Killer Ambition

52

“We’ve got to turn this over to Terry,” I said. This was critical Brady material-evidence helpful to Averly’s defense-and it had to be provided immediately. Ian’s phone call was proof that Averly wasn’t present during Brian’s murder, and it was a pretty strong indication that he hadn’t been present for Hayley’s murder either. Powers didn’t need Averly’s help to take Hayley down, not once he realized she was within striking distance. His call to Averly-made at the same time he texted Hayley-provided some evidence that he was telling Averly where to meet him and going after Hayley himself. The fact that there was no physical evidence tying Averly to either murder offered more support for the theory that Ian had done the killings alone. Put it all together, and Averly had a decent basis for the claim that he truly didn’t know about the murder plan, which meant that he was only an accessory after the fact.

I put in a call to Terry and told her what I had. I said I’d sweeten the deal and give Averly time served, which meant that if he pled guilty as an accessory, he’d get out immediately.

“You’re going to insist on making him this deal in person again,” Terry said irritably.

“Correct. We should do it fast too, because if he’s going to take it, I’ll need to call off my witnesses and get him ready to testify at Powers’s preliminary hearing.”

“I can make it at two thirty,” Terry said.

“Fine.”

“And bring me a copy of that phone bill.”

I’d make her sign an acknowledgment of receipt form too. She’d already shown she was going to play the “prosecutor is hiding discovery” game at the arraignment. I planned to make sure she paid for that gambit. From now until her client pled guilty, I was going to bury her in discovery and have her signing acknowledgment forms, on the record, until her fingers fell off.

I gave Declan the good news.

“I’m calling Mr. Vanderhorn right now,” he said.

I hadn’t heard anyone say “Mr.” Vanderhorn in so long, I almost didn’t recognize the name.

Bailey picked me up outside the courthouse and we rehashed the ramifications of this latest development.

“It was pretty sloppy of Ian to call Averly,” I said.

“He’s not an experienced killer, and this whole thing was put together on the fly. Besides, he did have the presence of mind not to use his own phone.”

“True, that. And he was in a hurry to get to Hayley. Especially if she’d managed to get close enough to see Brian lying there.”

We fell silent, imagining the scene. Brian, bleeding out near a shallow open grave. Hayley alone in the darkness, peeking through the bushes. The shock of seeing her boyfriend lying there, on the ground, dying. And then…her terror as Ian-her second father-gave deadly chase.

“I hope Averly takes the deal,” Bailey said. “I’d like to hear how they all wound up on that mountain when the ransom drop was in Fryman Canyon.”

Personally, I wanted to hear why Ian decided that Brian had to die. But I doubted Averly would be able to give us that. Ian wouldn’t have wanted to tell him anything more than was absolutely necessary. This time, when we got to the waiting room, Terry was already there. And holding her hand out. I knew she wasn’t hoping to shake, so I put the report and a copy of her client’s phone record into it. She scanned the pages for the next few minutes.

“Thanks,” she said when she’d finished.

For Terry, that was gushy.

We waited in silence for the next ten minutes, and then a deputy arrived to escort us.

“I need a few minutes alone with my client,” Terry said.

I’d warned Terry on the phone that I didn’t want her to tell him about the deal. Again, I wanted to make sure he got the offer pure and unadulterated by any spin. She saw I was about to protest.

“I gave you my word I wouldn’t tell him what you plan to offer, and I won’t,” she said.

I nodded to the deputy, and he took Terry back to the same attorney cage we’d had last time. Jack Averly clanked in shortly thereafter. Terry’s back was to me, so I couldn’t see her expression, but I saw Averly tilt his head, then slouch down in his chair and nod. A minute later she signaled the guard to let us in.

I put my micro recorder on the table and turned it on. Bailey’d had one in her pocket last time, but I wanted to be open about it now. If Terry could see us recording the conversation, she’d be less likely to try and claim later that we’d strong-armed her client into a plea.

Terry again took control. “I’m going to let the prosecutor make her new offer.” She nodded at me. “Go ahead.”

Gee, thanks, boss lady. “First, I have to have an answer to one question.”

Terry narrowed her eyes. “No, absolutely not. I told you up front, no questioning.”

“This is a platinum offer, Counsel. I don’t give this kind of deal every day, and I’m sure as hell not about to do it unless I’m certain of what I’m getting. If you can’t even let him give us this one answer, we’re out of here.”

I stood to go.

“Wait, I want to hear it!” Averly flashed his lawyer an angry glance. “It’s my life, not yours!” He turned to me. “Ask your question.”

Terry’s eyes narrowed to slits and her chin jutted out. She looked like she wanted to reach over and snap his neck. But she didn’t object any further. A client doesn’t control much, but he does have the right to decide whether he’ll take a deal or not. If Terry tried to get in his way now, even if it was just to keep him quiet, she ran the risk of looking like she was interfering with that right. And it was all being recorded.

“When you were on the mountain, did you get a call from Ian on a strange cell phone?” Averly wouldn’t have known it was Brian’s cell that Ian was using, but he might well have noticed the number was unfamiliar.

Averly frowned and looked down at the table. Then his expression cleared. “Yeah, I did.”

“Where were you when you got that call?” I asked.

“In my car, out on the road.”

“Could you see him?”

“No.”

“What did he-”

Terry slammed her palm down on the table. “That’s it.” She leaned forward and spoke directly into Averly’s face. “If you answer one more question, you can go find yourself another lawyer!”

Averly shot her an angry look, but he obediently clamped his jaws together.

“Fine,” I said. “Jack, you plead guilty to accessory after the fact and I’ll agree to time served. That means you’re out of here as soon as you enter the plea.”

“A hell of an offer,” Bailey added.

Averly gave me a little smile. “Don’t you kind of have to reduce my charges to accessory now? I mean, how could I be a killer if I’m getting a call in my car?”

“Doesn’t mean you’re not an accomplice. The law doesn’t require you to be present to qualify as an aider and abettor-which means you’re held equally as liable as the killer. So, no, I don’t ‘kind of have to’ reduce the charges. And you can always reject this deal and take your chances with a jury.”

I stared him down, thinking, “Don’t play poker with me, pal.” I might not be thrilled with my case against him for murder, but he might not be thrilled with the result if he trusted his fate to twelve strangers. And unlike Averly, if I lost, I wouldn’t be facing a lifetime in the slammer.

“How long do I have to think about this?”

I looked at my watch. “Two minutes. I can make this case without your testimony, Jack. Take it or leave it, but if I walk out of here without an answer, the deal’s off the table.”

He nodded and stared at a point above my head. When he looked back at me, he had a superior little smile.

“No, thanks,” he said.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not taking your deal.”