Fugitive

Levy reddened but didn’t respond.

“But you knew Charlie pretty well?” Kate said.

“Yeah. It’s like that nursery rhyme, anywhere that Freddy went Charlie was sure to go.”

“Is that why you were at the Westmont Country Club on the evening Congressman Pope was killed? Were you and Gary Hass reco

Rollins laughed then took a drink from his mug. Kate waited while he used his forearm to wipe the foam from his mouth.

“That thing with Charlie was Gary’s deal. He wanted to shake him down, see if he could scare him into parting with some cash. When Freddy was alive no one would touch Charlie, but Charlie was a rabbit and Gary figured he’d be an easy mark with no one to protect him.”

“You testified for the prosecution at Sally Pope’s trial.”

“I had to, didn’t I? Burdett was threatening me with hard time for fucking up that security guard. With my record, I couldn’t afford to go down again. Charlie was out of the country, so what I said couldn’t hurt him, and I didn’t owe the broad anything.” Rollins shrugged. “It was her or me and I chose me.”

“Mr. Rollins, the state will want you to testify again, and this time what you say could send Charlie to death row. So, let me ask you, if you testify at Charlie’s trial, what will you say?”

Rollins eyed Kate warily. “If I said something I didn’t say the first time I’d be looking at a perjury charge, so I guess I’ll have to say that I saw Charlie shoot Pope.”

“The statute of limitations has run out, Mr. Rollins. You can consult a lawyer on that if you don’t believe me, but I checked. No one can prosecute you if you lied under oath at Sally Pope’s trial.”

Rollins thought about that. “I might say something different,” he told Kate.

“Like what?”

Levy leaned forward, his eyes riveted on Rollins.

“That depends,” Rollins said. “As you may have noticed, I ain’t doing very well. In fact, I’ve got no fucking legs, which makes it hard to get a job.”

Rollins paused and the blatant bribe attempt hung in the air between the convict and the investigator like a Goodyear blimp hovering over a football stadium. Kate smiled and turned her head toward Levy.

“This is off the record, De

When De

“I don’t know what your experience has been with other attorneys,” Kate said in an even, nonjudgmental tone, “but my firm doesn’t pay witnesses for their testimony. We want the truth. If it’s what you testified to at Sally Pope’s trial we’ll have to deal with that. You, on the other hand, will have to live with Charlie’s death sentence if you help convict him and you’re lying.

“I don’t know if that would be easy for you to do, because I know very little about you, but I do know that you’ve suffered and, if you’re a normal human being, I can only hope that you would want to keep someone you know from suffering if you could help them without hurting yourself.”

“I’m not a charity, lady.”

Kate laughed. “I’ve read your rap sheet and a few police reports of your exploits, Mr. Rollins, so I know that’s for sure.”

Rollins hesitated for a moment. Then he smiled. “Yeah, I guess no one would ever confuse me with the Red Cross.”

“They did make for interesting reading,” Kate told him with a conspiratorial grin.

Rollins stopped smiling and his eyes lost focus. “I was something before this,” he said, pointing toward the place where his legs had been.

“Amen to that. And you’ll be something again when Charlie’s case goes to trial. Everyone will be listening to you because you will be a key witness in the case. My question is whether you’ll be the star witness for the state?”

Rollins took a thoughtful sip of beer, then stared at the table top. When he looked up his expression was serious.

“The DA ain’t going to like what I’m going to say. He’s go

“What about the gun? Did you see who had the gun?”

Rollins shook his head. “I heard it but I didn’t see it. The shot came from my right so that’s where I looked, but before I looked I heard the gun bounce off the ground and I never saw who tossed it.”

“So you have no idea who fired the shot? No one acted like they had?”

Rollins laughed. “You think I was playing Sherlock Holmes, looking at everyone with a magnifying glass and working out the clues? I know how cops think. They’d have taken one look at me and thrown away the key. Pope’s body hit the ground and Gary and I took off. So did everybody else.”

“Thank you for your honesty, Mr. Rollins,” Kate said.

“So, what happens next?” Rollins asked.

“Nothing from our end. You haven’t said anything that helps or hurts Charlie. Karl Burdett will probably be in touch soon because he’ll think you’re going to make his case. Tell him what you told me and he may threaten you but I don’t think he can do anything to you if you stick to your guns. Don’t take my word for that, though. I’m not a lawyer. I’d advise you to check with one before you talk to Burdett.”

Rollins nodded. “You paying for my beer or would that be some kind of bribe?”

Kate slapped fifty dollars on the table. “It’s been a pleasure, Mr. Rollins. Have some nachos on me.”

Kate blinked when she stepped into the sunshine. De

“How do you think that went?” Levy asked as they walked to the car.

“It couldn’t have gone better.”

Levy gri

Kate studied Levy closely. Something Rollins had said had gotten Levy excited but she had no idea what it was.

IT TOOK ALL of De

“I’m going to hit the john,” he told Kate, forcing himself to sound calm. As he walked down the concourse toward the restrooms, he thought about what he was pla

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