Ties That Bind

Chapter Forty-Three.

Amanda hadn't had much of an appetite since her kidnapping, and the first sign that she was starting to get back on her feet was the rumble of her stomach shortly before one. She walked down the block to a Mexican restaurant and ordered a taco salad. As she ate, her mind drifted to Jon Dupre's case. Even with everything she knew, she had a hard time seeing herself convincing a jury to acquit Jon for the murder of Wendell Hayes. Tim Kerrigan could prove beyond any doubt, let alone a reasonable doubt, that Jon had killed his lawyer, so the only way to win was to convince the jury that Jon had acted in self-defense. To do that, she had to prove that one of the state's most prominent attorneys had risked his career by smuggling a shiv into the jail to murder someone he hardly knew. She might get some mileage out of Paul Baylor's testimony, but Hayes's motive was the sticking point. After all, Dupre was already facing the death penalty. Why risk everything to kill Dupre when there was a good chance that the state would do it for you?

Amanda paused with her fork halfway to her lips. That was a good question. She played around with it. What circumstances would force Hayes to act so quickly? There was only one answer that occurred to Amanda. Hayes had to believe that Jon knew something that could severely damage him or his fellow conspirators. What could Jon possibly know that was that explosive? Only one person could answer that question. Amanda ate quickly then headed for the jail.

* * *

Jon Dupre had adapted to the restrictions his chains placed on his movements and he slid onto his chair with a practiced motion.

"How come a high-priced lawyer like you is visiting the jail instead of taking a power lunch?" Dupre asked.

"Hey, Jon, the defense never rests."

Dupre smiled. Amanda realized that this was the first time she'd gotten him to lighten up. Maybe she was finally cracking Dupre's shell.

"So," he asked eagerly, "do you have some news?"

"Not really, just questions."

"About what?"

"Did Wendell Hayes try to kill you to keep you from talking to the cops about a conspiracy of powerful men that includes Pedro Aragon?"

"What the fuck is this? Who are you working for?"

"I'm working for you, Jon, but you don't make it easy. Talk to me."

Dupre cast a quick look at the guard who was watching them through the glass. He leaned forward and dropped his voice so low that Amanda could barely hear him.

"Stay away from this. You can't help me and you'll get yourself dead."

"Jon . . ."

"Listen to me." He moved so the guard could not see his face. "When we talk, cover your mouth."

"What?"

"You have no idea what you're dealing with. The guard could be one of them, he could be a lip-reader."

"You're serious?"

"Just do it."

Dupre's outburst convinced Amanda that he believed they were in danger. She trusted the guards but did as Dupre asked, to humor him.

"They sent Hayes to shut me up," Dupre whispered. "These people are everywhere. They murdered Oscar Baron."

"Baron was killed by burglars."

"That's how they made it look. I sent Baron some evidence to show the FBI."

"After I started representing you?" Amanda asked angrily.

"Calm down. This was after our first contact visit. I didn't trust you, so I paid Oscar to negotiate a deal. I was going to fire you as soon as he had it in place. Only they must have found out and killed him."

"Whoa, slow down. What did you have to bargain with?"

"I've been taping my drug deals with Pedro Aragon's people. I figured I could use them if I was ever busted and my case went south." He hung his head. "I had Ally bring them to Oscar. The newspaper said he was tortured before he was killed. Knowing Oscar, I don't think he'd hold out for long, so they must have everything Ally gave him."

Now Amanda knew who had searched Ally Bennett's apartment and what they were looking for.

"Have you heard from Ally since Baron was killed?" she asked.

"We haven't talked since I asked her to take the tapes to Oscar."

"Kate Ross was at her apartment. Someone trashed it."

Dupre looked alarmed. "You don't think . . .?"

"I don't know what to think. If she ran, where would she go?"

"I don't know, Amanda. Honestly, I don't."

"If she contacts you, make certain that she calls me. So far, she's your best chance of beating the Travis charge."

"What do you mean?"

"Kate talked to Joyce Hamada. She said she and another woman were at your house on the night that Senator Travis was murdered but Ally chased them out when you had some trouble with a drug you took. If Ally was with you when Travis was murdered she can testify about that. If the jurors believe her they'll have to acquit you. We need to get in touch with her."

"They don't give me many calls," Dupre said. "The one time I tried to call after Oscar was killed there was no answer at her apartment and she didn't answer her cell phone."

Amanda got both phone numbers from Dupre.

"Do you think that Hayes tried to kill you to protect Aragon?" Amanda asked.

"No one knew about those tapes when Hayes came after me."

Something about the sound of Jon's voice made Amanda pause. She cocked her head and studied him. He couldn't meet her eye.

"Then why did Hayes do it?" she asked. "Why did he feel that he had to act so quickly?"

"Maybe he was worried that I'd try to make a deal with the cops."

