AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Savich had looked about Kirra’s small office, her one office chair, and said now, “Is there somewhere we can speak privately?”
“Of course. Follow me.”
She led them across a large open space crisscrossed with work areas to a conference room with a battered wooden table and plain wooden chairs and closed the door. The noise from the assistants and clerks working outside, as loud as an old-fashioned newsroom, magically fell away. Kirra motioned them to be seated and said with a crooked smile and the absolute truth, “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon. I knew you’d want to meet with me, of course, since I was the affiant, but you caught me trying to justify a plea bargain to myself that barely hobbles over to the right side of justice. If you’d come a minute earlier, you’d have seen me throwing my shoe at the wall.”
Pepper said, “We understand all too well since, as you already know, we met with Mr. Hailstock this morning.”
Kirra arched an eyebrow. “We were all surprised you wanted to see him so soon. I’m guessing it was the highlight of your morning?”
Pepper said, straight-faced, “I have to say it ranked right up there. An interesting man, your Mr. Hailstock.”
“Could you tell me what he had to say about the evidence against Grissom?”
Savich said, “Let’s just say when we left, he was considering all the consequences we pointed out depending on whatever action he decides to take. It was fortunate you happened to be at the police station meeting with Lieutenant Thorpe last night when Mr. Grissom was hand delivered.”
Exactly what had Jeter told them?Kirra hated her heart was beating a mad tattoo. She cocked her head. “Oh, did Mr. Hailstock tell you that?”
“Lieutenant Thorpe did,” Savich said easily. “As I said, it was fortunate you were there last night when Grissom was brought in.”
“Yes, I was with Jeter in his office, not an uncommon occurrence. I was delivering papers for a case that just might have a chance of going to trial. And so, I was able to act as the affiant. I guess you know Jeter and I have been friends for many years. Uncle Leo, too, of course.”
Savich regarded her closely as he continued in a deep, smooth voice that invited confidences, “We received the same envelope of evidence yesterday, along with a letter to me personally signed with a pen name, I guess you’d call it, Eliot Ness. Clever name, all of us thought. Last night I got a text from him as well, warning us what to expect from Hailstock. I found myself wondering at his urgency.” He paused then. “I would have thought Lieutenant Thorpe would have told you all that.”
Griffin said, “Well, we were with Lieutenant Thorpe, and he was busy, it makes sense he wouldn’t have had time to speak to Ms. Mandarian.”
Was this some sort of routine the two agents played? The first tried to rattle her, then the second agent eased back? Cat and mouse. She could do this. “As you said, Agent Hammersmith, it makes sense I haven’t seen him yet today. It’s also been a madhouse around here. Almost everyone has a copy of the evidence against Grissom—I passed that out myself. Everyone’s discussing it and trying to predict what Hailstock will do. As you can probably guess, no one is optimistic. Do you agree after your meeting with him?”
Griffin said, “So you gave out those copies to keep Hailstock from burying it? Make it impossible for him to sit on it for as long as it suits him? To force his hand if such a thing is possible?”
Kirra rolled her eyes. “Every attorney in this office knows he’ll do whatever he wants regardless of what any of us say or think. If we recommend a case go to trial, he preaches about the taxpayer’s money we’d have to spend, the long staff hours a lengthy trial would require, and, of course, the risk of losing. So I’m sure he is thinking about losing on Grissom; it would make Hailstock look bad and he’ll want to avoid that at all costs.” She paused a moment, fiddled with her pen. “But if he holds off on Grissom, some of us would wonder if those would be his only reasons.”
Griffin said, “Would you like to tell us what you believe the real reason would be, Ms. Mandarian?”
“Now that’s a question that could cost me my job, Agent Hammersmith.”
Pepper said, “Of course everyone wonders who Eliot Ness is, right?”
“Of course.”
Savich said, “Do you think Ness is one of the lawyers here, Ms. Mandarian?”
“It seems like a real possibility. Or maybe it’s a disillusioned cop who wants to put Grissom away and has dealt with Hailstock long enough to make sure the evidence is bulletproof. But even then—”
Savich sat back in his chair, tapped his fingertips on the table, never looked away from her. “It strikes me what Ness did to Grissom was personal. He took a huge risk kidnapping him and hauling him to the police station. He could have simply mailed the evidence he collected.” He shrugged. “All that accomplished was to humiliate him, but perhaps that was the point.”
Griffin said, “A cop could have come out of the station when Ness was zip-tying Grissom to the railing. He took a big risk so yes, it has to be very personal.”
Kirra kept her voice calm and professional. “I hadn’t thought about it quite like that. Some of us thought it was revenge, maybe for someone Grissom was responsible for harming, maybe the murder of that paperboy, Josh Atwood. That might have made it personal, don’t you think?”
Savich said, “Yes, I think it could. Jeter told us your own parents were killed fourteen years ago. You were only twelve, I believe?”
“That’s right.”
“It must have been very difficult for you. There are some similarities, I suppose, with Josh Atwood’s murder.”
Kirra felt a jolt of alarm, quashed it. She had to be careful. She had to stay in control. She said easily, “Similarities? Not really. It was a very different time, very different circumstances. As I said, anyone would be angered by Josh’s murder. Weren’t you?”
Savich nodded. “Of course.”
