Authors: J. F. Gonzalez
"You okay, Billy?"
William started, looking at Frank. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"Looked like you were letting your mind wander. I
know this looks bad, but we're gonna,nail these bastards.
Don't worry about it. I've been talking to one of the lead
detectives on the case and-"
William spit it out. "I know the FBI hasn't questioned
you yet, Flank, but I'm guessing they will soon because
of your affiliation with Golgotha. That you know one of
the board members, that he gave you a key to his place. I
know all about it.'
Frank stopped talking, mouth gaping open in shock.
He looked stunned.
William pressed on, feeling inspired. "Why didn't you
come to me with this information before? When we
found out?"
"When you found out?" Frank asked. "What do you
mean, when you found out? How was I supposed to
know that a man I'm friends with would be linked to a crime scene that my daughter-in-law was a victim of? My
God, Billy! If I had known-"
"You would have told the authorities? If so, why didn't
you?" William could feel himself getting on a roll now. He
felt very much the way he did when he was in court
cross-examining a witness. "You would have found out
about the Golgotha cabin the same time Brad and I did,
which was shortly after the FBI took Lisa up to Big Bear
and she identified the place. I got her and Brad out of
Orange County that evening, and here it's been over two
days and you haven't said a word about it."
"Are you accusing me of setting this up? Is that what
you're getting at?"
William stared at Frank. "I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just saying that the circumstantial evidence
is-"
"What? Overwhelming?" A red flush crept up Rank's
neck. He looked pissed off, but there was something
about his eyes that gave off a hint of panic. Was he panicked because he had been found out or because he was
scared that he was being framed?
"Yes. It's overwhelming."
"Bullshit!"
"Rank, listen to me" Flank had stood up and was
walking back toward the waiting room. William caught
up with him, their coffee cups left behind on the snack
room table. "Just listen to me. If you aren't involved, fine.
But the police are already nosing around. If they catch
this Tim Murray guy and he corroborates any of the evidence they've found, there could be some serious implications-"
Frank stopped, whirled around so that he was facing
William. "You are accusing me of arranging this, aren't
you? You think I had something to do with it! You think /
set up the murder of my daughter-in-law, that I hired a snuff pornographer to capture her rape and murder on
videotape for whatever reason you've dreamed up in that
sick little mind of yours. And you're coming to this conclusion because in Lisa's confusion and fear she misidentified the place she was taken to as the Golgotha cabin.
That's it, right?-
"The FBI is still running tests on the evidence they
found at that cabin," William said, "and you know it. If
they don't find anything, great, but if they do, it might be
wise for you to start thinking now about retaining the services of-"
"Of a lawyer. Right, Billy. I take it you're going to recommend your services to me, huh?"
He wasn't listening. William could see that Frank was
furious. His face was beet red; his eyes were blazing pits
of anger. He could feel the tension in the air, thick as butter. "You and I know that you were nowhere near that
cabin that weekend," William hissed, meeting Frank's
gaze. "1 saw you that weekend, Flank. I saw how Lisa's
disappearance affected you. I saw how worried you
were, and how worried you are now even though she's
been found. I know you're not anywhere capable of-"
"77zen why are you accusing me of setting this up?"
Frank shouted.
William started, the loudness of Frank's voice ringing
in his ears. He looked around, saw a nurse coming
down the hallway glance at them with a frown. William
turned back to Flank, his heart pounding. "I'm not accusing you of anything! I'm just saying that the evidence
that points to you is---"
. "Overwhelming. There we go again!" Frank threw his
hands up in the air, and there was something about hisdemeanor now that William would look back on later as
odd. For despite Frank's obvious anger, William detected
a hint of genuine fear coming off the man. It was a fear that said I've been caught. William had seen this behavior
thousands of times in his career. He'd defended thousands of people in various criminal cases, and most of
them were guilty-he'd known that going in. Yet he never
coerced his clients into revealing their guilt or innocence; his job was to defend his clients, to ensure them a
fair trial as outlined in the U.S. Constitution. And even
though William had never outright asked his clients if
they had committed the crime in question or not, they always volunteered their plea anyway: I didn't do it! It
wasn't me! And they always made that plea with the same
look and telltale body language signs that told William
they were lying. Frank Miller's speech, the way he reacted
to everything, told him all he needed to know. And with
that epiphany came a sudden burst of revulsion.
