The Associate (27 page)

“But the studies failed to show a causal connection between Insufort and the birth defects,” Kate said.

“Exactly. And Flynn figured out that it was only a coincidence that the plaintiffs were taking Insufort and their children had birth defects. That’s when he decided that he had to manufacture evidence.”

“I see a problem,” Kate said. “Flynn would have to put on admissible evidence to prove Insufort causes birth defects. If the study is phony it would be torn apart by Geller’s experts at trial.”

“The operative words here are ‘at trial,’ ” Daniel said. “That’s where evidence is put to the test and a fraud can be exposed. But what happened when Kaidanov’s lab was destroyed? The media jumped to the conclusion that Geller was covering up problems with Insufort. That’s what we believed, and it’s what a jury might believe. Now someone has murdered Kaidanov and Geller Pharmaceuticals has the obvious motive. With Kaidanov dead and the lab destroyed, Geller can’t refute his study results. They can claim they’re phony, but they can’t prove it. There’s going to be tremendous pressure on Geller to settle rather than run the risk of a catastrophic jury verdict.”

“You’re right,” Kate said. “If the case settles, no one gets to show whether or not Insufort is safe.”

“And Aaron Flynn wins a huge attorney fee instead of losing millions of dollars in costs.”

Kate hesitated. “If Flynn is behind Kaidanov’s hoax, why did he try to hide the results of the study by erasing it from the hard drive on Kaidanov’s computer? Wouldn’t Flynn want us to find the study?”

The question stumped Daniel for a moment. Then he brightened.

“When I broke into Kaidanov’s house it looked like a hurricane had swept through it, but there was one thing in that house that was untouched and sitting exactly where it was supposed to be.”

“The computer!”

“Whoever trashed Kaidanov’s house left his computer alone so I couldn’t help but notice it in the wreckage. He couldn’t have done more to draw my attention to it if he painted it red and stuck sequins on it.”

“You’re right. They wanted us to think that there had been an unsuccessful attempt by Geller’s people to erase the file, but a pro would have left no trace on the hard drive. It was a snap for me to recover the study.”

“There’s something else, Kate. Think about this. Flynn finding Kaidanov’s letter in the documents Geller produced was like buying a winning lottery ticket. But that’s not the only time that Flynn’s gotten lucky. The eyewitness in my murder case just happens to be April Fairweather, the defendant in another one of his cases. Then a guardian angel sends my lawyer a videotape that enables her to destroy Fairweather so badly that the insurance company Flynn is suing will have to settle. Bingo, Flynn collects another big attorney fee.”

“That is quite a string of good luck,” Kate mused.

“What if Flynn is making his own luck? I talked with Joe Molinari about my case when we ran. He wondered if Flynn’s got a mole at Reed, Briggs who stole the tape and put the Kaidanov letter into the discovery.”

“Did he say who he thought it was?”

“Brock Newbauer or Susan Webster. Both of them are involved with the Insufort and the Fairweather cases.”

Kate was quiet for a moment. When she spoke Daniel could tell that she was upset.

“You might be onto something. About a year ago Brock Newbauer settled a lawsuit because Aaron Flynn found a witness no one outside our office was supposed to know about. The way I remember it, aside from the lawyers, only our client was supposed to know that this guy existed. A lot of people in the firm were upset when they received Flynn’s witness list. There were rumors that someone at Reed, Briggs tipped off Flynn, but they never came to anything. The next time you talk to Joe Molinari ask him about the Romanoff case. He was working on it with Newbauer. It was shortly after you started at the firm.”

Kate thought for a moment before making a decision.

“I think our best chance of clearing you is to help the police find the person who killed Briggs and Kaidanov. I’m going to show Billie the bugs. We can tell her about Burt Randall. She’ll question him and find out who told him to install them. I’ll tell Billie about Flynn’s connection to Gene Arnold. We’ll nail him.”

When Kate walked into the Taco Bell, Billie Brewster was working on a burrito in a back booth. Kate bought a cup of black coffee and slid in across from her.

“What, no password? I thought this was a top-secret meeting.”

Kate smiled. “I’m here to talk about Kaidanov’s murder.”

