No One Left to Tell (48 page)

Killing Kapansky was one. Not that Kapansky was worth too much mourning, but it meant Brittany Jones was still alive. She was only an irritant, though. As long as he kept paying her, she’d keep her mouth shut.

Warning the prosecutor and the PI was a bigger issue, but still manageable. They were on Rex’s trail and that was fine with him.
Lousy, good-for-nothing addict. Let them arrest him
. This time no one would be running to his aid. No attorneys would be defending him. Maybe he’d finally wise up and be the man his family needed him to be.

No. Rex would always be Rex, with that silver spoon stuck up his ass.
Rex McCloud isn’t worth my contempt. So let the PI and the prosecutor accuse him
.

And if the prosecutor got testy over the car bomb, there was a money trail for him to follow. It would result in the loss of a key man on the other side of the table, but he had other contacts in the pipeline. Developing a new key man wouldn’t be that hard.

And if the prosecutor and the PI continued to press closer?
Then I’ll take them out myself
. He certainly couldn’t fuck it up any worse than Silas had.

He stood, brushed off his clothes, shook the glass from his hair.
Of all the errors Silas made, pissing me off was the worst
. Silas thought his family safe, snug in their little Toronto hotel room.
He’ll be rethinking that
.

Stepping from the room, he placed another call on his cell.

‘Pearson’s Aviation.’

‘I’m booking a private flight from BWI to Toronto. Steve Pearson is my usual pilot.’

‘I’ll put you in touch with him.’

‘Thank you.’ Steve Pearson had a way of managing to fly without leaving nasty records all over the place.
Because I don’t want anyone to know I’m going or that I’ve been there. Because if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself
.

‘This is Steve. I can fly you there this morning. Flight time is forty minutes.’

‘Excellent. I’ll have at least one passenger on my way back.’

‘Not a problem. When should I meet you at the runway?’

He had to get all the glass out of his hair. ‘Ninety minutes tops.’

‘I’ll be waiting.’

Chapter Eighteen

Thursday, April 7, 7.45
A.M
.

F
eeling more confident now that she wore actual clothing, Paige rejoined Grayson and Joseph in the kitchen. Grayson sat staring miserably into his cup of coffee. A shiny new laptop was on the table.

Joseph pointed to it, all smile gone from his face. ‘Yours until you get yourself a new one. Grayson said you needed to run a search.’

She sat down and pulled it to her. ‘Thank you. You could probably find this faster.’

‘I probably could. But I hear you’re good at uncovering information. I’m making omelets,’ he said before she could respond. ‘You want?’

‘Please.’ She logged into her news article database while Joseph poured her a cup of coffee.
Dandridge, Silas
, she typed and began sorting the results. She glanced at Grayson. ‘“There is no try.” Why did that particular phrase trigger your memory?’

‘He said it when he wanted a warrant and I’d say, “I’ll try”. He did the whole quote.’

Joseph looked up from whisking the eggs. ‘What quote?’

‘It’s from
The Empire Strikes Back
,’ Grayson told him. ‘Yoda says it.’

‘“Do or do not. There is no try.” My karate master said it too.’ Paige refocused on the screen. ‘Here’s a file photo of Dandridge.’ She turned the laptop so that he could see.

‘It’s not the guy who paid Sandoval,’ Grayson said, ‘but he’s the same size as the man who dragged Logan away. Same hands. Silas has hands like frying pans.’

Joseph folded the omelet. ‘Would you have believed Silas could kill like this?’

‘No,’ Grayson said without hesitation. ‘I knew him to be honest. Devoted, even.’

‘What does that mean, devoted?’ Joseph asked.

‘He was passionate when he believed in a cause. He was there for Stevie when Paul was killed in ways the rest of us couldn’t have been. He was her partner.’

‘Then what could have made him turn this way?’ Paige asked softly.

‘I don’t know. It’s taking every ounce of my self-control not to call his house, just to hear his voice again. I need to know if I’m crazy or I’m right.’

‘Give me a few minutes,’ she said. She ate breakfast while she sifted through the videos and articles that were returned on the search of Silas Dandridge’s name. Finally she found an old clip in which he spoke. ‘He was interviewed by the local news about a homicide.’ She hit
play
and Grayson shut his eyes, listening intently.

‘
No comment. Any questions should be sent to the Office of Public Relations
.’

By watching his face she knew.

‘It’s him,’ Grayson said hoarsely. ‘I need to tell Stevie. We need to bring him in.’

