Final judgment

SIXTY-ONE

Mason’s Aunt Claire once told him that the world depended on both man-made and natural law. Man-made laws were elastic, adapting to special circumstance, acknowledging changing times or bending to clever argument. Natural laws were immutable, a gift of God or nature, depending on whether one’s compass pointed to faith or common sense as true north. The law of gravity was her favorite because, without it, everything on earth would hurtle into space in a cosmic instant.

Despite Detective Griswold’s innuendo, Mason considered the possibility that Kelly would bend the law-cross the line-as unlikely as God turning the gravity switch off in a fit of divine vandalism. Yet, as Mason walked toward her, he half-expected to be launched into the void by the centrifugal fling of a suddenly off-kilter planet.

From the moment Dennis Brewer had whispered in Pete Samuelson’s ear about the body in Fish’s car, Mason had suspected that Brewer was somehow stirring the pot. He’d been there when Rockley’s body was found. He’d been there when Mason and Blues had braced Mark Hill at the bar in Fairfax. He had the skill set to break into Lari Prillman’s office and safe and then escape under cover of darkness and gunfire. And, he was tied to both Ed Fiori and Al Webb.

Mason now knew that the same could be said about Kelly Holt. She’d had nothing to do with Fish’s case until Blues was photographed outside Rockley’s apartment. When Blues had predicted that another FBI agent was backing up Brewer that night in Fairfax, Kelly had been that agent. She was no less qualified than Brewer for the black bag job at Lari Prillman’s office. Lila Collins had placed her at the casino immediately after Fiori’s death and again, only a month ago, with Webb. And, she had persistently deflected Mason’s inquiries about Brewer, certain that Mason wouldn’t consider the flip side of the coin.

Brewer was an anonymous face with a badge and a gun and wouldn’t be the first good guy who turned out to be a bad guy. Mason couldn’t yet tie it all together, but if he kept bulling his way through the maze, he was confident that he’d nail Brewer and that the rest of the pieces would fall together. He would take his well-deserved lumps for what he’d done to Judge Carter, but the laws of man and nature would put everyone and everything where they belonged.

If Kelly was dirty, if she and Brewer were in this together or if she was in it alone, he didn’t know what he would do. Even if he wanted to turn a blind eye, he couldn’t. If she had Fiori’s tape and she wasn’t corrupt, she would have confronted him by now, maybe even arrested him. If she was corrupt, if she had the tape and was sitting on it, she was a threat to him that he couldn’t tolerate.

He blinked, testing his sight and his mind, making certain neither was hallucinating. Kelly was real. Standing in the cold, hands thrust in her pants pocket, the butt of her gun visible under her arm as her open jacket flapped in the wind.

“Friend of yours?” Kelly asked when Mason came close.

“Who?”

“The woman you were talking to. The one you followed into the parking lot and then down the path. The one you gave a five-minute head start to before you came back to your car.”

“Oh, that woman. Her name is Lila Collins. She’s the HR director at Galaxy. I called her and told her I wanted to meet with her. She suggested the park since it was close to the casino.”

“It’s a cold day in the park. What’s wrong with her office?”

Mason shrugged, ignoring the pin Kelly had stuck in his story. “I guess she wanted some fresh air.”

“She know anything?”

Mason followed his gut instinct to tell her what she would find out soon enough from the cops or on her own. The rest of his gut told him not to tell her another word more.

“Johnny Keegan had asked her for the name of a lawyer. Didn’t tell her why. She’d seen me on TV and gave him my name. I called Detective Griswold and told him. He’s going to follow up with her. That’s one mystery solved. How did you find me here?”

“I called your office. That Mickey is very protective. I practically had to fax him a copy of my badge. He told me you’d gone to the casino. I drove over to find you and saw you leaving. I was going the opposite direction. By the time I got turned around, and caught up, you were turning into the park. I saw the two of you get out of your cars and decided to wait.”

“You should have called me on my cell phone.”

“Then you should have given me the number, bonehead,” she said with a smile.

Mason’s suspicion retreated for a moment in deference to his stupidity and her charm. Her story made sense and he wanted to believe her, though he knew it was just as likely that she had another reason for coming to the casino.

“Point taken,” he said, writing it down on a slip of paper and handing it to her. “For future reference. What’s up?”

“Sylvia McBride called Fish back. She’s coming in town tomorrow and wants a look at Fish’s safety deposit box. It’s set for three p.m. at the bank.”

“What about the hundred grand?”

“She told him that someone would pick it up tonight.”

“At Fish’s house? Isn’t she worried about surveillance?”

“She is and that’s why it won’t happen there. He’s supposed to stuff it in his coat, go out to dinner tonight, get a table, and go to the bathroom. When he comes back, the coat will be gone.”

“That’s a lot of money to stuff into a coat.”

“Not really. A million dollars in hundred-dollar bills only weighs forty-four pounds. A hundred thousand weighs a little over four pounds. I sliced an opening in the liner of Fish’s topcoat and dumped the money in. The coat is a little lumpy, but on him, everything looks lumpy.”

“What restaurant and when?”

“An Italian place in Overland Park called Cinzetti’s. It’s a big buffet-style place. People are always up walking around. He’s supposed to be there at seven. The place will be packed. No one will notice a thing. It’s a smart choice. Webb must have told her about it.”

“Once Fish leaves his house with that coat, I want the surveillance cameras and microphones pulled. We agreed to that only so long as the money was in the house.”

Kelly smiled. “I’m one step ahead of you, Counselor. I already gave the order. We’ll have our equipment out of there before Fish gets home from dinner.”

“Who’s going with Fish for the drop?”

“I’ll be there. Having dinner like everyone else,” she said. “Are you okay with that?”

Mason swallowed his doubts, knowing that suspicion infected everything and that being right mattered less than believing that he was right.

“Works for me. I’ve already got two dinner dates tonight.”

“Take my advice. Don’t break either one of them. Leave this to me.”

“Who’s handling the safety deposit box?”

“Fish offered up Mickey, just like you told him. Said he was grooming him to take over the business. There’s no connection to you. Sylvia went for it.”

“I better get back to the office and brief him. Are you going to cover the bank too?”

“Not by myself. Dennis Brewer will be there too. Tell Mickey that Brewer wants to meet with him in the morning to get him ready. He’ll be at your office at nine.”

They studied each other in a face-mask standoff, neither giving any ground. “Did you ever talk to Brewer about who leaked the identity of Rockley’s body?” he asked her.

“I told you before,” she said. “I’ll take care of Brewer. Just trust me.”