“Yes, ma’am,” the young patrolman said and hurried off.
Max and Anna found a bench and sat down. Anna was looking down at her shoes.
“What’s wrong?” Max asked.
“He just called me ma’am,” she said. “How much does that suck?”
Max laughed and said, “Could be worse.”
“Yeah, how?”
“I don’t know. I’m just trying to say something to cheer you up.”
Less than two minutes later, Anna’s radio burped and she answered it.
“He’s in a restaurant sitting with a woman,” Brett said.
“Describe her,” Anna replied.
He did and when he finished Anna said to Max, “He’s with Mackenzie.”
“Tell him to stay with him.”
Anna relayed that to Bret and he responded with, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Bret, please don’t call me that.”
He hesitated for a couple of seconds then said, “Yes, ma’am,” which caused her to cringe again.
“Hello, Cooper,” Mackenzie pleasantly said as he sat down. “Are you all right?”
The waiter took their drink order before Cooper could reply. As the young man was walking away Cooper could reply. “I’m better now. I just don’t deal well with the police.”
“I don’t understand,” Mackenzie said. “What did they want?” As she said this she casually turned her head sideways to look out into the mall. Without looking directly at him, she spotted a young man, early twenties, seated alone on a bench. He was looking right at them and held what appeared to be a two-way radio. Cop, she thought.
“They claimed they were doing some follow-up on the investigation of Bill’s death. But I don’t think that’s why they were there,” Cooper said.
“Oh, why do you say that?”
“Because they asked me about perjury and affidavits. Mackenzie, they know,” he whispered.
“Know what? I don’t understand,” she said.
“They know about the affidavit I wrote and signed, swearing Bill Sutherland came to me to write a new Will and you know nothing about it.”
“I still don’t understand,” Mackenzie replied with an innocent look.
The waiter brought their drinks, a lemonade for Mackenzie and a vodka martini for Cooper. The waiter took their lunch order and left.
“Mackenzie,” Cooper said as if speaking to a child. “Bill told me you were pressuring him to change his Will.”
“He did? Cooper, I didn’t know anything about it.”
Cooper leaned back and with a puzzled, distraught look said, “He told me you were insisting on it because he had violated the terms of the prenup. The no infidelity clause.”
“Bill told you that?”
“Yes,” Cooper said leaning forward again. “I told you this. In fact, now that I think about it, you told me about it which is why he came to me and not his lawyer, Simon Kane.”
Calmly, while sipping her drink, Mackenzie said, “Cooper, I don’t remember doing any such thing. The first I knew anything about it was after Bill’s heart attack and death. Since I really don’t know anything about Bill changing his Will, how could you have perjured yourself by signing that affidavit?”
Cooper Thomas was actually a very smart man. Not necessarily street smart, but certainly no dummy. His problem was dealing with pressure. It took until Mackenzie made this last statement for it to finally sink in where she was going with her denials. Unless Mackenzie herself said otherwise it would be almost impossible to prove he committed perjury.
The waiter brought their meals, a salad for each of them, and they quietly ate for several minutes.
“Have you calmed down?” Mackenzie asked.
“Yes, you’re right. I was mistaken you didn’t know anything about Bill changing his Will. You had nothing to do with it.”
They finished their lunch, during which Mackenzie noticed the young cop still watching. When they left the restaurant she walked right past the young man. The radio was no longer visible and he was doing a poor job of trying to casually ignore her.
Mackenzie headed toward Macy’s and the west and parking lot. As she strolled along she suddenly stopped in front of a jewelry store to look in the window. While pretending to window shop she checked for the young man and saw him following Cooper.
Before arriving for this impromptu lunch date, Mackenzie wondered if Cooper would be wearing a wire. Since he told her the police had been at his office asking questions, she doubted he would be wired. He would not have told her about the two detectives. But she was almost certain the next time they met, he would be wearing one. Cooper Thomas, she knew, was simply too weak to stand up to the authorities.
