'You don't have to worry anymore. I'm not going to tell anyone about the photograph. It would have been the hardest thing I've ever done, Mr. Reynolds. You have no idea how much I admire you.'
Their eyes met and Reynolds nodded a silent thank-you. Even now, it was hard for Tracy to think about how close she had come to destroying this fine, decent man. 'Why?' Matthew managed.
'I know Mrs. Griffen didn't kill her husband.'
'Who killed him?' Matthew asked with effort. His voice was hoarse.
'Just rest. I'll tell you everything.'
Tracy summarized her investigation and explained how the link between the cases Laura had written on her legal pad led her to the discovery that a Supreme Court justice was fixing decisions for Raoul Otero.
'What I couldn't figure out was how Laura had discovered the cases. They were spread out over several years, she wasn't on the court when most of them were decided and there didn't appear to be any reason for her to run across all four at once.
The more I thought about it, the more certain I was that the answer was in the transcript, but I came up blank every time I read it.
'After Charlie Deems was arrested for the Hollins murders, the police searched his apartment. On 9 to 1290 of the transcript, a detective explains the significance of several messages that were left on Deems's answering machine. One of the calls is from an Arthur Knowland. Knowland needed some shirts and wanted Deems to call as soon as possible. Detective Simon testified that people who deal in drugs rarely call the drugs by name. Instead, they talk about shirts or tires. That meant that Arthur Knowland was calling to buy cocaine from Charlie Deems.
'Remember when you sent Barry and me to the Overlook to see if we could discover the identity of the woman Justice Griffen was meeting there?'
Reynolds nodded weakly.
'Well, I checked the register at the motel for the day that Mrs. Griffen confronted her husband after receiving the anonymous call. Justice Griffen hadn't registered in his own name. I wrote down a list of the names in the register. An Arthur Knowland was registered at the Overlook on the day Justice Griffen had sex with Justice Kelly.'
Reynolds's eyes widened as he saw immediately the significance of this information.
'As a result of Neil Christenson's investigation, we learned that the judge was also meeting Laura Rizzatti at the Overlook. I checked the register again and I found an Arthur Knowland registered on several occasions.
'I believe Laura found out that the judge was sleeping with Justice Kelly. I know she was infatuated with the judge from the way she acted when she talked about him to me. Finding out that the judge had another lover must have driven Laura to make the anonymous call to Mrs. Griffen.
She must have been racked with jealousy and furious with him, but she still loved him.
'Then Laura ran across Arthur Knowland's name in the transcript and remembered that the judge had used that name when he registered .at the Overlook. When Laura found out that the judge was buying drugs from Deems, she must have become suspicious of his reason for voting to reverse the Deems case. I think she checked to see if there had been other suspicious reversals since Justice Griffen came on the court. She found the other cases and realized that Griffen was on the take.
'Griffen needed money. He was using cocaine, and we know he was living beyond his means. I don't think he would have been able to resist a bribe in the amount Otero could offer. Who knows, Otero may have had evidence that Griffen was using drugs and blackmailed him with it.'
'My God,' Reynolds said. His voice sounded hoarse. There was a plastic pitcher next to the bed. Tracy filled a paper cup with water and helped Matthew drink it. Then she eased his head back onto the pillow.
'Laura called me the evening she was killed and left a message on my answering machine. She said she was in trouble and needed my help.
While she was talking, there was a knock on her door. That must have been Justice Griffen. Laura was so in love with him, I think she convinced herself that she was wrong to suspect him and told him everything she'd discovered. Then Justice Griffen killed her.'
Reynolds looked stunned. He closed his eyes and rested for a moment.
When he spoke, it was with great effort. 'Who killed Griffen?'
'Charlie Deems. Remember the attack on Mrs. Griffen at the coast? She the, ought the intruder was Deems. This is all speculation, of course, but I'm betting it was and that Justice Griffen paid Deems the hundred thousand dollars in the account Barry discovered at Washington Mutual for a hit. It would have been worth the price. If Mrs. Griffen died before the divorce became final, Justice Griffen would have inherited all of her money.
When Deems failed, Griffen would have wanted the money back.
Maybe he made the mistake of threatening Deems.
'Deems was insane. He was also highly intelligent. Killing the judge and framing the woman who put him on death row for the murder is a truly twisted idea. And it's just the type of plan a maniac like Deems would devise.'
'I think you're right. You must go to Jack Stamm.'
'I will. But I didn't want to go without your approval. You're still the boss.'
Matthew tried to smile. Then, he started to cough. Tracy helped him drink some more water. Then she said, 'I'm going to go now. You need to rest.'
Matthew's eyelids fluttered. He was exhausted and medicated and staying awake was not easy. Just before Tracy turned for the door, she heard him whisper, 'Thank you.'
Barry Frame stood up when Tracy left Matthew's hospital room.
'How did he take it?' Barry asked.
Tracy took both of Barry's hands. 'I think he's really relieved.'
'The poor bastard. He's been through hell. First worrying about what you'd do. Then getting shot.'
'You understand that I had no choice until I figured out that Abbie didn't kill her husband.'
Barry looked ashamed. 'I owe you an apology. You were always in the right. I just . . .'
Tracy squeezed his hands. 'No apologies, okay? Sometimes right and wrong aren't black and white.'
'What would you have done if you learned that Abbie was guilty?'
'I don't know and I'm glad I never had to make that decision.'
Tracy picked up her attach case.
'Let's go to Jack Stamm's office and give him the evidence.'
That evening Abbie was sitting next to Matthew's bed, holding his hand, when Jack Stamm entered the hospital room. 'How is he doing?' Stamm asked Abbie.
'He's out of danger, but he'll have to stay here for a while. Is this a social call?'
'It is not. I wanted to tell Matt myself. I'm glad you're here. It saves me a trip out to your house.'
Matthew and Abbie stared at Stamm expectantly. Stamm broke into a grin.
'Chuck Geddes and I just spent an hour with Tracy Cavanaugh and Barry Frame. I'm dismissing the indictment tomorrow.'
'Does Geddes agree?' Matthew asked.
Stamm stopped smiling. 'He has no choice. His key witness is not only dead but thoroughly discredited, and his key evidence isn't evidence anymore. Chuck won't admit Abbie was framed, even after hearing what Ms. Cavanaugh uncovered, but I always believed in Abbie's innocence and I am now one hundred percent convinced of it. The Attorney General agrees. As of half an hour ago, Chuck Geddes is no longer a Multnomah County special deputy district attorney.'
Stamm looked at Abbie. 'I hope you know that I had no choice when I stepped aside and turned over the prosecution to the AG.'
'I never blamed you, Jack.'
'I'm glad. This prosecution has been very hard on me.'
'Matthew told me about your part in having me released from the jail.
I'll always appreciate that. I don't know how I would have held up if I had to stay locked up there.'
'You would have done just fine. You're a tough guy.'
'Not as tough as I used to think.'
Stamm vas embarrassed. He looked away for a second. Then he said, 'I want you to take a vacation with pay
