Acts of Malice (25 page)

‘‘No problem,’’ Paul said. ‘‘I’ve got to go right through town to get back to the Reno Airport. I’ll take her.’’

‘‘He could have found me,’’ Nina said. ‘‘I didn’t go anywhere. It must have something to do with—’’ He had been afraid to drive back with her, afraid he might say something he shouldn’t.

‘‘You better get used to it,’’ Sandy said.

‘‘Well, at least I know where he is. Sandy, that was a beautiful ceremony. Thank you for inviting us.’’

‘‘It’s not over yet. Come on in. First, we dance and eat. Then I’m going to cut the cake and there’s coffee.’’

Paul held out his arm. ‘‘Shall we?’’ he said.

Inside on the patio, everyone had joined hands in a circle. The older children, feet moving lightly as feathers over the stone floor, demonstrated the steps. A Shoshone woman began to sing, and everyone was expected to join in.

‘‘You have to get in the circle and dance,’’ Sandy said. ‘‘Linda’s singing. She’s all the way up from Death Valley. A big circle means big luck for the singer.’’

‘‘And she’s going to need that tonight at the casino,’’ said Joseph, who had appeared beside her. Then occurred one of the most astounding things Nina had ever witnessed.

Joseph gave Sandy’s waist a tickle. And Sandy squirmed and was heard to make a high-pitched giggle!

Paul had rented a car, a red Neon which, in spite of being an economy model, drove like a sports car. He whipped around corners like a teenager. Clutching the handle on the door, Nina told him more about herself and Collier, which he took stoically, and he told her about a woman he had been seeing in D.C., which she attempted to take stoically. Although she had no claim on him, she discovered in herself a tiny touch of possessiveness which she had absolutely no business feeling.

Wasn’t it strange that, even in the midst of the dizzying depth of her love and her complete attachment to Collier, she could feel so close to another man? She knew what she felt was not disloyal—she had simply known Paul for too long and gone through too much with him to make a complete break. She wasn’t sure she ever would, although any feelings for him would stay separate, removed and remote from Collier.

‘‘Paul, could you please slow down?’’ Nina asked. ‘‘Today shook me up enough. And I might think you can’t wait to get rid of me.’’

‘‘You know that’s not so, Nina,’’ he said, slowing down to a nice cruising speed. ‘‘Anyway, to prove my undying love of your company, we’re making a quick stop on the way home.’’

‘‘What?’’

‘‘The day is young,’’ he said mysteriously. In Markleeville, he turned left.

‘‘Where are we going?’’

‘‘Grover Hot Springs.’’

‘‘But I told you I don’t have a suit!’’

‘‘Sandy’s friend had an old tank suit that should fit you,’’ he said.

They reached the park in the late afternoon. The long shadows of trees fell around the two green pools, one very hot and one warm. A few ruddy-looking people lounged around the edges. In the middle of the warm pool, a small girl in a Mickey Mouse swimsuit splashed. Her father held her up by her stomach and lectured her on swimming safety.

In the wood shacks that passed for changing rooms they put on swimsuits, meeting on the concrete outside. ‘‘Hot,’’ they said, shivering in unison, heading for the smaller pool.

They sank out of winter’s chill into the hot pool.

Nina shivered again, this time with pleasure. ‘‘I’m reminded of a recent evening with Andrea in a hot tub,’’ she said, ‘‘although I have to say, this beats your basic backyard setting.’’ The trees were black and emerald and dappled with snow, and the mountains turned purple in the distance.

They lolled a good long while in the water, until their toes shriveled and the lights came on in the pool. Nina swam laps in the colder pool while Paul shot the breeze with two cross-country skiers who had spent the day at Paradise. When Paul got hungry, they dressed and returned to the car.

At Markleeville, they went into the saloon on the corner. Nina had a sandwich and Paul ordered a burger. The crowd inside was sparse but rowdy. After they had been there for only a few minutes, two locals who had been drinking quietly in a corner suddenly stood up, their chairs scraping. The man in the black cowboy hat took out a large-caliber gun, letting it hang loosely from his hand.

‘‘Now you’re makin’ me damn mad, Cody,’’ he said.

His erstwhile friend held his hands at his sides. The two of them stood across from each other, both listing slightly to the side.

Paul got up, seeming entirely ignorant of the action that had instantly blanketed the room in quiet. He sauntered over to the bar and ordered a beer. The lady bartender slipped a beer on the counter and disappeared without taking the proffered bills. Several other patrons edged toward the door and made quick escapes.

