Last to die

“Tatum figured out a way around that.”

“He thinks he has. My guess is he teamed up with a partner-someone who could do the killing while he was out building alibis.”

“Like, ‘I was out fishing with my brother,’” said Theo.

“Exactly. So long as he has a workable defense, like an alibi or whatever it might be, the fact that he’s the last man standing at the end of the day won’t be enough to send him away on murder charges. He may be right about that. He may be wrong. But a forty-six-million-dollar inheritance can buy one heck of a good criminal defense lawyer.”

“One thing’s for sure,” said Theo. “I know my brother. If he’s come this far, he won’t stop.”

“Which means we need to figure out who his partner is.”

“Any guesses?”

Jack leaned back in his chair, considering it. “I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. It seems possible that there are two killers at work-or, at the very least, someone has gone to the trouble of trying to make it appear as though there are two killers at work.”

“How do you count two?”

“The first is the guy who called me after the prosecutor was murdered and said that no one can opt out of the game, ‘Everyone must die.’ If this guy is taken at his word, money is not his primary objective.”

“A psycho like that doesn’t sound like Tatum’s partner.”

“No. But the other killer-or, at least, the other personality-is the guy who attacked Kelsey and said he wanted Tatum to withdraw from the game.”

“Wait a sec,” said Theo. “If you’re saying that this guy is Tatum’s partner, why would he want Tatum out of the game? Seems like the opposite would be true.”

“It has to be a ruse,” said Jack. “It makes a nice cover for Tatum and his partner, doesn’t it? It would appear that Tatum is being threatened into withdrawing, but in reality Tatum and his partner are killing off the other beneficiaries so that Tatum can stand firm and inherit the jackpot.”

“You sound pretty convinced that this partner is not himself a beneficiary.”

“It only makes sense if his partner is not already a beneficiary. He wouldn’t need Tatum if he was already in the game.”

Theo rose, pacing as he thought aloud. “So, we’re looking for a friend of Tatum’s who is not a beneficiary and who is not squeamish about blood.”

Jack and Theo looked at one another, as if the name came to them simultaneously. “You thinking who I’m thinking?” asked Jack.

“Seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?”

“The guy who got Tatum into the game in the first place. The dirt bag who linked up Sally with Tatum.”

“Sally’s old bodyguard?” said Theo.

“Yup.”

They locked eyes, mulling it over in the silence between them. It seemed to fit. Theo asked, “Now what? You go to the cops?”

Jack shook his head. “Your brother isn’t one of my favorite people on earth, but the fact remains that everything I learned about his possible wrongdoing arose from the attorney-client relationship.”

“But I heard you say it yourself as he was walking down the hall: The privilege doesn’t apply if the client is about to commit a future crime.”

“I’m a criminal defense lawyer, Theo. I’d better be damn sure about my facts before I breach the attorney-client privilege for any reason.”

“You’re not sure?”

“Not sure enough. I can’t just run to the police and tell them, hey, my client had a slip of the tongue and said let’s split the pot three ways instead of two ways, and based upon that I think he may have conspired with Sally’s old bodyguard to kill off the other beneficiaries.”

“So what do we do?”

“Basically, I do whatever I can to let you even the score with your worthless brother. I help you to help yourself.”

“I’m listening.”

“I think you should pay a visit to Sally’s old bodyguard.”

He smiled wryly, curling his right hand into a fist, massaging it with his left. “It would be my pleasure.”

“No rough stuff,” said Jack.

“Then what is it you want me to do?”

“Just follow my plan.”

“Your plan?” he said with a chuckle. “Last time you had a plan, I ended up kidnapped by some Russian-speaking Latina babe, locked in a seedy hotel room, and chained to a bedpost for three days.”

“And your complaint would be…?”

Theo’s smile widened as he reconsidered. “You the man, Jack. What’s the plan?”

Fifty-six

They settled on a short frame Smith amp; Wesson revolver with a polished nickel barrel.

It had taken only a few minutes for Jack and Theo to formulate their strategy. Kelsey wanted to help, and since she was the one whom Tatum had threatened most directly, Jack figured that she deserved a shot at redemption. She agreed to take a ride with Theo over to a gun shop on Biscayne Boulevard and point out the gun that most closely resembled the one her attacker had shoved into her face outside the law school library.

“That’s the one,” said Kelsey. She was pointing through the locked glass door on the display cabinet.

“You sure?” asked Theo.

“It was dark outside, and the guy was wearing a mask. But that gun was right in my face, and there was enough light from the library to see at least that much. It may not have been that exact model, but it was one just like it.”

“Thanks,” said Theo. “That’s just what I needed. You want me to drive you home?”

“No, my car’s still on the street by Jack’s office. Could you drop me off there?”

“No problem.”

Jack was at the watercooler when Kelsey returned to his office. She said she’d forgotten something in her desk, but Jack walked her to her car, sensing that more important things were on her mind. They were standing at the curb between her parked car and a black olive tree that had sprouted from a square landscaping hole in the sidewalk.

“Would it surprise you to hear that I was coming into the office this morning to clean out my desk?”

“No one asked you to quit.”

“No one asked me to stay.”

Though it hadn’t been a conscious decision on his part, he couldn’t deny the inference she’d drawn.

Kelsey said, “I’m sorry for the way I acted in court the other day, corralling you at the end of the hearing. It wasn’t very professional.”

“I understand.”

“Do you, really? Or are you just saying that?”

“I guess it is getting pretty crazy.”

“Crazy? Jack, I got attacked at gunpoint walking home from the law library by some creep who threatened to drown my son. Today, your client grabbed me and pretended to blow my brains out. I don’t blame you for any of that, but here’s the part that’s really nuts: I still walk around feeling as though I have something I need to make up to you.”

“I’m not trying to make you feel that way.”

Her tone softened, but her expression was pained. “I want us to get past this-this awkwardness that’s come between us ever since that reporter called me about Tatum.”

“I wish it hadn’t happened, but I can’t pretend it didn’t.”

“She tricked me. I slipped up.”

“It was the kind of slipup that could have landed our client in jail.”

“Which is apparently where he belongs.”

“Which is not at all the point.”

“I know. I made a mistake. I said I was sorry.”

Jack lowered his eyes and looked away. Kelsey stepped closer, cocking her head a little to catch his gaze. “Hey,” she said with a weak smile. “If you’re about to say ‘Love means never having to say you’re sorry,’ I think I might strangle you.”

The way she was looking at him, he knew that honesty was the only option. “Kelsey, I-”

“Don’t,” she said.

“It’s important. All I’m trying to say is that for five years I was married to a woman who heard my every secret. Personal, professional-it didn’t matter. I trusted her completely, and we still fell apart. What chance does a relationship have when that trust is destroyed before we even get started?”