Page 132 of Nightshade

“I think I like it better this way,” he said. “Knowing you’ll never be able to use or hurt another woman again.”

Stilwell stepped out and closed the door.

47

STILWELL WAS ANNOYEDwith himself. His bluffs hadn’t worked with Crane and now he was left with a case that no prosecutor would come close to calling bulletproof. His strongest evidence could also be his weakest. Crane’s statements could easily be interpreted in different ways. He and his lawyer would only have to convince one of twelve jurors that he was simply trying to scare off an extortionist. Any prosecution would also be starting in the hole, thanks to the department’s blunder of initially declaring Easterbrook the killer. Even a defense attorney fresh out of law school would know how to tee that up for a jury to view the investigation as completely incompetent.

While Crane called his lawyer from the locked interview room, Stilwell went to his office and picked up his phone. He saw that he had missed three calls from Captain Corum. He knew what they were about and decided not to avoid the confrontation any longer. He put the video feed from the interview room on his computer screen and muted the audio so he could keep an eye on Crane without invading attorney-client privilege, then called Corum back. His boss picked up before the first ring was over. Soon Stilwell was holding the phone away from his ear as Corum yelled.

“What the fuck, Stilwell? You are going after the fucking mayor of Avalon and you don’t even think to give me a heads-up?”

“What are you talking about? I told you the mayor was on the radar.”

“Yeah, you told me he was on the radar. Not that deals have been made and it’s going to a grand fucking jury.”

“Look, Captain, things started moving beyond my control. Oscar Terranova turned himself in to the DA, not to me. They cut a deal with him, and apparently I’m supposed to give testimony to this grand jury as well. But I learned of this about the same time as you.”

“Stilwell, you have been relieved of duty pending an OIS investigation. Don’t you understand what that means? You cannot testify in a grand jury case.”

“Captain, the prosecutor said there’s a subpoena with my name on it. I don’t have a choice. I’m sure you don’t want me to break the law. I have to testify. And it doesn’t matter if I’m ROD. Court testimony doesn’t count as active duty.”

There was a long silence. Corum realized that Stilwell was correct and calmed down.

“Okay, how strong is this case?” he finally asked.

“It must be strong if they’re rushing it in front of a grand jury,” Stilwell said. “I talked to the prosecutor an hour or so ago and she said Terranova has recordings of himself and the mayor that are damning. She said they have Allen on both the murder of Henry Gaston and the abduction of Tash Dano.”

“Have you heard these tapes?”

“I heard part of one. I think it will do the trick. Juarez, the prosecutor, said the other one is even better, but I haven’t heard it. She was too busy.”

“Are they clean? That’s the important thing.”

Stilwell knew he was asking if the tapes were legally obtained and acceptable as evidence in a trial.

“Juarez thinks they are,” Stilwell said. “I’m sure they’ll be challenged by the defense, but that’s expected. It sounds to me like they’ll hold up.”

“I don’t like that we were not part of this,” Corum said. “It’s not how it should’ve been handled. We should have had people in there from the beginning.”

“I agree, Cap. But it is what it is. Terranova’s a smart guy. He and his lawyer probably figured this was their best move. He’s getting a good deal out of it.”

While the conversation was chock-full of lies by omission, Stilwell had managed so far not to directly mislead Corum. The captain might eventually learn of the fuller role Stilwell had played in bringing in Terranova, but Stilwell hoped that this would come to light due to the successful grand jury indictment and arrest of Mayor Douglas Allen.

“All right, I want to hear from you tomorrow, Stil,” Corum said. “When there is an indictment, you call me right away and we’ll figure out the arrest plan. We’ll need a strategy for managing the media on this as well.”

“You’ll hear from me right away.”

“After you testify, we can send you back on a chopper. You make the arrest, and then we fly the suspect back and book him right into county.”

“Sounds good. But, uh, okay if we fly two suspects back to be booked into county?”

“Two? What are you talking about? I was told Terranova’s getting a pass.”

“He is. But I just made an arrest in another case.”

“What case?”

“The Leigh-Anne Moss murder.”

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