Nina, in the center of the room, froze. Cody’s pockets hung heavy on him. She imagined handguns and buck knives. If she got up, she would be involved, and that was the last thing she wanted.

On the other hand, there was the distressing reality to consider that she, aligned only one table away from Cody, was directly in the line of fire.

‘‘She ain’t worth it,’’ Cody answered.

‘‘I told you before, don’t talk about Beth like that!’’ Black Hat raised the gun but before he could do anything with it Paul slammed into him, grabbed his gun hand, whipped him around, and took the weapon.

‘‘I’m glad you didn’t kill him, pal,’’ Paul said, ‘‘ ’cause then I might have to kill you.’’ He gave Black Hat’s arm a good hard twist for emphasis.

‘‘Ow!’’ Black Hat howled. ‘‘What’s your business in this?’’ he cried, struggling. ‘‘We got a sheriff here, and it ain’t you.’’

‘‘Ah, but I have an interest in the overall safety of this room,’’ said Paul, letting him go. He pocketed the gun.

‘‘Gimme my gun back!’’ Black Hat yelled.

‘‘You go on outside with your disputes,’’ said the bartender, reappearing from behind the bar. ‘‘This is the last time you drink in here, Billy Boy.’’

‘‘Aw, no, don’t say that, Rochelle. I bring you plenty of business,’’ said Billy, but the bartender had him by the scruff and was leading him out the front door.

‘‘And don’t come back!’’ she shouted, wiping her hands against her apron as she came back inside. ‘‘You go on with your fun, folks,’’ she said. ‘‘He’s gone for tonight, anyways.’’

Cody, completely unembarrassed by the preceding scene and set at ease by Billy’s departure, came up to Paul and said, ‘‘Thanks.’’

Paul said, ‘‘Better not talk about his wife like that any more.’’

‘‘Lemme buy you a beer.’’

Paul returned to Nina holding two fresh beers.

‘‘Whoa,’’ said Nina. ‘‘It’s the wild, wild West here. You were good, Paul.’’

‘‘I’m surprised to hear you say that,’’ Paul said. ‘‘You being an officer of the court.’’

‘‘I could have got up and argued with him,’’ Nina said. ‘‘Tried to make him see that shooting would result in a felony conviction. But then he would have been even more riled up and he would have shot me.’’

Paul laughed. ‘‘True,’’ he said.

‘‘Paul?’’

‘‘Yeah?’’

‘‘Back there at Grover’s, remember how I told you Andrea’s been talking a lot about codes of honor. How would you describe your code of honor?’’

‘‘I never put it into words,’’ Paul said. ‘‘But if I had to, I’d say, ‘Make love, but when the war starts, make war.’ ’’

Now it was Nina’s turn to laugh.

‘‘And yours?’’ Paul asked.

‘‘I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe just, ‘Do your duty.’ That covers just about everything for me.’’

‘‘What if there’s a conflict among your duties?’’

‘‘Then, like Andrea says, family first. It’s pretty simple, really.’’

‘‘So simple to say, so hard to carry out,’’ Paul said.

‘‘Yes.’’ She set her beer down on the table, reminded of all the complications.

‘‘I sense a duty coming on,’’ Paul said. His mood, too, had changed.

‘‘I need to go home, Paul.’’

‘‘Why?’’ He had a stubborn expression. He didn’t want to go anywhere, he wanted to pretend things hadn’t gone wrong between them, that she wasn’t with someone else now. Nina felt that she had made a mistake going off with him.

‘‘Because it won’t do either of us any good to sit here and get drunk together, and then maybe do something we’d regret,’’ she said.

‘‘You’d regret. Maybe.’’

‘‘I’m sorry, Paul.’’

‘‘I should have let him shoot you,’’ Paul said.

20

‘‘THEY ARRESTED JIM again. He was arraigned this morning and I called the bail bondsman. He won’t be out until tomorrow morning,’’ Nina said. She hadn’t enjoyed the late-night call from the jail, and she was yawning from the subsequent night of worry.

‘‘I expected it,’’ Tony Ramirez said. Sandy and Wish nodded their heads in eerie unison as the investigator spoke.

Sandy had taken a three-day honeymoon and had shown up as usual on Monday morning. She looked well fed, well rested, and, if it was possible, even more smug than usual. Wish looked happy, too. Having his father at home must agree with him.

