While Tony waited in Galen’s living room watching a Twin’s game on TV, he called his computer hacker, Paul Baker. Like most internet nerds, Baker was a total night owl. Twenty minutes after Tony left the home of the fingerprint guy, Baker fed the photos of Ethan Rask’s prints into his computer. He then hacked into AFIS, the FBI’s fingerprint database. A few minutes short of a half hour, Baker had the information Tony wanted.
TWENTY-SIX
Tony padded barefoot across the polished oak, hardwood floor of his living room. He owned a small, older house by Lake Nokomis in South Minneapolis that he used for living space and his office, which was in one of the upstairs bedrooms.
It was early for Tony, shortly after 8:00 A.M. After leaving Paul Baker’s house with the information about Ethan Rask, he had driven to the luxury high-rise where Gretchen Stenson lived. Her condo was on the third floor and he could see it from the street. Tony sat in his car across the street watching the only window, he guessed the living room, with a light on, reminiscing a bit about the kid he had busted many years ago for solicitation, hoping she had not had a rough life. Just before he drove off, he thought, she seems to be doing okay.
Now, the next morning, wearing his normal morning ensemble of a pair of old, gray sweats and a plain, white T-shirt, he opened the front door to retrieve the paper. When he did, the early morning heat and humidity hit him like a sauna.
“Wow, looks like a steamy day,” he quietly muttered as he picked up the paper.
Tony looked at the front page, above the fold headlines.
P.I. Girlfriend Indicted By Grand Jury.
He began reading the article as he closed the door by pushing on it with his butt. He had the paper in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other as he walked back into the kitchen and the breakfast nook.
Tony was about half-way through the story when his phone rang. It was on the counter by the sink where he had left it to recharge. He got it from its charger, looked at the caller ID, sighed and answered it.
“Yes, I’ve seen it,” he said to Vivian without saying hello.
“I’m surprised Marc hasn’t called,” Vivian said.
“He probably doesn’t know yet. He will soon.”
“How could he not know?” Vivian asked.
“I know he got a letter from the country attorney to let him know Maddy was the subject of a grand jury investigation. That was a couple weeks ago. They got their indictment then leaked it to the media. They’re starting their campaign to taint the jury pool,” Tony said while he sipped his coffee. “They probably didn’t send him a copy before giving it to the news people.”
When he finished saying this he heard another call come through on his phone. Tony looked at the screen then said, “Maddy’s calling. Let me talk to her and I’ll call you back. Or have her call you.”
“Do that, thanks,” Vivian replied then ended the call.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Tony softly said to Maddy.
“Have you seen the paper?”
“Yeah, I have. We knew it was coming.”
“I know,” she said. “But seeing your name in the paper indicted for first-degree murder…”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m curled up on my couch hoping the world will go away and leave me alone. Hoping I’ll wake up and this will all be a bad dream. On top of it, Marc’s in court already this morning and I can’t get a hold of him.”
“Maddy,” Tony firmly said. “We’ll get you through this, I promise.”
“What if I did this?” she whispered.
“Stop it!” he said. “You are not capable of that. Okay? Tell you what, your picture’s not in the paper…”
“It’s on TV,” Maddy said.
“Let’s go get some breakfast. I have some news. I’ll meet you at Sir Jack’s on Fifty Third and Chicago in half an hour.”
“Make it an hour and I’ll be there,” Maddy said.
“Give Vivian a quick call before you do anything else. I’ll leave a message for Marc,” Tony told her.
Tony waved to Maddy from the corner booth he was seated in, waiting for her. She saw him and without removing her sunglasses, she made her way through the crowd to Tony. He stood up, hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.
When they were seated she leaned onto the table and said, “See, everybody’s looking at me because…”
“Everybody always looks at you,” Tony laughed. “I thought you were used to it.”
“I guess I’m just being paranoid,” she said.
