Last to Die (40 page)

Tatum figured out a way around that.

He thinks he has. My guess is he teamed up with a partner - someone who could do the killing while he was out building alibis.

Like, I was out fishing with my brother,' said Theo.

Exactly. So long as he has a workable defense, like an alibi or whatever it might be, the fact that he's the last man standing at the end of the day won't be enough to send him away on murder charges. He may be right about that. He may be wrong. But a forty-six-million-dollar inheritance can buy one heck of a good criminal defense lawyer.

One thing's for sure, said Theo. I know my brother. If he's come this far, he won't stop.

Which means we need to figure out who his partner is.

Any guesses?

Jack leaned back in his chair, considering it. I've been giving this a lot of thought. It seems possible that there are two killers at work - or, at the very least, someone has gone to the trouble of trying to make it appear as though there are two killers at work.

How do you count two?

The first is the guy who called me after the prosecutor was murdered and said that no one can opt out of the game, Everyone must die.' If this guy is taken at his word, money is not his primary objective.

A psycho like that doesn't sound like Tatum's partner.

No. But the other killer - or, at least, the other personality - is the guy who attacked Kelsey and said he wanted Tatum to withdraw from the game.

Wait a sec, said Theo. If you're saying that this guy is Tatum's partner, why would he want Tatum out of the game? Seems like the opposite would be true.

It has to be a ruse, said Jack. It makes a nice cover for Tatum and his partner, doesn't it? It would appear that Tatum is being threatened into withdrawing, but in reality Tatum and his partner are killing off the other beneficiaries so that Tatum can stand firm and inherit the jackpot.

You sound pretty convinced that this partner is not himself a beneficiary.

It only makes sense if his partner is not already a beneficiary. He wouldn't need Tatum if he was already in the game.

Theo rose, pacing as he thought aloud. So, we're looking for a friend of Tatum's who is not a beneficiary and who is not squeamish about blood.

Jack and Theo looked at one another, as if the name came to them simultaneously. You thinking who I'm thinking? asked Jack.

Seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?

The guy who got Tatum into the game in the first place. The dirt bag who linked up Sally with Tatum.

Sally's old bodyguard? said Theo.

Yup.

They locked eyes, mulling it over in the silence between them. It seemed to fit. Theo asked, Now what? You go to the cops?

Jack shook his head. Your brother isn't one of my favorite people on earth, but the fact remains that everything I learned about his possible wrongdoing arose from the attorney-client relationship.

But I heard you say it yourself as he was walking down the hall: The privilege doesn't apply if the client is about to commit a future crime.

I'm a criminal defense lawyer, Theo. I'd better be damn sure about my facts before I breach the attorney-client privilege for any reason.

You're not sure?

Not sure enough. I can't just run to the police and tell them, hey, my client had a slip of the tongue and said let's split the pot three ways instead of two ways, and based upon that I think he may have conspired with Sally's old bodyguard to kill off the other beneficiaries.

So what do we do?

Basically, I do whatever I can to let you even the score with your worthless brother. I help you to help yourself.

I'm listening.

I think you should pay a visit to Sally's old bodyguard.

He smiled wryly, curling his right hand into a fist, massaging it with his left. It would be my pleasure.

No rough stuff, said Jack.

Then what is it you want me to do?

Just follow my plan.

Your plan? he said with a chuckle. Last time you had a plan, I ended up kidnapped by some Russian-speaking Latina babe, locked in a seedy hotel room, and chained to a bedpost for three days.

And your complaint would be

Theo's smile widened as he reconsidered. You the man, Jack. What's the plan?

Chapter
Fifty-Six They settled on a short frame Smith & Wesson revolver with a polished nickel barrel.

It had taken only a few minutes for Jack and Theo to formulate their strategy. Kelsey wanted to help, and since she was the one whom Tatum had threatened most directly, Jack figured that she deserved a shot at redemption. She agreed to take a ride with Theo over to a gun shop on Biscayne Boulevard and point out the gun that most closely resembled the one her attacker had shoved into her face outside the law school library.

That's the one, said Kelsey. She was pointing through the locked glass door on the display cabinet.

You sure? asked Theo.

It was dark outside, and the guy was wearing a mask. But that gun was right in my face, and there was enough light from the library to see at least that much. It may not have been that exact model, but it was one just like it.

Thanks, said Theo. That's just what I needed. You want me to drive you home?

No, my car's still on the street by Jack's office. Could you drop me off there?

No problem.

Jack was at the watercooler when Kelsey returned to his office. She said she'd forgotten something in her desk, but Jack walked her to her car, sensing that more important things were on her mind. They were standing at the curb between her parked car and a black olive tree that had sprouted from a square landscaping hole in the sidewalk.

Would it surprise you to hear that I was coming into the office this morning to clean out my desk?

No one asked you to quit.

No one asked me to stay.

Though it hadn't been a conscious decision on his part, he couldn't deny the inference she'd drawn.

Kelsey said, I'm sorry for the way I acted in court the other day, corralling you at the end of the hearing. It wasn't very professional.

I understand.

Do you, really? Or are you just saying that?

I guess it is getting pretty crazy.

Crazy? Jack, I got attacked at gunpoint walking home from the law library by some creep who threatened to drown my son. Today, your client grabbed me and pretended to blow my brains out. I don't blame you for any of that, but here's the part that's really nuts: I still walk around feeling as though I have something I need to make up to you.

