5 Bargain Hunting

by Rhonda Pollero

  “Or he had one a month ago and wasn’t big on dusting and polishing.”

  Tony smiled. “I like my theory better.”

  “Me, too. Oh, and look at this one,” I said, moving the photos around on the table until I found the one I wanted. “The wisteria shows signs of disturbance and I think that’s a smear of dried blood on those flowers. Doesn’t that prove Liam’s story?”

  “It goes a long way, except that the state’s attorney can claim that Liam jumped the fence after he shot Lopez.”

  “What about this?” I said, taking the button with the wire out of my purse and handing it to him.

  “Where did you get this?” he asked.

  “I accidentally broke a lamp, which I will pay for, and it just came out. Do you know what it is?”

  He nodded. “It’s a listening device.”

  “José’s house was bugged?”

  “Looks like it.”

  My heart pounded with excitement. “Can we find out who was doing the bugging?”

  “Maybe. These things have serial numbers. Maybe we can trace it.”

  Tony and I gathered everything together and packed up our respective briefcases. “Let’s go down to lockup and see Liam before the arraignment.”

  Lockup smelled like sweat and desperation. It was a series of small rooms along a short corridor. There were at least a half dozen guards and an elaborate electronic board that controlled all access to those waiting in the small glass cells. Tony and I were buzzed into Liam’s room, but not before I’d gotten a few catcalls.

  “Sorry about that,” Tony said. “I should have warned you.”

  “Not a problem.” I said, then focused my full attention on Liam. His hair was damp and he was clean-shaven. The blue jumpsuit was hideous, yet it managed to show off his well-toned body. Leave it to me to be lusting after a guy in prison blues.

  In spite of Liam’s protests, Tony insisted on going over exactly what would happen at the arraignment. Then he produced the minute listening device and asked, “Recognize this?”

  “It’s a plant,” he said. “You can get them at any spy shop in the country. Probably online, too.”

  “Well, this one came out of Lopez’s house. Finley found it.”

  Liam looked up at me and smiled. “Finley went on a field trip?”

  I braced myself. If he told Tony I was directly violating his instructions I’d be in deep shit.

  “I asked her to photograph the scene for me.”

  Liam nodded. “Find anything interesting besides the bug?”

  Tony had me take out the photos for Liam to examine. “Does this look like the house when you last saw it?” Tony asked.

  “It was dark, but I’m pretty sure there were two cans of beer on the coffee table.”

  “The cops must have taken them for evidence,” Tony said. “If they did, I’ll ask to have access to them so we can do our own testing. At least we can infer that Lopez wasn’t alone that night.”

  “Unless both cans were his. Lopez could down a six-pack, no problem.”

  There was a buzzing sound and then Liam’s door slid open. The bailiff said, “They’re about to call your case.”

  Liam stood, the action rattling the chains around his waist, hands, and ankles. Tony and I left first but I could hear the shuffle of Liam following behind us. It was enough to make my heart ache. I wanted this nightmare over. Maybe we’d get lucky and the judge would dismiss the charges.

  And maybe it would snow in Miami.

  I saw Jane, Liv, and Becky seated in the gallery. I mouthed “Thank you” to them. Ashley was ever present as usual. On the opposite side of the aisle, the place was packed with uniformed deputies showing their solidarity with the slain officer. I hoped that wouldn’t have an effect on the judge. Assistant State’s Attorney Garza was standing at his table. Tony and I were across from him facing the elevated bench. Once Liam was brought in, a guard stood behind him as if he’d make a mad dash for it. He was no longer in chains and restraints.

  He sat between me and Tony and absently I reached over and gave his hand a squeeze just as the bailiff told us to stand. The judge, whose nameplate identified him as the Honorable Sean Hastings, was a distinguished-looking man with salt-and-pepper hair and the symbolic black robe. Court was called to order, then Garza spoke.

  “We’re here in the matter of the State of Florida versus Liam Rory McGarrity. The charge is murder.”

