key under the door-mat and went inside to leave him a note. I was writing it when he and Kelli came in the back door and walked right past the study on the way to the bedroom. She was pulling his shirt off, her blouse already gone. They were so…involved they didn’t even see me.”

Diana let out a sad sigh for her friend.

“I gave up my job for him. I was ready to have a baby with him. And all the time he was…”

Tears spilled out of Gail’s eyes. Diana walked over to her friend and put her arms around her. “Staker’s not worth one of your tears, Gail. He never was. Your first impression of him was right. He’s a bastard.”

“I thought he’d changed.”

“There are two theories about how a woman can change a man,” Diana said. “Neither works.”

“I’m such a fool.”

Diana understood the feeling. At the moment, only too well. “From the age of puberty until they plant us six feet under, the females of our sorry species are subject to all the slings and arrows of outrageous romantic fortune. And not even the strongest, smartest and sanest among us are spared.”

“Kelli’s been taken in as well,” Gail said. “I found a birthday card George sent her stashed in the bottom drawer of her desk. Lying bastard gave her the same line about loving her, and never wanting any woman but her.”

“He’s used Kelli, too.”

“And she’s used us. Kelli’s our office leak.”

“That’s why she was always in our offices, ostensibly to replenish supplies.”

Gail nodded. “I even had to ask her to leave once when I was discussing confidential matters over the phone. But it wasn’t until after I saw her with George that I got suspicious and came back here to break into Kelli’s computer files.”

“When did you become a computer hacker?”

“A guy I prosecuted a couple of years ago gave me a few pointers,” Gail said nonchalantly. “Kelli sent George what she overheard or read on our cases through an online e-mail account in which she identified herself simply as ‘a friend.’”

“Are you saying she sent the information anonymously?”

Gail nodded. “Since she was careful not to use our office e-mail address, he probably doesn’t know she’s the one sending him the stuff.”

“Gail, he’s got to know.”

“He might think it’s me,” Gail said in a small voice.

“But you didn’t compromise your ethics—not even for love.”

“My one solace in this whole sorry mess. I gave Ronald and Vincent all the evidence when they got in this morning. They confronted Kelli, and she admitted to the affair, but swore George didn’t know who was sending him the information. They dismissed her quietly. Won’t press charges for fear of bad publicity. The locks to the doors will be rekeyed by the end of today.”

“Do the Kozens know you were intimate with Staker?”

“No, I spun them a yarn about becoming suspicious after seeing Kelli in George’s car last evening. Ronald thanked me for proving there really was an office leak and allowing him to plug it. They swore me to secrecy, but I had to tell you.”

Gail’s voice broke on the last word. Diana wrapped an arm around her friend’s waist. “What we need is some coffee and a couple of chocolate bars I have stashed here in my shoulder bag. We are going to gorge ourselves and plot revenge on that two-faced, two-timing, slimy son of a slug.”

Gail wiped her eyes. “What kind of revenge?”

“For starters, bright and early tomorrow morning you’re going to march into his office, tell him you’re pregnant, you’ve decided to have the baby, and then enjoy watching him fall out of his chair.”

Gail’s lips lifted a fraction as she mulled over the image. “We did forget to use protection once last month. He might fall for it.”

“Make sure you leave before he can ask any questions
and don’t answer any of his calls,” Diana cautioned. “Let him sweat blood for a few weeks. When you finally allow him to corner you, casually tell him not to worry. It’s someone else’s.”

“He’ll flip,” Gail said, her face suddenly alight with anticipation. “The two-timing bastard has a jealous streak a mile wide. What next?”

Good. Gail was getting into the spirit of things. She’d taken a first step on the long road to mending a broken heart. Good thing Diana was re-familiarizing herself with the journey. A sinking feeling told her she’d be taking those steps soon herself.

She led the way to the door. “There are so many options it boggles the mind. Let’s go get that coffee to go with our chocolate. My best plotting always comes after the proper brain stimulation. What do you want to do about the baby now?”

“You think I’d force an innocent child into a relationship with a piece of slime that has the gall to call itself a man? No way I’m having a baby.”

