Melissa Stebbins face flashed in Tim's head but he shook his head anyway.
'That's what I figured. You never know, though.' Gregaros grinned. 'I'm gonna tell you how. It's easy if you do what I say. So pay attention.'
Chapter Forty-Three.
Amanda hadn't had much of an appetite since her kidnapping, and the first sign that she was starting to get back on her feet was the rumble of her stomach shortly before one. She walked down the block to a Mexican restaurant and ordered a taco salad. As she ate, her mind drifted to Jon Dupre's case. Even with everything she knew, she had a hard time seeing herself convincing a jury to acquit Jon for the murder of Wendell Hayes. Tim Kerrigan could prove beyond any doubt, let alone a reasonable doubt, that Jon had killed his lawyer, so the only way to win was to convince the jury that Jon had acted in self-defense. To do that, she had to prove that one of the state's most prominent attorneys had risked his career by smuggling a shiv into the jail to murder someone he hardly knew. She might get some mileage out of Paul Baylor's testimony, but Hayes's motive was the sticking point. After all, Dupre was already facing the death penalty. Why risk everything to kill Dupre when there was a good chance that the state would do it for you?
Amanda paused with her fork halfway to her lips. That was a good question. She played around with it. What circumstances would force Hayes to act so quickly? There was only one answer that occurred to Amanda. Hayes had to believe that Jon knew something that could severely damage him or his fellow conspirators. What could Jon possibly know that was that explosive? Only one person could answer that question. Amanda ate quickly then headed for the jail.
* * *
Jon Dupre had adapted to the restrictions his chains placed on his movements and he slid onto his chair with a practiced motion.
'How come a high-priced lawyer like you is visiting the jail instead of taking a power lunch?' Dupre asked.
'Hey, Jon, the defense never rests.'
Dupre smiled. Amanda realized that this was the first time she'd gotten him to lighten up. Maybe she was finally cracking Dupre's shell.
'So,' he asked eagerly, 'do you have some news?'
'Not really, just questions.'
'About what?'
'Did Wendell Hayes try to kill you to keep you from talking to the cops about a conspiracy of powerful men that includes Pedro Aragon?'
'What the fuck is this? Who are you working for?'
'I'm working for you, Jon, but you don't make it easy. Talk to me.'
Dupre cast a quick look at the guard who was watching them through the glass. He leaned forward and dropped his voice so low that Amanda could barely hear him.
'Stay away from this. You can't help me and you'll get yourself dead.'
'Jon . . .'
'Listen to me.' He moved so the guard could not see his face. 'When we talk, cover your mouth.'
'What?'
'You have no idea what you're dealing with. The guard could be one of them, he could be a lip-reader.'
'You're serious?'
'Just do it.'
Dupre's outburst convinced Amanda that he believed they were in danger. She trusted the guards but did as Dupre asked, to humor him.
'They sent Hayes to shut me up,' Dupre whispered. 'These people are everywhere. They murdered Oscar Baron.'
'Baron was killed by burglars.'
'That's how they made it look. I sent Baron some evidence to show the FBI.'
'After I started representing you?' Amanda asked angrily.
'Calm down. This was after our first contact visit. I didn't trust you, so I paid Oscar to negotiate a deal. I was going to fire you as soon as he had it in place. Only they must have found out and killed him.'
'Whoa, slow down. What did you have to bargain with?'
'I've been taping my drug deals with Pedro Aragon's people. I figured I could use them if I was ever busted and my case went south.' He hung his head. 'I had Ally bring them to Oscar. The newspaper said he was tortured before he was killed. Knowing Oscar, I don't think he'd hold out for long, so they must have everything Ally gave him.'
Now Amanda knew who had searched Ally Bennett's apartment and what they were looking for.
'Have you heard from Ally since Baron was killed?' she asked.
'We haven't talked since I asked her to take the tapes to Oscar.'