“Marc called me back,” Tony said. “He told me to meet at his office at eleven. He hadn’t seen the news so I told him.”
“What did he say?”
“Not much. He wasn’t happy about them leaking it but wasn’t surprised either,” Tony replied. “Did you call Vivian?”
“Yes,” Maddy said.
The waitress arrived and they ordered. When she left, Maddy continued.
“She wants me to move back to the mansion. She said it will protect me from the media. I already got a half a dozen calls, my number’s listed so…”
“Not a bad idea,” Tony said.
“What news do you have?” Maddy asked ignoring Tony’s comment.
“I found out who this Ethan Rask guy is,” Tony said.
“The mystery man of CAR Securities?”
“Yeah, him. It’s not good,” Tony replied. “Or, for us, maybe it is.”
While they ate, Tony explained what he had done the previous evening and what he had learned.
When he finished, Maddy, with raised eyebrows and a sly smile asked him, “So, who’s this high-priced hooker friend of yours, Carvelli. This is a story I want to hear.”
“No, I never did,” Tony said to stop her inquiring stare. “She was a high school kid, homecoming queen, pretty, popular girl the first time I busted her. She was turning tricks at age seventeen and had three other girls working for her.
“I took her home, upper-middle class family in Burnsville. I thought she straightened out but I was wrong.
“A few years later, I ran into her again and found out she was still working but learning the trade as an upper-end call girl. Not on the street, no drugs, no pimp, nothing like that. I lost track of her after I retired. Apparently I don’t travel in the right circles.
“Anyway, I saw her last night with Rask. She looks great. Looks like she’s still twenty-five though she’s got to be pushing forty.”
“And your heart did a little pitter-patter,” Maddy teased him.
“Very funny, but yeah. I liked her she was always a good person. I talked to a friend with vice last night. They know who she is but leave her alone because she’s clean, discreet and honest. I am going to track her down and have a little chat with her about Rask. You ready?” Tony asked as he looked at the check. “We should go.”
“Ah, the hooker with a heart of gold. How touching,” Maddy said.
Tony reached the parking lot door to the Reardon Building and waited for Maddy. She stepped onto the concrete stoop and Tony opened the door for her.
“Marc’s back from court,” she said referring to his SUV in the lot.
“I see that,” Tony agreed.
The two of them went up the backstairs side-by-side. About half way toward the top, Tony stopped and turned to Maddy.
“Hey,” he softly said. “Have you thought about getting some counseling?”
“For what?”
“You’re pretty obviously depressed and with good reason.”
“What’s a shrink going to tell me? ‘Don’t let it get you down that you might have murdered your boyfriend and will go to prison for twenty-five or thirty years.’ I’m not sure that would help.”
Tony frowned at her and she said, “I’ll think about it. Okay?”
“Let’s go.”
“Hi,” Maddy said to the staff when they entered the suite of offices.
As soon as she saw her, Carolyn practically jumped up and ran to Maddy with her arms outs
tretched. They held each other for almost fifteen seconds then Carolyn kissed her cheek and let go.
“You didn’t do this,” Carolyn said holding Maddy’s shoulders and looking her directly in the eyes. “I absolutely know you could not. You got it?”
“Yes, Mom,” Maddy sadly smiled.
“Hey, kid,” Maddy heard a raspy, female voice say from behind her.
“Hi, Connie,” Maddy said.
“C’mere, give us a hug,” Connie said. After it, Connie said, “Carolyn’s right. You didn’t do it and we’re all gonna work to get you off. Don’t worry about it.”
“Marc’s on the phone but he said you should go right in,” Carolyn told Tony.
Tony knocked once then opened Marc’s door. He then stepped aside to let Maddy go in first. Marc, with the desk phone to his ear, waved them forward.
“This is bullshit, Steve,” they heard Marc angrily say. “We’ve known each other long enough now for you to extend me the courtesy of…”
The man on the other end interrupted him. Marc listened for a few seconds while Maddy and Tony sat down.