For her friend’s sake, Diana was relieved. Motherhood was not something to be entered into in grief or anger or any emotion—save love.

“T
HIS IS
J
UDGE
W
EATON
. If you want to talk to me before the trial, it will have to be now.”

Diana had called Judge Weaton twice at her office after she’d promised an interview on the news. Each time Diana had left both her office and home numbers. But she never expected a call at her home at midnight.

“Did you hear me, Ms. Mason?”

“Yes, Your Honor. But it’s late and—”

“I will be at Clare’s all-night Coffee Shop across from the courthouse in forty-five minutes. Your next opportunity to ask me questions will be in court.”

Dial tone blared in Diana’s ear. This was how Barbara Weaton was going to satisfy her promise. Diana should have guessed after the way Lyle and Audrey had acted. There was no way she could get a court reporter this late. She bit back her irritation as she tore off her nightgown and jumped out of bed.

Racing to the closet for some clothes, she punched in Jack’s home number. When his deep voice answered after the first ring, relief streamed through her. He listened to her hurried explanation and plan, and without a moment’s hesitation said he’d arrange it.

As she tossed the cordless phone onto a chair and reached for her slacks, Diana tried to count her blessings.
He’s a first-rate private investigator and a hell of a lover. What more could you ask?

She could think of a few things.

J
UDGE
B
ARBARA
W
EATON WAS
already seated in a front booth when Diana arrived. She beckoned Diana to take the seat opposite where a cup of coffee waited.

When Diana attended law school, Barbara Weaton was already a rising star in jurisprudence, a major contributor to law journals, a woman to be admired. Appearing in her court had not diminished Diana’s respect. But as she sat across from the judge now, Diana could feel her scalp tightening. Something wasn’t right.

Barbara stirred sugar into her coffee, took a sip, made a face. “This is dreadful.”

Diana moved her cup away, thankful for the excuse. She couldn’t drink coffee this late at night if she wanted to sleep. Pulling a pad and pen out of her purse, she said, “Shall we begin?”

“I didn’t see Connie Pearce kill my son as you very well know. I’m not answering any personal questions about myself or my family. Let’s stop playing this stupid game and deal with each other as two intelligent women of the law should.”

Diana flipped her pad shut and shoved both it and the pen back in her purse. “Why did you bring me here, Judge Weaton?”

“Plead your client guilty, and I’ll get Staker to reduce the charge to second-degree. William Gimbrere will give her the minimum sentence. My guarantee.”

Diana studied the woman before her, trying to read what thoughts were going on behind those keen eyes.

“Why would you do that?”

“Last year I had lost my child and husband. I wanted revenge.” She paused, looked down at the cup in her hand. “Now, Ms. Mason, all I want is to put that dreadful day behind me and my family so we can get on with our lives.”

Diana knew Judge Weaton was waiting for an answer. Her body was telling her to be careful about what answer she gave.

“As a mother, my heart goes out to you for your loss,” Diana began. “As Connie Pearce’s attorney, I assure you that I will discuss with her any offer the prosecution makes.”

“I heard she was talking now.”

The muscles tightened all the way down Diana’s back. Who had told Barbara Weaton that? Had Judge Gimbrere passed on the information after hearing it from Ronald Kozen?

“Did she say she was…sorry?”

“Judge Weaton, you know I cannot discuss my client’s privileged conversations with you.”

“A judge isn’t sitting across from you now, Ms. Mason. You’re looking at a grieving mother who has had enough pain.”

And, Diana reminded herself, a woman politically in bed with the prosecutor on the case.

“I’m prepared to forgive her,” Judge Weaton said. “But when she makes her allocution to the court, she has to be sorry. If you truly understand my loss as a mother, then you will understand this as well.”

What Diana understood was that this conversation was totally inappropriate. Barbara Weaton had no business using her position or her personal relationship with Staker and Judge Gimbrere to fish for information or attempt to influence the outcome of this case.

That she was doing both made Diana more than uneasy. It made her suspicious.

“D
ID YOU HEAR EVERYTHING
?” Diana asked as she got into Jack’s car in the café’s parking lot after watching Barbara Weaton drive away.

