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Yesterday, after the sex-club alibi, Louis Stanton had started spouting his own theories, desperate to convince Jack that he wasn't responsible for the murders.
"Someone should look into that lawyer chick," Stanton had said. "The one who took on the cases."
"Angela Kamaka?"
"Everyone thinks she's a damned saint, forgetting the fact she was screwing around with the first victim's husband."
"Howard Lang?"
"Lang couldn't keep his pants zipped. That's why they split. Rumor is that Mindy put up with his shit until he banged that lawyer chick."
"Okay . . ."
"Put the pieces together." Stanton had given Jack this look, like he was an idiot for needing it spelled out. "The two women get into a catfight over the guy, and the lawyer accidentally kills the wife and then realizes how easy that was, so she goes after the judge next. He's a judge, and she's a lawyer--he must have done something to piss her off. Then she thinks, Ah-ha, people think the deaths are connected to divorce cases, so what if I off this lawyer guy and take his cases? Then I'll make myself look like a target, so people feel sorry for me."
"She killed her own dog?"
Stanton had shrugged. "Maybe it barked too much."
Jack had dismissed that as a load of crap. Yeah, he knew Angela's firm was struggling, but that was to be expected for a new business. If that was part of her reason for taking on those clients, so be it. He wouldn't begrudge her the chance to make a living, especially if she was risking her life to do it. The rest was just random weird shit. Then Walling confessed to the bombs, and Jack couldn't help looking at Angela again for the other deaths.
He'd asked for Evelyn's help, and her digging confirmed the financial difficulties. She also learned that Angela had a history of problems with Albert Kim--documented animosity.
What if Angela and Mindy did get into a fight? Lingering resentment over Angela's affair with Howard. Angela went to confront Mindy at home, accidentally killed her and then made it look like a suicide. After that, something with Judge Kim sent her over the edge, and she killed him, staging it as another suicide. Then Walling came along, picking up on Angela's "pattern" of family court murders to frame Sheila. After Sara Atom's death, Angela knew it was safe to take Atom's cases--that there was no pattern of family court murders. She got extra work and looked like a hero.
It certainly wasn't a slam-dunk theory. But having Angela then want to meet Nadia at night? Alone? Yeah, that spelled trouble. Which was why Jack was staking out their meeting.
Let Angela show up. If she tried taking Nadia anyplace, he'd act. Otherwise, she might just want to talk, get a sense of whether Nadia suspected more. If so, then Nadia and Jack could talk tonight. He'd say, "Yeah, about Angela . . ." and give Nadia the evidence for them to discuss.
Only Angela wasn't showing up. It was now twenty past. He watched Nadia send a text. Answering one from Angela, he figured. Then she took a call and had a very short conversation.
Ten minutes later, another text and another call, equally brief. When she got off the phone, she flagged down a server, paid and left her table.
Angela had canceled. Jack exhaled. Okay, now he'd talk to Nadia about Angela. No more of this bullshit. Nadia wouldn't like Jack considering Angela as a suspect. It made him look like a jaded misanthrope, a guy who saw someone like Angela Kamaka and thought, Too good to be true. Which he hadn't, not until he had cause to dig deeper. Still, it looked shitty. It might make Nadia think poorly of him. And that was too fucking bad, wasn't it? For Nadia's safety, he had to speak up.
Jack had prepaid his tab and tip, so he hurried straight out to see Nadia flagging down a cab. He pulled back into the shadows. Yeah, she would get to the hotel ahead of him, but he could just pretend he'd gone for a walk on the beach. Then he'd sit her down and tell her what he was thinking.
A cab pulled over, Nadia got in. Jack waited as the car left the curb and . . . made a U-turn. Heading away from their hotel.
Fuck, no.
Angela hadn't called to cancel. She'd called asking Nadia to meet her someplace else.
Fuck, no.
Jack jogged to the sidewalk and flagged down a taxi. He had the door open before it even rolled to a stop.
"Follow that car," he said, pointing to Nadia's cab.
The middle-aged driver burst out laughing.
"I'm serious," Jack said. "I need you to follow--"
"That cab I just drove past? The one that a pretty lady got in?" The driver twisted, putting his arm over the seat as he looked back at Jack. "That's not a good idea."
"I need--"
"Look, I understand. You saw her inside the bar, maybe chatted a little. But you struck out. Let it go." He nodded at the gold band on Jack's finger. "Remember your wife, okay? Don't take a vacation from your vows, too."
