A Stranger on the Beach(83)

“No way. Tommy Callahan would never cover up a murder. Not in a million years.”

“Why not? He covered up the burglary. You believe that part, don’t you?”

“Burglary is a whole different animal, especially since, as far as we know, Aidan didn’t steal anything. I’m not saying it’s okay, but that was their family’s land. Aidan had a thing about that place since he was a kid. Tommy yanked his kid brother out of the house, read him the riot act, and decided not to turn him in. That’s wrong. I think we should report it to higher authorities. But it doesn’t mean he would cover up murder or, God forbid, help dispose of a body. I know the chief. He wouldn’t do that, period. Besides, there’s clear corroborating evidence to prove who the third person is. Francine already gave it to us. You just don’t realize it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Follow the cars. Earlier that night, Francine saw Aidan’s truck. The alarm went off. Then a little while later, she saw Tommy’s cruiser. Tommy parked right in the driveway. He didn’t hide. Two cars, two people. Aidan and Tommy arrive in their own vehicles, they leave in their own vehicles. You with me so far?”

“Okay.”

“Later, in the middle of the night, Francine gets up to pee, looks out, and sees three vehicles. Aidan’s truck. Caroline’s Escalade. And Jason Stark’s Mercedes. She didn’t see Tommy’s cruiser, or she would’ve said so. Then she sees three people—two walking, one being dragged to the truck, presumably unconscious or dead. Three cars. Three people. The people correspond to the vehicles. Aidan Callahan. Jason Stark. And Caroline Stark. Caroline Stark is the third person. She helped Aidan Callahan murder her husband.”

Jess crossed her arms. “No way. Caroline is an innocent victim. Tommy Callahan was the third man. But you don’t want to believe that your chief is corrupt.”

“You don’t want to believe that your eyewitness is a liar.”

They glared at each other, at an impasse.





50


“I’m extremely disappointed in you, Aidan,” Lisa Walters said.

They were in another cramped interview room, this one in the basement of the courthouse. Aidan had been denied bail and committed to the state prison, charged with the murder of Jason Stark. There hadn’t been anybody in the courtroom to support him. Not Tommy, not Kelly, not even his mother, who’d taken to her bed when she learned of his arrest and hadn’t gotten up yet. Only this lawyer stood up for him, and now she was on the verge of abandoning him, too. He’d thought Caroline would be his salvation. But she was his ruin.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“The only reason I’m not dropping you is that I’m the only person in your corner right now. I noticed your family didn’t come to court. But if you want to keep me, Aidan, you have to listen to my advice. I said very clearly, don’t go anywhere near Caroline Stark. And literally ten minutes later, you attacked her physically in front of numerous witnesses, in the police station. That’s an incredibly stupid and self-destructive thing for you to do. It makes me wonder if there’s a screw loose somewhere.”

“I only wanted to talk to her. I would never hurt her.”

“You heard the testimony in court just now, as well as I did. You physically assaulted her.”

“No. When the guy jumped me, he knocked Caroline down. I didn’t do that.”

“You lunged for her. You grabbed her. It doesn’t matter if a cop who was trying to stop you was the one who knocked her down. You caused that. The judge denied your bail because of it. He wouldn’t even let me make my argument. I don’t know what you were thinking.”

“It was a mistake. I see that now.”

“Too late. There’s nothing I can do to fix that problem. And the gun. You lied to me about the gun. Another breach of trust between us.”

“I didn’t lie.”

“You said you don’t own a gun. They found one in your truck.”

“I heard the prosecutor say that in court. And I saw the picture he showed of it. But that’s not my gun. I never saw it before today.”

“If it’s not yours, then what was it doing in your truck?”

“I have no idea. I didn’t put it there. Somebody planted it. Ask Mike Castro. He hates my guts.”

“Hmm, you mentioned that grudge before. I’m no Pollyanna. I believe cops sometimes frame people, and I’d consider arguing that in court if there’s a good-faith basis for it. So, what’s the evidence here? Why does Mike Castro have a grudge against you? Give me something I can use.”

“It’s because of the Bosticks.”

“Who are the Bosticks?”

“Matthew Bostick was my friend who died. The manslaughter charge? Matthew’s dad and Mike are close. Mike thinks I got off too easy for that. He always resented me for it.”

“So, in order to prove to a jury that Deputy Castro has a grudge against you that caused him to plant a gun, I have to tell them that you killed your best friend in a fight over a girl and got off easy for it, when that wouldn’t otherwise be allowed in evidence? I said give me something that works. That doesn’t work. It’s a net negative. It plays right into you killing Jason Stark over his wife.”