Exposed (Rosato & DiNunzio #5)(59)

“And why my client? Why call us in, as I asked before?”

“We have spoken with officials at the Tomahawk Country Club and we have determined that security camera footage shows your client’s Ford Explorer entering the parking lot at 5:25 P.M. and leaving approximately twenty minutes later, at 5:50 P.M.”

“How can you be sure it’s his car? It’s been a torrential downpour tonight. The visibility must be terrible.”

“It’s good enough to make out the vanity plate.”

“So you have footage of the entrance and exit to the parking lot?”

“Yes.”

“How about the parking lot itself?”

“We have most of the parking lot.”

“Were there other cars in the lot?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“Five.”

“Have you questioned those drivers?” Mary said, though she had just gained a bit of valuable information.

“We’re in the process of investigating.” Detective Lindenhurst straightened in the chair, crossing his legs to reveal the leathery edge of an ankle holster. “However, the corner in which Mr. Eddington parked was out of range of the camera. He seemed to have parked at the farthermost point of the lot.” The detective turned to Simon. “So where were you between five and eight o’clock today? Were you driving your car, or was somebody else?”

Mary interjected, “My client is not going to answer that or any other question.”

Detective Lindenhurst continued, still facing Simon, “And if you were driving your car, did you meet Mr. Eddington and if so, what happened?”

Mary answered for Simon, “My client is not going to answer any of those questions. So you need to stop looking at him and start looking at me.”

Detective Lindenhurst turned to her. “It would be in his benefit to talk to us,” he said, keeping his tone light.

“Why is that?” Mary asked, keeping her tone light too.

“Let me explain to you how I see it, Mary.” Detective Lindenhurst leaned over, his expression softening. “You practice civil law, and I happen to know that you tried to settle this case. I admire that. I like when lawyers try to settle civil cases. Why do they do that, would you mind telling me?”

“Because it’s easier than going to court.” Mary knew where he was going, but it didn’t make any difference. It wasn’t going to change anything she did.

“That’s what I thought. It saves everybody time. It saves the court’s time too. The same thing applies here. I know you’re with the Rosato firm and your combined experience in criminal defense is considerable. We can make a deal with your client and settle this matter, not unlike the deals that get made everyday in civil law, even the one you tried to make between your client and Todd Eddington.”

“Correction. The dispute, and any settlement, would not have been between my client and Mr. Eddington. It was between my client and his former employer.”

“That’s a technical difference.”

Mary thought of what Bennie had told her, borrowing the line: “I’m a lawyer, and the technicalities protect legal rights.”

“But there was clearly resentment between your client and his boss, with accusations and cross-accusations over his termination.”

“That seems argumentative, and I’m not here to argue.”

“I don’t want to argue either.” Detective Lindenhurst gestured at the closed door. “We could step outside and talk about the terms of the deal. I wouldn’t usually discuss that in front of your client.”

“We’re not interested in a deal, thank you.” Mary thought a minute. “Detective Lindenhurst, let me ask you a question. You’re telling me that you found Todd Eddington stabbed three times. That would suggest to me that whoever killed him probably got blood on their clothes and hands. Am I right?”

“Often, that’s the case.”

Mary gestured at Simon’s hands, still linked in his lap. “You can see for yourself that my client doesn’t have any blood on his hands or clothes.”

“He could’ve washed up and changed his clothes at the hospital. Like many parents, he keeps a change of clothes there. They even have a shower for parents. I know from my sister, from when my niece was there.”

“But he was wearing the same clothes this morning. I know because I met with him.” Mary flashed on the scene at the hospital this morning, when she had been given the locket. So much had happened since then, the world had turned upside down. But she kept her head in the game. “As his lawyer, I can’t be a fact witness, but I’m sure any nurse or doctor at the hospital could tell you that he had these clothes on, and so would their security cameras. Have you checked them?”

Detective Lindenhurst shook his head, his mouth a tight line. “Not yet, but we certainly will.”

“In fact, when we give samples later, I’d like you to photograph my client’s hands and clothes, to document that he had no blood on him.”

“We intended to do that, that’s standard operating procedure.”

“And in addition, I know that when there’s a stabbing, the killer can often wound himself, since blood can get slippery.” Mary suppressed her revulsion at the thought to make her point. “Simon, turn your hands over and show Detective Lindenhurst.”