Chapter 13
Stan Turner
When Stan got to the office Maria advised him that Jodie and Paula were in the conference room and that he should go in there immediately. Stan got a cup of coffee and then joined them. Neither of them looked to be in a good mood.
“So, what’s up?” Stan asked.
Paula shook her head. “It seems someone is trying to scare Jodie. They assaulted her in our parking garage and then ransacked her apartment.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Luckily Carl was with me last night.”
“Good.”
“Jodie is pretty sure Mike is behind it,” Paula said. “He was really pissed off when Jodie broke it off with him.”
“So I heard.”
“Well, I never really dated him. We just had lunch a few times and he was going to help me with the building project.”
“I know you mentioned it yesterday, but not in detail. When you say he didn’t take the break-up well, what do you mean?”
“He said I could do better than a Plano cop and that I should break it off with him. He accused me of using him and said I would regret my decision. Then a few hours later I’m assaulted in the parking garage. The asshole scared the shit out of me.”
“Who was it? Did you recognize him?”
“No. It happened so fast.”
“Did they take anything from your apartment?”
“No. I think they were just sending a message.”
“I wonder if Mike is just a pissed off lover or he suddenly realized you were investigating him.”
“I wasn’t his lover,” Jodie protested.
“Right. Would-be lover.”
“He may have connected the dots. I didn’t try to hide my identity. If he figured out we were the law firm representing Ricardo Rizzi he could have realized what I was up to.”
“Well, your security is supposed to start today. Has anyone showed up yet?”
“Yes. Brandon was available so I asked for him. He’s in my office.”
Brandon Wilkes, an ex-Marine MP, had been Jodie’s bodyguard in a previous case against a sweatshop owner who, as it turned out, was connected to a Mexican drug cartel. It had been a rough assignment but Brandon had held up pretty well and Jodie had grown fond of him.
“Well, you’ll be in good hands then. Brandon by day and Carl by night.”
Jodie nodded.
“By the way it turns out Chris Hunt and his girlfriend were at Emilio’s on the night of the murder,” Stan said. “One of the hostesses remembers seeing them. She said they left right after the incident.”
“Really? That’s great,” Paula replied. “Unfortunately, nobody saw him or the others at or near Ricardo’s apartment.”
“Well, they are professionals so I’m sure they came at night and were careful not to be seen,” Stan replied.
“There is a problem with the poison too.”
“What’s that?” Stan asked.
“It’s not sold anymore and although Ricardo claims never to have seen it in his garage, Sonia says it’s been in there for a long time.”
“So, you think Ricardo is lying?” Jodie asked.
Paula shrugged. “I don’t know what to think.”
“So, what’s your next move?” Stan asked.
“I don’t know.”
“We should go interview Sandy Richmond,” Stan suggested. “She should be recovered enough by now to see us. I know she’s in mourning, but I’m sure she wants to find out who killed her husband and poisoned her.”
“Unless she believes it was Ricardo in which case she won’t be cooperative,” Paula replied.
“Well, let’s find out.”
Paula looked at Jodie. “Are you going to be okay?”
Jodie nodded. “Yeah. Don’t worry about me. I was a little scared yesterday but with Brandon or Carl with me, I’ll be fine.”
“Good, then. I’ll go see if I can line up an appointment with Sandy Richmond.”
After the meeting broke up Stan went to his office and started going through his mail. Not seeing anything exciting he started looking through his phone messages. He stopped when he saw there was a message from Detective Besch. He picked up the phone and dialed his number.
“You are just the man I wanted to talk to,” Stan said.
“Oh, yeah? What’s on your mind?”
“You were right about Jodie’s assignment being too dangerous.”
He told him about Mike Sutherland’s threats against Jodie, the subsequent assault and the ransacking of her apartment.
“Does she want to file a complaint?”
“No. We can’t prove he was behind it. I just wanted you to know what was going on.”
“Okay,” Besch said, seeming disappointed.
“So, what did you call me about?” Stan asked.
