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15
SAVICH
Hoover Building
THURSDAY
Savich’s cell rang at eight A.M. the following morning as he turned into his parking slot in the Hoover Building garage.
“Savich, Jeter Thorpe. I don’t suppose you’ve heard what’s happened here in Porte Franklyn?”
“No, I’m just arriving at the Hoover Building. My boy tried to sprain his ankle dashing down the stairs this morning. I wrapped him in an ACE bandage so he could show it off to the other kids. Don’t tell me Eliot Ness has struck again? So soon?”
Jeter said, “I wish that was all of it. Yes, Eliot Ness is back to her surveillance, she texted me twice last night. Ryman Grissom murdered two people, ran them off the road and over a local cliff. There’s more, much more. I’m emailing you her best recollections of Kahn Oliveras and Ryman Grissom’s conversation.”
A couple minutes later, Savich said, “I got the email and read it.”
“She used a burner phone, of course. By the time I got to the crash site at two A.M. I got another text from her. It says she dropped her cell phone when Ryman saw her and chased her, so we don’t have a recording. I swear I could see Kirra cursing when she texted me.” He paused, sighed. “I didn’t want to believe Kirra was Eliot Ness, but now, even though I hate it, I have to accept it’s true. I’ll tell you, Savich, I’m scared for her. She could get herself killed. I know I promised not to confront her, to try to talk her out of this, but she hasn’t stopped and that scares the crap out of me. You know what these people are capable of. She’s putting herself in real danger.”
“Protect her, Jeter. Have one of your people follow her, see where she goes, who she sees, jump in if she’s in trouble. It’s got to be someone you trust to keep his mouth shut. But she can’t know that you know. It’s not that I believe she’ll confess to you what she’s been doing, I don’t think she will. Can you imagine if it came out what it would do to the validity of Grissom’s case, given she’s a prosecutor in Porte Franklyn?”
“Doesn’t bear thinking about. Now, a protector, that’s a good idea. I’ll put Hendricks on her, he’s very good and I trust him to keep it quiet. Of course, Kirra’s good, too. She told me once she had a race car driver boyfriend in college and he taught her all the tricks. So if she spots Hendricks, she could probably ditch him without much difficulty. She also seems to be able to look in all directions at once, like the lizards do in the outback, the only way to survive, she told me. I still don’t like it. I’d like to put her on a plane back to Australia.”
Savich said slowly, “I have a feeling she’ll close this down very soon now.”
Jeter heaved out a sigh. “I know she’ll go back after her cell phone next. Probably today.”
Savich said, “Back to Misha Misel. It’s got to all go back to Oliveras’s books Misel was in charge of. He probably knew exactly what Oliveras brings in on a weekly basis. Misel must have stolen from Oliveras or demanded more money. Whatever he did, Oliveras ordered Ryman to murder him for it. The poor girl with Misel was collateral damage.”
“Yes, that’s what we figure. There also was another murder last night, Corinne Ewing, Misel’s assistant. It was the middle of the night when we recovered both bodies from the wreck at the bottom of Jaspar Cliff. I left as soon as I could and drove to Ewing’s house. I didn’t play nice. I told her Misel and his girlfriend had been murdered by Oliveras and she was in danger. She refused to talk to me, said she’d call her lawyer if I kept after her. But she acted nervous, on edge, didn’t seem to care at all about her boss, Misel. I realized Ryman Grissom had already been there and intimidated her, doubtless made her think she’d be safe if she stayed on as his accountant and kept her mouth shut. I told her not to believe it, that she could be next. I was ready to talk to her about immunity and witness protection, but she again threatened me with her lawyer. I again stressed her vulnerability given the murder of her boss. Then, like a fool, I decided to wait a few hours, let her stew and think it over, then I’d have her brought to the station. It was the wrong decision, Savich. I should have hauled her off then and there, with or without her consent. I realized once Oliveras convinced himself Eliot Ness had been there, listening, recording, there was no way he could trust Ewing. He had to eliminate her. She was too much of a risk.
“The only smart decision I made was to assign Foxxe, my newest detective, to park across the street from her house to make sure she’d be safe until I had her brought in.
“I got a call from Foxxe about four in the morning. He hadn’t seen anyone near her house, or her neighborhood, for that matter, when he made his rounds. He was in his car when he heard two gunshots. He ran to the front door of Ewing’s house, but when he heard an engine start, he ran back out into the street, saw a Chevy Camaro roar away. Foxxe pulled out his cell and snapped photos of the car. Then he went inside.”
“Someone managed to get into the back of the house?”
“Yeah, broke in through the kitchen door. The intruder didn’t count on Ewing being awake, much less owning a gun. It looks like Ewing heard him, confronted him, and shot him before he shot her dead. There was blood splatter in two places, which means we’ve got the assailant’s blood and DNA.”
He paused, and said, “She shouldn’t be dead, Savich. It was my fault.”
“Did you ID the Camaro?”
“Foxxe’s photos, after we cleaned them up, showed it was bright cherry red. We got the license plate.”
Savich said as he walked to the stairs, “I shouldn’t be surprised Ryman Grissom worked for Oliveras as well as his father.”
“Word is Ryman’s got what you’d call a large lifestyle, starting with his penthouse apartment in a swank downtown Porte Franklyn skyscraper. He’s also got three ex-wives and his children, a boy by each wife. He’s got them all in private school. He likes to club and be seen with beautiful women on his arm. Does his father mind his earning some money from Oliveras? Evidently not.
“I’m having both Oliveras and Ryman Grissom picked up right now for questioning. I’m sure they’ll have a fleet of lawyers with them. I wondered if you, Griffin, and Pepper want to come out again to Porte Franklyn?”
Savich knew Sherlock didn’t need him while she watched Emma, and there was nothing hot going on in the unit his people couldn’t deal with. “Misel and Ewing were involved in a criminal conspiracy with Oliveras to conceal his crimes. I’d be willing to bet that includes federal crimes as well. I’ll give Pepper a call, see if she wants to pay you another visit. And yes, Griffin will want in, I’m sure.”
“Ah, did you know Pepper has a kid, a teenage boy?”
“Yes, his name is Grant and he’s quite a basketball player. How did you know?”
A moment of silence, then Jeter said, “We’ve—Pepper and I—have spoken a couple of times since yesterday. She told me she’s divorced and has sole custody of Grant. She said Grant’s coach thinks he might be good enough to play professionally someday. She’s fine with that. Her only proviso is he has to play for Kentucky first, get his four-year degree.”
“You’re a fast worker, Jeter.”
He laughed. “Nah, she called me first.”
Savich said, “Thanks for keeping me informed. I’ll let you know when to expect us, and whether Pepper will be along,” and he punched off.