“And got it all on videotape,” Jack assured as she
handed him back the miniature camera and mike he’d given her to wear. “What do you make of her offer to have the charge reduced?”

“Either she wants to put the death of her son behind her as she claims, or she doesn’t want Connie to go to trial because she’s afraid of what will be revealed about her son. Could be Staker has told her Bruce was involved in Amy’s hit-and-run.”

Jack nodded. “I sensed she was hoping you’d tell her something when she asked you what Connie said.”

“Barbara Weaton’s up for an appellate court appointment. She risked a lot telling me she could influence Connie’s case. Of course, she might be counting on the fact that if I said anything, it would be my word against hers.”

“You could get her in trouble if you sent this tape to the right people,” Jack guessed.

“I don’t want to get her in trouble,” Diana said. “The woman’s been through hell. I only want her to back off and let me do my job.”

“Did you suspect she’d pull something like this? Is that why you wanted your conversation on tape?”

“I only knew that a call this late at night was an attempt to fulfill her promise of meeting with me while at the same time circumventing my getting a formal deposition. Having a record of what she said seemed like a good idea.”

Diana grasped the car’s door handle. “Thanks so much for coming on such short notice, Jack. Tonight’s been both above and beyond the call of duty.”

“Tonight’s only begun, Diana.” He pulled her into his arms. Her instant of hesitation was barely perceptible before she returned his kiss with a fervor he had come to know and love.

When she pulled back a moment later, her voice was barely a whisper. “It’s late. I have to get home.”

He snapped her seat belt into place and started the engine. “My home.”

“Jack—”

“Diana, I had all of thirty minutes sleep last night. Yet it was the best thirty minutes I’ve had since meeting you. If you send me home alone to toss and turn, I’ll be nothing but a wreck tomorrow. You wouldn’t be so cruel.”

Her sigh was a half laugh. “Is that what I am to you? A thirty-minute sleeping pill?”

Jack shoved the gearshift into reverse and backed out of the parking space. “And my employer, don’t forget. Without enough sleep, I might screw up my continuing investigations on Connie’s behalf. Do you really want that on your conscience?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the smile on her lips. “This is extortion. And kidnapping.”

“Call it anything you like, counselor,” Jack said as he gunned the engine and laid rubber out of the parking lot. “Just don’t start screaming until you’re in my bed and I’m giving you something really great to scream about.”

“T
HAT’S THE DEAL
, Mason. If you’re smart, you’ll tell your client to take it.”

Diana had come to Staker’s office as requested because he said they had important information to discuss about the Pearce case. Two days had passed since her meeting with Judge Weaton. Now, as Judge Weaton had predicted, Staker was offering a reduction of the charge to murder two if Connie pled guilty.

“Have you learned anything new about the Pearce case that has resulted in this offer?” Diana asked.

Staker scowled at her. “You’ve gotten everything the law requires I give you, Mason.”

Diana doubted that. The sheriff had had plenty of time
to tell Staker about Jared’s investigation into Amy’s hit-and-run.

“You haven’t added anything new to the evidence against my client in ten months,” Diana said. “Something has to have changed your mind.”

Staker came forward in his chair. “I’ve got your client dead to rights. If you want her to go to trial and get life, that’s fine with me. You have twenty-four hours to decide.”

Hungry anticipation shone on Staker’s face. And that’s when Diana knew. He didn’t want to offer Connie this deal. What’s more, he was hoping she’d turn it down.

“S
TAKER DOESN’T KNOW
about Bruce being involved in Amy’s death,” Diana began. “That can only mean—”

“Jared didn’t tell the sheriff what he found,” Jack finished for her.

She’d driven from Staker’s office directly to Jack’s to tell him the news. The revelation brought Jack a sharp stab of remorse for what he had said to his brother the last time they talked. No wonder his twin had been a no-show at Sunday dinners since and had not answered his calls.

“Damn it,” Jack said as he slammed his hand on his desktop.

“You’re more upset at him now for jeopardizing his career to help you than you were when you thought he was going to follow the rules.”

“He’s an idiot,” Jack said with heat.

