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Even though she was petite, Nina Radinovich commanded the room. “First, I want to share my condolences about the murder of Craig Dyson. Craig was a good man, an outstanding lawyer. I had great respect for him.”
“Thank you,” Elena said. “He was a good friend.”
Kara glanced at Elena. It was true, but Kara hadn’t acknowledged it when she spoke to Elena last night or today in her office. Elena kept her emotions even closer to the vest than Kara.
“As you know,” Nina said, “my office has been looking into one aspect of Mr. Chen’s alleged crimes. We have been working to find evidence of his trafficking. And we’ve made, thanks to ASAC Chavez and her team, some inroads there. I have witness statements that are compelling, but unfortunately—as I know you have encountered in your investigation—some people remain silent out of fear. These cases are difficult to prosecute because of that.
“However, we’ve traced much of Mr. Chen’s finances. We have payments to dockworkers and after some negotiations, we may have an eyewitness willing to go on record.”
“Isn’t that a moot point because he’s dead?” Kara said. She didn’t need to know what might have happened should Chen have lived.
“No, because there were other people involved. Craig and I spoke briefly about this, and we had a meeting scheduled for today—to fill me in on the grand jury investigation he intended to launch, and he wanted some legal advice.”
“About what?” Elena asked.
“He didn’t say.”
Motive, Kara thought. It had eluded her, but it all came back to the grand jury investigation. He was killed because someone—whoever was going to be exposed because of the investigation—didn’t want the jury looking into them. And the only way to stop it was to kill Craig. Even Elena said he was keeping information from her and Lex. Why would he do that? Because he didn’t trust someone? Because he didn’t trust Elena? Someone close to her? Was it another dirty cop?
According to Nina Radinovich, Craig wanted to talk to her.
“How long have you known Craig?” Kara asked Nina.
The question surprised Nina. “Eleven, close to twelve years. I came here from the Seattle office when my husband took a teaching position at UCLA. Craig and I had a case that intersected, and we became friendly. He was very easy to work with, tough but fair. That particular case was a fraud investigation—a contractor had defrauded both the federal government and the City of Los Angeles related to inflated bids. We both wanted the case, and he turned it over to me because he felt the federal case was stronger than the state case.”
“Was it?” Kara asked.
“No—but it was clearer, if that makes sense. Both cases were good, but the federal case was straightforward, and the state would have had to prove multiple points. Craig’s primary concern was for the individual affected in the state case, so we worked together to ensure they were included as part of the restitution award in my case. A win-win.”
Elena turned to Rebecca. “How’s your family, Rebecca? If I remember, you have a son and daughter, right? Grown now?”
Rebecca blinked. “Yes, they’re fine, thank you.” She turned to Nina and said, “I know your time is valuable, Nina, so maybe we should continue?”
Kara looked at her pointedly. “I would say my time is also valuable, Rebecca.”
Chavez bristled and shot Kara a narrowed glare before hiding her irritation. Kara bit back a smile, then added, “So is Elena’s time, and Matt’s, and everyone else at this table. So let’s get to it.”
Nina looked momentarily confused at the tension, then said, “According to your statement, Detective, you were in the courthouse with DDA Dyson and FBI Agent Michael Harris at the time of the shooting, correct?”
“Yes.”
“What time did you arrive?”
“Approximately 11:30 a.m.”
“Do you concur, Agent Harris?” Nina asked Michael.
“Yes.”
She made a note.
“Were you both together the entire time you were in the building?”
“No,” Kara said.
“When did you separate?”
“About twenty minutes after the shooting. While we were in lockdown in Craig’s office, Matt called and asked Michael to meet him in the lobby.”