What to do about Cooper? she wondered. Getting rid of him permanently was too risky and he did not really deserve it.
“But,” she quietly said to herself as she opened her car door, “the next time I see him he’ll be wearing that wire.”
Max had called ahead and talked to Heather Anderson. He knew she was in her office and waiting for them so when he knocked he did not wait for her to answer. Instead the two detectives went right in.
“So, what happened?” Heather asked while the detectives sat down.
“I think Max may have guessed right,” Anna said. “He went running scared right to her.”
Max told her the entire story through following him out to the Mall of America and back to his office.
“He was lying to us,” Max concluded. “We could see it in his eyes when we brought up the question about sworn affidavits and perjury. For a lawyer, he’s a damn poor liar.”
“So, your little fishing trip paid off,” Heather said ignoring the insult about lawyers. “Why didn’t one of you follow Mackenzie?”
“We couldn’t,” Anna said. “We were parked on the wrong end of the mall. The best we could’ve done was have Bret follow her back to her car. That would’ve been pointless.”
“So far,” Heather continued, “we have means and opportunity. We have the heart attack drug in William Sutherland’s body. We have the searches for the drug done on his computer. We have statements from the Sutherland survivors that the old man’s heart was fine. We’ll get his medical records if we can show some probable cause for them.”
“Why can’t we get them now?” Anna asked.
“We don’t have enough to take to a judge. Maybe, but it would have to be a very friendly judge,” Heather said.
“Would be nice if we could connect her to the drug that killed him,” Max said.
“Do we even have the M.E. willing to say it was the drug that did it?” Anna asked.
“He says if what the kids say about their dad’s heart is true, then he can testify that it was the drug. But if he had a bad heart we would have a problem,” Heather answered her. “We’ll see what his medical records say.”
“Even then, her lawyer will bring in his own except to claim it wasn’t the drug and try to create reasonable doubt,” Max said.
“Yes, he will. That’s why we need to nail down motive. Right now motive is a little weak. We have no way to argue she was after his money. Plus, she has money of her own. If we can show this lawyer Cooper Thomas is lying and Mackenzie knew all along, or better still, had the old man change his Will, then we have a case to take to a grand jury.”
“Pretty circumstantial,” Anna said.
“There are a lot of people sitting in prison because of weaker circumstantial cases than this,” Heather said. “Besides the media will salivate over this. They will turn her into a greedy, gold digging Black Window.”
“What about the husband in Chicago? Can we get that into evidence?” Max asked.
“Not unless we can show he died the same way; a heart attack brought on by a drug somehow introduced into him,” Heather said. “You might want to take a closer look at that, but…”
“His ashes are somewhere in Lake Michigan,” Max said.
“Exactly,” Heather agreed.
&nbs
p; “Now what?” Anna asked.
“We need to get Cooper Thomas off his story. We need to find a way to get him to admit the Will being changed was at least known by Mackenzie. If we can get that then maybe we can come up with the reason for why the old man did it. Even without that we can at least show she lied about it.”
There was a moment of silence among the three of them while they each thought about this situation. It was Max who spoke first.
“We investigate the life of Cooper Thomas,” he said.
“Carefully,” Heather interjected. “The courts take a dim view of investigating lawyers unless we have a good reason. I’m not sure we do, yet.”
“This guy won’t stand up to much direct scrutiny. We find a reason to bring him in and question him…” Anna began.
“…he’ll fold like a cheap suit,” Max finished the thought.
“But he’ll bring a lawyer with him,” Heather said. “He’s smart enough to do that.”
“He’s at least vulnerable because of this school-boy crush he has on Mackenzie Sutherland. A divorce for a guy like that could get messy and very expensive,” Max said
“It’s a place to start,” Anna said. “We find out what’s going on at home. Find a weakness and exploit it.”
“Are we sure about this?” Max asked.
