In the silence of the evening, I heard the wooden steps to my front porch creak. Someone approached my office. These were not quiet footfalls, but instead the sound of heavy boots. Whoever it was did not stop at the entrance, but instead paced back and forth on the porch, apparently trying to look into the windows, even though I had closed the shades and curtains.
I got up from my chair and looked around for my baseball bat when a knock broke the stillness of my law office. I quietly stepped to the front door and peered through the peephole. It was Sheriff Tompkins.
I opened the front door and gestured for her to come in. “Evening, Sheriff.”
“Evening, Mr. Seagraves. Sorry to drop by so late on a Sunday. Hope we can talk for a few moments.”
“Sure,” I said, despite what I was really thinking.
“Late tomorrow, the FBI takes over the Kostas investigation. I wanted to know if Ms. Dupree will give me a statement. Might help her in the long run.”
“You want that before you hand the case over to the feds, I suppose.”
The sheriff looked down at the carpet in the foyer, but did not say anything in reply.
I said, “She’s meeting with me first thing in the morning. 9:00 a.m. appointment. I’ll know more tomorrow.”
“She hasn’t indicated any willingness to cooperate so far?”
“No, and I can’t say that she will tomorrow either. Sorry.”
“I’m hoping you can persuade her.”
“We’ll see. Have you gotten any further with the dead-drops that Kostas used?”
“Still working on it. Honestly, that seems more of an area for the FBI. I hate to admit that we need the feds, but it seems like it. There’s more going on than meets the eye.”
“Yeah, for sure. Look, if Ms. Dupree is willing to give a statement, I’ll let you know, but that’s going to be hard with her hearing on Wednesday. Whatever she tells you would be fair game in court.”
“Of course,” the sheriff replied, “but I might get to the bottom of this. If she’s truly not involved, as you say, it would be good for her to come forward.”
“Maybe, but maybe that would hand you and Benton Dynamics enough rope to hang her. I am not sure. If I knew what really happened, I could better advise her.”
“What are you going to tell her?” she asked.
“Honestly, Sheriff, I’m not sure. My job is to defend her at the hearing, but I know that’s not where all this will end.”
“Not by a long shot. And if probable cause comes out at the hearing, well, that will be up to the FBI to arrest her. I’d hate to see her leave the courthouse in handcuffs. Take some time to explain this to her. I appreciate your efforts, as well as the info you gave me so far.”
“So I’m no longer on your most wanted list?”
She frowned. “You’re not on the most wanted list, but I haven’t written anyone off yet, Mr. Seagraves. Seems to me that you could be working with her. Both Dupree and Kostas came to you for representation. Maybe they just stumbled across you searching the internet for a lawyer. But who knows?”
“If I had conspired with them, why would I give you the dead-drops? That’s the key.”
“Yeah, probably. I think you’re trying to help, unless you’re involved somehow and attempting to throw me off. Just like you, I don’t know what to think. But I can’t ignore any possibilities. I’ve seen good lawyers involved with bad clients before. Some do their jobs, and I understand that. Others get wrapped up in their client’s schemes, sometimes on purpose, other times without knowing. Can never tell until the end.”
Reaching for the knob to my front door, I was ready for Sheriff Tompkins to leave.
She said, “All I am asking is that you’ll let me know if your client will cooperate. The feds will be here tomorrow afternoon. Call me after you meet with Dupree. One way or the other, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll speak with her, but I’ll give it to you straight. I don’t see her making a statement before the hearing. Not unless you and the prosecutors can give me some assurances.”
“Like what? Immunity? Doubt I can get that. Too early in a suspicious death case.”
“Yeah, that’s a reach.”
“Evening, Mr. Seagraves.”
“Evening, Sheriff.”
Shutting and locking the door behind her, I was too tired to look through Marisa’s file anymore. I would give it a fresh start in the morning. Glenn wanted me to ditch Marisa as a client, and part of me thought that was a good idea. Maybe I would know what to do after our appointment first thing tomorrow morning.
18
Reading through Marisa’s file at sunrise, I searched for clues I had missed, but nothing sparked my imagination or connected the pieces. The notes from Marisa’s initial consultation, the allegations in the complaint, and everything I had learned about Richard Kostas still did not come together to form a defense I could prove at trial. If this case was going anywhere, Marisa needed to give me more information.
My paralegal, Hailey, arrived at the law firm around eight-thirty in the morning and went straight to her reception desk.
I got up, walked down the corridor, and leaned against the door jamb. “Happy Monday, Hailey.”
“Oh, hi, Bryce. Good weekend?”
“Yup. Busy but fun. How ‘bout you?”
“Yeah, good. Sporting clays were a blast and figuring out how Kostas could’ve handed off stolen files was unbelievable. Played on my mind all day yesterday. You never know what people are capable of, huh? How’s your shoulder from the shotgun recoil?”
“Just fine,” I said, even though my upper chest was