Paige darted a quick glance at Joseph, saw he shared her misgivings. ‘Wait,’ she said when Grayson reached for his phone. ‘I believe you, but who else will? It’s your word – and right now, your boss has painted you as unable to handle Homicide.’

‘She’s right,’ Joseph said. ‘If you bring him in now, all he’ll do is deny everything. Think about what might motivate a good cop to go so bad. Get some proof first.’

‘Maybe his family was being threatened,’ Grayson said. ‘Or he was blackmailed.’

‘Either are options,’ Joseph said. ‘What do you know about this guy’s family?’

‘He’s married with a daughter.’ Grayson tried to recall. ‘We never talked much about home or family. We were both all about the job. The only time I ever saw him outside of work was at the gym in the mornings. And twice at the firing range.’

Paige saw the flicker of sad realization in his eyes. ‘Good shot, huh?’ she asked.

‘Really good. He could have made the shot that killed Elena Muñoz. Easily.’ Grayson’s mouth firmed to a hard line. ‘Run a background on him. Please.’

‘He’s fifty-six years old,’ she said when the results came up. ‘Wife, Rose, forty-nine, daughter, Cherri, twenty-five, and daughter Violet, seven.’

‘Run Cherri,’ Grayson said. ‘He mentioned Rose and Violet, but never Cherri.’

An entry on the first page of results had Paige sighing. ‘Cherri died seven years ago in West Virginia. She was eighteen. I’ll pull the official death cert in a minute. She was married in Maryland at age seventeen. Groom was Richard Higgins, nineteen.’

She scrolled further. ‘Here’s something. Cherri was arrested for armed robbery eight years ago in Maryland. The charges were dropped. Grayson, can you get into your system to get the details on this case?’

‘It’s unlikely that I can,’ he said. ‘I’m probably still blocked. But Daphne can.’

Grayson called Daphne while Paige went back to her news database, biting at her lower lip.
Cherri Dandridge Higgins
, she typed. Then added
West Virginia
and
Richard
.

One article popped up. A short article, only four paragraphs. But it was enough.

Disturbed, Paige looked up to find Grayson watching her, the phone to his ear.

‘I’m on hold,’ he said, ‘waiting for Daphne to run the case. What did you find?’

‘How Cherri died,’ Paige said, and Grayson bent close to read over her shoulder.

‘Oh my God,’ he murmured. ‘“Police were called to the Vista Motel upon receiving several 911 calls from guests who reported loud screams from a second-story room. Police broke down the door to find Richard Higgins stabbing a woman on the bed.”’

‘Cherri?’ Joseph asked.

‘Yes,’ Grayson said. ‘“On seeing the officers, Higgins attacked them, knife raised. Deputy Derrick Thomas fired three shots, striking Higgins in the chest. Higgins was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim, identified as Higgins’s wife Cherri Higgins, was airlifted to University Hospital in Morgantown where she later died. Witnesses at the motel stated that the victim was very pregnant, perhaps as much as nine months’.”’

Joseph grimaced. ‘Shit. Was he on drugs or something?’

‘The reporter speculates so,’ Paige said. ‘It says the cops found bags of oxy-codone that appeared to have been for distribution. It also says they found two vials of PCP.’

‘Probably for his personal use,’ Grayson said. ‘We had a problem with PCP labs popping up around Baltimore about ten years ago.’

‘I remember,’ Joseph said. ‘PCP could have caused that level of violence. If she was pregnant, what happened to the baby?’

‘It doesn’t say,’ Paige said.

‘Violet,’ Grayson said quietly. ‘She’s seven, same as Cherri’s baby would be. Violet must be Cherri’s daughter.’

‘That makes sense. Silas brought his granddaughter home, raised her as his own child,’ Paige murmured, then twisted to look up at Grayson when he abruptly straightened. Apparently Daphne had returned to the line.

‘I’m still here,’ he said into the phone. His brows lifted high. ‘Isn’t that interesting?’ He listened, then shook his head. ‘That should be unbelievable to me, but it’s not. Listen, you be careful when you leave the office tonight. Have security walk you to your car. Better yet, take a cab. I don’t want anything to happen to you.’

He hung up and sank into the chair next to Paige. ‘Cherri’s armed robbery charge was dropped when another woman was accused. The stolen money was found in the other woman’s bedroom closet, along with the gun used in the robbery.’

‘No way,’ Paige breathed. ‘In her winter boot?’

