The Nominee

by Alan P Woodruff

  Leslie suddenly sat up. “Paul! How did Paul get involved in something like this?”

  “He knew St. James from when they were both narcotics detectives in Miami. Apparently, they were friends.” White paused, thinking about what he was going to say. When St. James realized how much money could be made fixing cases, he let some of his friends in on the deal. Paul had also been a dirty cop, and St. James thought he could trust him. They all referred prospective clients to Barlow, and he arranged for bail through the guy in Fort Lauderdale.”

  Leslie shook her head. “It’s hard to believe that about Paul.”

  White made a bobbling nod of agreement. The difficulty of accepting the idea that someone he considered a friend could be involved in such an activity made him queasy. His deep feelings of betrayal were evident in his eyes. Leslie could see that he was having difficulty concentrating on what he was telling her. But she had been with White long enough to interpret his looks and knew that there was more to his story. Finally, she said, “What else is bothering you?”

  Without moving, White said, “Paul isn’t just involved. He’s in charge.”

  Leslie gasped and put a hand to her mouth as White continued. “Even though the operation on the east coast was being run by a committee, St. James still had the controlling vote. Barlow had been in charge of routine operations, like managing the money and arranging for local attorneys to cover bail hearings. But St. James must have started getting concerned about Barlow when his son began making demands for a piece of the money. There didn’t seem to be any urgency in dealing with Jackson, but St. James must have decided that something had to be done. Things were just getting too hot on the east coast to leave Barlow at the center of the operation, so St. James decided that the safest thing to do was move things out of the counties in the Southern District. That’s when he turned the day-to-day operation of the scheme over to Paul.”

  “So Paul Parker is the head of a… I don’t even know what to call it.”

  “Call it a crime syndicate. That’s all it is.”

  “Then Jackson…” Leslie suddenly stopped. There was a question there, but she didn’t seem to know what it was.

  “When Jackson started talking about a plea deal, Paul knew he had to do something. I think that’s when he decided that Jackson had to be eliminated. When he saw the opportunity to frame ‘Shepard’ for the killing, he had to act fast. He didn’t even bother consulting with anyone.”

  “Not even St. James?”

  “Especially St. James! St. James was too close to Barlow, and Paul didn’t want to put him in a compromising position. Besides, he knew how St. James felt about Graham Brochette, and he knew that St. James would be happy about anything that cast an embarrassing light on Brochette.”

  “Then that’s why Paul set a low bail for Jackson… so that Jackson could be released and then…” Leslie let her voice trail off.

  “‘Murdered’ is the word you’re looking for,” White said. “But he had a problem because, as soon as he was released, Jackson must have tried to run.”

  “Where was he going?”

  “He was probably headed for the Keys; but he was killed somewhere along route 41, Alligator Alley.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “The forensic evidence, some grass on his body, shows that Jackson was killed somewhere in the Everglades. But the only place that grass grows is in a part of the ’Glades that’s in Dade County.”

  “And how did he get there.”

  “I can’t be sure. He didn’t have a car. And he couldn’t have walked that far. So maybe he hitchhiked.”

  “Or maybe he was riding with his killer.” Horse said.

  “It’s a possibility.

  “I don’t understand,” Leslie said. “I thought his body was found in eastern Lee County.”

  “It was. Paul needed jurisdiction over the murder case so he must have had the killer bring Jackson’s body up here. Then he claimed to have received the tip that led to the discovery of the body.”

  “If Paul arranged for the killer to bring the body to Lee county, Paul knows who Jackson’s killer is.”

  Leslie slumped over the breakfast bar, seemingly unable to believe everything she was hearing. She remained silent while White took another sip of his Pepsi and thought about what he had discovered. Finally, Leslie spoke. Her voice was weak but full of concern. “What did Paul tell Barlow?”

  “He probably blamed Jackson’s murder on ‘Shepard,’ or maybe even Graham. He was killed with Graham’s gun, so they were both plausible suspects.”

  When Lyle Wilson started his own investigation of the east coast operation, he initially concentrated on Barlow’s past drug connections. Then it appears that drug dealers who were looking for deals started telling him about the new operation. Someone was squeezing dealers for ‘protection’ — pay me, and I’ll see to it that the police leave you alone. It seems that the protection racket was being run by the Cambodian, Cho Wok Lo. That wasn’t part of the Barlow/St. James operation, but the Cambodian was still working for Barlow. Naturally, the drug dealers and distributors thought Barlow was behind it. This was all discovered about the time St. James transferred control of the operation to Paul. The ‘clients’ in the drug networks were happy to go along with the change in control because they thought Barlow was squeezing them for higher fees.

  “Let me get this straight. Barlow was running the main operation, and he was demanding higher fees from the dealers and drug lords to get people out of jail. But at the same time, the Cambodian was running a protection racket to keep dealers from being arrested in the first place.”

