Old Loves Die Hard (A Mac Faraday Mystery)

by Lauren Carr

  Mac said, “Crime of opportunity. Booth got there first and whoever else was involved ran into him in the parking lot and killed him to get it back.”

  “Good thinking, Bogie,” David said. “All we have to do is figure out who that someone is.” Noticing Archie going through the evidence box, he slid it away from her. “You don’t belong in there. You’re as bad as Gnarly.”

  When he slid the box away from her, her hand came out with Stephen Maguire’s keychain dangling from her fingers. “Hey, I’ve been wanting one of these.” She pressed the side of the pen knife and a flash drive sprang out, not unlike a switchblade knife springing out of its shield.

  “What’s that?” David grabbed the flash drive from her hand.

  “It’s a flash drive disguised as a pen knife,” Archie took it back. “Isn’t it cool? You hook it to your keys. That way you’re less likely to lose it.”

  “Never mind that,” Mac said. “Show us what’s on it.”

  She slipped the flash drive into her laptop. “There’s an audio file and a folder on here. It’s named Themis.”

  “We got it,” Mac said. “Let’s see what this evidence is. It must be good to kill for it.”

  “I’ll start with the audio file.” Archie turned up the volume on her speaker.

  “Hello, Natasha?” a male voice came out of the speaker.

  “That’s Judge Sutherland,” Mac told them over the feminine reply.

  The judge went on, “I was calling to find out how you were doing after last night.”

  There was a titter of laughter before she replied, “I’ve never felt so good. It’s like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. This morning, when I went out to get my coffee and the newspaper, I noticed the color of the flowers and the sound of the children laughing. They sounded happy and I felt like I’d played a part in that goodness.” She laughed again.

  “Ah,” Archie cooed, “they’re in love.”

  Mac said, “This must be the recording that Sutherland said Maguire had of their affair during the Baxter trial.”

  Judge Sutherland jumped in. “I know exactly what you’re talking about. After last night, I feel like I’ve given something back to society. I haven’t felt like that in a long, long time. I feel like I’ve personally fed ten thousand men, women, and children, all by myself.”

  “That’s not sex they’re talking about,” David said.

  Natasha asked, “Did you see the paper?”

  “It’s on the news, too,” he replied. “George Vance called me at one o’clock this morning.”

  She sounded worried. “You’re certain they can’t trace the bomb back to you?”

  He replied, “Don’t worry, Natasha. You know how it is. Sid Baxter was a plague that threatened the lives of every innocent boy in the city. We’ve tried everything we could, within the stifling constraints that the justice system has set on us, to get rid of him and protect the rest of society, but because of all the laws they created to protect him, there wasn’t any other way to protect the rest of us.”

  “I know, Garrison.”

  “I hope you’re not having second thoughts about what we did.”

  “No,” she said forcefully. “I’m just worried about you. What if—”

  “They aren’t going to spend enough time and energy on his case to trace it back to us. Sid Baxter was a pedophile. Homicide is already suspecting the Sweeney boy’s father. As soon as he lawyers up, the case will find its way to the back burner.”

  “Maybe we should have thought about this a little bit more before doing this,” she said. “Suppose Mr. Sweeney gets arrested for killing him?”

  Judge Sutherland laughed. “I did think about that. I have enough pull, that if that happens, I’ll make a couple of calls to some old friends and suggest how poor it would look publicly to go after the victim’s family when the system had let them down. I assure you. They’ll find a reason to drop the case.”

  “Oh, Garrison,” she swooned, “you thought of everything. To think that only two weeks ago I felt like I’d climbed into bed with the devil. Now, after personally swinging the sword of justice and making one less demon out on the streets, I feel like—Ah, I can’t describe it!”

  “You don’t have to,” he said. “I know precisely how you feel. Listen, I need to go. Can we meet later for drinks? I think this occasion calls for champagne.”

  Natasha ended the call saying that she agreed and would meet him later at the club.

