“Because I’m also going to have your murderer.”
“You are, are you? And who’s that?”
“I could tell you, but it wouldn’t do me or Alicia any good.”
“She’s Alicia now, is she?”
“She’s also my client.”
“She’s what?”
“You heard me.”
“When did that happen?”
“That doesn’t matter either. Not to you. What matters is you promise you don’t arrest her.”
“Until when?”
“Until I get you the murderer.”
Another small bark of humor. “Well, I’m going to say ‘hell, no’ to that, Wyatt. I have evidence against Thorpe and if I see her, I’m going to arrest her.”
“Then all bets are off.”
Juhle paused for a long beat. “You’re saying you know who the killer is?”
“I am. I do. And I’m saying if you want to find out, you promise no arrest. End of story.”
“And what if you’re wrong?”
“I’m not wrong.”
“So we take Alicia downtown, then if you prove we’re wrong, we let her go.”
“Nice try, Dev. But what really happens is once you get her booked, it’s almost impossible to arrest anybody else. Why? Because not only have you just given your second suspect a built-in defense-‘Oh, it was Alicia Thorpe last week, Your Honor, but this week it’s really my client X who did it’-but also because a second arrest for the same crime makes you and Sarah both look stupid.”
“No, that wouldn’t-”
“Bullshit. Listen to me. You arrest her now, Alicia’s charged with specials”-multiple murder special circumstances-“and gets no bail. The DA says she can argue some other dude did it at her trial. But meanwhile, once Alicia’s in jail, your real killer is tipped to all the evidence and can make their own story tighter, if in fact they don’t leave town. That’s what really happens, Dev, and you damn well know it. So I can’t tell you who the murderer is. You’ll just say ‘thanks for playing’ and arrest my client. I’ve got to show you. And I can do that. But first I need your word. No arrest. Nonnegotiable.”
A long silence. Then, “Last, best, and only offer, Wyatt. You get your dog and pony show. I’ll come over, but if I do, somebody’s going to jail. I’m thinking it’s Thorpe, but I’ll give you a chance to convince me it’s someone else.” After another short pause, he asked, “Where is she now?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Hunt said. “A secret place. Mickey found her. But the point is I’ve got him bringing her down here.”
“Why would she do that? Come down there?”
“Because Mickey’s convinced her this is the safest place she could be. She believes Mickey.”
“Shit.”
“You keep saying that.”
“You know why? It keeps being appropriate. Shit shit shit. What am I supposed to do about Sarah?”
“I’m not sure she could agree to the conditions.”
“So now I cut my partner out of it. I know you’re not a cop, Wyatt, but that kind of behavior is frowned upon down at the Hall.”
“Yeah, well, I appreciate that. But what’s happening is happening now. This is all the warning I can give you.”
Wyatt heard the soft exhale of resignation and decision. “Okay,” Juhle said. “Twenty minutes, half hour.”
“That ought to work,” Hunt said.
By eight-thirty, Hunt had the place arranged the way he wanted it, with a nice democratic circle of eleven folding chairs set up on his basketball court. In the end, he’d cajoled, connived, or otherwise convinced all of the principals to converge on his warehouse at nine o’clock so that, depending on what Hunt had told them, they could provide more detailed information, or argue for their portion of the reward, or fortify their alibis, or simply get caught up on the progress of the investigation to date.
Or, finally, in the case of Devin Juhle, to arrest the real murderer.
Now Hunt went back into the residential side, to his kitchen where Roake, Carter, Alicia, and Mickey remained seated at the table with a palpable air of tension surrounding them. “Almost time,” Hunt said lightly. His own nerves were stretched to the breaking point, but he couldn’t show that, not now. “Everybody still loose and ready to have some fun?”
In fact, nobody looked that way. They all looked like they’d been talking about deadly serious issues among themselves while he set up his chairs. Roake, the group’s obvious spokesperson, looked around the table, then up at him. “We’ve been thinking it might be better after all if Alicia wasn’t here, Wyatt.”
Hunt drew a short breath. “If she’s not here,” Hunt said in as reasonable a tone as he could dredge up, “she gets herself arrested anyplace they find her outside. Here I’ve got Devin’s word he won’t touch her.”
“And you believe that?” Carter asked.
“Absolutely.”
With a deep frown, Carter shook his head.
“Just imagine, though, Wyatt,” Roake said. “What if he called Russo and told her? She didn’t make you any promise. She comes in with him and he just shrugs and says it’s out of his control.”
“That’s not what’s going to happen.”
“But what if it does, Wyatt? And Alicia goes downtown. As her lawyer, I don’t know if I can in good conscience let her stay here.”
“As her lawyer,” Hunt said, “you’ve got to let her stay here. It’s her best chance to stay out of jail.”
“But, Wyatt,” Mickey put in, “she won’t get arrested if we go hide out again someplace else.”
“Guys, understand. The second she’s not here, she’s back as the prime suspect, and then it’s only a matter of time.” Hunt straightened up to his full height. “We’ve been through this already,” he said. “I appreciate all of your concerns, but Alicia has to be here for this to work. If Juhle gets here and she’s gone, he walks out and the whole exercise becomes futile. The only reason he stays is because if my idea doesn’t work, then and only then he handcuffs Alicia.”
“Swell,” Mickey said.
“But that’s not going to happen,” Hunt said. “If everybody shows up, this is a lock.”
“And if they don’t?” Alicia finally found her voice. “What then?”
“I’ve motivated them all sufficiently,” Hunt said. “They can’t not come.”
“That’s the other thing,” Gina said. “If you’re right, one of these people you’ve invited here tonight has already killed twice. You don’t think there’s an element of risk?”
“There’s an element of risk to crossing the street. I’ve got to believe we’ve got strength in numbers here if any one person starts to get out of hand. And remember, Juhle will be armed. And,” he added, “so will I.”
Roake rolled her eyes. “So you do think something could happen?”
“I know something might happen, Gina. Something unexpected could always happen. But here, tonight, I doubt it’s going to be violence. I’m carrying my gun because I want to make sure it’s as close to foolproof as it can be. Just covering the bases, making sure we’ve got these contingencies thought through.”
“Thinking a plan through doesn’t necessarily prevent it from falling apart.”
“No,” Hunt said, “I know that. Of course not. But this is our best chance to get Alicia out from under this cloud of suspicion and get on with her life. We all agreed on this a couple of hours ago. This is the way it has to go down. And it has to be now. Alicia”-he turned to her-“are you still with us?”
She forced a weak smile. “With everything you’ve said, I don’t see that I have another choice.”
“That’s the right answer,” Hunt said.
The buzzer at the back door sounded, loud as a klaxon in the enclosed space of the kitchen. Everyone at the table reacted with a start-even Hunt had a reflexive jump and then smiled at his nerves. “Here we go,” he said,