"And tell them what?"

"About Senator Travis and these people who protected him. Travis liked rough sex. When he finally went too far with one of my girls he used one of Pedro's men to clean up his mess."

"This was Lori Andrews, right?"

Dupre nodded. "He really had a thing for Lori and he thought I'd keep him from seeing her, so he tried to get on my good side. He hinted that he could protect my operation so I'd never have to worry about the cops. I didn't believe him, so he told me about these people."

"Did he tell you who they were?"

"No. He didn't mention any names, but he hinted that there were judges and cops in it, even DAs. It sounded far-fetched until Hayes tried to fillet me."

Something was still troubling Amanda, something that didn't make sense. It took her a moment to figure out what it was.

"You didn't tell Travis about the tapes, did you?"

"No."

"And you couldn't prove that Travis was in this club?"

Dupre nodded.

"And you didn't know anyone else in the club, right?"

"Only Travis, and I wasn't sure that he wasn't bluffing to keep me from hurting him."

"It doesn't sound like these people would be worried about you hurting anyone. They didn't know about the tapes and they wouldn't know that you knew about the group unless Travis told them. Even if he did, he'd also tell them that you didn't know anyone's identity but his, and Travis was dead by the time Hayes tried to murder you. So why did he do it? It doesn't make any sense, something's missing. What aren't you telling me?"

Dupre averted his eyes and licked his lips nervously.

"This isn't twenty questions, Jon. If you want to have any chance of walking out of here you have to tell me everything. I told you I'll hold it in confidence, and it's not going to do you any good if you're dead."

Dupre took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll tell you. There are some other tapes. I only held out because they're all I've got left. I was counting on them to bargain with if things got really bad."

"I've got news for you, things are really bad right now, and they are going to get worse if we don't get some breaks. Now, what is on those tapes?"

Amanda had a hearing in another case at three. She called Kate on her cell phone as she walked across the street from the Justice Center to the courthouse. Kate was out, and Amanda left a message saying that it was urgent she call her. As Amanda went through the security checkpoint, her eyes darted around the main floor, lingering for a moment on a tall man in a leather trench coat before shifting to a slender man in a windbreaker and a Mariners' baseball cap, lounging on a bench, and finally passing over a muscular woman in a navy-blue pea coat who was staring at her. Everyone looked dangerous.

Amanda walked up to the fifth-floor courtroom. Inside, she saw a few lawyers and court personnel she knew. There were also some court watchers; unemployed or retired men and women who preferred watching court cases to viewing the daytime soaps. None of the men who had kidnapped her were in the room.

Frank was waiting for Amanda outside the courthouse to take her home when she was finished with her hearing. He slipped her the .38. When they got to the parking garage, Frank pressed the button for their floor. Just as the elevator doors closed, Amanda thought she saw someone start up the stairs. Was he the slender man in the windbreaker and baseball cap she'd seen in the courthouse? Amanda tightened her hold on her gun.

They got to their car and drove home without incident. Frank parked in the garage. Amanda hefted her briefcase and waited for Frank to open the door and punch in the alarm code. They walked through the kitchen and into the living room. Amanda pulled her .38. A man was sitting in the dark. He was over six feet tall, rangy, and dressed in tan slacks and a dark turtleneck sweater. His shiny black hair was fastened in a ponytail, and he had the high cheekbones and bronze complexion of a Native American. The gun didn't seem to bother their visitor, because he smiled when Amanda sighted on him.

"I'm George. I work with Anthony," he said in a deep clear voice.

Frank relaxed. "Put the gun down, Amanda. He's here to help you."

"Who . . .?"

"He's a bodyguard. I hired him."

George stood up and crossed the room with a confident stride.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Jaffe." He smiled warmly. "I hope you'll forgive my dramatic entrance but I wanted to test Mr. Jaffe's security procedures. Obviously they're wanting, but we'll shore them up."

"Where is Anthony?" Frank asked him.

"You won't see him unless there's trouble, but he's around."

Amanda was still holding her gun.

"Do you know how to shoot your weapon?" George asked.

Amanda nodded.

"Good, but I don't want you shooting one of the good guys. Our code word is 'red'. If there's a problem and someone shouts it out, you'll know they're friendly." George's smile widened. "Don't shoot them.

"I've had you under observation for a couple of days. There are some procedures I'd like to go over. I'll try not to make them cumbersome but they are necessary if we're going to keep you safe."

"How intrusive are you going to be?" Amanda asked.

"I'll be with you all the time but I'll try to blend in as much as possible."

Amanda looked skeptical. George would stand out in any crowd.

"I know," he smiled, as if he'd read her mind, "but part of the value in having a bodyguard is that it scares some people away. The people you're dealing with don't scare that easily, so it helps if they think I'm all you've got. Think of me as a diversion. The people you won't see until they're needed are very good at what they do."