“Okay, fine. You didn’t know, you didn’t do it, blah, blah, blah. Get it to me please and I’ll talk to you later.”
He listened for a moment again then said, “I don’t care. Fax, email, messenger whatever. Thanks, goodbye.”
Marc looked across the desk to Maddy, seated to his right, then Tony next to her.
“Hi. That was Steve Gondeck. It’s always fun to chew a prosecutor’s ass for something. This time for not getting me the indictment before it hit the papers.”
“How bad is it?” Tony asked.
“I don’t know,” Marc shrugged. “I haven’t seen it yet. How are you holding up?” Marc asked.
“Okay,” Maddy said. “I feel better being around friends.”
“You should move back to Vivian’s. She’d love to have you,” Marc said.
“I know. I’ll think about it. What am I charged with?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. We’ll see when we get the indictment. At least one count of first degree which is overcharging,” Marc said. “They’ll try to get a plea to second degree or manslaughter.”
“I might take manslaughter…”
“Stop right there!” Marc almost yelled. “We’re a long way from that.”
“Relax,” Tony said patting her right arm. “I have some news,” Tony said looking at Marc.
“About?”
“CAR Securities and one of their main guys, Ethan Rask.”
“Tell me,” Marc said visibly curious.
“His real name is Anatoly Brodsky, born in Brooklyn, New York to Lev and Riva Brodsky.”
“Russian Jews,” Marc commented.
“Yep. Forty-eight years old,” Tony continued. “Also known as, David Carter, Dominic Reznick, Martin Cameron and Edward Mallory.
“He’s done two stretches in prison. Once in his late twenties he did eighteen months in New York for theft by swindle. Second time he did three years in Atlanta courtesy of the feds for, you ready?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Securities fraud,” Tony announced.
“He’s a con man,” Marc said.
“He’s also been arrested twice for suspicion of murder and three times for felony assaults. None of which stuck.”
“Well, well, well, well,” Marc said with a smile. “I see the beginning of reasonable doubt.”
“Do you think so?” Maddy hopefully asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Marc said. “If you’re going to claim some other dude did it, it’s always good to have some other dude to point at.”
“Because of what Rob told me,” Maddy said, “CAR Securities had motive.”
“And it was their party where you were drugged,” Marc reminded her.
Maddy leaned forward and reached across the desk to take Marc’s hand. “I feel better already,” she said.
“We still have a lot of digging to do, but we have a theory now. Something we can use.”
“Yeah, by the time I’m done, we’ll know everything about these guys,” Tony said. “And it looks like we may have some shady dealings of theirs to start with.”
Maddy let go of Marc’s hand and as she started to lean back in her chair, she glanced at the newspaper on Marc’s desk. She picked up the Metro section of the Star Tribune, looked at a picture then started reading the article.
“What?” Marc asked her.
“Wait,” she answered him while she continued to read. Ten seconds later she pointed at a picture of a young man with dark, curly hair above the article and showed it to Tony.
“That’s him!” Maddy said. “That’s the waiter from the party. I’m certain of it.”
Tony leaned forward to look at the photo and after a couple seconds Maddy showed it to Marc.
“I remember now, he had on a name tag. The name on it was Kirk, the same as this guy. How many Kirk’s are there that look like this? I’m positive it’s him.”
“He’s missing. He hasn’t been seen since the Fourth of July,” Maddy said.
TWENTY-SEVEN
While Marc read through the written copy of the indictment which had come in via email, Tony asked Maddy to hand him the newspaper. Believing he meant the section with the story about the missing waiter, she gave him that section only.
Tony read the entire article then said to Maddy, “You’re sure about this?”
“Yes, absolutely,” she nodded.
“It says he was a student at the U. It doesn’t say where he worked. I’ll start on this today. I’ll check with the Minneapolis cops first and see what they have. I should be able to find out where he was employed. Find out who the caterer was,” Tony said. “He’s been missing since the Fourth.”