“Sure about what?” Heather said. “That Mackenzie Sutherland murdered her husband and probably another man in Chicago? Yes, I am.”
“Okay,” Max said. “Let’s go get her.”
THIRTY
When Mackenzie drove out of the parking ramp she turned right on Killebrew Drive, named for the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame slugger. The Mall itself was situated on the exact same spot where the old Met Stadium stood. Hence the homage to one of the Twins’ all-time favorite players.
Mackenzie took the ramp to Cedar Ave to get to I-494. Instead of going east back to St. Paul, she went west to go to Minneapolis. While she drove she retrieved her phone from her purse and called Marc.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Sutherland,” Sandy said. “Marc is at lunch. Can I take a message?”
“When do you expect him back?”
“Anytime, now,” Sandy told her.
“Do you think it would be okay if I dropped in? Is he available?”
“Yeah, he’s open all afternoon. He was supposed to be in trial but they settled it, Mrs. Sutherland.”
“Please, Sandy, call me Mackenzie,” she said while thinking, I have to get that name change done. “I’m in my car. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes. Would that be okay?”
“Sure, that shouldn’t be a problem. He’ll probably be back by then.”
Sandy was wrong about Marc’s return time. It was almost an hour before Marc along with Barry Cline and Chris Grafton returned. In the meantime, Mackenzie got to know the office staff.
Carolyn Lucas, the office manager and secretary, chatted with her quite a bit. Mackenzie was still in the news. In fact, she had been the main feature of the Channel 3 noon news. Even though there was nothing new to report, they reported it anyway.
“Hey,” Marc said looking at Mackenzie when the three lawyers came into the office, “What’s up? Why didn’t you call?”
“I tried your phone; you didn’t answer,” she replied.
“Oh, yeah,” Marc said. “That’s because it’s in my desk drawer.”
“Nice job,” Mackenzie said as she rose to greet him. “Must be nice to have a job where you can take a two-hour lunch if you feel like it.”
“When’s our turn?” Carolyn asked.
“Talk to the boss,” Marc said pointing at Connie’s office. “I barely work here. Come on in,” Marc said to Mackenzie.
They went into Marc’s office and he sat next to her in a client chair. Gently taking her hand he asked, “What’s wrong? You look stressed.”
Mackenzie took a deep breath and said, “I think the police are following me.” She then went on to tell Marc most of the details about her lunch meeting with Cooper Thomas. Mackenzie was careful not to get into the part about whether or not she knew Bill Sutherland had changed his Will.
“So you saw a guy you think was watching the two of you and he had a radio with him?”
“Yes, I’m certain he was watching us. He sat there the entire time. And he was still there when I left. I walked right past him. He pretended not to notice me, but when I walked a little way past I turned and saw him. He was walking in the same direction as Cooper and talking into his radio.”
“You say he was a young man?”
“Yes, early twenties.”
“A rookie. Not very good at surveillance. He was following Cooper when he left?”
“Yes.”
“It was Cooper they were following. What the hell’s the matter with him? If the cops came into my office asking questions about a client I’d throw them out in a heartbeat. He’s a lawyer, tell him to act like one.”
“Cooper’s a good corporate and contract lawyer,” Mackenzie said. “He’s not the – how shall I put this – toughest man I’ve ever met.”
“He’s a weenie,” Marc said.
“Well, yes, a bit,” Mackenzie smiled.
Marc sat quietly thinking for a moment then said, “They’re entitled to investigate. I can’t do anything about it, yet. They are not entitled to harass you. If it comes to that, I can try to stop it.
“As for Cooper Thomas, you might want to call him up and tell him to grow a pair. He should use attorney-client privilege and tell them to pound sand.”
“I’ll do that,” Mackenzie smiled. “Marc, let me take you to dinner tonight. I’ll call and make a reservation for, what, seven?”
“Seven’s fine. Put it in my name. We don’t need some maitre’d picking up a few bucks by calling the media to get pictures of you. I’ll pick you up at 6:45.”