  “Actually, it was Paul who started demanding more from the dealers and drug lords. And that was something he was only doing in Lee County — where he had complete control over drug enforcement policy.”

  “But he must have had help. I’m sure Paul didn’t do something like that personally.”

  “You’re right. He had the Cambodian.”

  “The Cambodian!”

  “Yes. The Cambodian got mixed up with the cocaine dealers through the Barlow/St. James network. With Paul as his guardian angel, Lee County became his exclusive territory. He and Paul could do virtually anything they wanted.”

  “But how did the Columbian get involved in cocaine trafficking.”

  “As Barlow began dealing with people higher up in the drug networks — smugglers and distributors — the Cambodian put his talents to work as a cocaine distributor. He was ruthless with the competition, and it wasn’t long before he was in charge of a few parts of the smuggling operations. Jackson was still in the Keys, and he was also in constant need of money. The Cambodian got him involved in picking up shipments of cocaine.” The Cambodian was dealing directly with the drug lords who were involved in the scheme Barlow and St. James had set up.

  “He was running his own operation on the side. He was collecting money from street-level dealers to avoid being arrested. He knew who the crooked cops were, so he bribed them to prevent them from arresting the dealers in the first place or for doing something else that a prisoner could capitalize on to get released.

  “Forget to read someone their Miranda rights. Fail to voucher the evidence properly. There are any number of things they could do to taint an arrest. Then they just had to make sure that the prisoner used one of the attornies in the organization to get them out.

  Running a protection racket in Lee County was one thing. Paul had enforcement authority, and he was getting a share of what the Cambodian collected. But when the Cambodian started to try his protection scheme on the east coast, without giving a share to the higher powers —

  “That’s what got the Cambodian killed.”

  “But what about Jackson. Who killed him?”

  “That’s the part that hurts the most.”

  Leslie waited.

  “When Graham was here for ‘Shepard’s probable cause hearing, Paul Parker must have arranged to have his gun stolen from his car. Using Gra
ham’s gun to kill Jackson seems to have been St. James’ idea. He hated the idea of Brochette getting his appointment with the Department of Justice. He was especially concerned because it would have given Brochette jurisdiction over corrupt practices in the federal courts and by elected officials. And he also wanted to get even with Graham for sending his brother to jail. Just the fact that he was a murder suspect would have forced the president to withdraw his nomination, or he would have done it himself.”

  “But why was Jackson killed?”

  “Jackson showed that he was ready to tell what he knew when he started to talk to Paul about a plea. No one knew how much he could tell the authorities. But they had to assume he was ready to disclose everything he knew about the Barlow/St. James scheme if it would keep him out of jail. His life expectancy was already limited.”

  “Then who actually killed Jackson.”

  “We may never know. Paul might have done it himself, or Paul gave the gun to the Cambodian, and he killed Jackson. With the Cambodian dead, Paul will at least be able to establish reasonable doubt if he is ever charged.

  “Did you ever suspect that Paul was involved in something like this?”

  “Not really. At least I didn’t want to. But I did have a nagging feeling that I was overlooking something that should have been obvious.”

  “Why?”

  “There were two things. The first was that the tips that led to the drug bust and to the discovery of Jackson’s body were both received by Paul. Those calls were both unusual, and I should have paid more attention to them.

  “Then there was the arrest of Shepard and Jackson. The police arrested them as soon as they got to the house in Matlacha. They already had an arrest warrant. But they didn’t find the drugs until after Shepard and Jackson had already been arrested. In hindsight, it should have been obvious. Someone had to know that the drugs would be found before the arrest warrant was issued. That should have made me suspect Paul. But I guess I just didn’t want to believe it.”

  Leslie sighed. After a minute she asked, “What about Graham’s nomination? Where does this leave him?”

  “According to Jack Lancaster, the only holdup on his confirmation was his apparent failure to report a child support obligation on his past financial disclosures. Now that the facts surrounding that are out his nomination should sail through.”

  “But I thought the Senate didn’t want to approve the creation of the position he was nominated for.”

  “It didn’t. But the results of the investigation he was conducting down here proved that it was a good plan.”

  Leslie hugged him. “Way to go,” she said. “He couldn’t have done it without you!”

  White smiled. “And I won’t let him forget it.”

  #

  White transferred the elk burgers to waiting buns and covered them with the sautéed onions and mushrooms and added a dollop of blue cheese and strips of bacon. “And now, my friends, dinner is served.”

  Leslie leaned over her plate and inhaled deeply. “It smells delicious.”

  Horse, who was already vigorously chewing his burger, raised a hand with an “OK” sign.

  Sherlock observed the events at the breakfast bar with a forlorn look. Leslie took pity on her and tossed her another piece of cheese.

  White sat on a stool on the side of the breakfast bar opposite Horse and Leslie. His arms rested on the bar surrounding his plate, almost as if he was guarding it. But he has an absent, faraway look.