William stared at Frank, mouth gaping open in horror,
which he tried to rein in. "Oh my God," he said.
"What?" Frank barked.
As quickly as the feeling came William shook it off,
hoping Frank didn't catch it. He didn't want Frank to
know that he had gotten a sudden revelation.
That he was looking into the eyes of a man who was
not only afraid but was lying.
He was lying to save his skin.
William stood straight, injecting a calm purpose in his
voice and mannerism. "I'm sorry if I've offended you," he
said, forging ahead with a new plan. "I just thought I
would let you know and be honest about it. I don't want
the police to see you as a suspect, Frank. But if you don't
know what you're up against, how are you going to defend yourself if they come after you?"
That question spiked through the armor Frank had
erected around himself. For a moment, the Teflon that
Frank Miller wore slipped down briefly and William saw a
scared, confused man standing in front of him. A scared, confused man who was afraid of being exposed for the
monster he was.
Frank looked at him, the fear a faint hint in his eyes,
and then it was quickly gone, the mask slipping back
comfortably into place. "'T'hey won't come after me because you won't encourage them anymore, will you?"
"I'm not encouraging anybody, Frank, I'm trying to
help your son and Lisa!"
Frank's mouth was open to say something, and he
stopped. He nodded, his shoulders slumped slightly, as if
he had seen his fate and was accepting it. "You're right,"
he said. For the first time, he looked embarrassed. "I'm
sorry I made a scene. I know you're just trying to help. I
just-"
William treaded carefully, choosing his words with precision. "'[hat's all I'm trying to do. Help your family. All
I've done is help the police and the detectives with certain information I've been able to uncover. They're already investigating the underground S&M market, trying
to get people to talk. I know they've talked to one guy already who they're considering a suspect."
Frank's head snapped up. 'They do? Who?"
"A guy named Rick Shectman." William watched
closely for any sign of recognition on Flank's face; if Frank
knew Shectman, he didn't show it. "He's got a record for
peddling child smut, and it's rumored he'll film anything if
the money is there. Including snuff films."
"Really." Frank's tone of voice was tinged with an inflection that suggested he had prior knowledge of Rick
Shectman.
"Yeah," William said, trying to keep Rank calm. "And of
course they're still working on identifying the guys who
actually kidnapped Lisa. My guess is that they'll find
them soon. Once Lisa comes out of surgery, she'll be talking. Your son's already given a good description of the woman who killed John and Titan, and we have witnesses that saw her with a guy that matched rim Murray.
The pieces are failing into place. I'm sure Lisa will be
able to tell us more by tomorrow. We're going to get these
guys. You can trust me on this.'
Frank smiled, laid his hand on William's shoulder, his
grip firm. "I know you will, buddy. That's why you're one
of the best damn lawyers I know. Even if you do defend
scum." He smiled.
William smiled back. As genuine as he wanted to believe Flank's smile and demeanor were, that sixth sense
was telling him that there was something lurking beneath
the surface. Something that had a dark soul and dark desires. "It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it"
Frank laughed.
They began walking down the hall toward the waiting
room. Frank put his arm around William's shoulders. "Listen, I'm sorry about the way I reacted back there. I don't
know what got over me. I guess ... all the stress is just
getting to me."
"It's okay," William said.
The waiting room was still another hundred yards away.
Frank stopped and motioned toward the men's room
door ahead of them, on the right. "Listen, why don't you
go back to the waiting room and see what's up. I gotta
pee and wash up. All that yelling made me sweat." He
grinned. William laughed. Sweat dotted Flank's brow and
was shining in his hair. He hadn't noticed how badly
Flank had sweated; it was literally beading on him like
water on a freshly waxed car. Dark wet patches had appeared along the underarms of his shirt.
