Supreme Justice

Chapter Twenty-six

“I’m in a lot of trouble, Ms. Garrett,” Sarah Woodruff said as soon as they were alone in Mary Garrett’s corner office on the top floor of the priciest office building in downtown Portland. The large picture windows gave clients spectacular views of the river, three snow-capped mountains, and the West Hills. The decorations were ultramodern: sheet-glass desktops, gleaming aluminum tube armrests, and abstract art that confused Sarah.

Mary Garrett was just as disconcerting as her office furnishings. The attorney wore the kind of designer clothing and spectacular but understated jewelry that were found in the glossy pages of upscale fashion magazines, but her clothes and accessories didn’t look right on the diminutive, birdlike woman with her overbite and dense, unfashionable glasses. None of this discordance mattered to her clients. No one hired Mary Garrett for her looks, and Mary assumed that Woodruff wanted her in her corner because Garrett had taken Woodruff apart during cross-examination in a trial that should have been a slam dunk for the prosecution but ended in an acquittal for one of the least likable drug dealers Mary had ever represented.

If Garrett looked more like a sideshow oddity than an attorney, Sarah Woodruff definitely looked nothing like the stereotypical damsel in distress. Garrett estimated Woodruff’s height at five ten, and she had the build of a female boxer, with long legs, wide shoulders, and a torso that tapered down to a narrow waist. Long black hair framed intense blue eyes and full lips that tension had drawn into a straight line. At a cocktail party or a classy restaurant, when she was relaxed and smiling, men would find Woodruff attractive, if severe, and even sexy. Today, under strain, she was all business. Strong, tough, and self-sufficient were Garrett’s first impressions of her new client. If she felt she needed someone to help her, Garrett bet her problem was very serious.

“What sort of trouble are you in?” Mary asked.

“I’m a Portland police officer. A few days ago, some people broke into my house around five in the morning and kidnapped a man named John Finley. I tried to stop them and was knocked out. A friend called me less than an hour ago and tipped me off that the district attorney is in a grand jury right now, looking to indict me for murdering John.”

“Who’s your friend?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Anything you confide in me is confidential and protected by the attorney-client relationship.”

“I know that, but I promised to keep him out of this. He did me a big favor by tipping me off, and I’m not going to get him in trouble.”

“Fair enough,” Mary conceded as she studied Sarah. Her navy blue pants suit and white, man-tailored shirt looked good on her, but they weren’t expensive, and Mary knew a cop’s annual salary. Garrett decided to get the business aspects of their relationship out of the way.

“Defending a murder case is expensive. By the time the smoke clears, we’ll be talking six figures for my retainer in addition to hefty expenses for experts and investigation. I’ll need fifty thousand dollars to start. As soon as I have an idea of the complexity of your case, I’ll tell you how much more I’ll need.”

“I’ll have the money to you tomorrow,” Woodruff replied evenly. “I can’t afford to have a hack represent me,”

“OK. Do you know why the DA thinks you murdered Mr. Finley?”

Sarah shook her head. “I have no idea. I mean, there was blood in my house, but that was from the fight. And as far as I know, John is missing, not dead. My friend told me that no one has found his body.”

“You can use circumstantial evidence, like the blood in your house, to prosecute someone for murder even if there is no body.”

“But I saw a man attacking John. He was kidnapped.” Sarah pointed at the back of her head. “Do you think I did this to myself?”

“The police might think Mr. Finley did that while defending himself,” Mary answered. “Maybe they think you killed Mr. Finley, disposed of the body, and made up the story about his being kidnapped.”

Woodruff’s fists clenched in frustration. “But I didn’t. Those men broke into my home. I didn’t make that up.”

“Tell me some more about what happened.”

Mary made notes as Sarah told her about the incident at her place, her futile search for John and his abductors, her talk with the police, and her trip to the hospital.

“Had you ever seen the kidnappers before?” Mary asked when she was through.

