There went her deniability. He had pinpointed the moment Stacie tested her phone, and it was all but certain he’d matched it to the phone used to report Marty selling drugs.
“Miss Mack?”
“On the advice of my attorney, I’m invoking spousal privilege.”
There was a sudden shuffle in the room as the jurors leaned forward in their chairs as though their movements were choreographed.
“Excuse me, you’re invoking what?”
“Spousal privilege. I’m declining to answer any more questions about my wife, Stacie Pilardi.”
The red in Halperin’s face clashed violently with his pink shirt. “You and Stacie Pilardi are married?”
“That is correct.”
“As of when?”
Cathryn glanced over her shoulder at the clock mounted behind her as she produced a copy of her license. “About forty minutes ago.”
He stormed across the floor to snatch the paper from her hand. “This is an outrageous miscarriage of justice. Your Honor, I’m asking you to compel this witness to testify.”
“Let me have a look at that.” The judge adjusted her glasses to inspect the document. “Hmmm…it appears everything is in order, Mr. Halperin. If Ms. Mack wants to invoke her privilege not to give testimony regarding her spouse, that is her right, even for events that occurred prior to her marriage.”
“But this was clearly orchestrated to circumvent justice.”
“The law makes no such distinction. Do you have any further questions for this witness?”
Halperin raised a finger and started to speak, but then pretended to look at his notes, which appeared to be upside down. “When…how did…were you ever…?” He was too flustered to put together a complete thought. “No, nothing more, Your Honor.”
“Very well, the witness is excused. And Ms. Mack?”
Cathryn braced for a scolding.
“Congratulations.”
* * *
“My breasts have never been so clean.”
Cathryn chuckled but had no intention of stopping her soapy massage. She and Stacie fit together very well in the claw-foot bathtub, especially facing the same direction with Stacie leaned back against her chest. Candles and champagne added to the romantic atmosphere. It was after all their wedding night. “My arms aren’t long enough to reach any of the other fun spots. I suppose I could scrub your neck.” She planted a kiss behind Stacie’s ear and gently nibbled her lobe.
“I’m your wife now. You can do anything you want.”
“That’s right…my wife. I promised to comfort you until death do we die, or something like that. It all happened so fast. I can’t remember everything I said I’d do. Was bathing on the list?”
“Yes, I think so. The biggie was something about forsaking all others. Just think, most people visit Minnesota and go home with little Viking hats or painted wooden loons. You and I go home with a wife.”
“Exit through the gift shop,” Cathryn added with a chuckle.
“I feel that way. This is a gift.”
They’d had only nine hours to process being married, but the changes began immediately for Cathryn, and there wasn’t even a moment of second-guessing what she’d done. “I feel settled. I know that’s weird. Weddings are supposed to be such a big deal…all the excitement, planning every detail…but we packed all that stress inside a thirty-minute ride across the river and then it was over.”
Stacie let some of the water out so she could warm their bath. “I feel settled too. You’re probably not going to believe this, but after that weekend we sneaked off and spent here at this hotel, I told myself you were somebody I could spend my life with. My friend Jenn laughs at lesbians because we tend to fall in love so fast, but I’ve never really been one of those. In fact, I’ve always had the opposite problem. As soon as I realize I have feelings for someone, I start throwing up a bunch of obstacles for why it’ll never work. Once I convince myself it has nowhere to go, my feelings start to fade away.”
“A self-fulfilling prophecy.”
“Exactly. And then I met you. I didn’t even have to conjure up any obstacles. There were a million reasons not to fall in love with you, but I couldn’t help myself.”
“I love you,” Cathryn murmured, clasping her hands tightly around Stacie’s soapy belly. “I was with Janice for nine years. We spent the first five growing closer and the last four growing apart. Relationships are a lot of work. You have to sacrifice and compromise, and you can’t keep score. All those promises we made today, Stacie…we’ll have to work hard to keep them.”
Stacie squirmed around so they were facing and wrapped her legs around Cathryn’s waist. “Being married already makes us stronger because we can’t just throw up our hands and walk away. I intend to work hard at this, and like I told you last night, I’ll start by moving to Houston to be with you.”
Cathryn loved Stacie’s smiling brown eyes and look of joy at presenting what she was sure was the ultimate wedding gift. “I love you even more for being willing to do that, but I’m not sure Houston is the right place for us after all. I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said and you’re right. We’d basically have to be in the closet and I’d always be paranoid about someone from work finding out. That’s not any way for married people to live.”
“What about your job?”
“I think you were right about that too. Nations Oil can’t fire me for being a whistleblower, but they can make my life miserable at the office. I’ll never be on the inside again.”
“There could be worse things than being cut off from people like that.”
“That’s the real problem, all the people like that. I walked out of that grand jury room today thinking about all the indictments that are coming down. It was bad enough when it was just polluting and bribery, and then doctoring the paper trail to cover everything up. To think Hoss Bower and Bryce Tucker ordered Depew to kill you…and it was only a stroke of luck I happened to hear about it. I never dreamed they’d go that far, but you weren’t surprised at all. Whoever takes over Nations Oil will probably do the same things, but he’ll try harder not to get caught. I need to get out of there right now and let everyone know I’m not like that.”
