Uncommon Thief
Page 50
Chapter 50
Fred’s Last Hope
Maria went by Joel Roberts office early the next morning hoping to talk to him about Sam Stewart and how he thought his involvement in the robbery and subsequent death would affect the outcome of the trial. But that was only what she was going to tell him. The real purpose of the visit was to make sure he hadn’t given up. She’d gotten the feeling that he was only going through the motions now and didn’t believe Fred could win. That concerned her and she wanted to give him a pep talk because from her viewpoint it shouldn’t be that hard to sell reasonable doubt to the jury. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw his car in the parking lot.
As she stepped off the elevator Joel was just coming out of his suite. “Mr. Roberts. Hi.”
“Maria. Hi. What are you doing here?”
“I just wanted to talk with you a minute before the trial begun.”
“Well, I don’t have much time. You can talk while we walk to my car.”
“Okay,” she said as he locked the door. “So, finding Sam with some of the money should really bolster our case, right?”
“Maybe, but the amount of money is the problem. There is still so much of it missing,” he said as he started to walk toward the elevator.
“Well, Sam probably stashed it somewhere, don’t you think?”
“Sure, but I have no proof of that. It is pure speculation.”
The elevator door opened and they stepped in.
“But we know for sure now that at least two other people were involved in the robbery. Somebody at the bank must have been involved, an insider, right?”
“Again, that’s just speculation.”
“But it brings up reasonable doubt, doesn’t it?” she asked.
The elevator door opened and they stepped out onto the first floor.
“That’s what I will argue to the jury, but I don’t know if they will buy it.”
“Have you talked to Whitehead about it yet? What does he think?”
“I don’t know. He called me last night but there is no way I will be able to talk to him before the trial resumes at 10:00 a.m.”
“Really? Did the message say what he wanted to talk about?”
“No. It didn’t, which is annoying as hell. He called me after midnight.”
“Do you know where he hangs out in the morning?” Maria asked very curious and worried about the reason for Whitehead’s call.
“He’s usually in his office, but he may be avoiding me.”
“Hmm,” Maria mused. “We need to find him.”
Joel smiled. “What do you expect me to do?”
“Nothing. I’ll find him and let you know why he called.”
Joel shook his head. “Okay. Be my guest. Good luck.”
Maria rushed to her car wondering how she would find a U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles who didn’t want to be found. She thought about it and realized he could be anywhere. If he was killing time what would he do? It’s morning so he’d probably be having breakfast or a cup of coffee somewhere, but where? There were hundreds of coffee shops, restaurants and diners in downtown LA. She could start going by them one by one, but that would take too much time. Then she got an idea. She started the car and drove back toward the courthouse and stopped at the first convenience store she saw. She went inside and used the payphone to call Whitehead’s office number.”
“U.S. Attorney’s office,” a pleasant female voice advised.
“Yes. Mr. Whitehead’s secretary please.”
“One moment.”
Several moments later another female voice came on the line. “Yes, this is Ruth.”
“Ruth, I’m sorry to bother you. Oh, I’m so embarrassed.”
“What’s wrong?” Ruth said.
“Oh. Mr. Whitehead called last night late but didn’t say where to meet him this morning.”
“Who are you?”
“It’s me, Maria. It must have been important if he called just before midnight. Do you know where he usually goes for breakfast?”
“Ah. You might catch him at Brighton Coffee Shop in Beverly Hills.”
“Oh, great. Thanks,” Maria said and hung up quickly. She remembered seeing the Brighton Coffee Shop while cruising around with Fred in Beverly Hills. Now she just hoped she could find it and Whitehead would be there.
Twenty minutes later she pulled into a parking space just down the street from the popular restaurant. Fortunately, Whitehead was a big, noisy man who wouldn’t be hard to pick out if he was there. She held her breath as she opened the door and walked in then exhaled happily when she saw him sitting across from another man in a booth. She’d seen the other man at trial but couldn’t remember who he was. She strolled right over and stood over them. Startled, Whitehead looked up at her and frowned.
“Mr. Whitehead. Sorry for the intrusion, but Joel Roberts said you called him at midnight last night. He wants to know what you wanted. He figured it had to be important.”
“Maria? You shouldn’t be here. I can’t talk to you.”
“Sure you can. Just tell me why you called Joel last night. He asked me to find out. He won’t see you until the trial resumes and then there won’t be time to talk.”
Special Agent Harper started to slide out of the booth. “Do want me to take care of this, Sam?”
Whitehead sighed deeply. “No. I got it. Thanks,” he said and then fished a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Maria. “This is a new witness who came forward last night. I don’t plan to call her but I was obligated to tell Joel about her. There is her address and telephone number.”
Maria took the note and smiled broadly. Must be a good witness if you were trying to hide her from us, she thought. “Thanks. I’ll get this right to Joel.”
She turned and walked out of the restaurant. When she looked back Whitehead was pulling out his wallet and summoning the waitress. When she got back to car she wondered what she should do. If she took the note to Joel, he wouldn’t have time to do anything. Her only hope would be if she could find this witness and bring her to the courthouse. Unfortunately, the address was in San Bernardino, at least an hour away, so she decided to call and see if she could get the woman to get in her car and drive to the courthouse.
She stopped at the first gas station she came across and used a payphone to call the witness. A boy answered the phone. “Hello.”
“Hi. Is Mrs. Dupree there?”
“No. She’s at work.”
Maria’s heart sank. “Really? Do you have her work number?”
“No.”
“Where does she work?”
“Savon.”
“Savon Drugs?”
“Yes. That’s it.”
“Which one?”
“By the bank.”
“By the bank. Ah. . . . oh . . . the Bank USA in San Bernardino?”
“Un huh.”
“Okay, thank you,” she said and hung up to call information. When she got the number the operator connected her and the employee who answered the phone said she’d find her and to wait. A few minutes later Paula answered the phone.
“Hello.”
“Mrs. Dupree?”
“Yes.”
“This is Maria Shepard, Fred Fuller’s girlfriend.”
“Are you kidding me?” she said excitedly. “Is it really you?”
“Yes,” Maria laughed. “It’s me.”
“You are one hell of a woman. I have been reading about you in the newspapers. I don’t know if I would have forgiven Fred, but you know him much better than I do, so I guess he must be worth it.”
“Yeah, he’s like most men, a little weak when it comes to a pretty face.”
“Ain’t that the truth. So, why are you calling?”
“I heard you had some information that might be important.”
“Yes, I called Mr. Whitehead just as soon as I got back in town and started reading about the trial.”
She told Maria what she had seen.
“Listen, Paula.
This information could be enough to create reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors. We need you at the courthouse at 10:00 a.m. The judge will only let us put on one more witness and it needs to be you. Can you get in your car right now and come to the courthouse? You’ll just have time to get here.”
“But I’m at work, hon. I just can’t up and leave work.”
“Sure you can. If you are summoned to the court, employers can’t do anything about it. They have to let you go.”
“Really. They can’t dock my pay or anything?”
“If they dock your pay, we’ll reimburse you for whatever you lose. Don’t worry.”
“Okay, then. I’m on my way.”
Maria hung up the phone as tears began streaming down her face. She cried hard for several minutes as all the fear and anguish that had been building up in her for the past few months came pouring out. When she regained her composure, she got in her car and raced to the courthouse to tell Fred and Joel the good news.