Another sign of guilt? William nodded. "Yeah, sure,
Frank. Take your time. And listen, I'm sorry if I came
across as being ... well, accusatory. I didn't mean it"
They shook hands, Flank's gaze meeting Williams. Flank's smile was pensive. "I know you didn't." Then he
turned and headed to the men's room.
William walked to the waiting room, his heart racing.
He felt the flesh along the back of his neck ripple in
gooseflesh. A shudder of cold fear enveloped his system.
Something about Frank's demeanor was really bothering
him. He had defended a lot of bad people in his life:
gang members who didn't care that they had inadvertently blown the head off a three-year-old while they had
been aiming at a rival; child molesters who feigned repentance but went right back out again and committed
other heinous acts upon children when they were released from prison; rapists who took delight in terrifying
and abusing their victims. It was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it. Those accused of crimes,had the right
to defend themselves in a court of law-anybody who
had cruised through a course in U.S. government knew
that. William had defended his share of clients who he
knew in his heart were innocent of the charges brought
against them. It was this motivating factor for being involved in criminal defense-to protect and defend the
wrongly accused. Yes, there were times when he had to
defend scum; it was part of the territory. But of all the
people he had defended that he had the feeling were
guilty of the crimes in which they had been charged,
none had ever creeped him out as much as Frank Miller
just had. Looking into Frank's eyes was like looking into
the face of evil itself. He thought he had known Frank
Miller; he had been proven wrong.
Halfway back to the waiting room, William got the sudden urge to head to the men's room. He didn't have to relieve himself; instead, he had the strong feeling that
something was going to happen, that Frank was going to
do something and that he had to somehow stop him.
William raced back down the hall and entered the men's room, and at first what he saw was so surprising his
first reaction was to gasp in surprise. He felt his breath
freeze as Frank Miller, who was standing with his back to
the lone urinal with a gun to his head, looked up at
William's sudden intrusion and, seeing him, took the gun
away from his head and pointed it at William.
"Flank, no!"William cried, barely aware of the door to
the restroom dosing behind him. The look on Flank
Miller's face before he pointed the gun at him was one of
surprise and despair. He was breathing heavily, his arms
trembling as he held the gun on William.
"Get out!" Frank said, his eyes wide and scared. "Go on,
get out, this has nothing to do with you!"
it has everything to do with me," William said, his
mind kicking into overdrive. "Please put down the gun..
Let's talk about this."
"What is there to talk about? You've already spelled it
out for me. You think I had something to do with Lisa's
kidnapping and attempted murder. You think I set this up
based on all your circumstantial evidence"
'That's not true, Frank, and you know it. I only want to
help you"
"You've already helped me by telling me all I need to
know, okay? I've learned enough to know I'm fucked"
William could tell that Frank was just as nervous as he
was. When he'd entered the bathroom and saw Frank
pointing the gun at his head, he could tell that Frank was
trying to muster the nerve to pull the trigger. If he was that
reluctant to pull the trigger on himself, maybe he could
be talked into putting the weapon down. "I can help you,"
he said, holding up his hands. "I know it looks bad and
all that stuff I said ... that might not even happen. I just
wanted you to be aware in case it did happen and-"
"Oh, it's going to happen, I can guarantee that," Frank
said. He was sweating profusely. His eyes were wide and panicked. "'They're going to find out, and you aren't going
to understand when that happens. I don't want to be
around when it happens, because I don't want to see the
look on Joan's face when she finds out. . ."
When she finds out what, Flank?"
Frank tightened his grip on the gun and leveled the
weapon at William, who raised his arms higher and
backed up. His back touched the bathroom door. If
somebody came in now, they'd bump into him and Frank
might squeeze off a shot in surprise. "Please put the gun
down, Frank. Let's talk about this."