Tony continued. ‘‘I contacted Kelly, the youngest sister. She refused to talk to anybody for a long time, but for some reason she’s decided to come forward now. She was hostile but she told me a few things, including a weird story about the client. She’s been subpoenaed. Nina, she could cause trouble.’’

‘‘What does she know, Tony?’’ Nina said. They were in the conference room. The file in the Strong case filled three boxes on the long table; pleadings, background, transcripts. Artie came in, and Nina introduced him to the others.

‘‘Pleased to meetcha,’’ he said to them all and sat down and opened his notebook.

‘‘Kelly is twenty-five years old,’’ said Tony. ‘‘She looks younger than her age, no makeup, coltish if you know what I mean. Okay. She’s going to testify that our boy has a long history of violence. It’s an old family thing. Listen up.’’ He didn’t need to say that. He had their attention. ‘‘Timewarp back fourteen years. Jim’s sixteen, Alex is thirteen, Kelly’s eleven. Kelly says Jim’s doing things to the neighborhood cats.’’

‘‘Like what?’’ Nina said it, but there were interested looks all around.

‘‘Like hurting them. He likes to stomp them.’’

‘‘Uh oh,’’ Artie said. Nina’s breath caught. It was such a chilling detail.

‘‘According to Kelly,’’ Tony went on, ‘‘something’s wrong with Jim. He needs lots of attention. He’s jealous of Alex and Kelly—he thinks Kelly gets all the parental attention because she’s the baby. One day, Kelly is skiing with him and she swears he runs her right into a tree. She has a concussion and breaks her leg in several places and spends three days in the hospital. The hospital records have been subpoenaed.’’

‘‘Too remote in time,’’ Nina said, and Artie nodded. ‘‘At most, it shows a propensity,’’ he said. ‘‘Flaherty’s not going to admit evidence of bad character as a teenager. Did Jim confess that he did it?’’

‘‘Denied everything. It was her word against his. No charges were filed, nothing like that.’’

‘‘Maybe Kelly’s the liar. Who knows? It won’t come in.’’ Artie was thinking like a lawyer, looking for the impact on the case. Nina tried to do the same.

‘‘Kelly claims she hasn’t skied since. Bad leg,’’ Tony said. ‘‘Their mother started having problems. Her nerves, whatever that means. Anyway, she decided she couldn’t take it any longer. She wanted Jim sent to a clinic for disturbed adolescents. Philip opposed the idea. He thought Jim would grow out of it.’’

‘‘Out of what?’’ Wish said.

‘‘Out of being a teenaged Satan,’’ Tony said. ‘‘Anyway, there was a huge family fight.’’

‘‘This was all fourteen years ago, supposedly?’’ Nina asked.

‘‘Right. While all this is going on, Alex is walking home from school one day and gets hit by a car. No witnesses, he didn’t see it coming. He has a concussion, but no permanent damage.’’

‘‘So?’’ Artie said.

‘‘So Jim just got his driver’s license the month before.’’

‘‘So what?’’

‘‘You could say that. But the mother didn’t. She says, I’ve had enough. The mother blames Jim, takes Alex and Kelly, and leaves Tahoe. The family’s torn apart. She goes to Colorado and doesn’t come back. She and Alex and Kelly stay for several years, and there’s a divorce.

‘‘Meantime, Philip tries to keep Jim on an even keel. Jim’s furious at his mother and the brother and sister. He thinks they all ran away from him.’’

‘‘Which they did,’’ Sandy said.

‘‘More years go by. Jim goes to work at Paradise for his father. Meanwhile, Dad’s sneaking away when he can to Colorado, a place high up there in the Rockies called Breckenridge. That’s where he visits with the rest of them. He and Mrs. Strong still have a thing going, divorced or not. But Mrs. Strong still doesn’t want to ever see Jim again, doesn’t want Jim to know where she is. Kelly claims the mother’s still afraid of him.’’

‘‘Did Kelly offer any proof about this alleged propensity for harming animals and breaking people’s legs?’’ Artie asked.

‘‘I’m lucky she’s talked to me at all, Artie. I don’t worry about proof at this stage. Okay. Now, Alex has turned into a good skier. He and his father decide it’s all under control, Jim’s grown up and straightened out and seems cured of whatever his problem was. The father invites Alex to come back and work at Paradise. Alex moves back to Tahoe, and Jim seems fine with it. Jim doesn’t show any interest in seeing his mother or sister.

