Moratorium

by Chuck Sampson

  “I believe you, Kelsey,” Cyrus said, “Dana Mathers didn’t kill Mike Tanner.”

  “You’re a strange man, Cyrus Fleming,” Kelsey said, “Why’d you change your mind?”

  “Because I believe you. I know you’re not lying about the bat.”

  “So now you have evidence Dana is innocent and we can get him out of jail.”

  “You know this is not going to be easy, right?”

  “Yes, I know, Dana’s confessed to the crime. But you have new evidence. If you give the new evidence to Dana’s lawyer, can’t he overturn the conviction?”

  “Maybe he could, after I verify your alibi, and after I prove that you really had the bat, we would have a case based on circumstantial evidence. The judge may not consider that enough. And there’s one other thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You want to find Mike’s killer don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Better to have the conviction stand for at a day or two. That way the real killer doesn’t destroy evidence or leave town before we find him.”

  “That will be up to Dana,” Kelsey said.

  Cyrus nodded.

  “The coffee is getting cold, Cyrus,” Mrs. Leighton said, standing in the hallway leading to the kitchen. She took Kelsey by the hand and led her away. Cyrus followed behind. She had made pancakes, plain, blueberry, and chocolate chip. The sweet smell of the blueberries mixed with the bacon normally would have stimulated his appetite; however his churning stomach tempered his enthusiasm for any kind of food. What a waste, he thought.

  They all sat down to breakfast and Mrs. Leighton said a long grace which included a plea to the Almighty to give Kelsey and Dana the strength they needed to overcome the challenges ahead and that the people around them would soften their hearts and come to their aid. Cyrus knew that last part was meant for him. Mrs. Leighton had obviously been won over by Kelsey’s strong character. He knew, because she had made the blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes, not just the plain ones. They were an honor reserved for close kin and special guests.

  “Would you like a pancake, Cyrus?” Mrs. Leighton asked.

  He weighed the idea of passing up her request and then he remembered the last time she cooked him a meal and he told her he wasn’t hungry. He regretted that decision sorely. Weeks passed before she spoke to him again and his mother lectured him on his insensitivity to Mrs. Leighton’s feelings every time she saw him for at least a month after. So he just smiled and nodded yes. Despite his queasy stomach, he forced down a couple of blueberry pancakes.

  When Kelsey had finished eating, Mrs. Leighton got up and took her plate, “I’ll get you a couple more, dear,” she said to Kelsey and then she glared at Cyrus.

  “Oh, thanks, Mrs. Leighton but I have to get going. I need to try and get a call through to Dana and see if I can get a… a special kind of visit with him.”

  “Full contact,” Cyrus said.

  Mrs. Leighton got her two more blueberry pancakes anyway. When she set them down she smiled at Kelsey and then she said “Don’t worry dear, Cyrus will get you in to see Dana won’t you, Cyrus?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Leighton,” Cyrus said, “I am going there to see him anyway. I’ve a few questions to ask him.”

  While Kelsey got herself ready for the trip to CMC, Cyrus called Max. He filled him in on what he’d learned from Kelsey Tanner.

  “What are we going to do?” Max said, “Reopen the case. Give your evidence to Dana’s lawyer and have him overturn the plea?”

  “I am not sure. I’ll talk to Martinez and see what he thinks. The evidence we have so far may not persuade a judge to overturn his ruling. It’s all circumstantial. We need to prove that Dana didn’t have access to the murder weapon and that our eyewitness was either lying or mistaken. Even that may not be enough to convince a judge to overturn a case the defendant has already confessed to.”

  “So we do nothing?”

  “I didn’t say that. We’re at a dead end on the sabotage case right?

  “Right.”

  “Then this investigation is part of the sabotage case. That way there’s no problem about jurisdiction either.”

  “So how does Mike’s murder connect with the sabotage of the cruiser?”