  “Can I get a plea?” the judge asked.

  “Your Honor,” Tony began as he rose. “The defense respectfully requests that you drop these charges for lack of evidence.”

  The guy in the robe didn’t even look up.

  “I’m reading the charging documents, Mr. Caprelli, and everything seems in order. You’ll have to take up the matter of suffiency with the trial judge. Now can I get a plea?”

  “Not guilty,” Tony said forcefully.

  “Bail?” the judge asked.

  Garza stood again. “The state requests remand. The facts in this case indicate that Mr. McGarrity committed a heinous act and then hid from the police.”

  Tony stayed on his feet. “The state is neglecting to tell the court that Mr. McGarrity willingly and of his own accord made himself available to the police and cooperated at all times during the interviews.”

  “Is that true, Mr. Garza?”

  “Yes, Your Honor, but—”

  “Then it appears the defendant was not hiding. Does he have ties to the community?”

  “He’s a lifelong resident of the county,” Tony began. “He owns a home here and a business. He poses no risk of flight and looks forward to the opportunity to defend himself against these false charges.”

  The judge reached for his gavel. “Bail is set at one hundred fifty thousand. Cash or bond.”

  I was relieved and terrified at the same time. Did Liam have that kind of money?”

  Tony said, “Can you get that much?”

  Liam shook his head. “My house is mortgaged and I’ve got about fifteen grand in the bank.”

  Before I knew what I was doing I said, “I’ve got it. I can put my house up as collateral.” I only hoped Jane didn’t hear that pledge.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Liam said.

  “It’s not a problem.”

  “Thanks,” he said as the guard took him by the arm and started leading him to the exit that would take him back to the holding area.

  “Finley,” Tony warned. “We represent clients. We do not bail them out of jail.”

  “I’m not going to leave him here. Not when I know he didn’t do it.”

  Tony shrugged just as ASA Garza made his way over to us. He had a folder in one hand that he passed to Tony. “Look, I like your client, but things are not looking good. Call me if you want to discuss a plea.”

  As he walked away, Tony opened the folder and held it so we could read it simultaneously. It was Lopez’s toxicology report. A large amount of ketamine was found in his system and a puncture wound was noted as well. “What’s ketamine?” I asked Tony.

  “It’s potent stuff. Called Special K on the streets. It’s an animal tranquilizer but can be used on humans.”

  “So Lopez was drugged?”

  Tony turned to the second page. “Yep. And according to this, the police have a confidential informant who says he sold ketamine to Liam the day before the shooting.”

  Happiness covers all things except poverty and a bad haircut.

  twelve

  Deed in hand, I went to the nearest bail bondsman. It was a small, single-story building with glass partitions separating those who were arranging bail from those who were collecting the cash or collateral.

  To say I was out of my element was an understatement. Very few people had all their teeth and at least three of the patrons looked as if they’d been in the same clothes for a week or more. Like some sort of deli counter, I pulled a ticket out of a machine and waited for my number to be called. Each minute felt like an hour and I was sti
ll ten people away from being picked.

  I got a call from the IT guys at Dane-Lieberman and stepped out to take the call.

  “Did you find the IP address?” I asked, hopeful that it would result in some sort of clue that would take us to a new place in the investigation.

  “Yeah, but it isn’t good news. Know that coffee shop on Australian, Wired?”

  “Yes.”

  “The e-mail originated from one of their computers.”

  Shit. Shit. And double shit.

  He promised to leave my laptop in my office, then I went back inside to discover my number was next in the rotation. Even though I knew Liam was not capable of shooting anyone for no good reason, I still felt panicked at the thought of gambling with my much-coveted house.

  If I thought getting to my number was a triumph, I was sadly mistaken. I was handed a hefty stack of forms, told to go over to the chipped Formica counter on the adjacent wall and fill them out. Once that was done, I was to take the paperwork and my deed to window number 7.