“I told my boss about your fingerprint idea, but he said no.”
“Hmm. Well, thanks for trying.”
“So, I went to a friend at the lab and asked him to do it off the radar. He owed me a favor.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate that.”
“It’s not going to happen quickly but when the right opportunity presents itself my guy will get it done.”
“Sure. No hurry.”
“And of course if there is a match I won’t be able to point it out to my bosses, so you’ll have to subpoena the prints and have your own expert compare them.”
“Not a problem. You’re a true friend.”
“All for the pursuit of justice, right?”
“Right,” Stan agreed.
While Stan was talking to Besch, Paula had walked in and took a seat across from him. When he hung up she smiled. “Well, Sandy Richmond has agreed to talk to us this afternoon. She seemed very cooperative.”
“Good. Where are we meeting her?”
“One o’clock at her home.”
“She lives in University Park, right?”
“Yes.”
“I know a good restaurant down there. We can get some lunch and then go visit her.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Paula said getting up to leave.
“Oh, Besch’s boss wouldn’t approve the fingerprint comparison between our guys and the unidentified prints on the shoe box and the rat poison, but he’s going to get it done under the radar.”
Paula raised her eyebrows. “Well, it pays to have good friends on the force.”
“Yeah. It does, but we’re going to owe Besch big time.”
“It will be worth it, though, if it turns out we have a match.”
“Right. But I wouldn’t get your hopes up. It’s not likely they’d be so careless as to leave their prints on a critical piece of evidence.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Criminals, even professionals, make mistakes particularly if they get overconfident.”
After lunch Stan and Paula drove up in front of Sandy Richmond’s large, single story home. They parked on the curb and walked up the long driveway to the front door. Stan rang the bell and they waited. An attractive blond in her mid-thirties opened the door and smiled at them.
“Hi. Come on in,” Sandy said.
She was wearing a blue, scoop neck, knit tank top and black pants. Stan and Paula walked in and glanced around the spacious living room to their right.
“Have a seat. Can I get you some coffee or tea?” Sandy asked.
Paula nodded. “Tea would be great.”
Sandy looked at Stan. “Yeah. Tea with a couple sugars, if you don’t mind.”
Paula and Stan sat at opposite ends of a white fabric sofa. The room was decorated in a French decor with a lot of white and light blue accessories. Sandy brought in an elegant tea service and set it on the table in front of Stan and Paula.
“I’ve got cookies if you’d like.”
“No, thank you. We just had lunch,” Paula said.
Stan gave Paula a look. Sandy smiled and went back to the kitchen to get the cookies. Paula shook her head. When Sandy returned Stan beg
an questioning her.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.”
“I know it must be a difficult time for you just getting out of the hospital and having to deal with a funeral.”
“Yes. Very difficult.”
“So, I apologize for having to bother you, but we only have a limited time to prepare Ricardo Rizzi’s defense.”
“Yes. I understand. It’s not a problem. I can’t imagine Ricardo was responsible for what happened.”
Paula raised her eyebrows. “So, you think he is innocent?”
“Oh, yes. I know Ricardo. He doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body. He was obviously set up.”
Paula looked at Stan. “Well, maybe you can help us prove it then.”
“Anything I can do, absolutely. I want the asshole who killed my husband and my friends brought to justice.”
“Well, we have a theory on that,” Paula said. “Did you know that Wilkinson Properties was trying to buy Emilio’s property.”
“Yes. He mentioned that to me.”
“So, you were friends with Emilio?” Paula asked.
“Well, indirectly. His wife, Eva, is a good friend and we go out together sometimes.”
“Anyway, we found out that Tom Wilkinson and some of his associates have mob connections and have run money laundering for various underworld organizations in the past. Apparently Emilio’s property sits right in the middle of a proposed project that they want to build but Emilio won’t sell.”
“He mentioned that to us. So, you think they were behind the murders?”
“Yes. This is the type of tactic that the mob would use to get what they wanted and we have a witness who saw one of Wilkinson’s men at the restaurant on the night of the murders.”