“I didn’t want to be right.” She rested her forehead against Cathryn’s chin for a moment and sighed. “You know what I think we ought to do? You just gave up your whole life for me—your job, your home, everything you had back in Houston. That’s the most profound expression of love I could ever imagine. I think I should do the same. I’ve been looking at making some big changes at CLEAN. Maybe I’ll just put the organization in someone else’s hands and walk away. We’ll start a whole new life together.”
Such irony. If Stacie had walked away sooner, Hoss and Bryce would never have ordered her murder. Cathryn could have eased out of the oil business slowly on her own terms and no one would have been the wiser.
That realization should have been irritating but Cathryn was surprisingly unmoved by its logic. The truth was she felt relieved to be free of the culture of corruption now that she knew how pervasive it was. “I left Nations Oil because they had no scruples. Why would you leave CLEAN when you still believe in everything it stands for?”
“Because I don’t want you to look at it every day and remember what it cost you. You don’t have to decide anything now, but it’s on the table. Just think about it.”
While it might make life easier to have a clean break from such a tumultuous beginning, she couldn’t imagine Stacie doing anything else. “I don’t need to think about it. The answer is no.”
“Cathryn, you don’t—”
“No,” she said more forcefully, hugging Stacie to her chest. “One of the reasons I fell in love with you was because of how passionate, how determined you were. And always so unselfish. Even if I disagree with you sometimes, you fight for all of us. I’d never want to change that about you.”
“Wow…if you weren’t already married, I’d snatch you up so fast.
”
“I love you too.” They shared a soft kiss. “Let’s just get this grand jury behind us. Hoss thinks I’m in New Mexico visiting my mother for a few days. I can’t do anything until the indictments come down, but I’m going to resign as soon as that happens.”
“I’ll come to Houston for the time being if you want me to. We can wait it out together. What do you think you’ll do next?”
“Who knows? Contact the headhunters, I guess. I have some money in savings and I can put my townhouse on the market.”
Stacie grinned. “Did you just forget you were married? Your wife isn’t going to let you worry about money while you look for a job that makes you happy.”
Her wife. To love, comfort, honor and keep. Until death do they die.
Chapter Twenty
“My client wants immunity from prosecution,” Matt said, nodding toward Stacie across the conference table. “Without her testimony against Martin Winthrop, you’ll be letting a very dangerous man walk.”
Halperin shook his head dismissively. “Counselor, I’m not going to lose any sleep over a guy holding a couple of ounces of marijuana. My number one concern is the credibility of your client’s testimony against Karl Depew. She’s at the center of the government’s case, and right now stands accused of fabricating evidence and filing a false report. If in fact she’s done those things, it will damage us, and you can guarantee the defense will use it to discredit her testimony.”
Though the US Attorney seemed to be working hard to maintain his professional demeanor, Stacie could feel his hostility. Obviously he was still pissed about their impromptu wedding.
“The jury won’t care once they know why she did it,” Matt said.
“That’s a very tough sell, Mr. Stevenson. Your client already has a substantial number of arrests and convictions. I should think someone as dedicated to her cause as Miss Pilardi would consider her integrity paramount and come forward with the truth.”
“She does and she will, but these circumstances are different. All of her previous convictions fell under civil disobedience. Those were courageous acts that inspired others also to stand up against corporate power and money that bullies its way past the will of the people. And by the way, she does that because the government—including the Justice Department—does a pretty poor job of looking out for the interests of the people. Her arrests so far are admirable to those who share her cause. A criminal conviction, however, might alter her standing in the eyes of potential backers of her organization, and she’s not willing to jeopardize their support, not even to give you the full picture of Martin Winthrop’s malicious involvement in this conspiracy.”
With Cathryn’s testimony blocked because of spousal privilege and Stacie refusing to testify with regard to Marty, the US Attorney knew he was missing major pieces of the puzzle. Stacie was prepared to lay it all out there, but had to press her advantage while she still had leverage.
Halperin’s jaw twitched with irritation. According to Cathryn, he was convinced they were hiding something bigger than setting up a stool pigeon, and in fact he was right. Stacie wanted nothing more than to tell him about Marty’s involvement in Colleen’s accident, but she couldn’t get to that without incriminating herself.
“I can’t give you immunity unless I know what you’re going to say, and it’s up to me to decide if your testimony is worth thumbing our noses at a justice system that’s been in place for two hundred and forty years. If the jury finds Winthrop guilty of drug charges, I don’t want to get sued later should that prove to be a wrongful conviction.”
“Fair enough,” Stacie said, relaxing in her chair for the first time since the negotiations began. “In the first place, the drugs that were in his possession were his. I found them stuffed in the bottom of his sleeping bag. And yes, I sent him to the school on a bogus errand and called the sheriff’s department. I considered him too dangerous to confront and didn’t want him coming back to our house.”
“Why was he dangerous?”
She started at the end of the story with the discovery of how Marty had tampered with Colleen’s car. “You should interview Brian Murray and his private investigator, and get the photos from the newspaper so you can see for yourself.”
