The Perfect Alibi (Robin Lockwood #2)(61)

“Oh God, Doug,” Marsha said as she threw herself back into his arms. “I will never deserve you. Never.”





CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE


The arraignment went the way Les had said it would. Vanessa had pressed for a high bail, but Les argued that the case presented novel legal issues that might not survive pretrial motions, and the judge had agreed. Les posted bail, and Rex had been set free two hours after court adjourned.

One of Les’s associates had been waiting for Rex in the jail reception area and drove him home, where he had showered and dropped into a deep sleep. The annoying tones of his doorbell woke him at seven thirty the next morning. He staggered downstairs and opened the door. A reporter from a local television station was standing outside, his cameraman aiming a lens at Rex. Rex slammed the door before the reporter could get his question out. Moments later, Rex’s cell phone began to ring. It was another reporter. Rex disconnected and turned off his ringer.

Rex tried to get back to sleep, but the doorbell kept ringing. At eight o’clock, he gave up. After pulling down all the window shades so the reporters couldn’t look into his house, Rex fixed a breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, and black coffee. Eating this breakfast, after gagging on the slop he’d been fed in jail, proved to be one of the greatest dining experiences of his life.

While he ate, Rex booted up his laptop. The story of his arrest was featured on the local paper’s webpage. Vanessa had told the press that Rex had faked evidence to frame an attorney against whom he had a grudge, which was bullshit. Rex knew Vanessa had planted this slanted and inaccurate story to poison the jury pool.

It was a cool but sunny day. Rex thought about going out on the patio, but the reporters could get to him there, so he went into his den, collapsing on the sofa, where his emotions yoyoed between anxiety and rage.



* * *



Before he left Rex at the courthouse, Les had told him that he wanted him to go through the files in Frank Nylander’s case so he could tell him the strongest argument he could make that Doug had killed his partner. Shortly after three, a messenger from Kreuger’s office arrived with copies of the discovery that Vanessa had turned over.

Rex spread the files across his kitchen table and fixed a cup of black coffee. While the afternoon slipped away, he read the files in the Nylander murder case, the New York City case file that contained the investigation into Tyler Harrison’s murder, Nylander’s file with the information about Leonard Voss’s lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company that had brought him to New York City, and the file about the murder of Leonard Voss.

Kellerman made notes on his laptop during his initial read-through. He got hungry a little after eight and made a sandwich. It was already dark when he started to reread the files. By eleven, he’d finished the interviews with Ken Norquist and the other employees of Nylander & Armstrong, the Harrison murder file, and the forensic and autopsy reports. Rex’s eyes were getting heavy and he was ready to pack it in when something occurred to him. He frowned. Then he went back to two of the files. His heart began to thud when he found what he was looking for. It was strange, but was it relevant?

Kellerman did a web search and found what he was looking for. He peeked through a window. The reporters had cleared out. He walked outside and stared into space. It was cold on the patio, but Rex was too distracted to notice. It was too late to follow up on his idea. He decided that he shouldn’t be the one to investigate anyway. That was his lawyer’s job. Les had crack investigators who could find out if there was anything that could help him.

Rex went back inside and found his cell phone on the kitchen counter. That’s when he realized that he didn’t have the number for Les’s cell phone. He looked up the number for Kreuger’s law office. A computer voice told him to leave a message.

“Les, this is Rex. I came across something odd in the files you sent me. I don’t know if it means anything. Give me a call in the morning when you get this message.”

Rex disconnected. He was tired, but it was too early to go to bed. He decided to watch some television and was headed for the den when he heard a noise. He paused. Someone had come in the door that opened onto the patio. It was probably a reporter. Rex was furious. He walked toward the rear door.





CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO


“It was definitely arson,” Carrie Anders told Vanessa Cole.

They were standing in front of the charred remains of Rex Kellerman’s house. The blaze had awakened the neighbors, but the house was badly damaged by the time the fire trucks arrived.

“Any leads on who did this?” Vanessa asked.

“It’s too early.”

“Any thoughts?”

“There are all the defendants he prosecuted,” Anders said, “and no one I know liked Rex. Doug Armstrong comes to mind. He must hate Kellerman for framing him. If he found out that Rex was having an affair with his wife, that would give him another motive.”

“If I were Doug, I’d want to see Rex go through the hell of a trial,” Vanessa said. “Then I’d wait to see if he went to prison. That would give me more satisfaction than killing him.”

“I’ll check on his alibi anyway,” Anders said just as Les Kreuger drove up.

“What’s Les doing here?” the detective asked.

“I don’t know. He was representing Rex,” Vanessa said.