I'm not trying to make you feel that way.

Her tone softened, but her expression was pained. I want us to get past this - this awkwardness that's come between us ever since that reporter called me about Tatum.

I wish it hadn't happened, but I can't pretend it didn't.

She tricked me. I slipped up.

It was the kind of slipup that could have landed our client in jail.

Which is apparently where he belongs.

Which is not at all the point.

I know. I made a mistake. I said I was sorry.

Jack lowered his eyes and looked away. Kelsey stepped closer, cocking her head a little to catch his gaze. Hey, she said with a weak smile. If you're about to say Love means never having to say you're sorry,' I think I might strangle you.

The way she was looking at him, he knew that honesty was the only option. Kelsey, I -

Don't, she said.

It's important. All I'm trying to say is that for five years I was married to a woman who heard my every secret. Personal, professional - it didn't matter. I trusted her completely, and we still fell apart. What chance does a relationship have when that trust is destroyed before we even get started?

A woman passed on the sidewalk while walking her cocker spaniel. She nodded hello, tugged her dog away from Jack's shoe, and kept walking.

Kelsey looked at Jack and said, You really like her, don't you?

Never saw her before.

I didn't mean her. I meant Sally's sister. Rene.

Jack shrugged, not sure what to say.

Kelsey drew a deep breath, then let out what sounded like a sigh of resignation. You're a good guy, Jack. Frankly, I think this trust issue you've latched on to is an intellectual game you're playing because you're afraid to follow anything that doesn't make intellectual sense. But you deserve to have what you want, even if you aren't very good at figuring out why you really want it.

Thanks. I think.

I hope it works out for you.

Not sure there's anything to it yet.

There will be.

He gave her a quizzical look, wondering how it was that women saw things in other women that men couldn't find with a microscope.

I'll still do my part to make your plan work. Whatever you and Theo need. She reached out as if she were about to brush his cheek, then pulled back. See you around, Jack.

Yeah. See you.

He watched as she got into her car and started the engine. He offered a little wave as she drove off. Maybe she'd seen it, maybe she hadn't. But the hole in his gut and the emptiness he felt wasn't really about her. It wasn't about Rene, either.

Damn, he said to himself. I'm really sorry, Nate.

Chapter
Fifty-Seven Theo was in the mood for acting. This was not to be confused with his frequent cravings for action, which usually involved an ample supply of massage oil, edible panties, and glow-in-the-dark, double-extra-large condoms (when it came to Theo getting lucky, luck had nothing to do with it). Rather, he was preparing himself to act in the I'd like to thank the Academy sense of the word, as in displaying his skills as an actor.

You talkin' to me?

Even without the cameras rolling, there was no truer form of art than turning a fraud like Tatum's friend Javier into an honest glob of Jell-O.

Can I come in? asked Theo. He was standing on the front step. Javier was on the other side of the screen door, wearing only exercise shorts, no shirt. He looked like he'd just rolled out of bed, and sleeping past noon was probably pretty normal for a bouncer at a South Beach club. It was obvious that he'd done some serious weight lifting in his teens and early twenties, probably some steroids, too, but he was starting to turn that proverbial corner on the fast track to fatville. A thick gold chain hung around his neck, and Theo noticed that the skin on his pecs was red and irritated, like the guys at the gym who had their chest waxed for the girls who didn't like hair.

Javier gave him a hard look, as if trying to figure out if he knew him. You look an awful lot like my buddy Tatum. You must be his pain-in-the-ass little brother.

Theo's the name. It's time you and me talked.

What about?

Business.

What kind of business?

The kind you can't do standing on the front porch.

He gave a little smile, then let Theo in and led him back to the kitchen. Theo pulled up a bar stool as Javier cleared the counter of four big plastic jugs filled with powered protein and body-building supplements.

Beer? asked Javier.

No, thanks. Already had breakfast.

Theo did a quick scan of the apartment as Javier fetched himself a brew from the refrigerator. A new big-screen television dominated the room just off the kitchen. The rest of the furniture looked as though it had come with the dumpy apartment. If Javier was into anything illegal, he was either a small-time player or a high roller who hid success extremely well.

Javier popped open a beer for himself, then took a seat on the opposite side of the counter. So, what's up?

I've reconsidered Tatum's offer.

He drank from the can, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. What offer?

Sally Fenning's forty-six million.

What about it?

He narrowed his eyes, ready to assess Javier's reaction to his next line. I've decided that I'm okay with a one-third cut.

Yeah, he said, scoffing. Who wouldn't be?

So, you're okay with it?

He took another drink, then belched. Okay with what, dude?

A three-way split instead of two-way?

He smiled quizzically. You know something I don't know?

Theo had come here feeling pretty confident about his bluff, but he was beginning to wonder if Javier really was his brother's partner.

You playing dumb on me, Javier?

He chugged the rest of his beer and crushed the aluminum can in his fist. Do I look like I'm playing dumb?

No, thought Theo, and that was the problem. He looked just plain dumb, and it was throwing a crimp into Jack's plan. The whole idea had been for Theo to come here bluffing, trying to find out if Sally's bodyguard was indeed Tatum's partner. But if their theory was correct, Theo should have been making more headway with this blockhead.