“Something else, Mr. Halperin,” Matt interjected. “There’s definitely someone inside the sheriff’s department working with Depew. Whoever took Ms. Murray’s briefcase expected that accident to happen near Chester Park and was probably providing security for the protest rally. But Ms. Murray left the event early. Since she avoided the stop-and-go traffic, the accident was more serious and happened several miles away. I think if you check the duty roster, you might find one of those responding officers came directly from the park.”
Halperin grimaced and shook his finger at her. “I wish you’d brought this evidence to the police in the first place. Ms. Murray’s case is potentially as serious as what Depew did to you, and this drug arrest needlessly complicates our case.”
“I didn’t trust the police,” she said adamantly. “If Depew had gotten wind of it, Marty would have vanished. Then you’d have no one to hold responsible for an accident that nearly killed somebody. It’s not like I went out and bought drugs to plant in his backpack. He may not have intended to sell them to kids outside a school, but they were still his drugs. Do a saliva test on the rolling papers if you don’t believe me.”
Matt gave her a slight nod as Halperin buried his head in his hands. He’d been fairly confident all along her information was worth immunity. “Look, my client is eager and willing to give truthful testimony against Martin Winthrop on a number of charges, including drug possession, vandalism, stalking and attempted murder. You said it yourself—if not for her, you might not have a case at all against Depew. But I can’t let her risk criminal prosecution.”
“Very well.” Halperin tossed his pen on the table in resignation. “Is there anyone who can corroborate your story? Your new wife, perhaps?”
“She only knows what I told her.”
“I did not appreciate that stunt, by the way. The people of Minnesota didn’t grant lesbians and gays the right to marry so they could abuse the justice system.”
“The people of Minnesota can rest easy then, Mr. Halperin. We married because we love each other, and because Cathryn didn’t want to be forced to say something that might hurt me. I’m sorry if that offends you. No matter how this case ends, at least she and I get to come out of it happy.”
* * *
“It’s like wearing a turtleneck with a cardboard scarf. Who does that in August?” Colleen tugged at her neck brace and fanned herself with her lunch menu, which she’d insisted on keeping for just that purpose. “It’s worth it though. This is going to be the biggest story of my career. My editor’s given me a whole team—two reporters, a researcher and a graphic artist. Just to think only a year ago they were considering downsizing me with all the other satellite reporters.”
“Good thing they didn’t,” Stacie said. “This story deserves a lot of attention. I only wish you could be in Houston for the frog march. That should be happening any minute now.”
Colleen knew all about the grand jury because she and her son had been called to testify. “We sent a stringer with a photographer. They’re already camped out in front of Nations Oil’s headquarters. Just wait till you see tomorrow’s front page.”
“Save me a copy. I’m flying out this afternoon.”
The indictments hadn’t been formally announced yet, but Stacie had a pretty good idea who was on the list—five of the company’s officers, Bob Kryzwicki, and Depew. Then there was Martin Winthrop, who faced multiple charges, including attempted murder and felony drug possession. For Stacie, the biggest surprise was Deputy Sharon Gustafson, who faced a litany of charges, among them accessory to attempted murder, since she was the one who had left Chester Park in pursuit of Colleen’s car.
“I’ll save you all the papers for your trophy case,” Colleen said. “Halperin says he expect
s more charges, including all those goons who worked for Depew. No telling how many on the EPA staff will be implicated. Kryzwicki couldn’t have pulled this off by himself. They’ll probably pick up a few of Kratke’s underlings too. I can’t believe they aren’t going after Cathryn Mack. She was the biggest liar of all.”
Stacie’s heart jumped at hearing her name and leaned across the table to keep her voice low. “About that…off the record, okay? This can’t be common knowledge yet.”
Before Colleen could answer, the waitress returned with their salads.
“Cathryn was the only one telling the truth, or at least the truth as she knew it. They were feeding her bogus information every day.”
“How do you know that?”
“She’s the whistleblower. None of this would have come to light if she hadn’t stepped forward.”
“Oh, my God. You have to go on the record, Stacie. That’s the backbone of the story.”
“I know, and you can have it first. But she’s still an officer at Nations Oil, and you have to sit on it until she’s out. There’s no limit to what these people will do. One of those attempted murders was me. They put out a hit, and if Cathryn hadn’t contacted the FBI, Depew would have killed me in my house.”
“Unbelievable. The biggest story of my life just got even bigger.”
Stacie chuckled and dug into her salad. With her mouth half-full, she said, “I can relate to that. When all those people walked into the lake…man, that was our biggest protest ever, and by far the most successful. Not only did we expose the fact they were hiding the rest of the spill, we killed the Caliber Pipeline, at least until the next company steps up and tries to ram it through.”
“That’s a lot to celebrate,” Colleen said, raising her water glass in a toast.
“You don’t know the half of it,” she said, thinking about her secret wedding. Back on the record, she talked about what their victory meant for the future of CLEAN. “This shows we can be effective. We have the government’s attention now, and that will help us bring in more donors and volunteers. Everyone likes a winner.”
Anyone But You Page 23