  “Good question.” Cyrus gave Max a laundry list of tasks to complete while he took Kelsey up to CMC. He wanted him to check out her alibi and her story about her will. He could try to find out about her medical history, but that probably wouldn’t be possible and maybe not even necessary. If her father was lying about her heart condition it would be easy to prove and Kelsey would more than likely offer to give them access to her medical records.

  A full contact visit was not easy to come by at CMC, especially for a violent felony offender whose cell was on the west end of the compound. Dana was sitting on the couch in the visitor room, watching TV, when Cyrus and Kelsey entered. He got up and gave Kelsey a hug and kiss that lasted a while.

  “Dana,” Kelsey said after he released her, “I was worried I’d never see you again.”

  “I thought you would never want to see me again,” Dana said.

  Cyrus walked around them and into the room. Sitting down on the chair across from the couch, he surveyed the surroundings. The plain walls were painted over with a thick, oily, white coat to cover up the graffiti and the cool, spotless, room smelled of bleach and pine sol. The chair felt flimsy to Cyrus and he dared not lean back for fear of it coming apart. He turned his attention to Kelsey and Dana.

  Kelsey took Dana’s hands and held him close. “I know you’re innocent,” she said. Looking over at Cyrus she continued, “And so does Cyrus.”

  Cyrus gave Dana a small wave of his hand.

  “I am very sorry about Mike,” Dana said.

  Kelsey hung her head, let go her embrace, and then walked across the room and sat down on the couch. Dana followed behind her and turned off the TV before he sat down next to her.

  “Thanks,” he said to Cyrus, “I knew Kelsey would be better than me at convincing you I’m innocent.”

  “It was the message, not the messenger. How are you holding up? Everything O.K.?”

  “I am fine. After spending three years confined to a wheel chair, prison is no big deal. So what did you want to ask me?” Dana said.

  “What did you and Jack Tanner talk about when he visited you in city jail.”

  “We talked about Kelsey.”

  “What did he say about her?”

  “He said she was deathly ill and he was afraid that if she had to go to court, she wouldn’t make it.”

  “Is that why you took the plea?”

  Dana shook his head. “No, I didn’t believe him. I knew better. Kelsey’s very strong. There’s nothing sickly about her. I was scared for her about something else.”

  “Go on.”

  “I remembered that the last time I had the bat was when I gave it to Kelsey.”

  Kelsey turned to him with a look of surprise and said, “So you thought I killed Mike?”

  “You told me on the beach that day you had a plan to make Mike stop bothering us.”

  “And you thought that was the plan? Wow.”

  “I know I am a knucklehead. I saw how you reacted when we found Mike. I shouldn’t have even-“

  “No, you shouldn’t have.”

  “I didn’t know. Besides that, I do feel responsible somewhat for Mike’s death. Maybe I should have left you alone Kelsey. Maybe I am just being selfish-“

  “Stop it,” Kelsey said as she caressed his cheek with her hands, “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Kelsey leaned back against the thin couch cushion and sighed. “Dana dear you really need to work on your compulsion to save everyone except yourself,” she said, “You’re driving everybody crazy.”

  “Good point,” Cyrus said, “You know you can probably get a new trial. With your celebrity status the jury surely let you go.”

  “I don’t want a new trial and I am not afraid of jail. I am hoping you can
find the real killer and keep Kelsey out of this mess.”

  “That’s what I wanted to hear. Max is checking out Kelsey’s story right now. If she’s telling the truth, which I believe she is, then she’s in the clear.”

  “What can I do to help?”

  “You can tell me about your conversation with Jack Tanner.”

  Dana hung his head, his face paled.

  Kelsey combed Dana’s hair with her fingers, and then she took his hand in hers. “What’s wrong?” she said.

  “I gave your Father my word, I wouldn’t tell anyone about our conversation.”

  “I wouldn’t feel guilty about that,” Cyrus said, “What Tanner asked you do to was unethical and illegal. What did Jack Tanner talk to you about?”

  “He said that he believed me when I told him I didn’t kill Mike.”

  “Really?” Cyrus said as he jotted down some notes. “Did he say who he thought it was who did kill Mike?”

