Disillusioned, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 2

by William Manchee

  Chapter 14

   

  Several days later after Stan had recovered from his kidnapping ordeal, he picked up Kristina to take her to a talk show interview on NBC Channel 5. They took LBJ Freeway to I-35 and went south to the Dallas/Ft. Worth Turnpike. When they got to the studio, they were directed to a green room where several guests were already there waiting for their scheduled appearances. Stan looked at his watch.

  “Forty-five minutes until you go on,” Stan advised. “I don’t know why they insist we get here so early.”

  “They want their guests to suffer, I guess,” Kristina replied.

  Stan smiled. “You’re not nervous, are you?”

  “No, of course not. I’m terrified. This is the first time I’ve been on TV.”

  “You’ll do fine, don’t worry. Just be yourself.”

  “What if I puke?”

  “Oh, give me a break. You’re going to knock ’em dead.”

  Kristina smiled warmly at Stan. “Thanks for coming with me, Stan. I feel much better with you here.”

  Ten minutes before the scheduled interview, the producer came out, introduced herself, and then took Kristina to her place on the set. Stan sat and watched from a monitor in the waiting room. Ten minutes, later The Veronica Brooks Show came on the air, and Stan watched with great anticipation.

  “Today, as our first guest, we have Kristina Tenison, candidate for state representative in District 67. Hi, Kristina. It’s nice to see you.”

  “Thank you, Veronica. It’s a pleasure being here.”

  “So, how does it feel to be suddenly cast into the ring? Did you ever in your wildest dreams think you’d be running for state representative?”

  “No, I didn’t. It’s all been such a shock.”

  “Shock is a good word. First, there was the Shepard tragedy, and then Commissioner Barnes’ unexpected withdrawal from the race on account of the FBI investigation of Silver Springs Ventures.”

  “Right.”

  “So, do you think you have any chance at all of beating your opponent, Ron Wells? Beating an entrenched incumbent isn’t easy when you have six months to campaign, but with less than six weeks that’s almost impossible, isn’t it?”

  “No. Nothing is impossible. It’s definitely an uphill battle, but the Republican Party is growing rapidly in this district, so Ron Wells may be in for a surprise.”

  “Well, I like your confidence, but I saw a poll today that showed you’re ten points behind Wells. Do you think you can close that large of a gap in the four weeks remaining before election day?”

  “Well, Veronica, I’ve only been the Republican candidate for less than two weeks, so the people don’t know me yet. I plan to make a lot of appearances and talk to a lot of voters, so I suspect once they see me and get to know me, I’ll pick up a lot of support.”

  “What about Ron Wells’ claim that you have no political or governmental experience and that the district’s clout in Austin would be severely diminished by your election?”

  Kristina’s eyes narrowed. She hadn’t been expecting such a tough interview. Her stomach was in knots, and she was struggling to maintain her composure. She took a deep breath. “Well, Veronica, for the last two weeks, I’ve been talking to many of the people of the 67th District, and they tell me Ron Wells has sold out to the special interest lobbyists and they don’t think he really represents them anymore. I would say it’s better to have a rookie Representative who works for the people of this district rather than an entrenched politician who only looks out for himself or the special interest groups he’s sold out to for his own personal gain.”

  Veronica looked at Kristina, wide-eyed. “Whoa! Okay. You’re a feisty one, I see.”

  Kristina laughed. “Well, I’ve never been accused of being soft on scum.”

  Veronica laughed. “Alright. We’ll be right back after a commercial break.”

  In the waiting room, Stan watched the reaction of the guests waiting to go on. Kristina had them laughing, and soon everyone was huddled around the TV. When the show went to commercial, they all started talking excitedly.

  “Who is that? She’s funny,” one lady said.

  “Now that’s the kind of Representative we need in Austin,” another noted.

  A minute later, the interview continued, and the room quieted. Everyone watched now with great anticipation.

  “Alright, Kristina, seriously now… You admit you don’t have any experience in government, right?”