‘‘Several more years go by. Mrs. Strong dies—a heart attack—Jim marries Heidi, and Alex marries Marianne. All is calm, all is bright, right? So far as Kelly knows.’’

‘‘I don’t like this story,’’ Artie said. He’d given up the pretense of taking notes and was leaning back in the chair, just listening.

‘‘Kelly moves to North Shore so she can go to the University of Nevada, and Philip’s supporting her. But she still doesn’t want to have anything to do with Jim. He knows she’s around somewhere on North Shore, but that’s it. They don’t communicate. They are estranged. That’s the word, I think.’’

‘‘If Kelly thinks her brother ran her into a tree, whether he did it or not, she’s got a whale of a bias. When’s the last time she saw Jim?’’ Artie asked.

‘‘Ten years ago, until a few weeks ago. She did go to Alex’s funeral. She and Jim spoke briefly,’’ Tony said. His beeper went off and he got up and left the conference room.

‘‘Then she knows nothing relevant,’’ Artie concluded. ‘‘All she knows is background. This whole regrettable story has nothing to do with Alex Strong’s death. That’s my opinion.’’

‘‘It is sad,’’ Wish said. ‘‘Nina? Do you think he did bad stuff to animals? And to his sister and brother?’’

‘‘I have no idea, Wish.’’ Wish looked troubled that she couldn’t reassure him. Nina continued, ‘‘You know, Wish, this young lady’s told a shocking story that makes Jim look really bad. You often hear shocking stories in a law office. It doesn’t mean they are true.’’

‘‘Yeah, but all this stuff is from a few Ice Ages ago— no problem,’’ Artie said. ‘‘Let’s do a Motion in Limine and get an order that Hallowell can’t even begin to bring up that ancient history.’’

‘‘I agree. Alex’s death was an accident,’’ Nina said. ‘‘Nobody’s been able to prove otherwise. This case isn’t going to trial. We’re going to dispose of it again at the second prelim, and that will be it. They can’t do a third prelim. Kelly’s story is pretty flamboyant, but I agree with you, Artie, true or not, it’s ancient history. We ought to be able to get an order excluding it at the prelim.’’

‘‘So what else has the prosecution got? I mean, they rearrested Jim, there must be something else,’’ Sandy said.

‘‘If there is, Collier will have to disclose it within the next couple of days. I know the DNA results still aren’t in,’’ Nina said. ‘‘They have a forensics expert from Sacramento coming up to testify. Ed Dorf. I have his report. He still can’t prove the fibers came from Alex’s shirt. He doesn’t add anything about the skin markings, so he’s not much of a help for the prosecution.’’

‘‘How can they hope to win this one?’’ Artie said. ‘‘Why are they pursuing it?’’

Tony came back in and took his seat. He looked excited about something.

Nina chose her words carefully. ‘‘I believe that Collier has a personal belief that Jim killed his brother. I believe he’s pushing it even though he knows the evidence is weak.’’

‘‘He’s not in a position to push losing cases,’’ Artie said. ‘‘I’ve heard about him, though I haven’t had him on a case yet. He used to be good, but he lost it. He’s a flake.’’

He looked around at the grimacing faces in the room. Wish was doing a strange dance with his hands, waving something away. ‘‘Hey, what’d I say?’’

‘‘He’s not a flake, Artie,’’ said Nina.

‘‘Okay, he’s not a flake. He’s just stupid.’’

‘‘He’s not stupid. He just believes in what he’s doing.’’

‘‘Fine. I have no problem with that,’’ Artie said. ‘‘Just so he loses.’’

She changed the subject. ‘‘Sandy, pull up some form Motions in Limine for me. I’ll start working on that tomorrow. Tony, I want you to keep working on Marianne Strong. She’s on the subpoena list and I need to know if she’s going to add anything.’’

‘‘Which brings up a point,’’ Tony said. ‘‘The half-brother who gave Alex a black eye. The ex–night host.’’

‘‘Gene Malavoy.’’

‘‘Yeah. I just got a call. Malavoy was picked up this morning. Possession of crystal meth. Looks like they’re going to charge him. He went for the arresting officer and had to be subdued. He’s in big trouble.’’

Nina said, ‘‘So Jim was right. He is a druggie.’’ So Jim had told her the truth about Malavoy! She stored that up to use against her doubts on her next sleepless night.

‘‘Let me know the prelim date,’’ Artie said. ‘‘I’ll be there.’’