  Mac told Archie to stop the recording. “They were having more than an affair.”

  “No wonder they’ve been so anxious to get Maguire’s personal effects,” David said. “If this recording got out—”

  “We have more,” Archie said from where she stood over her mini. “There’s a file inside the Themis folder called Emails.” She clicked on the first email listed. “This first one is from Natasha to Sutherland. Based on the name on their accounts, I assume they’re their private email accounts. Natasha tells Sutherland that she’s sick and tired of this. She heard about how Maguire had made him call Hunter to give his recommendation for making him his deputy and that they needed to do something to put an end to it.”

  “What’s the date on that?” Mac wanted to know.

  “Five weeks ago.”

  “That’s before Maguire was poisoned,” he noted.

  “And then, in the next email, Natasha says,” Archie turned the mini around for them to read, “I think it’s time that Themis meets to discuss the matter of Stephen Maguire. He may be a prosecutor, but he plays a bigger role within the system to let the real criminals back out onto the streets to hurt the innocent citizens than defense attorneys. Let us not forget Freddie Gibbons. He’s more of a threat to society than the criminals.”

  Archie read out loud, “Then the reply from Sutherland, ‘That’s your frustration talking. Stephen is a bottom eater, but he’s no criminal.’ She replied, ‘He’s a direct threat to Themis. When I think of all the good that we’ve done society by get-ting rid of the likes of Freddie Gibbons, Lee Samuels, Jillian Keating, Gerald Hogan, Douglas Propst, and last but not least, Sid Baxter. If I didn’t have Themis, I would’ve killed myself a long time ago. Themis is the only thing that keeps me going and we can’t let Stephen threaten us anymore.’”

  “That list of names.” Mac grabbed the sheet of paper that had the list of names. “This email is where Maguire got this list of names from.”

  Archie continued, “Then Judge Sutherland replied to that email with, ‘Stephen hasn’t a clue about Themis. As long as he thinks it stopped with Sid Baxter, then we’re okay. The less we say and do, the better.’ To which she replies,” she paused for dramatic effect, “‘If the court won’t do anything about him, then I will. I’ll be careful and promise that I won’t do anything if I’m caught to let it be connected to Themis. For the sake of justice for the people, I believe that it is best if Stephen Maguire is executed.’”

  She pointed at the screen on the mini. “Now the next email is a couple of weeks later. Judge Sutherland is writing to Natasha Holmstead, ‘What did you do? I heard in court today that Stephen is in the hospital. Someone poisoned him. I saw you talking to him the other night. Did you slip something into his drink? He could have died.’ She replied, ‘I only did what I had to do for the good of the people.’”

  She paused to scroll down. “Sutherland then asks what would she have done if the poison had been traced back to her, to which she says that she is one of the top defense attorneys in the business and she could defend herself. Don’t worry. She says that the mission of Themis is more important than any one person.”

  They all sat back to digest the information in the emails.

  Archie said, “Maguire must have suspected her when he was poisoned. So he hacked into her email, and when he found this thread, he copied it to the flash drive to use for additional leverage against them.”

  David asked, “What else is in that Themis folder?”

  “Two PDF fil
es,” she replied. “One is called Propst. The other is Baxter.”

  Bogie said, “Maguire must have downloaded those from the archives.”

  Mac said, “The emails don’t really come right out and say what Themis is or does. They also don’t say who is directly involved in the group. So Maguire took the names they listed and started investigating the cases to gather evidence against them. Can you imagine the publicity he would have gotten if he busted a vigilante group that involved a judge and one of the top defense attorneys in the country? He would’ve been assured of getting appointed U.S. Attorney then.”

  David said, “That’s why he and any witnesses he talked to had to be killed.”

  Mac said, “That’s why Themis has to be stopped.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was between the lunchtime rush and the evening crowd that Mac waited at his private table in the lounge at the Spencer Inn, which provided a magnificent view of ski slopes and the lake down below.