“My memory is fuzzy. I blacked out after I was hit on the head, and everything happened very fast. I don’t have a clear picture in my mind of the man who was fighting with John. Also, when I was halfway down the stairs, I saw John and focused on him. I’m pretty certain the man who was fighting with him was wearing a black leather coat. And gloves. He was wearing gloves.” Woodruff shook her head. “I’m sorry I can’t give you much more than that.”

“If you just woke up and you were hit hard, I wouldn’t expect you to have total recall. Tell me, did Mr. Finley ever mention any enemies?”

“He didn’t talk about himself very much. Anytime I asked about his business or his past, he’d joke around or give vague answers. He rarely told me anything of substance.” Sarah hesitated. “He did mention a few names, and I heard him on a call once.”

“Can you give the names to me? I can have my investigator run them down. Maybe we’ll learn a little more about Finley’s background.”

“The ones I remember are Larry Kres… no, Kester, Larry Kester. And Orrin Hadley.” She shut her eyes and concentrated for a moment. Then she leaned forward. “Dennis Lang. Those are the three I remember.”

Mary jotted down the names. “And you have no idea why Mr. Finley was kidnapped?” she asked when she was through.

“No, but John… he may be into something shady.”

“Like what?”

“I have no idea.”

“Have you known Mr. Finley long?”

“Not really. We met in Peru about a year and a half ago when I was on vacation,” Sarah said. “Several months later, he turned up in Portland. We lived together for a while, but I became suspicious of his business and threw him out.”

“What type of business is he in?” Mary asked.

“Export-import is what he said.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

Sarah hesitated. “John was always vague about what he was doing. I was concerned that he was involved with drugs or smuggling. He slipped once and told me his company was called TA Enterprises. I asked him what it meant and he joked that it was tits and ass, you know, porno, but I got the impression that he was sorry he’d let the name slip and this was his way of distracting me.

“Right around the time I learned the name of John’s company, he told me he was going to Asia and wasn’t sure when he’d be back. I did a background check on him and the company. It’s a shell corporation registered in the Cayman Islands. I’m not even certain that the board of directors, or any officer, is real. And I couldn’t find anything on John. I confronted him. I asked if he was a drug dealer or engaged in some other illegal activity. He was furious I’d run the background check. We had a screaming argument, and he left without answering any of my questions. Honestly, I never expected to see him again.”

“Did anyone hear your argument?”

“It was loud and the neighbors are close on either side. The woman next door reported it. Two officers showed up soon after he left.” Woodruff colored. “It was embarrassing.”

Mary was quiet for a moment. Then she frowned. “Is there something you’re not telling me? The evidence doesn’t sound nearly enough for a murder indictment.”

“Max Dietz is running the grand jury, and he has an ego the size of Mount Hood,” Woodruff said, making no attempt to hide her anger. “He’s come on to me a few times, and I turned him down.”

“Dietz can be an asshole, but I can’t believe he’d indict you for murder because you wouldn’t go out with him.”

“There is something else,” Sarah said, and over the next quarter hour she filled Garrett in on the Elcock case. “When Loraine Cargo and Elcock passed their polygraph tests, Jack ordered Max to dismiss the case. He’s never forgiven me for going over his head and embarrassing him in front of his boss.”

Mary made careful notes about Elcock. Then she continued the interview for another half hour. When she had enough background information, she placed her pen on top of her legal pad.

“I think that’s enough for now. I want you to stay at a hotel in case the grand jury hands down an indictment. If you’re home, they might arrest you. I’ll make the reservation in my secretary’s name. I’ll call Max and let him know I’m your attorney. I’ll try to talk him into letting you surrender so we can avoid an arrest if he gets an indictment. That will also give me time to set up a bail hearing and you time to put some bail money together. I’ll need a list of witnesses who can vouch for your character, so I can convince the judge to grant bail. As you know, it’s not automatic in a murder case.”

“Do you think you can keep me out of jail?”

“From what you’ve told me, the case sounds thin. No body, no eyewitness. I think we’ve got a shot.”