“A very nice idiot. I’d like to meet him sometime.”

Her look was tender with understanding. Jack’s irritation at himself and his twin faded as he folded her into his arms and kissed the smile on her lips.

“I was about to call you and whisper all the latest case secrets into your sexy ears. But your dropping by is so much better. Give me a moment to lock the door.”

She held his arm, restraining him. “Jack, please. There’s so much to discuss. Trying to concentrate when you’re in the same room is enough of a challenge.”

He was inordinately happy to hear it.

A second later she had slipped out of his arms and put the length of the desk between them. The discovery that she had more discipline than he did wasn’t an agreeable one.

“I’m certain Judge Weaton convinced Staker to make that offer today,” Diana said after a moment. “If she knows about Bruce’s involvement in Amy’s death, Staker didn’t tell her. Someone else did. Or she’s known all along.”

Jack considered the implications as he rested against the edge of the desk. “You think that’s the real reason she doesn’t want the case to go to trial?”

“Except, logically, if she were trying to hide her son’s crime and her involvement in covering up that crime, why has she waited so long to get the case settled out of court?”

“Maybe Judge Weaton tried to convince Staker to settle earlier but he balked until she supported him politically.”

“She went public with her support five months ago,” Diana said. “Earl Payman would have gladly pushed Connie into pleading to second-degree if Staker had offered the deal then. No, this change of heart has come up recently.”

“Nothing was being done in Connie’s defense until you got the case. She might have assumed her son’s involvement in Amy’s death would never come out. Now she could be worried it might. By the way, I got that list of people at Staker’s political dinner. You have the proof you need to excuse that prospective juror who attended. And I also tracked down the Duesenberg.”

Her smile was full of relief. “Jack, that’s great. How?”

“By putting an offer on Ebay to pay twice its worth to anyone willing to sell one. A private car collector in Tacoma e-mailed me this morning. I’ve talked with him by phone. He told me he bought the car from an Evelyn Farrell nearly five years ago.”

“Farrell?” Diana voice repeated, rising an octave. “Farrell’s Originals is the jewelry business that Audrey Weaton co-owns with her mother.”

Jack nodded. “Evelyn Farrell is Audrey’s mother. The Duesenberg was registered to her at the time of Amy’s death, which is why I know the car has to be the right one. Along with the fact that Audrey
Farrell
was issued a moving violation on the day of Amy’s death.”

Jack took the record off his desk and handed it to Diana.

As she read the contents, she shook her head, her tone reflecting a disappointment clearly directed at herself. “Audrey still uses her maiden name on her driver’s license because she went into business under that name. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you’re the brilliant, beautiful attorney with every nuance of the law at her fingertips, and I’m the hardboiled, albeit tender, dig-out-the-clues private eye.”

She flashed him a grin.

“The deputy writing up the report labeled the offense as driving while intalksicated,” Jack said. “That’s a new one on me.”

“Having accidents while using a cell phone, whether hand-held or hands-free, is becoming more common,” Diana said. “Guess it was simply a matter of time before a new term emerged. Except we both know that Audrey lied. She wasn’t the one driving that day. Did the new owner of the Duesenberg mention if it arrived with a few dents?”

“Quite a few. Unfortunately, he had them repaired. But he has pictures of the before and after, which might help.
Shall we go see Audrey Weaton and find out what she has to say?”

Diana was already halfway to the door. “Do you have that hidden camera and microphone handy?”

“I have every recording and listening device you can imagine—and a lot you probably can’t. Even one that fits in a belly button if that gives you any ideas.”

She chuckled. “I think the one that passes as a broach will be all I need today, thanks.”

T
HEY TRACKED
A
UDREY
Weaton to a store at the mall where she was meeting with the proprietor who carried several pieces of her jewelry. While Jack stayed in the car to monitor the conversation, Diana intercepted Audrey when she emerged from the store, carrying a jeweler’s sample case.

“Audrey, do you have a minute to talk?”

The woman was startled to see Diana, but didn’t appear alarmed. “Well, yes, I guess. What about?”

“A few loose ends. Come on, I’ll buy you a soft drink.”