Above The Law

CHAPTER 70

THE CLINIC LOOKED LIFELESS UNDER THE WEAK ORANGE GLOW from the streetlight on the corner. Nothing but shadows lay beneath the old pump station roof. Mandy's Range Rover waited for them in the back. As soon as the Mercedes rounded the corner of the building, the Rover's dome light went on and Mandy hopped out. She wore a white designer jogging suit with her bleached blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. With no makeup, the lines of age and the red-rimmed eyes added fifteen years to her face. Casey hopped out of the car and smelled liquor in the air.

"I'll do it," Mandy said, shaking her head. "I'll ruin him. He thinks I won't, but I will. Little gargoyle."

"Come inside," Casey said gently.

Jose led the way to the back door, cutting through the yellow police tape and placing his hand on the warning sticker sealing the door that announced that tampering with it was a federal offense that would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

"Vandals," Jose said, slicing through the sticker.

Casey handed him her key. He jangled the set and opened the door, flipping on the lights. The file cabinets and shelves stood open and barren. Casey righted one of the guest chairs in front of her desk, offering it to Mandy. Jose ducked out to the car and returned with a tray loaded with triple cappuccinos. He offered one to Mandy. She took it and sipped.

Casey took one, too, and drank gratefully, letting the caffeine rush through her empty stomach to her brain. Mandy slapped a manila folder against her leg.

"I'm glad you made it back," Mandy said, looking from Jose to Casey. "You wouldn't have, if he got his way. He wanted you killed in Mexico. I heard him say it."

"Anyone else with him when he said it?" Casey asked, hopeful.

"Jeff Macken."

"Who is he?"

"My husband's chief of staff," Mandy said. "He knows everything."

Casey hesitated. "Is he a lawyer?"

"Yes."

Casey's face fell.

"What?" Mandy asked.

"Privileged information," Casey said. "And you're his wife. You couldn't testify to what you heard, and anything that evolved out of your telling the story would be contaminated and excluded. We have a lot of different pieces of the story, but nothing that we can use in a court to pin it on your husband."

"We know he worked through Gage," Jose said. "We know he killed Elijandro. They're sending these people down to Mexico to test pharmaceutical drugs, and we know your husband must somehow be linked to Kroft, the company doing it."

"Now we need to prove it," Casey said. "If we do, even though it won't be enough to prosecute your husband, we think it'll be enough leverage to get them to stop."

"Here's your leverage," Mandy said, pushing the folder across the desk. "I heard him talking about you showing up at Kroft, so I took a look in his private drawer and found these. Offshore bank accounts in my husband's name. Deposits from Kroft Labs, in the millions. How does that work for leverage, Miss Jordan?"

"Like a crowbar.''