'When I arrived at the Stallion on the night of the murder, Harmon was sitting with Booth. I had to get rid of him, so I told him Karen Nix had the hots for him.
I'm the one who caused his argument with Nix. If I hadn't taken advantage of him, the poor bastard wouldn't have been convicted for a crime he didn't commit.'
'How can you be so certain that Gary is innocent?'
'I know who killed Whiley.'
'Who is it?' Peter asked anxiously.
'While Gary was arguing with Nix, I went outside and talked with Booth. While we were talking I saw Whiley follow a man to his car. They argued over something, then they drove off together. The man was a customer of Booth. Someone to whom Whiley had delivered cocaine. Steve Mancini.'
'Oh, my God,' Peter said. Everything made sense now. Whiley must have threatened Steve. Mancini could not afford a scandal with Mountain View's finances hanging in the balance. When Gary was arrested, it was a godsend, and Mancini did his best to make certain that Gary would be convicted by hooking up Peter with an inept investigator, sabotaging the motion to suppress and making certain that Gary was represented by a selfcentered, incompetent fool.
'You've got to testify for Gary.'
'No. Not now. Maybe not ever.'
'How can you refuse? Gary may die if you don't come forward.'
'I'm leaving for South America tomorrow. If I stay and testify, my cover will be destroyed. I'm this close to being accepted by the cartel. If Mancini is going to be caught, you're the one who has to do I've risked my career by meeting you. I'm not going to destroy it.'
'How am I going to prove any of this?'
'I don't know, Hale, but I hope to God you can.'
Chapter THIRTY.
Peter had been sitting in Amos Geary's waiting room for half an hour when the office door opened. During that half hour, Clara Schoen had not spoken one word and the few times she stared in Peter's direction it had been to beam death rays at him. As soon as Geary stepped into the waiting room, Clara's head swiveled in his direction and her thin lips twitched in anticipation of the dressing-down Peter was certain to receive from her boss So, it was with astonishment that she saw Geary smile at the scoundrel whom he had so recently driven from their offices.
'Come on back,' Geary said, as he walked past Peter.
Clara's mouth gaped open. Geary was almost out of sight when she remembered to remind him about his first court appearance.
'I know, Clara. Lenny Boudreau at ten-fifteen in judge Staley's court,' Geary said without looking back.
Clara's mouth gaped wider. 'Hold my calls until Peter and I are finished Geary closed the door behind them and went to his filing cabinet while Peter took a chair.
'Clara thinks I can't remember my schedule without her,' Geary said as he pawed through his filing cabinet in search of the Boudreau file. 'I let her keep thinking that way. It makes her feel needed.'
Geary lit up as soon as he found the file. 'Did Dick save the day?' he asked as he settled in behind his desk.
'No, but there has been a break of sorts in the case.'
Geary filled the room with a dense cloud of smoke as Peter told him about the meeting at the U.S. Attorney's office, his encounter with Christopher Mammon and everything he knew about Steve Mancini.
'Mancini, huh?' Geary said thoughtfully when Peter finished. 'I wouldn't put it past him.'
'My problem is how to prove Steve killed Whiley without Mammon as a witness and how to get Gary a new trial on the grounds that O'Shay concealed exculpatory evidence. The justice Department has put a lid on this, so there's no way I can get the DEA reports without a major lawsuit, and O'Shay won't admit what she's, done. With Mammon gone, I've lost my key witness. There's also a good chance all copies of the reports have been destroyed.'
'You definitely have problems,' Geary agreed.
Peter sighed. 'I've only got a few days before the penalty phase starts. There's got to be some way to show that Whiley was the CRI.` Peter suddenly noticed that Geary had a faraway look in his eyes and the hint of -a smile on his lips. The cigarette, forgotten for the moment, dangled from his n1cotinie-stained fingers, the ash flaking off the tip and falling onto his carpet. Suddenly, Geary chuckled.
'Rebecca fucked up.'
'How?' Peter asked eagerly.
'Come on, think. If an old drunk like me can figure it out, a sober young stud like yourself should be able to crack this case in no time. I'll even give you a hint.
There's a witness who can bury O'Shay.'
Peter went over everything he knew while Geary watched his struggle with glee. Finally, Peter gave up.
'Ah, me. The younger generation,' Geary cackled.
'Stuff it, Amos. I've lost my sense of humor.'
Geary sat up and blew a plume of smoke across the desk. Peter coughed.
'Lighten up, then listen up and I'll tell you how we're going to bust this case wide open.'
Earl Ridgely looked surprised when he walked into the chambers of District Court judge Brett Staley with Becky O'Shay and saw Peter Hale and Amos Geary sitting next to the judge's desk.
'What's up, Brett?' Ridgely asked.
'Something pretty unpleasant, Earl. Why don't you and Miss O'Shay sit down and I'll let Mr. Hale explain.'
O'Shay noticed that the judge had avoided eye contact with her. She looked at Peter warily, but said nothing.
'On Sunday, I made a very unsettling discovery, Mr. Ridgely,' Peter said. 'Almost by accident, I learned that Miss O'Shay has been withholding exculpatory evidence that casts the whole Harmon case in a different light.'
'Earl, this is a crock,' O'Shay said contemptuously.
'What really happened on Sunday is that Mr. Hale snuck into Kevin Booth's room at the hospital and was arrested. I'm preparing a bar complaint. I don't know what story he's concocted, but it's his way of trying to get back at me for reporting his conduct to the ethics committee.'
'Why don't we hear what Peter has to say, Becky?' Ridgely said. O'Shay started to protest. Then, it suddenly dawned on her why they were meeting in judge Staley's chambers instead of judge Kuffel's and she turned pale.
'Becky has known for several months that Sandra Whiley was working as an informant for the DFA in a case involving Christopher Mammon, Kevin Booth, Rafael Vargas and a very violent Colombian drug cartel and she has intentionally concealed this information from the defense,' Peter sraid.
'Is this true?' Ridgely asked her.
'Earl, this is nonsense,' O'Shay answered angrily.
'I suppose I'd a so e crazy to suggest that you the Booth-Mammon prelim?' Peter said. 'I'm sure your boss will be interested in knowing that you told judge Staley that he knew all about your deal with the justice Department.'
'What deal?' Ridgely asked O'Shay.
'Miss O'Shay came to me with Steve Mancini and a Justice Department official from Washington, D.C before the preliminary hearing for Christopher Mammon and Kevin Booth,' judge Staley answered. 'She told me that you had approved a plan that involved my dismissal of Kevin Booth's case at the hearing so that a federal undercover operation would not be endangered.'
'I what!'
e 'You did assure me that your scheme had Mr. Ridge ly's approval, didn't you, Miss O'Shay?' judge Staley asked.
'Earl, there was no time to track you down,' O'Shay said desperately. 'We shouldn't even be discussing this.
