Fugitive

“Do you really think Rose murdered Sally?” Liam O’Co

“Someone wanted Charlie and Sally dead and that person went to great lengths to have them killed. The only person I can think of who would hate them that much is Senior. He couldn’t do the job himself but he could have forced Rose to do it. If Rose were kicked out of Mercury Enterprises he would lose a fortune, and he’s skilled enough as a marksman to have made the attempt on Charlie at the courthouse.

“The day I told Karl Burdett that Charlie was returning to Oregon, he copied his file. No one in the DA’s office knows anything about that copy, so who did he give it to? The only person who would be that interested would be Senior.”

“And you think Pope told Rose when Marsh was flying in?” O’Co

“Who else would Burdett have spoken to?”

“Will the police arrest Rose?”

“Not unless they dig up more evidence,” Amanda said as she packed the last of her papers in her attaché case and headed out of the courtroom. “You can’t get an indictment with guesses.”

“That was straight out of Perry Mason,” De

“Except Rose didn’t break down and confess. In real life, De

“Then why did you cross-examine him like that?”

“To create doubt in the judge’s mind about Senior’s suitability as a guardian and to drive a wedge between Senior and Rose that might be useful at Charlie’s trial.”

“Would you give me an exclusive interview about the custody case? If I write this up now I can get my story in this week’s edition of World News.”

“Sure, De

De

“Please don’t play games with me. Kate saw it when she went through the file but it wasn’t there after you went through the file. I know what it shows. I’ve seen the original. If you return it to me with any copies you’ve made I’ll let you stay on the inside in Charlie’s case. Keep the photograph and I will do everything in my power to make sure that someone else writes Charlie’s book. So, what will it be?”

“You can’t intimidate me,” De

“Blackmail is a felony, De

“What are you talking about?”

Amanda stared hard at Levy. Sweat formed on the reporter’s brow.

“I’m going to my office. When you know what you’re going to do, let’s talk. You’ve been telling everyone what this book will do for your career, the notoriety you’ll achieve, the money you’ll make. Achieve your fame and fortune honestly, De

Amanda turned and walked away. De

CHAPTER 46

Tony Rose was desperate to talk to Arnold Pope but reporters mobbed him when he left the courthouse and hounded him all the way to his car. Rose barely avoided destroying a reporter’s handheld microphone when he slammed the door of his Ferrari. He was wondering if he could back out of his parking space without ru

Rose had no idea what was going on in Pope’s twisted mind, but he knew that he had to convince Senior that Jaffe’s accusations were crazy. He closed his eyes and followed the deep-breathing routine he’d used to calm himself during tense moments in his te

Pope’s limousine stopped in front of the courthouse and Barclay helped his employer into the backseat. They were probably going to Pope’s estate. Rose was debating the wisdom of following the limo when his cell phone rang.

“Mr. Pope wants you at the house at ten o’clock tonight,” Derrick Barclay said in that imperious tone that set Rose’s teeth on edge.

“He doesn’t think…?” Rose started, but Barclay had already hung up.

Rose swallowed hard and reversed out of his space. He was so intent on his problems that he didn’t notice Pierre Girard’s nondescript brown Toyota follow him out of the lot.

AT EXACTLY TEN o’clock, Tony Rose parked his Ferrari in front of Arnold Pope’s mansion. He was still shaken by the summons. Rose made a lot of money but he’d spent plenty over the years. His cars and his houses cost a fortune to keep up and he was always inches away from bankruptcy. Only his king-size salary and overly generous bonuses kept the wolf from his door. That’s why he’d agreed to kill Charlie Marsh and Sally Pope. Senior had known he was a marksman when he suggested the hits to Rose. When Rose balked, Senior used the threat of firing him from Mercury as the stick and a seven-figure payoff disguised as a bonus for his work as Mercury’s president as the carrot.

Now Rose felt helpless. Who knew what Senior was thinking after hearing the ravings of O’Co

When he could put it off no longer, Rose got out of the car and walked to the front door.

“What does he want?” Rose asked Derrick Barclay as Pope’s lackey led him to the back of the house.

“You’ll have to ask Mr. Pope.”

The first thing Rose noticed when Barclay opened the door to the den was that the heavy curtains were drawn and the only light came from the low-wattage bulb in Senior’s desk lamp, leaving Pope’s features cloaked in shadow.

“Come in,” Pope ordered from his seat behind his desk. Tony had taken a few steps into the room when he heard the door close behind him. He started to turn but his feet tangled in the drop cloth that Barclay had spread over the floor at Pope’s request. Tony looked down and realized that every square inch of the beautiful hardwood flooring was covered.

“You killed my boy,” Pope said.

Rose’s head jerked up. “No, Mr. Pope. You can’t believe what that lawyer said. She was just trying to prejudice the judge. That was nonsense. Why would I hurt Junior?”

“As soon as she said it I knew it was the truth. I sent those photographs to Junior so he’d show some spine and get rid of that bitch, but she couldn’t have pla

“It wasn’t me. I swear it wasn’t me.”

“Were you in the crowd like Jaffe said?”

“That’s true.”

“Then why did you lie to Jaffe’s investigator and say you were at your car?”

Rose broke out in a sweat. “I didn’t want her to know I was anywhere near Arnie.”

“Did you think you were the only witness Jaffe would have interviewed? Didn’t it dawn on you that someone else could have seen you?”

“I was under a lot of stress when Jaffe’s investigator talked to me. That was the day before Marsh returned to Oregon. I was thinking about the best way to take care of him, just like you wanted. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“Is that your excuse for shooting my boy?”

“I didn’t. I saw Epps fighting and I saw him kick that guard. If he had that gun it must have dropped out earlier, because I never saw a gun come out of his waistband and I never saw a gun on the ground near where Epps was fighting. You have to believe me.”