‘‘Okay. And, Wish, would you be able to go up to Incline to see Kelly Strong with me this afternoon? I have to talk to her, obviously.’’

‘‘You bet!’’ Wish said.

They left about three. Kelly hadn’t answered the phone, but Nina couldn’t wait. She felt a sense of urgency about the girl. She was kicking herself for not talking to Kelly earlier, but Jim’s sister hadn’t seemed to be involved with the events in South Lake Tahoe. Marianne and Malavoy had taken up her attention, rightly or wrongly, and the forensics problems had been so thorny . . .

Collier had obviously just talked to Kelly, that day he had come back to grab Nina and insist she get out of the case. Kelly must be believable.

Nina didn’t like the sensation that she was following Collier around. She needed to move faster. The problem was, she was dog-tired, this afternoon especially. One problem was, she had no Paul to keep ahead of the case. Tony was great at carrying out orders, but Paul had always taken the initiative.

Wish, buckling up in the passenger seat of the Bronco, said, ‘‘Look.’’ They could see Paradise, looming off to the right. Only the upper part of the mountain was visible, vertically striped with white runs. ‘‘It looks so smooth until you’re at the top of the run and looking down. Then it looks like corrugated cardboard covered with ice.’’

‘‘I take it you don’t like skiing, Wish.’’

‘‘I tried it once. I snowplowed all day. My legs were so sore I spent the next two days in bed. Do you like it?’’

‘‘Sometimes better than other times,’’ she said, thinking of her day with Jim.

They drove slowly, stopping at the series of traffic lights at Stateline, then left the town and got stuck behind a loud snowplow chugging along at about twentyfive. There were no detours, and there was no other lane. Nina bit her fingernails and chatted with Wish about the wedding, and at Spooner Junction the plow turned right. After that the road lay clear ahead, and they pulled into Incline by four-thirty.

The town was so hidden in thick forest they should have left a trail of crumbs as they turned onto Country Club Drive. Only a block or so from the lake, there was no snow on the lawn in front of the condominiums where Kelly Strong lived. They went to number twenty and waited.

No one home.

Back to the car. It was getting dark.

‘‘We could go take a look at the lake,’’ Wish said. She would have preferred to doze in the car, but they walked down and watched the stars coming out one by one, reflected in the burnished water. Nina was tired of talk. She just wanted to get on with it, get a personal impression of Kelly so she’d know how to attack her at the prelim . . . Her shoes were full of sand. She pulled them off and touched the ice-cold water with her toe.

She felt ice cold too. She’d have to be that way to get through another hearing. She felt a pressure building inside. She was holding something back from herself. The combination of fatigue and anxiety wasn’t good.

The lights came on just as they drove up. ‘‘On second thought,’’ Nina said, ‘‘this is a young girl. She’s going to be hard to talk to. I might do better alone, okay, Wish? It won’t be as threatening.’’

‘‘Whatever you say. I’ll wait.’’ She got out of the car, leaving her briefcase behind, and walked along the asphalt path and up the stairs. ‘‘Hi,’’ she said when Kelly Strong opened the door.

‘‘Yes?’’

‘‘I’m Nina Reilly.’’

‘‘Oh.’’

‘‘Your brother’s attorney.’’

‘‘I know.’’

‘‘I’d just like a minute to talk to you. Please?’’

Kelly hesitated. Then she stepped out onto the landing, closing the door.

After the ultra-athleticism of all the other Strongs, Kelly was a relief. No suntan, no muscles, just a small, rather frail-looking student in a UN baseball cap. She looked like a washed-out, watered-down version of Jim, with sloping shoulders and freckled hands. A kid.

Nina looked at her, hard.

Kelly took the look. ‘‘Talk away,’’ she said, her voice sounding just like a kid’s, too. ‘‘Mr. Ramirez told me you might come.’’

‘‘I understand you’ve agreed to testify at your brother’s preliminary hearing.’’

‘‘Yes.’’

‘‘I was wondering, why now? Why didn’t you come forward the first time around, if you had something to say?’’

She crossed her arms over her chest. ‘‘Because it has to stop somewhere,’’ she said. ‘‘You know, I’m not going to go through the whole story with you again. I’m tired, and I have to work on a term paper tonight.’’

‘‘What are you studying?’’

‘‘Poli Sci.’’

‘‘Great. Want to teach?’’

‘‘No. I’m going on to law school, if things work out.’’ She gave Nina a curious look, vulnerable, as if Nina was the first woman lawyer she had ever seen.