“Really? Can I see the photo? Maybe I saw him too.”
Paula dug through her purse and pulled out the pictures of the three men. Sandy immediately picked out Hunt’s photo. “He was there with a woman. They sat a few tables away. I noticed them because the man kept looking over at us. It was so obvious I thought he might be flirting with me.”
“Huh. Interesting,” Paula said. “How did you meet Eva Bellucci?”
“She was a customer and my husband introduced us when I came by the restaurant many years ago. We hit it off and became friends.”
“What about Bill and Donna Rice?”
“Oh, Bill’s my husband’s insurance agent and a friend. We all go out to dinner occasionally.”
“Why weren’t Emilio and Eva dining with you the evening of the murders?” Stan asked.
“Oh, that was an accidental gathering. John and I decided to have dinner at Emilio’s, just by ourselves, but we ran into Bill and Donna so we all ate together.”
“Boy, that was bad luck for Bill and Donna.”
Sandy nodded but didn’t say anything.
“So, you and John could have been the target of the killer?” Paula suggested.
“Ah. I don’t know,” Sandy replied. “John does have some enemies.”
“Like Walter Satterwhite?”
“Yes. He’s an annoying cry baby, but I can’t see him trying to kill us. He wasn’t defrauded. John gave him a prospectus which disclosed all the risks. Everybody he has complained to has told him John didn’t do anything wrong.”
“So, any other enemies that come to mind?” Paula asked.
Sandy shook her head. “No. None that stick out.”
“In our investigation it came out that your husband was convicted of statutory rape and is on the sexual predator list. Did you know that?”
Sandy paled. “Yeah. John made a mistake when he was in high school. He was eighteen and his girlfriend was 16. They got caught in bed together and the girl’s parents pressed charges. John should have fought the case but a slick prosecutor convinced him to plead guilty and take a probated sentence. But the jerk didn’t tell John about the sexual predator list. You just can’t imagine what grief that has caused us over the years. John was lucky to get an insurance license.”
“I can imagine,” Stan said shaking his head.
They questioned Sandy for a while longer and then went back to the office where Stan found Ram sitting nervously in the reception area. He stood up when he saw Stan.
“What’s wrong, Ram?” Stan asked.
“I’ve been getting threatening telephone calls at home and work. My wife’s a nervous wreck. I’m sure it’s Sammy or his henchmen.”
“Right. But how do we prove it?”
“I don’t know, but I’m afraid to answer the phone.”
“What are the callers saying?”
“They say we are pigs for filing bankruptcy and hiding behind the court. They say we are going to pay for our treachery.”
“Well if it is Sammy he’s mad about the contempt judgment.”
“Can’t you do anything?”
“Not unless we can prove he is behind it.”
“How can we do that?”
“Call the telephone company and file a complaint. They will investigate and try to figure out who is calling. You can also file a police report. That would probably be a good idea anyway just to document what is happening. Aside from that I don’t know what to tell you. Do you still have your security?”
“No. I couldn’t afford it.”
Stan sighed. “Well it’s just a few weeks until confirmation of your plan and then Sammy will have no further interest in the business.”
“I don’t think he will care what a piece of paper says. He says I’m going to pay and I’m afraid he’ll follow through on his threats.”
Stan didn’t know what to say or do. He’d got the contempt order and tried to get Ram to hire security, but he didn’t know what else he could do.
“My advice is to get your security back in place until Sammy cools down. Eventually he’ll realize he’s lost and leave you alone.”
“No. You don’t understand. He’ll never give up.”
“Then buy a gun and have it handy if he ever confronts you. If you are in fear of your life you can use it against him and it will be self-defense, but don’t use it just because you’re scared. You have to be in eminent peril. If he has a weapon or he breaks into your store or home then you are justified in using it.”
“Right. I may do that.”
Stan hated to have to give someone such advice, but sometimes that’s all that could be done. He just prayed he wouldn’t get a call in the night advising him that Ram was dead or that he had killed Sammy.