  For a few moments everyone sat quiet. Cyrus ran his hands through his hair and sighed. Then Dana spoke again, “He said he wasn’t sure but he thought it might be someone or some group trying to get him to sell off TANOCO.”

  “Did he say why they would kill Mike?” Cyrus said.

  “He told me he thinks they killed Mike as a warning to him that he better cooperate.”

  Cyrus gave Kelsey a sharp look and said, “You know anything about someone taking over TANOCO?”

  “No, this is the first I’ve heard of it,” she said.

  Cyrus retrieved his small notepad and pen from his jacket. Kelsey and Dana sat in silence while Cyrus wrote down notes for several minutes. Once he finished, he said, “You know Dana, the bat wasn’t the only reason I thought you were guilty.”

  “What else?”

  “You weren’t telling me the truth that day at the beach when I picked you up.”

  “I don’t understand, what do think I lied about?”

  “When I asked you when the last time you saw Mike was, you told me it was at Surfer’s Park in Ventura the day before. I didn’t believe you. I still don’t. Are you holding something back?”

  Dana’s face froze and the room fell silent.

  Cyrus waited several moments, and then he said, “You can tell me the truth. You’re already in jail. I am trying to help you get out, remember?”

  “Stop protecting people and tell Cyrus the truth, Dana,” Kelsey said.

  Dana finally spoke. “Yes, I lied.” he said, looking down at the floor, “I lied to you about that. I saw him that morning at Rincon Beach about an hour before I picked up Kelsey. I only went there to warn him, not kill him.”

  “Warn him about what?”

  Dana lifted up his head, “I tried to warn him about the FBI watching him,” he said, “Roger Martinez told me about it. He told me the FBI was sure Mike had something to do with the arson fire in Laguna and that the FBI believed that Mike knew where Jeff Moon was hiding out.”

  “Jeff Moon? You mean the firebug who torched the car lot?”

  “Yeah, that’s him.”

  “Why would you care whether or not Mike was caught by the FBI?”

  “Mike and I didn’t get along, but I didn’t hate him.” Dana said, “Besides, he’s Kelsey’s brother, so whatever happened to him affected Kelsey and me as well. I wanted warn him to do him a favor. I was trying to get him to quit bothering me about his sister.”

  “So after you told him about the FBI investigation was he grateful?”

  “No”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t know, but he acted crazier than ever. He totally ignored what I told him. He said he knew the FBI was watching him and he didn’t care. By the time they caught up to him, he said, it would be too late anyway.”

  “Too late for what?”

  “I didn’t ask him; I didn’t want to know.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “He lunged at me again just like the day before at Surfer’s Park. I just grabbed his hands and pushed him to the ground. He’s kinda small, you know. I’d never hit him.”

  Cyrus shook his head slowly. His faced flushed red and he clenched his pen so hard it cracked.

  Dana’s eyes grew wide and then he said, “What did I say?”

  Cyrus let out a long sigh. Then he said, “So just like that, Mike lunged at you?”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about?”

  “Briana said she heard either you or Mike shout out something that sounded like Dee.”

  Dana sighed and then he said, “All right, all right, I didn’t want to tell you in front of Kelsey.”

  Kelsey put her hand on Dana’s shoulder, “It’s okay, Dana, stop worrying about everybody’s feelings and worry about yourself. You have to tell Cyrus everything or he won’t be able to help us.”

  “Mike told me that he had given Deidra her old job back.”

  “That made you angry?” Cyrus asked.

  “Of course not, but then he said he was going to make her a staff editor. I couldn’t believe he was being so nice to her and I knew there was some kind of catch. Then he said if I didn’t stop going out with Kelsey he was going to convince Deidra to marry him. He was using her to get to me. I sort of lost it and I threw him to the ground. I warned him again to stay away from Deidra. Kelsey knows how I feel about her. It’s nothing romantic, or sexual. I put her through a lot when I was in the hospital and I couldn’t stand the idea of Mike exploiting her like that.”