  “Sure, but did you know in the last ten years that forty-two percent of all state representatives who were elected to office had no previous governmental experience and 100 percent had no legislative experience when they were elected to the state legislature for the first time.”

  “Really? Well, I see you’ve done your homework. Are you always on top of things this way?”

  “Oh, yes. I’m a quick study, and although at this moment I obviously have a lot to learn, it won’t take me long to get up to speed on the legislative process.”

  “Alright. Well, that’s all the time we have. It was great meeting you, Kristina.”

  “Likewise. Thank you for having me on your show.”

  “You’re welcome, best of luck to you on election day. If I lived in your district, you’d have my vote.”

  “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

  Veronica turned to the camera and said, “Well, I think you will agree Ron Wells may have his hands full fending off Kristina Tenison’s challenge for his seat in the 67th District. That’s all for today. Until tomorrow, this is Veronica Brooks. Good day.”

  Stan stood up, elated after the interview. The producer leaned out over the receptionist’s counter and gave Stan a thumbs up. Stan smiled. A minute later, Kristina and Veronica came through the door laughing and talking.

  Veronica looked at Stan. “Where did you find this girl?” she asked playfully.

  Stan shrugged. “I don’t know. She just showed up one day at Republican headquarters, and life’s never been the same.”

   Kristina latched on to Stan’s arm, blushing.

  “Well, I think you’ve got a keeper. I want the first interview after you’re elected,” Veronica said.

  Stan nodded. “Absolutely. We’ll send you an invitation to our victory party.”

  “Oh, Stan, I didn’t have a chance to ask how you’re doing since the kidnapping?”

  “Oh. I’m fine.”

  “I can’t imagine what you went through. If you feel up to it, I’d like to have you on the show.”

  Stan thought about it a moment, wondering if that would be wise. Then he realized it would be a great opportunity to plead his case for Rob’s innocence. It might even spur the police to reopen the investigation.

  “Sure,” Stan replied. “That would be great.”

  “Good. I’ve got an opening next Thursday. Will that work for you?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Good. See you on Thursday then.”

  On the way home, Stan and Kristina stopped for a late lunch at Steak & Ale. Kristina was feeling relieved that the interview was over and glad it had turned out well. Stan was happy for Kristina and excited about the opportunity to tell the public what really happened the day of the Shepard murders. After they’d ordered, Kristina’s mood changed.

  “What about the Dallas Morning News poll?”

  “You handled it perfectly, just like we talked about.”

  “I know, but ten points? That’s going to be nearly impossible to overcome.”

  Stan shook his head. “Don’t be negative now. I’m sure you closed the gap a bunch today. You were great.”

  “Yeah, but who’s going to see this interview? A few housewives and unemployed husbands?”

  “Don’t underestimate the daytime TV audience. The women who saw you today will talk about it to their husbands, and everyone in the media saw it. I wouldn’t be surprised if some other networks want in on the action.”

  “Hmm. I can see
you’re not going to let me feel sorry for myself.”

  Stan laughed. “No, that’s not allowed.”

  After lunch, Stan dropped off Kristina at her place and went home. Rebekah had watched the interview and was excited to see him.

  “Kristina did wonderful. I didn’t know she was so funny.”

  “Yeah. I knew she’d be a great candidate.”

  “She’s my kind of woman. She’s not going to take shit from anyone.”

  Stan laughed.

  “Oh, Lynn Jenkins is looking for you. He came by earlier. I hold him you’d be home about now. He said he’d come by later.”

  “What does he want?”

  “Something about Cindy’s necklace and the woman who pawned it.”

  “Hmm.”

  Twenty minutes later, Office Jenkins rang the doorbell. He was out of uniform and had a six-pack of Coors in a bag under his arm. Stan answered the door and let him in.

  “I brought us some liquid refreshment,” he said, handing Stan the bag.

  Stan peered inside. “Oh, good man.”

  They went into the den, and Stan pulled off a beer for each of them as they sat down.

  “So, Rebekah said you found out something about Cindy’s necklace.”

