Page 69 of Two Kinds of Stranger (Eddie Flynn #9)
Kate
This was it.
There was no more time.
Christine and Kevin sat at the defense table, unaware of what would happen next. Eddie had deliberately kept them in the dark. They knew he had something up his sleeve, as he almost always did, but they didn’t know what.
Kate stood, took a moment to look at her clients.
Good people. They hadn’t harmed anyone. Kevin had done the right thing for his old client and had drawn the ire of a deranged killer.
She couldn’t blame him for what he had done.
He could not have known the risks that came with his actions.
No one could. In fact, Kate surmised that if she had been in Kevin’s shoes, she would have done the same thing.
She had a decision to make.
Save these good people.
Or obey the law.
Harry stared straight ahead. He would say no more to her.
He had made his mind up. He knew what had to be done.
Perhaps, she thought, Harry always had a mild disrespect for the law.
And it was only when a young con artist appeared in his courtroom, and he and Eddie had become friends, that this innate underlying rebellious streak had come forward.
Kate’s father had been an NYPD cop for most of his life. He had taught her right from wrong. If her father knew the decision that faced her, she guessed he would tell her to stick to the law. Don’t take a personal risk for a client, no matter who they are. Don’t compromise your professional ethics.
She hung her head.
Listened to Castro whispering to his assistants.
Detective Withers cleared her throat.
They were all waiting for Kate.
Some people on the jury coughed or shuffled their feet.
In the midst of the hum of the courtroom, Kate closed her eyes, thinking of Amy living with her father, while Kevin and Christine spent the rest of their lives in a hellhole prison.
She opened her eyes, and looked at Detective Withers with a determination she had never felt before.
Kate said a silent apology to her father and asked her first question.
‘Detective, you are aware that the deceased, Arthur Cross, was suspected of murdering his wife very recently. I think we established this?’
‘He was suspected, but no charges were brought.’
‘To be specific, it was suspected that Mr. Cross had paid an associate of his, Bruno Mont, twenty thousand dollars to kill his then elderly wife, Betty Le Saux?’
‘That was the suspicion. That was all it amounted to. Suspicion.’
‘Do you know the amount Mr. Cross stood to inherit?’
‘I’m not sure, but I believe it was many millions of dollars.’
‘How about twenty million dollars?’
‘I will take your word for that.’
‘The defendant, Kevin Pollock, managed to get the will overturned, and a previous will through probate so that Mr. Cross inherited nothing. Correct?’
‘Correct.’
Kate tapped her laptop. A financial statement appeared onscreen.
‘This is Mr. Cross’s bank statement. We can see here a payment, before Betty Le Saux’s murder, to Mont Salvage of twenty thousand dollars. And another payment, just recently, of fifteen thousand dollars. Do you see that?’
‘I do.’
‘Mr. Cross made that second payment, the day after he was allegedly assaulted by the defendants, even though he was unable to give an accurate description of his attackers that day?’
‘Yes, that timeline appears to be correct.’
‘So right after he had his arm broken, Mr. Cross pays Mr. Mont another fifteen thousand dollars, agreed?’
‘Yes.’
‘Your Honor, I would now like to play a recording which came into our possession yesterday. The first voice you will hear is Mr. Bruno Mont.’
‘Who is this?’
‘Best if we don’t use names. I got a referral, couple of years ago, from an old friend of yours, Arthur Cross. I was sorry to hear he passed.’
‘Arthur was murdered.’
‘Shit, sorry. I didn’t know.’
‘I guess you could say Arthur had it coming.’
‘Are you still working?’
‘I’m working. What do you need?’
‘Two targets. Both are ex-law enforcement. I don’t need them to disappear. I just want them dead.’
‘That’ll cost you.’
‘What’s the damage?’
‘Depends. Somewhere between fifteen and twenty is the normal price, but for ex-cops I gotta charge more. You’re looking at twenty-five apiece.’
‘I can do that. Two things you need to know. One of them is a woman. You got a problem with that?’
‘Not in the slightest.’