He laughed, but there was no humor in it. ‘No. That would have been a little too much, wouldn’t it? But it does get better. Guess who Cherri’s defense attorney was?’

Paige narrowed her eyes. ‘Bob Bond?’

‘One and the same.’ Grayson turned to Joseph. ‘Bond was defense for Ramon Muñoz, too. And the prosecutor who dropped the charges? None other than my boss.’

Joseph’s face darkened. ‘Sonofabitch. We’ll get him, Grayson. Both of them.’

Paige managed to keep the lid on her own rage, but just barely. ‘You won’t get Bond. He’s dead. Suicide.’

Grayson looked at her with a frown. ‘How do you know that?’

‘I called his office when I first started investigating for Maria and Elena. I wanted to talk to him, find out if there were any loose ends that he wished he’d followed up on during Ramon’s trial, or any leads he could recommend. You know, things he might have done had Ramon been a paying customer,’ she added sourly.

‘Ramon’s attorney was pro bono?’ Joseph asked.

‘No,’ Grayson said. ‘The McClouds paid him. Bond was an attorney with the law office the senator had on retainer.’

‘Why would the McClouds pay for Ramon’s lawyer?’ Joseph asked.

‘Maria told me that the McClouds liked Ramon,’ Paige said. ‘That they wanted him to have the best defense possible. Except . . .’ she paused. ‘Last night the senator couldn’t even remember Ramon’s name. Called him Roberto. I can’t see him footing the bill.’

‘Maybe Mrs McCloud paid,’ Grayson said. ‘I can see her thinking it was just another charity. Or doing it from guilt, especially if she knew the security video had been switched. If she knew Ramon wasn’t guilty, maybe she hoped Bond would get him off.’

‘I’d buy the second one,’ Paige said. ‘But once Ramon was found guilty, Maria said the McClouds cut off their support. Maria and Elena hired another attorney for the appeals, but he was unsuccessful. They tried to get one of the attorneys who specialize in retrying wrongful convictions, but he was already booked out for years.’

‘And Elena came to me,’ Grayson said quietly.

Paige covered his hand with hers. ‘What could you have done? Why would you have believed her then? The evidence against Ramon was convincing.’

His jaw tightened. ‘It didn’t convince
you
.’

‘Sure it did. That’s why I told Elena we needed more. I’d promised Clay I’d walk away from their case if the new evidence wasn’t compelling.’ The image of Elena’s bloody body suddenly filled her mind, unbidden. She held it there for a moment, let it fuel her rage before shoving it to the side. ‘But it turned out to be so compelling that Silas killed her.’

‘So how did Silas go from devoted cop to killer?’ Joseph asked.

‘Let’s assume that Cherri was guilty of the armed robbery,’ Grayson said. ‘Somebody plants evidence and another woman is accused. Maybe Silas is involved in getting his daughter’s charges dropped and maybe he’s not.’

‘But at some point he’s either blackmailed into helping frame Ramon or it’s his fee,’ Paige said. ‘Things go well. Ramon is convicted. Nothing happens until Elena walks by Sandoval’s bar and sees that he’s upgraded the place when he shouldn’t have been able to afford to. She and Maria hire me, and Elena manages to copy Sandoval’s insurance photos. She has to be eliminated. So does Sandoval and Jorge Delgado.’

‘So who attacked you in the garage?’ Joseph asked.

Paige shrugged. ‘And who is the guy paying off Sandoval? Who paid to have Ramon framed in the first place? Rex? His parents? His grandparents?’

‘And did Rex kill Crystal Jones?’ Grayson asked quietly. He stood up. ‘Give me fifteen minutes to get dressed. We’ve still got party guests to re-interview. Somebody had to have seen Crystal leave the pool that night. We just have to find that someone.’

She caught his hand, held him in place. ‘What about Stevie? We need to tell her.’

‘I know,’ he said, his expression drawn. ‘I’ll call her in the car.’

He jogged up the stairs, leaving Paige alone with Joseph. She bit her lip. ‘He doesn’t have a car,’ she said. ‘Anymore.’

‘I brought him a loaner.’ Joseph tossed a set of keys to the table. ‘Black Escalade, parked out front. You’ll need to drop me off at my house. I left my car there.’

Paige studied him closely. ‘I know, you know. About . . . his father.’

He nodded soberly. ‘Yeah. I heard. So?’

‘So . . . if you’re worried that I’ll tell anyone, I won’t.’

‘I believe you. So does he. For him, believing in anyone is huge. Don’t hurt him.’