“And I thought you wanted some fashion tips.” Billie took a bite of her burrito. “I assume there’s going to be a little quid pro quo here.”

Kate nodded.

“A neighbor who lives near that ravine heard the shots and looked out her window. She saw someone run out of the woods a little before you and Daniel came out, but it was too dark for her to give any kind of ID. She also saw a car drive off without lights, but can’t tell us the make or color. That’s all we’ve got.”

“I think you should take a hard look at Aaron Flynn and Burt Randall, Flynn’s investigator.”

“This on the up-and-up?”

Kate nodded.

“Aaron Flynn has lots of important friends,” Billie said.

Kate leaned across the table. Her voice and her stare were intense.

“Kaidanov phoned Daniel’s apartment to set up the meeting at the graveyard. Daniel didn’t tell anyone except me that he was meeting Kaidanov there at ten, but the killer knew. The day before the call, Daniel saw Burt Randall leaving his building. I had Dan’s apartment swept for bugs and my technician found these.”

Kate placed the evidence bags containing the bugs on the table. Billie whistled softly.

“Randall must have planted them and whoever listened to Daniel’s calls knew that Kaidanov would be at Rest of Angels at ten o’clock.”

The detective picked up evidence bags and studied the listening devices.

“Okay, you’ve got me thinking about Randall,” she said. “Why Flynn?”

Kate told Billie everything she had learned in Arizona about the Alvarez and Arnold kidnappings.

“I’m certain that Gene Arnold was killed because Flynn was afraid that he would expose his connection to the Arizona kidnappings.”

“Was Flynn ever a suspect in the Alvarez or Arnold murders?”

“Not that I know. But I called your friend at the Benson Hotel. He went over Arnold’s phone records. Gene Arnold called Aaron Flynn’s office from his room.”

“Why would a hotshot lawyer like Aaron Flynn be killing people and setting monkeys on fire?” Brewster asked.

Kate told the homicide detective how much money Flynn would make if he won the Insufort litigation and how much it would cost him if he lost it.

“You think Flynn or Randall killed Arthur Briggs?” Billie asked.

“I’m certain of it. Kaidanov was going to tell Briggs that the study was a hoax. The study was all Flynn had going for him. He had to kill Kaidanov and anyone he talked to.”

Billie took a bite of her burrito and mulled over all she’d just learned.

“I think I’ll pay a visit to Mr. Flynn,” she said.

Zeke Forbus was at his desk in the Justice Center writing a report when his intercom buzzed.

“I’ve got a caller on line two for a detective who’s working on the Ames investigation,” the receptionist said.

“Though he works from sun to sun, a detective’s work is never done.” Forbus sighed. The receptionist laughed. “I’ll take it, Millie.”

“Detectives,” Forbus said as soon as he punched line two.

“Ask Arthur Briggs’s secretary what Daniel Ames said when he called her the afternoon her boss was murdered,” a muffled voice said. Then the line went dead.

Zeke Forbus flashed his badge and told the receptionist at Reed, Briggs that he wanted to talk to Renee Gilchrist. Then he took a seat and leafed through a magazine while he waited for Renee to appear. As soon as she walked into the reception area, Forbus remembered her. She was tall and sleek and easily distracted him from the article he had been reading.

“Ms. Gilchrist?” Forbus said.

When she nodded Forbus showed Renee his identification. Renee looked nervous.

“I’m one of the detectives investigating the murder of Arthur Briggs. We spoke right after your boss was killed.”

“Oh, yes. I remember.”

“Is there someplace quiet where we can talk now?”

“There’s a room down the hall that’s not being used.”

“That’ll do.”

“What’s this about?”

Forbus smiled. “Why don’t we get settled first.”

As soon as they were inside, Forbus shut the door and motioned Renee into a seat. The room was small and the air close. Forbus moved slowly to the table and took his seat, staring at Renee the whole time and not saying a word. The detective enjoyed using his size to advantage in a situation like this and he felt a surge of pleasure when Renee lowered her eyes. He had intentionally scooted his chair close to her so their knees were almost touching.

“After we talked the first time I wrote a report.”