  He had asked Judge Sutherland and Natasha Holmstead to meet him alone to discuss the return of something that belonged to them.

  The view of the mountain was changing almost daily. The dead leaves hanging by threads on the trees across the mountain would get snipped lose by the wind to dance to the ground and lake below. Now that “leaf-peeper” season was over, the staff at the Spencer Inn kicked into high gear.

  There was a lot to do and a short time to do it.

  The off season between height of autumn and winter was no time for rest. The staff was rushing around like Santa’s elves changing the Inn from summer resort status to that of a winter sports resort. Ski equipment had to be taken out of storage, inspected, and set up. Cross country ski trails had to be cleared.

  Since Mac was no longer on duty, he was able to enjoy a drink while waiting for his guests. It was one of the perks of being retired. For this meeting, he had chosen a snifter of Camus Jubilee from his private stock.

  Believing enough people had died in Spencer in the last week, Mac ordered Justine the bartender took a break while one of David’s officers filled her post behind the bar. Two more officers were cleaning and setting the tables on the other side of the lounge.

  David, Archie, Bogie, and Prosecutor Ben Fleming were up in the security office watching on the monitor.

  How will this go down? Mac wondered. Considering that they’ve already sent a renegade cop after me…Will they come with guns blazing?

  With all the tension, Mac was surprised when Sutherland and Natasha came in and almost scurried across the lounge to his table.

  “Lieutenant Faraday,” Garrison greeted him in his usual friendly manner. “I was so glad when you called. Can’t believe it was still in Maguire’s room after all this time.”

  Mac felt his back tense up when he saw Natasha slip her hand into her purse. “How much do you want for it?” she asked.

  “Not cash.” Mac slapped the flash drive he held in his lap onto the table. “I want the truth.”

  Garrison rubbed his chin while looking over at Natasha. “I guess this means you listened to the recording.”

  “With all the bodies dropping here in Spencer, did you really think I wouldn’t?”

  The defense attorney and the judge exchanged looks of disappointment.

  Natasha Holmstead whirled around to the officer behind the bar. “Did they teach you how to make a pitcher of martinis at the police academy?”

  Garrison asked, “What are you drinking, Mac?” After learning that he was drinking Camus Jubilee, the judge also turned to the bar. “I’ll have what he’s having.”

  Uncertain of where anything was behind the bar, the officer began rummaging to fill their orders.

  “Drinks are on me!” The judge craned his neck and looked around in search of the security camera. “Come on in and join the party.” He turned back to Mac. “He went down not with a bang, but with a whimper.”

  Who would have thought?

  No guns. No accusations.

  Judge Garrison Sutherland plopped down in the seat across from Mac with the pleasantness of someone drinking with an old friend, not an ex-cop about to have him arrested for murder. “Your friends are free to join us. Don’t worry. We’re not armed.” He sat up when he saw David and the rest of the officers come into the lounge. “Ah, Chief, sit down. Take a load off. Looks like a good night for a binge.”

  “Ah, nice that you could join us.” Natasha took the first martini from the pitcher that the officer had delivered to the table. “Have a drink.” She raised her glass in a toast.

  Mac was in awe of how the showdown appeared to turn into a party. Archie slid into the booth next to him. David preferred to stand with his hand near the gun on his hip.

  After introducing himself to the judge as Garrett County’s prosecutor, Ben Fleming slipped into a chair he pulled over from another table and accepted the martini Natasha offered to him.

  The judge accepted the snifter from the officer posing as the bartender. “When you told me about the cleaning crew finding that flash drive with the recording somewhere in Maguire’s room, I knew it had to be a lie.” He raised the snifter in a toast. “The jig is up. It was great while it lasted.”

  Martini in hand, Natasha had the same smug expression that most of her clients in the past wore before, during, and after their arrest. Mac wondered if she had taught them that expression.