‘You sure? ’Cause I had this problem before with contractors. They’re all gung-ho when they get their deposit, but they pussy out when it comes time to pull the trigger on a bitch. You’re not going to pussy out on me, are you?’
‘This wouldn’t be the first time I done a woman.’
‘I don’t know. I need to be sure you’re going to go through with this. This is a time-sensitive thing.’
‘I took out a little old lady in her own house. Broke her neck then dumped her over her balcony. Then I drove to an all-night diner and ate steak and eggs and then some pie. That make you feel better?’
‘I’ll take your word for it.’
‘What’s the second thing I need to know?’
‘I need them taken out tonight.’
‘Tonight? It’s like seven already? That’s not possible.’
‘I know exactly where they will be. And they damn sure won’t be expecting you. I can add another ten to the deal. That’s sixty grand for a night’s work. Half now, half on fulfilment.’
‘Why tonight?’
‘I don’t think you need to worry about that. It’s got to be now or never. That’s all you need to know.’
‘Seventy-five. Half now. Half when the job’s done. Or find somebody else.’
‘Deal.’
‘Give me your information and I’ll do the transfer.’
‘Just one word of warning. When the job is done, you transfer the rest immediately. If you don’t pay, you become the next target. You understand?’
‘I got it. Your targets are Gabriel Lake and Melissa Bloch. You can find them in . . . ’
Castro launched to his feet and began complaining, but the judge waved him away, and then asked Kate, ‘Miss Brooks, the first voice on the recording you say is this Mr. Mont. Who is the other person speaking?’
Kate said, ‘My law partner, Eddie Flynn.’
The rear doors of the courtroom burst open, and Eddie came through them.
He held up a hand to apologize for the interruption and took a seat at the back of the court.
Speak of the devil . . . thought Kate.
‘Detective Withers,’ said Kate, ‘Mr. Mont tried to kill our investigators last night and was fatally injured in the attempt. NYPD are aware of the circumstances. During this call, you hear what Mr. Mont normally charges to kill somebody, he admits murdering Betty Le Saux, and he threatens the caller that if they fail to meet their obligations to him they in turn will be murdered. Is that a fair summation?’
The detective nodded. Kate pressed her for a verbal reply and she said, ‘That’s fair,’ for the record.
‘Detective, Mr. Cross was set to inherit millions of dollars from his wife. He didn’t.
He paid the down payment for the hit to Mr. Mont, so that he would kill his wife.
I put it to you that when Mr. Mont didn’t get the rest of his fee he broke Mr. Cross’s arm, and threatened to kill him.
That’s why another fifteen thousand was paid by Mr. Cross to Mr. Mont the day after the assault.
That’s why he was unwilling to describe his attacker to police.
When Mr. Cross didn’t come up with the rest of the money, Mr. Mont disabled the alarm system on my client’s property for eleven minutes, snuck into their home, knowing they had reasons to want Mr. Cross dead.
He took their firearm and shot and killed Mr. Cross. ’
Detective Withers’ mouth opened, but no words came out. She stared at the jury. Castro stared at them too.
It didn’t matter that Kate had just established reasonable doubt, corroborated by bank statements and a timeline – now the jury knew Cross was a killer, they didn’t give a shit about him.
‘Detective? That’s a reasonable theory as to who may have killed Mr. Cross?’
Castro started to object, but he was too late.
‘This information was not in the prior possession of police. This is the first time I am seeing this evidence. It is reasonable—’
Kate turned to the judge, said, ‘Your Honor, I move for a dismissal of this case.’
While she waited for the judge to respond, Kate thought of all the professional ethics and laws she had just broken.
Someone had framed Christine and Kevin for Cross’s murder.
Now, she had done the exact same thing.
She had framed Bruno Mont for Cross’s murder.
Eddie had used the stranger’s own tactics against him.
Never try to con a conman.
Kate waited for the judge to speak, and Harry took her arm.
Christine had covered her mouth with her hand, and Kevin was wide-eyed, staring at Kate.
‘In light of this new evidence . . . ’ began the judge.