  The questionnaire was lengthy and covered everything from my date of birth to my relationship—if any—to the inmate. The options were in black and white. You were either a family member or a friend. No box to check if you were just in lust with the person you were bonding out.

  Number 7 was a bleached blonde with some miles on her. She was as wrinkled as a slept-in linen skirt and never smiled or sent out any sort of positive vibe. What did I expect? “Welcome to Fred’s Bonds, have a great day?” Instead she moistened her fingers, flipped through the pages, and stamped each one. She disappeared behind a door for a moment, then slipped some pages into the well between the glass and me.

  On to step two. I went back to the courthouse and presented the bond to the clerk. He made a production out of making sure every i was dotted and every t was crossed. Then he told me I would have to wait an hour before the inmate would be released.

  I wasn’t going to sit around. I grabbed a chicken salad sandwich to go from the courthouse cafeteria and walked the two blocks back to my office. All the while my brain was spinning. I dropped my things off, reclaimed my laptop and secured it in my briefcase, then buzzed Becky.

  “Are you free to come down here for a few minutes?”

  “Is Liam with you?”

  I explained the painfully slow turning of the wheels of justice. “I just need a sounding board.”

  “I’m due for a break,” Becky said. “I’ll be right there.”

  True to her word, within five minutes Becky was seated across from my desk. “You gonna finish that?” she asked as she spied the half sandwich on my desk.

  “Go for it.”

  “So what’s up?”

  “First, thanks for coming to the arraignment.”

  She shrugged. “Liam was there for me when I needed help. Thought it was only right that I return the favor.”

  “I’ve been thinking.”

  Becky grinned. “With what part of your anatomy?”

  “I’m serious. Liam was a cop for almost fifteen years. He had to have made enemies. Maybe one of those enemies lured Liam to José’s house that night with the intention of killing them both?”

  “Because?” she asked with her mouth full of half-masticated food.

  “Because bad people do bad things.”

  “So why now?” she countered. “Liam’s been off the force for five years. Long time to hold a grudge.”

  “Unless the person with the grudge has been incarcerated all this time.”

  “Possible,” Becky acknowledged.

  “How can I find out what cases Liam worked without going to the police?”

  “Hit the criminal database and do a search for Liam’s name. That will tell you every case he testified in or was the arresting officer on.”

  “It’s that easy?”

  Becky shook her head. “No. Then you’d have to get the transcripts and read what happened. If any threats were made. Why don’t you just ask Liam?”

  “I sorta want to do this on my own.”

  Becky’s eyebrows arched. “Why, for God’s sake?”

  “I just want to show him that I am fully capable of figuring this out.”

  “You want him indebted to you?”

  I took in a deep breath. “I don’t know what I want. I just know that helping him is something I need to do.”

  “And how does Tony feel about you playing sleuth?”

  “Hopefully he’ll never know until I uncover something important.”

  “Or you’ll get yourself killed trying. At least two people are dead already. Someone sent you a creepy e-mail and your window was smashed,” Becky argued as she balled up the deli paper and tossed it in the trash.

  “The window thing was a fluke. The cops told me so.”

  “Fin,” Becky began earnestly. “You’re great at tracking down heirs, but tracking down a killer is a whole different ball game.”

  “If I get in over my head, I promise I’ll back off. Just don’t say anything to Liam or Tony.”

  “I can’t make that promise.”

  “You’re my friend.”

  Becky nodded. “A friend who doesn’t want to attend your funeral.”

  I was battling a bit of a time crunch. I drove over to the courthouse, then started walking toward the door where inmates were released. I was not alone. There, standing in the shadows of the sun, was Ashley. She was all dolled up for the occasion—white skinny jeans and a top with a deep V that showed more cleavage than I even had.

  She greeted me with a smile and then gave me an awkward hug. “Thanks so much for arranging Liam’s bail. My salon is doing okay but I sure don’t have a hundred and fifty grand in equity.”

  I shifted from foot to foot as I nervously waited for Liam to come through the fence with sharp razor wire looped on top. The temperatures were beginning to fall and I was sorry I’d left my sweater in the car.