“Do you like sushi?” Mackenzie asked.
“I tried it once. Didn’t care for it. Tasted too much like raw fish,” Marc said.
“Too bad,” Mackenzie said, “I want sushi. I’ll make a reservation at a place downtown. The Akagi Sushi bar. You can try it again.”
“Okay, but we may drive through a Burger King afterwards.”
Upon returning home from Marc’s office Mackenzie checked the burner phone she kept for private calls. There was a number showing as having called. It was a Chicago area code and she recognized the number. The private investigator she was using called but did not leave a message. Mackenzie called the number back while wondering what he wanted.
“Mrs. Sutherland, thank you for calling back,” Lou Travis said.
The use of her current married name by the man made her cringe and she flashed on the P.I. in Milwaukee. As calmly as she could, Mackenzie said, “Yes, Lou, what do you have for me?”
“First of all, Mrs. Sutherland, I have been following the news from Minnesota about your husband’s death. I want you to know, no matter what, I’m in your corner. If there’s anything I can do for you, do not hesitate to ask. I’m not sure what that could possibly be, but I wanted to let you know that.”
“Well, thank you, Lou,” A relieved Mackenzie said. “I appreciate that. Everything will be fine, don’t worry. I’m innocent and that will protect me. There is one thing you can do.”
“Name it,” Travis said.
“Please call me Mackenzie. I’ve told you this before.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he laughed. “I’ll try. Anyway, the reason I called. Phillip Cartwright was found in an alley next to a dumpster this morning. Dead from an apparent overdose of drugs, Probably heroin.”
“Oh my god!” Mackenzie said, genuinely startled but not upset. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, he was identified by his mother. I got word from a cop friend about an hour or so ago. The cause of death had not been definitely determined. But he was found with his pants down and a drug syringe sticking out of his thigh. Drug overdose is a pretty good guess.”
“Yes, seems to be. How’s Louise, his mother?�
�
“None of the ex-wives are doing well. Between you and me, they’re a pretty useless bunch. I don’t feel the least bit sorry for them. I’m sure they deserve everything they got.”
“You have no idea,” Mackenzie said. “Check on Louise for me now that her little angel has killed himself. I’ll put a money order in the mail tomorrow. And thank you, Lou.”
“You’re welcome Mrs… sorry, Mackenzie. I’m not sure I’ll get used to that. I’ll wait a couple days, then check on Louise. Thank you, Mackenzie.”
Mackenzie replaced the phone into her bag. She poured herself a glass of ice water while thinking about the news. Rest in peace, Phillip, you worthless, despicable scum, she thought with a knowing cunning smile.
“Stop stabbing it with your chopstick,” Mackenzie laughed. “Do you want a fork?”
“No, that’s okay,” Marc said as he picked up the piece of raw salmon with his fingers and put it in his mouth. “See,” he said after swallowing it whole, “nothing to it.”
Mackenzie covered her mouth with her left hand to stifle a laugh. She shook her head and said, “I can’t take you anywhere.”
There was another couple, a few years younger, seated next to them. The man saw Marc eat the fish with his fingers then said, “So that’s how it’s done.” He then followed Marc’s example by plucking something whitish-pink from his plate and shoved it in.
“Don’t!” The woman he was with said trying to stop him. She looked at Mackenzie, Mackenzie looked back at her and Mackenzie said, “Is it too late to switch tables? Put these two Neanderthals together and we’ll enjoy the food.”
The four of them introduced themselves and for the next hour bantered back and forth while eating. The women were thoroughly enjoying it while Marc and the other man, Tom, did their best.
The bill came and the waitress handed it to Marc. Mackenzie tried to snatch it away from him before he could read it.
“A hundred and sixty-five bucks for this? For raw fish? Are they serious?” Marc said.
Marc Kadella Legal Mysteries Vol 1-6 (Marc Kadella Series) Page 202