  He guessed that this wasn’t her first drink. She’d probably been seeking courage ever since he told her about Celia Tennyson’s death. She sensed they were closing in.

  “I guess you know why we’re here.” David glanced over at Ben. “We’re arresting you and Ms. Holmstead on several counts of murder. I must inform you of your rights. You—”

  The judge waved his hand at him. “I know my rights already and waive them. Don’t you, Natasha?”

  Caught in the middle of sipping her martini, she waited until swallowing and letting out a breath of satisfaction. “Sure. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  Garrison sighed with resignation. “I knew this day would come. Hell, I even half expected it to be Mac to put it all together three years ago when Dylan got himself killed.”

  Their lack of remorse amazed Mac. “You do realize that you killed people.”

  “No, we didn’t.” Natasha shook her head. “We killed no one.” She gestured at the judge and herself. “We’re no more guilty of murder than the juries who find defendants guilty of murder and sentence them to death.”

  “We found the recording that Stephen Maguire had been holding over your heads for years,” Mac said. “You and Judge Sutherland blew up Sid Baxter. I was there. I saw him blown into pieces.”

  Judge Sutherland said, “That was in defense of another.”

  Natasha explained, “I was his lawyer. He had told me in no uncertain terms that he had no intention to stop preying on other little boys. He killed the Sweeney kid. That idiot so-called detective Fitzwater blew it. We couldn’t let Baxter go out there and kill again.”

  “So you blew him up?” Mac asked.

  Natasha said, “Only because Garrison pulled rank on me. I wanted to poison him with strychnine.”

  “We had Baxter under surveillance,” Mac argued. “We would’ve caught him. Then he would have been tried and convicted.”

  “He was tried and convicted in our court,” the judge said.

  Not understanding, David repeated, “Your court?”

  “Our court,” the judge said. “We have our own system. It is a court very much like yours, except that it’s completely free of political agendas. All of the evidence is seen in our court.”

  “Themis,” Mac said.

  “Our court is completely fair and just. We look at the facts as they are,” Garrison said. “The good, the bad, and the truth with no political agendas.”

  “Yes,” Natasha said. “The court of law and order. No evidence gets suppressed because it was unfairly acquired. We don’t try the victim and we don’t make deals. We try the defenda
nts—purely and simply.”

  “I suppose it’s purely coincidence that after you sentence someone to death in your little court, they suddenly die,” Mac said.

  “The cases that we would go over during our trials were very public cases. These defendants led high-risk lives. They were bound to meet violent ends, which is coincidentally what happened.” Natasha Holmstead was in defense attorney mode.

  Ben said, “Tell us exactly what goes on during your trials.”

  She replied, “We’re not going to answer that without our lawyers.”

  “Put a cork in it, Natasha,” Judge Sutherland said before answering the prosecutor. “Therapy.” He gestured at all of them. “You all know how frustrating our business can be, especially when you know precisely who did it, when you have all the evidence, you have everything but the jury isn’t allowed to see it. Or maybe you can’t get any of it before a jury because of a roadblock in this system that seems to protect the killer more than it does the people.”

  The judge’s anger rose as he spoke. “Like Leo Samuels.” He waved a hand in Mac’s direction as he reminded him, “We knew damn well that he intimidated that kid into doing the shooting, but the system let him right back out onto the streets and the kid went to jail where he got knifed by one of Samuels’s men. The system should have been protecting that kid.”

  “Themis tried Samuels in their court. He was found guilty and got gunned down in a drive-by shooting,” Mac surmised.

  “He was a gangbanger,” Natasha reminded him. “It was bound to happen.”

  “You killed your husband,” Mac said.

  Natasha sat up in her seat. “I didn’t kill him.”

  “He was on to you,” Mac said. “He’d stolen copies of your emails and had names of those Themis had convicted and executed. He was on to Themis.”

  Garrison and Natasha gasped in unison. “What do you mean he stole copies of our emails? What emails?” she asked.