  “Yes. You mentioned Molly Rogers fit the description of the woman who fenced the necklace, right?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Well, I went to the Rogers’ place and got a picture of her as she was getting in her car.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. I wanted to show the owner of the pawn shop her picture to see if she was the one who’d pawned the necklace.”

  “So, was she?”

  “He wasn’t sure, but he did recognize her. He says she’d been in the shop several times over the past few months selling different items.”

  “So, did you find a record of any of those transactions?”

  “Yes, but the names don’t match. Apparently, she’s been using an assumed name.”

  “Did you run a criminal check on Molly Rogers?”

  “Yes. No felonies, just a couple of hot check charges. Small stuff.”

  “What about her husband?”

  “Squeaky clean.”

  “Hmm,” Stan said. “Say, I forgot to ask you. How many unidentified fingerprints did they find at the Shepard house on the night of murders?”

  “I don’t know how many, but there were a few.”

  “You think you can get them to send those prints to the FBI so they can cross-check them with the suspects in custody?”

  “I don’t know. The investigation is closed.”

  “I know. See what you can do. If there was a match, it would tie them to the murders.”

  “I’ll bring it up, but don’t hold your breath.”

  “I won’t, thanks.”

  Stan didn’t really think the killers would be stupid enough to leave any prints at the Shepard house, but he’d be remiss not to have it checked out. Criminals often made mistakes, so Stan figured there was a slight chance they may have left a print.

  The next day was trash day, so Stan decided to go see if the Rogers’ had put out their trash yet. He knew a lot could be learned about someone by going through their trash, and the courts had ruled it was not technically illegal. When a person put out their trash, there was a presumption that the property within it had been abandoned, so Stan drove up next to the trash bag, opened the door, and yanked it into his car without stopping. When he got home, he put the bag in his garage for later processing, as he had a lot of homework to do for class the next morning.

  The next morning before Stan left for school, Agent Rutledge called to tell him the US Attorney had made a decision on Pablo Gomez’ immunity request.

  “He’s agreed to the deal,” Agent Rutledge advised, “but can’t grant immunity on the Shepard case since he lacks jurisdiction.”

  “Will Gomez still talk?”

  “Not unless the DA agrees to give him immunity on any state murder charges.”

  “Oh, great. So, we’re back to ground zero.”

  “He’s still going to go down for your kidnapping.”

  “I know,” Stan replied dejectedly, “but that doesn’t get Rob off the hook.”

  “Our canine team also found several more bodies up at the dump.”

  “Really? Have you identified them?”

  “Not yet. That will take some time. They are all Hispanic males in their twenties and thirties. None of them had any identification, and some of them are, well… decomposed a bit.”

  “Well, thanks for calling.”

  “So, what are you going to do now?” Agent Rutledge asked.

  “Keep digging,” Stan replied.

  “You know, you can quit now if you want. You’ve been a big help and we appreciate all you’ve done, but we don’t expect you to risk your life again.”

  Stan sighed. “Thank you, but I can’t quit until I’ve cleared Rob’s name—particularly now that I know for sure he didn’t do it.”

  “Okay, but keep me informed so we can provide effective backup.”

  “I will. Don’t worry.”

  “Oh, by the way. Mrs. Thornton wanted me to ask you to come visit her when you get a chance.”

  “Really? Did she say why?”

  “No, but she seemed pretty anxious to talk to you. You ought to try to fit it in your schedule if you can. She might have some more useful information for us.”

  “Where is she?”

  “She’s in the Collin County Jail temporarily. She’ll be there another week or so until the US Attorney decides whether to charge her or not.”

  “Alright. I don’t really have the time, but I’ll go after class this afternoon if I can.”

  “Thanks. Call me after you talk to her.”

  On the way to SMU, Stan wondered what his next move would be to prove Rob innocent. It was so frustrating to know he was innocent but not be able to prove it. He just hoped his appearance the following week on The Veronica Brooks Show would turn public opinion in his favor and force the police to reopen the case. He wished he had Kristina’s natural charisma, but he knew he didn’t, so he’d just have to be doubly prepared. If he wasn’t successful, he may never be able to clear Rob’s name and put the real killers behind bars.