Forbus pulled three folded sheets of paper out of his inside jacket pocket and pushed them across the table. Renee looked at the report nervously but did not reach for it.

“Read it,” Forbus ordered.

Renee hesitated, then started turning the pages. When she finished she looked at the detective expectantly.

“Anything missing?” he asked.

“Missing?”

“Yeah. Is there anything that you should have told me that’s not in there?”

Renee looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“I got a call from someone who thinks you’re concealing information in this investigation.”

Renee’s shoulders hunched a little and she looked down at the table.

“Ms. Gilchrist, how did you and Daniel Ames get along?”

“Okay. Fine.”

“Care to elaborate.”

“He . . . We worked together.”

“Do you like him?”

The question seemed to startle Renee. “Like him?” she repeated. “Well, I mean, he’s a nice guy, sure.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, Ms. Gilchrist. You two ever date?”

“No! He did a lot of work with Mr. Briggs. I just saw him in the office.”

“So you’d have no reason to cover for him, to conceal evidence that would prove he killed your boss?”

“Certainly not,” she answered, but there was a tremor in her voice.

Forbus smiled. He leaned back and studied Renee. She shifted on her chair.

“Then I suppose you have a good reason for not telling me about the phone call you got from Ames on the day your boss was killed?”

Renee hesitated.

“Did he call you, Renee?” Forbus demanded, putting emphasis on the secretary’s first name. “Do you understand that it’s a felony to obstruct a police investigation?”

Renee’s eyes dropped and she fidgeted in her seat.

“I’m gonna ask you once more: Did you get a call from Daniel Ames on the day Arthur Briggs was killed?”

“Yes,” Renee answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Good, Renee. You just took the first step toward staying out of jail. Step two is to tell me what Ames said.”

When Billie Brewster entered Aaron Flynn’s suite of offices, she was as impressed by the lobby as Daniel had been, but Brewster had no trouble separating her admiration for the things someone owned from her opinion of the person who owned them. Flynn’s office was as impressive as the lobby. It was paneled in mahogany and decorated with fine art and tributes to Flynn’s courtroom triumphs. When Flynn’s secretary brought the detective to meet him, he rounded his polished oak desk and crossed the Persian rug that covered his hardwood floors.

“Sit down, Detective Brewster,” he said, flashing a warm smile and giving Billie’s hand a firm shake. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“I’m okay, thanks,” Billie answered as she settled onto a comfortable couch that sat against one wall. Flynn sat opposite her, completely at ease.

“How can I help you?” he asked.

“Have you heard about the shooting at Rest of Angels Cemetery last night?”

The lawyer’s smile disappeared. “It was in the morning paper.” Flynn shook his head sadly. “Dr. Kaidanov’s death was a tragic loss.”

“You knew him?”

“No, but I was hoping that he would be the key witness for several clients of mine who have given birth to babies with defects we believe were caused by Insufort, a Geller Pharmaceutical product. Dr. Kaidanov authored a study that showed that the product was harmful. He disappeared before I could question him about his work.”

“Did you try to find Dr. Kaidanov?”

“I’ve had my investigators trying to locate him since I learned about the study.”

“Is Burt Randall one of the people you were using?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Did you instruct Mr. Randall to put a tap on Daniel Ames’s phone?”

“A tap! Of course not.”

“Mr. Flynn, I’ve received information that your investigator did exactly that, which we both know is quite illegal.”

“Of course I know that. That’s why I would never do such a thing.” Flynn paused. “Ames. Isn’t he the young man charged with killing Arthur Briggs?”

Billie nodded.

“I’m completely lost, Detective. What makes you think that Burt would do something like that? If you’re going to make serious accusations against one of my employees, I have a right to know the basis for them.”

“I’m sorry, but this comes from a confidential source. You understand confidentiality, being a lawyer and all,” Brewster said, feigning a friendly smile.

“Well, I don’t know what to say. This is very unsettling.”

“Is Mr. Randall here? I’d like to speak to him.”

“I don’t believe he came in today.”

“Can you give me his home address and phone number?”

“I’d have to ask Mr. Randall for his permission, first. Why don’t I arrange to have you meet him here, tomorrow?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I need to see him today.”

“Then I can’t help you.”