  “Look, you have to start telling me everything the first time I ask you. Don’t you understand how suspicious you look when you cover for everyone?”

  “Cyrus is right, Dana,” Kelsey said while she rubbed Dana’s shoulder.

  “You don’t remember seeing him with your blue handled bat, do you?”

  “No. After a few moments of me holding him down, I let him go, and then he ran up the stairway to the parking lot. By the time I got to the parking lot he was gone, thankfully. I headed for Memorial Hospital to pick up Kelsey.”

  “That’s all you talked about?”

  “That’s all,” Dana said.

  Cyrus leaned back in his chair and tossed his broken pen into a nearby waste basket. “Do you have any idea why someone would want to frame you?”

  “No, I’ve been racking my mind over it the last two days and I can’t think of anyone I’ve angered enough to want to destroy me like this, especially since my accident at Rincon. I’ve lived a pretty solitary life since then, just Kelsey and me.”

  “How about before your accident? Somebody holding a grudge against you?” Cyrus said.

  “Oh you mean from surfing. I had no enemies. Besides, it’s been a long time since I competed.”

  “What about Deidra? You said yourself you put her through a lot.”

  Dana nodded his head and said, “Yes, but we are still friends.”

  “She accepted the breakup without complaint?”

  “Well, it was hard for her I’m sure. I wasn’t exactly subtle about it, being so bummed out and all. But I saw her at Ventura Park the day before Mike was killed. We had a nice conversation and parted friends.”

  “She came to visit you at the city jail, before you were transferred. What did you two talk about?”

  “She said she just wanted to show her support and she told me she believed I was innocent. The only reason she was there was because she was worried Kelsey might believe I killed her brother. She didn’t want me to be alone. She’s not the jealous type.”

  “Are you sure? She is tall and blonde. Maybe that was her the eyewitness saw standing over Mike.”

  “I’m sure, Cyrus,” Dana said, “I even told her about Kelsey and I getting engaged and she said very sincerely that she was very happy for me. And I believe her.”

  “Deidra Jones is a very nice person,” Kelsey said. “I remember when Dana was in the hospital recovering from his paralysis, she came by to see him almost every day for six weeks.”

  Cyrus sat up straight and then leaned forw
ard in his chair, “How about at work? Anyone there have a grudge against you?”

  “I’ve only been at Chevron a year as a geophysicist, two years as an intern. I don’t think I’ve ticked off anyone, especially anyone who knew Mike.”

  “Who did you know at Chevron who also knew Mike Tanner?”

  “That would be Kwan Li, she’s a good friend of my father,” Kelsey said.

  “That’s right, Detective,” Dana said.

  “My father told me Kwan Li is very happy with Dana’s work,” Kelsey said and then she took hold of Dana’s hand, “He also told me Kwan Li considers him the best geophysicist who’s ever worked for her.”

  Getting up carefully out of his rickety chair to leave, Cyrus looked at his watch and then motioned to Dana to stay seated, “I’ll leave you two alone now; you have about an hour left on your visit, Kelsey.”

  “Where are you going?” Kelsey said.

  “I am continuing my investigation. I’ll probably pay a visit to your father and ask him about that hostile takeover bid at TANOCO. The Ombudsman will take you home and I already put in a word for him to keep his eye on Dana.”

  “I don’t need it,” Dana said, “Do I?”

  “Just a precaution. Whoever sabotaged the squad car wasn’t after me or my partner; they were after you.”

  Chapter 12

  An hour after he left Deidra Jones’s small two bedroom apartment on Anne St in Ventura, Cyrus arrived at the outskirts of Santa Barbara. His interview with Deidra Jones was a waste of time. She appeared to be the saintly woman Kelsey and Dana had described to him. She cried off and on during the entire interview. Most importantly she had an almost airtight alibi. She admitted to being with Mike the morning he died. That was probably her hair he found in the Cooper. She said he drove her to Rincon Beach early, before seven, so she could pay a visit to a special effects person. He owed her money for some artwork she’d done for him. According to her statement, she didn’t even know Mike was dead until that afternoon.