  “It’s really good that Liam has a friend like you,” Ashley said to break the silence. “Not everyone would do what you did for him today.”

  “It’s not a big deal,” I lied. I was already ducking calls from Jane. As my financial planner, she hated when I planned something without her.

  A sirenlike noise sounded and Liam came out of the building flanked by a single guard. He smiled at me. He also smiled at Ashley.

  It was Ashley who ran forward and jumped into his arms. Then she gave him a kiss. I wanted to go running and screaming out of there but I couldn’t think of a way to extricate myself without being totally transparent.

  When Liam reached me, Ashley still had her arm looped through his. “Ash, you want to give us a minute?”

  “We don’t need a minute,” I said, trying my best to be all easy and breezy.

  Liam gave me that sexy half smile and I was pretty sure he knew that I was not comfortable watching him lock lips with another woman.

  “A minute,” Ashley replied in an almost singsong way. “I went shopping and got all the stuff to make your favorite meal. Thai chicken with pasta.” She walked toward the half-full parking lot.

  “Come here,” he said softly.

  I stood my ground. A girl can take only so much humiliation in one sitting. “I just wanted to make sure you got out okay. No snafus with the bond.”

  “Then I’ll come to you,” he said, stepping forward so that mere inches separated us. He smelled of soap and I could almost feel the heat of his body.

  As he slipped his arm around my waist, I turned my head to see if Ashley was bearing witness. She wasn’t. She’d already turned the corner of the building.

  “I need to thank you properly.” His head lowered and hovered over my mouth.

  My tongue slipped out to moisten my suddenly dry lips. That’s when he made his move. And what a move it was. He pressed his mouth to mine and then gingerly took my lower lip between his and teased it with his tongue. My insides were melting along with my ability to reason. His hand moved up and laced through my hair, tilting my head
ever so slightly before he slipped his tongue into my mouth. This time there was nothing gentle or tentative about it.

  His other hand came to rest at my waist, but only for a second. Soon it was traveling up my rib cage until his fingers just grazed the side of my breast. A moan escaped from my lips and I carefully pressed closer to him, mindful of the stitches in his side.

  His mouth broke from mine and he trailed tiny kisses down my jaw and then to my neck. He tugged at the top of my dress, giving himself access to the tender spot near my collarbone. My knees were mush. I was mush. I was also an idiot. I was reveling in sensations from a man who’d just kissed another woman.

  That realization was like a bucket of ice water dousing my inflamed passions. With a jerk, I stepped out of his hold. “Ashley is waiting for you.”

  His eyes were hooded and he seemed to be mocking me. “She’ll wait.”

  “Well, I can’t. I have a thing.”

  His dark eyebrows pinched together. “What kind of thing?”

  “Dinner with a friend,” I told him, careful to keep my tone even. “You’d better get going. Don’t want to keep that Thai chicken waiting.”

  He laughed softly. “You’re going to run out of reasons to put me off one of these days.”

  Probably true, but I’d gnaw off my own tongue before I admitted that to him.

  I tortured myself by adjusting my mirror and watching Ashley and Liam ride off, literally, into the sunset. Before putting my car in drive, I called Izzy to tell her I was on my way.

  Her enthusiasm was catchy. After a few minutes of her being in my car, I found myself enjoying the trials and tribulations of a fourteen-year-old.

  “If he’s such a great guy, why aren’t you letting your father in on it?”

  Izzy frowned as she captured her long brown hair and twisted it up on her head. “Dad doesn’t think I should date until I’m sixteen. That’s so medieval. Cole is my age. It isn’t like I’d be in a car with a boy. Dad’s fears are like totally irrational.”

  “Maybe his fears are because he was once a fourteen-year-old boy,” I suggested.

  “That’s a gross thought.” She adjusted the seat belt so she could sit sideways in the seat. “Unless you’re you? I mean, it would be okay if he had those thoughts about you.”