“I don’t remember.”
Corbin took a deep breath. He pursed his lips and visibly ran his tongue over his teeth. He wanted Beaumont to know he didn’t believe Beaumont’s story. “A moment ago, you remembered every detail of everything that happened vividly. Now you’re telling me you don’t remember basic details from the critical moment, the moment that should be eternally seared into your brain?”
“Standing!” Beaumont blurted out. “She was standing. I was sittin’ on the couch behind her.”
“Other than the shooting, was there any fighting?”
“No, nobody touched nobody.”
“Did you ever touch the gun?”
“No.”
“Did you ever touch Mona?”
“No, man.”
Corbin closed his file and stared directly into Beaumont’s eyes. “Your index finger print was found on the trigger guard. Tell me how it got there.”
“I think we’ve gone far enough today,” Beckett suddenly interjected.
Corbin and Beaumont both looked at Beckett with surprise.
Beckett started collecting papers from the table. “We’re going to investigate what you’ve told us. Do you have any questions?”
Beaumont looked at Beckett suspiciously, then he looked at Corbin who still stared at Beckett. “No man, I don’t got no questions. When you comin’ back?”
“We’ll be back in about a week. We’ll talk about preparing a defense then.” Beckett shoved the last of the papers into the file folder. He rose. “Hang tight Beaumont, we’ll be in touch.”
Outside at the bus stop, a safe distance from the jail, Corbin spoke for the first time. “What the hell was that? Five more minutes and-”
“. . and you would have proven he killed two women. I know. But as an attorney, I can’t let him lie. So the less I know the better. That’s why I had to stop you. Plus, you did what you had to.”
“I could have broken him.”
“You did break him, he just doesn’t know it yet. Let the memory of what happened in there sink in. He’ll be in a panic by the end of the week. It’s better to let this eat at him, than it is to break him on the spot and let him have the week to save his pride. Fear is strongest as a motivator before you know how things are going to turn out. It diminishes once the deed is done and all you have to do is suffer to consequences. Let him sweat.”
Corbin sat in the hotel chair with his feet resting on the bed and his cell phone against his ear. The room was cold and dark. He was tired from the long day, but Alvarez insisted on going over the entire day in detail.
“This guy sounds like a real turd,” opined Alvarez.
“He is.” Corbin rubbed his eyes.
“I can’t believe Beckett is willing to go down to save him. I mean, maybe I could understand if he was just some guy, but this guy deserves whatever he gets.”
“I know.”
“Has he given you any idea what he’s really thinking?”
“There’s no mystery to it. Beckett’s got it in his head that somehow this is wrong, no matter what Beaumont’s done.”
“Do you think you can get him off?”
“I don’t know, maybe,” Corbin said indifferently.
“It sounds like you could be in Philly for a long time. What did you tell your boss?”
“I told him I had a sick aunt.”
“Did he buy that?”
“Sure, he’s happy to have me not working. The less work I do, the bigger the backlog, the greater the justification for his budget.”
“He denied having the wallet?” Alvarez meant Beckett. He was jumping all over in his questions, but Corbin had little trouble keeping up.
“He denied even knowing about the wallet.”
“What do you think that means?”
“It means he has it.”
“Where?”
“Could be anywhere, but I suspect he has it nearby. I’m going to search the office tomorrow at lunch or in the evening. If I don’t find it there, I’ll search his hotel room.”
“How are you going to get into his hotel?” Alvarez asked.
“I’ll figure something out.”
“Don’t get caught. What do we do if you can’t find the wallet?”
“Just keep going.”
“What if he tries to turn you in?”
Corbin tapped his finger against the back of the phone. “I’m not going to talk about that on the phone.”
“He gave away the money?” Alvarez asked this several times already; he was having a hard time believing it.
“So he says.”
“Then how’s he supporting himself?”
Corbin shook his head. “I don’t know. He’s probably on a leave of absence, like I am. Kak still pays me every two weeks.”
“But I thought he was going broke? How can he add the cost of a hotel and living separately from his family? He’s got to be using the money we gave him.”
“I don’t know. Maybe his financial situation wasn’t as dire as he claimed. Remember, he used to commute by train every day. That’s not cheap. Maybe he’s using that money to pay for his hotel? Maybe he’s putting it all on credit? Maybe he lied about getting rid of the money? I don’t know.”
“When are you coming back to town?”
“This weekend.”
“All right, call me if something comes up.”
Corbin hung up and checked his messages. He had several including a message from Blue to call him back and a lengthy message from Penny. He listened to a few seconds of her message before calling her.
“Hello,” came Penny’s familiar voice.
“Hey there.”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” Corbin heard a loud clank through the phone. “What are you doing?”
“I’m cleaning my oven,” she said. “Oh shoot.”
“What?”
“This bottle says ‘avoid direct eye contact,’ and I’m staring right at it.”
Corbin snickered.
“How’s your aunt?” Penny asked.
“She’s fine.”
“Fine enough that you’re coming back soon?” Penny asked hopefully.
“I’ll be down this weekend, but I have to turn around and come right back Sunday night.”
“At least I can have you on Saturday. . unless you have another date?”
Corbin laughed. “No, no other date. I guess I’m available.”
“You ‘guess’?” Penny mimicked. “Oh good for me,” she laughed. “I’ll have to check my calendar and see if I’m free as well.” Penny closed the oven and turned on the clean function. “Did you talk to Blue?”
“No, I’ll call him next.”
“He’s got good news for you. I’ll let him tell you though. . I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” he replied. “But listen, it’s been a really long day, and there are things I still need to do, so let me call you tomorrow?”
“Fine, blow me off,” Penny said in mock frustration.