“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Maddy asked Tony.
“Probably,” Tony agreed. “We can still look into him and maybe find out if he drugged you and why.”
Marc put the indictment down and Maddy stood up, reached across the desk and snatched up the document.
“Don’t read it. I’ll tell you what’s in it,” Marc said.
“Do I tell the cops why I’m interested in finding this kid?” Tony asked Marc.
Marc thought about the question then said, “No, not yet. I’m not ready to tell them she was drugged.”
“First-degree murder? How can they say this was first-degree?” Maddy asked holding the indictment.
“Give me that,” Marc said holding out a hand to her. “They get pretty graphic describing the crime scene. You don’t need to read it.
“As far as first degree,” Marc continued as Maddy handed him the document, “they’re overcharging. They’ll shoot for first-degree and hope the jury gives you second-degree, or at least first-degree manslaughter.
“You seem pretty calm,” Tony said.
“I’m a wreck,” Maddy said. “When do they want to arraign me on the new charges?” she asked Marc.
“I told Gondeck to set it up for a couple days from now. They’ll want to make sure the media’s in full attendance,” Marc answered her.
“Have you heard back from Jason Briggs?’ Tony asked wanting to change the subject. He was referring to a professional, independent criminalist, CSI type, Marc hired to go over the crime scene.
“Yeah, he called late yesterday. He’s done with the crime scene. Now he’ll get his samples to a lab and have them analyzed. It’ll be at least two or three weeks,” Marc answered Tony.
“What did he think?” Maddy asked.
“He had no opinion about anything yet,” Marc said. “Hopefully he’ll come up with something to argue there was a third person there. Just because the crime scene unit didn’t find it doesn’t mean he won’t.”
“The CSU people aren’t really as good as what you see on TV,” Tony added. “Especially if they believe you did it because they found you there. They may have gone into their investigation with blinders on, not really looking for any other evidence.”
Tony
felt his phone vibrating in his coat pocket. He took it out, looked at the screen, said, “Vivian”, then answered it. Tony listened for a minute while she told him something.
“I’m at Marc’s office with him and our girl. I’ll bring her along and see you in twenty minutes.”
Tony looked at Marc and said, “She has information about the guys at CAR Securities.”
“Mind if I tag along? I got nothing better to do. I might as well hear about this, too,” Marc said.
“Sure, come on, let’s go. She’ll feed us lunch, too,” Tony replied.
Carvelli drove his car and Marc had Maddy ride with him and leave her car in the lot at Marc’s office.
“I have someone you should see,” Marc said a few minutes into their journey. “You need to get into some counseling.”
“Will it help my memory?”
“I don’t know but it will help your depression and anxiety.”
“I’ve been thinking,” Maddy said turning in the passenger seat to face Marc. “Maybe I should get hypnotized. Maybe I can find out what happened through hypnosis.”
“No,” Marc emphatically declared.
“Why, I want to find out…”
“I don’t,” Marc said turning his head to her as he drove. “I don’t want to know anything we might have to turn over to the prosecution. Dr. Butler can’t be forced to testify. There’s no such thing as a hypnotist privilege.”
“Unless it’s from a doctor. If the hypnotist is a doctor,” Maddy said.
“You know an MD who does hypnosis therapy?”
“No, but we can find one,” Maddy said.
“No we can’t and we’re not going to look,” Marc said unequivocally. “Besides, for the purposes of a trial, we’re better off not knowing. Look, Maddy,” Marc continued more softly. “I don’t believe for a second you did this. But you may have, in your subconscious, convinced yourself that you did. If some hypnotist quack brings that out and we have to give it to the prosecution as discovery, you’re hosed. No, we’re going to defend this with the very rational belief you were set-up because that’s what our investigation is finding.”
Marc Kadella Legal Mysteries Vol 1-6 (Marc Kadella Series) Page 239
