possible, I would appreciate it if you didn't go public about us. I doubt it has anything to do with Robert's murder anyway.'
'We have no interest in hurting you,' Tracy said, 'but I'll have to tell Mr. Reynolds. It's his decision.'
'I guess I'll have to live with that.'
'How did you two get together?' Barry asked.
'My problems at home were fairly obvious to an astute observer of human nature, like Robert. He was having his own problems with the ice princess. Since we had a problem in common, it was natural for us to talk. One thing led to another. Both of us were consenting adults.
Neither one of us took the sex that seriously.'
'How long did it go on?'
'Two years, off and on. It wasn't a regular thing.'
'Why the Overlook?' Barry asked.
Kelly chuckled. 'Good question.' She lit another cigarette. 'It certainly wasn't the ambience.'
Justice Kelly laughed nervously again, then took a drag.
'Robert and I are public figures. We needed an out-of-the-way place where we wouldn't be seen by anyone we knew. None of our friends would be caught dead at the Overlook.'
'Did you meet Justice Griffen there on May third?'
'/Yes.'
'Someone called Mrs. Griffen anonymously and told her Justice Griffen would be at the Overlook that day.'
'Robert told me about that. I gather Little Miss Perfect was pissed.
She must have missed me by a minute or so. Robert, always the gentleman, assured me he didn't tellthe little woman who I was.'
'You don't seem to like Mrs. Griffen,' Barry said.
Kelly drew in some smoke. She looked thoughtful.
'I guess I'm not being fair, since I only met Abbie a few times.
I'm really echoing what Robert told me. Though Abbie did live up to her advance billing on the occasions we met.' How so?'
'Have you ever tried talking to her? To say she was a bit chilly would be generous.' Kelly laughed again. 'I guess I shouldn't throw stones.
I've heard that I had a nasty reputation when I was practicing with my firm. It was just tough to get the time of day from her.'
'Maybe she suspected you were sleeping with her husband,'
Tracy said, shifting uncomfortably when she realized that the statement, which she had not intended to be a reproach, could be interpreted as one.
Kelly stared at her for a second.
'That would explain it,' she answered bluntly.
'What did Justice Griffen say about his relationship with Mrs. Griffen?'
Barry asked.
'He told me his wife was all work and no play, and barely tolerated sex.
That would be tough for someone like Robert.'
'Who do you think tipped off Mrs. Griffen to your meeting at the Overlook on May third?' Barry asked.
'Probably someone he was sleeping with who was jealous.'
'Was there someone else?'
'I always assumed so. Robert was a rabbit where women are concerned.'
The statement shocked Tracy, but she concealed her surprise.
She found it hard to reconcile her image of Justice Griffen with the blatant womanizer Justice Kelly and Abbie Griffen believed him to be.
'Do you have any idea who the other woman is?' Barry asked.
'No.'
'Do you have any idea who killed him?' Tracy asked.
Kelly crushed out her cigarette. Tracy thought she was debating whether to give her opinion. Then Kelly shrugged her shoulders and said, 'Abbie, of course. She's the first person I thought of when I heard Robert had been murdered.'
Chapter NINETEEN
Bob Packard did not look well. He seemed jittery. His complexion was pasty and his skin was slack, as if he'd lost weight rapidly.
Tracy wondered if Charlie Deems's lawyer had been ill recently.
'Thanks for seeing me,' she said as she took a seat in his office.
'No problem. What can I do for you?'
'I'm an associate of Matthew Reynolds. Mr. Reynolds is representing Abigail Griffen, who has been accused of killing Oregon Supreme Court Justice Robert Griffen.'
'Of course. I read about that in the paper. Boy, that was awful. You know, I won a case in the Supreme Court a few months ago and he wrote the opinion.'
'That's why I wanted to see you. Mr. Reynolds would like to borrow the transcript in the Deems case.'
Packard looked uncomfortable. He shifted nervously in his chair.
'If you don't mind my asking, why do you need the transcript?'
'Charlie Deems is the key witness against Abigail Griffen.'
Packard's jaw dropped and he looked at Tracy as if he was waiting for a punch line. When none came, Packard said, 'This is a joke, right?'
'Mr. Deems claims Mrs. Griffen hired him to murder her husband.'
Packard remembered worrying that Deems might try to harm Abigail Griffen. He'd been thinking about violence, but framing Griffen for murder was diabolical.
'The DA is buying Charlie's story?' Packard asked incredulously.
'He seems to be.'
'Well, if it was me, I'd be looking at Charlie long before I'd peg Abbie Griffen as a suspect.'
'Do you have any specific reason for suspecting Deems?'
'Are you kidding? Blowing people up is Charlie's thing, and he has plenty of reason to frame Griffen. She made putting Charlie on death row a personal crusade.'
'Mr. Reynolds thinks Deems is framing Mrs. Griffen, too.
We're going after Deems and he thought there might be something useful in the transcript. Especially the penalty-phase testimony.'
'I'd be careful about going after Charlie if I were you.'
'Why's that?'
Packard remembered playing The Price Is Right and his stomach turned. He had been off cocaine, cold turkey, since Deems's visit, but he wished he had some snow right now.
Packard was quiet for so long, Tracy wondered if he had heard the question. Finally he said, 'If I tell you something, will you swear not to say where you heard it?'
'That depends. Our first loyalty is to our client.'
'Yeah, well, I have to think of myself. I don't want it getting back to Charlie that I talked to anyone about this. I've got him out of my life now, and I don't want him back in.'
Packard was fidgeting in his chair and Tracy noticed beads of sweat on his upper lip. She was surprised at how nervous he was.
'It isn't anything concrete anyway,' Packard went on. 'Not like a confession. It's just something you should know about Deems. I don't want to see anyone get hurt.'
'Okay. Go ahead,' Tracy said, curious to find out what Deems had done to scare Packard so much.
'Charlie Deems is crazy. I mean really crazy. He thinks he can do anything and nothing will happen to him. And the funny thing is, he's right. I mean, look at what happened with the case I handled. He tortures this guy Shoe, then he kills Hollins and his kid. The jury says death, but he walks away.'