  “What are you thinking?” Leslie asked.

  “I was just thinking about the case.”

  “We’ve talked about it for the past hour. What more is there to think about?”

  “I was just thinking about how it evolved. We started with a simple drug arrest and ended up with a case involving two murders and the exposure of a conspiracy between prosecutors and drug organizations throughout southeast Florida.”

  Leslie asked, “What do you think is going to happen now.”

  White shook his head and smiled. Then he laughed.

  Leslie adopted a puzzled expression and said. “What’s so funny?”

  “Irony of Ironies.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  White continued to laugh and struggled to speak. “Graham can’t let these crimes go unpunished!”

  “Of course, not. But what’s so funny about that.”

  “The only way they can get convictions is to get some of the clients of Barlow and the others to testify against them.”

  “I still don’t see what’s so funny.”

  Suddenly Horse understood what White found so funny and joined in his laughter.

  Leslie grew increasingly frustrated. “Will one of you please tell me what’s so funny.”

  “Graham…” Horse started before convulsing in laughter. “Graham is going to have to make deals with the bad guys to prove his political corruption cases.”

  “Ooooh. Now I get it,” Leslie said. “That sucks.”

  “It’s not that bad. Graham’s already negotiated deals with some of the minor players, and he’s filled in some of the gaps in what he knows from our investigation. But Congressman St. James, Lyle Wilson and a few state’s attorneys, including Paul Parker, will be prosecuted.

  “And that will be the end of it?”

  White nodded. “Officially, that will be the end of it as far as Graham is concerned. But I doubt it’s over.”

  Leslie cocked her head.

  “The bad guys have been squeezing a lot of the wrong people for a long time. They’re no longer in a position to be helpful, but they know enough to be liabilities.”

  “So they’re going to have accidents.”

  White shrugged. “Nothing would surprise me.”

  “And what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. Brochette has issued an arrest warrant for Paul and Paul is being given until tomorrow to turn himself in. After Brochette called Paul, Paul called me.”

  “That must have been an interesting call.”

  “He wanted me to represent him.”

  “You have to be kidding!”

  “Would I lie to you about something like that?”

  “No. I suppose not. What did you tell him?”

  “Paul knows a lot about drug dealers and corruption in the State’s Attorney’s offices and police departments on the east coast. I think he knows enough about dealers to make some kind of deal. I’m going to talk to him tomorrow.”

  Before White could continue, the telephone rang.

  “Lucius White,” he said.

  Leslie stood and headed toward the bar while listening to one side of the conversation.”

  “Yes. … When? … I’m sure you did.”

  Leslie knew from the sound of White’s voice that something was terribly wrong and hurried back to his side.

  “Well, thank you for calling. I’ll call back tomorrow.”

  White continued to hold the phone long after the caller had obviously hung up.

  Leslie’s hands covered her mouth. She knew what White was about to say.

  “Harry died an hour ago.”

  Leslie buried her face against White’s chest and began sobbing.

  37.

  Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Lynn Thomas with the evening news.

  In today’s headlines, State’s Attorney Paul Parker apparently committed suicide last night. His body was found by his housekeeper early this morning. A pistol which the Sheriff has confirmed fired the fatal shot was found next to his body. Ballistics tests prove that the gun used by Parker is the same weapon used in three other murders: a drug dealer whose body was found in Alva two weeks ago; an attorney from West Palm Beach whose body was found last week in a rest area off Interstate 95, and a third man whose body was found in Miami earlier this week. Anonymous sources in the sheriff’s office have told Channel 11 that there were no fingerprints on the gun.

  In other news, the Senate had confirmed Graham Brochette, U.S.
attorney for the Middle District of Florida to be Assistant Deputy U.S. Attorney General.

  White turned off the bedroom television, laid back on the pillow and looked vacantly at the ceiling.

  Leslie snuggled into the crook of his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. “I guess Paul couldn’t face going to jail,” she said.

  “I don’t think that’s it,” White said. His voice sounded distant, as if he was deep in thought.

  Leslie propped herself up on one elbow and studied White’s face. “You have what look,” she said. “What are you thinking?”

  For a minute, White did not speak.

  Leslie waited patiently.

  “There weren’t any fingerprints on the gun,” White said.

  “That’s what the newscaster said. What of it?”

  “How does someone commit suicide and not leave any fingerprints on the gun?

  THANK YOU READERS

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  THE WITNESS

  THE NEXT BOOK IN THE

  LUCIUS WHITE LEGAL THRILLER SERIES

  1.

  Lucius White’s clients were among the biggest targets of federal prosecutions, and he had been successful in defending them for more than a decade. The money no longer mattered; he was already wealthy. Now he was pursuing a personal vendetta against the government. He only accepted cases where the stakes were the highest and a win would be most embarrassing to the prosecutors. He knew what was driving him, just as he knew what it had done to his psyche. But it had been like this for so long that he no longer gave it any thought.