Page 114 of The 1 Lawyer
“What’s the case?”
It was becoming clear that Hiram Caro would not be walking through that door. Jenny needed to regroup; she could use Joey to accomplish her goal. She said, “The death of his daughter-in-law, Iris Caro.”
She watched Roman closely. If Hiram was involved in the woman’s death, Roman might know something. He was Hiram Caro’s top henchman. But Joey Roman’s face betrayed nothing, gave no flicker of reaction. He stepped over to Jenny and plucked the advertising pamphlet from her hand. “This is a casino. If you’re not here to enjoy the casino activity, you should run along. I guarantee Mr. Caro won’t appreciate your nosy questions about his son’s deceased wife.”
“Okay. I hear you.” At that point, Jenny was itching to get out of the office. She had no desire to prolong her captivity in the VIP club with Joey Roman, but she needed to plant a seed with his boss. If she couldn’t corner Hiram, maybe Roman could make a delivery for her.
She decided that it was time to dangle the bait. She pulled a flash drive from her bag and held it up. “Be sure to tell Hiram I’m looking for him. When he sees this, I guarantee he’ll want to talk to me. I have evidence that clears Stafford Lee Penney.”
Joey snatched the flash drive from her. “Great. I’ll give it to him.”
“Hey!” Jenny protested. She stood and held out her hand. “That’s my property. Give it back to me.”
Roman flipped the lock, pulled the door open. To the uniformed guards, he said, “Escort her out of the casino. And make sure she leaves the property.”
Jenny had to walk at a brisk pace to keep up with security. As they marched her through the casino and out the exit, she replayed the exchange in her head, battling uncertainty. Had she set the trap effectively? That flash drive needed to be delivered to Hiram Caro, and soon.
Stafford Lee’s life depended on it.
CHAPTER 91
IN THE conference room, I sat in a chair facing the wall where Iris Caro’s autopsy photo was posted. I was poring over Officer Mueller’s report, scribbling notes in the margins. Mueller was the cop who would authenticate the texts and e-mails I had supposedly sent to Iris. The DA needed to convince the jury that I was a jealous lover and those messages were the proof. I framed my attack on the testimony, devising cross-exam questions and anticipating the cop’s responses. Someone knocked at the outer office door.
I ignored it.
After a second round of knocking, I heard the rattle of a key in the lock. Some of the tension left my shoulders. Thank God—Jenny must be back from the casino. The door creaked open. I called, “Jenny! I’m back here!”
“Stafford Lee!” It was Mason. “You got a minute?”
“Sure.” I marked a stopping point on the police report and pushed it to the side.
Mason stepped into the conference room and took a seat at the table. He glanced around the room and grimaced. “Good God, Stafford Lee. I don’t know how you can concentrate in here. Too many horror stories on the walls.”
I nodded, looking at the images of Iris, Aurora, Carrie Ann, Desiree. There were other faces too, victims in cold cases that Jenny had uncovered. “You’d be surprised. It doesn’t interfere with my focus too much. Actually, it serves as a reminder. Keeps my feet to the fire.”
He shuddered. “Everyone has his own tricks of the trade, I guess.” Shooting a glance out the door, he said, “So Jenny’s not around right now?”
“No.” I cursed under my breath. “She took a wild notion to run over to Hiram Caro’s casino tonight. Said she wanted to do some digging. I couldn’t talk her out of it. I promise you, I tried.”
Mason blew out a breath. “Good, glad it’s just us.”
“Really? Because I’m tied up in knots knowing she’s over there. If she pisses Hiram off, there’s no telling what he’ll do.”
Soberly, Mason nodded. “That’s kinda what I wanted to discuss. Do you think Jenny’s going off the rails?”
I stiffened. It was one thing for me to grouse about Jenny’s pursuit of Hiram, but no one else could criticize her. Not even Mason.
He must have read my reaction. “Stafford Lee, I know she’s motivated by loyalty. And she’s all about doing whatever she can to attack the State’s case. But there’re limits, you know? There’s a line you can’t cross. And Jenny’s crossing it.”
I tipped my chair back on two legs. With a chill in my voice, I asked, “What line are you talking about?”
“I got this crazy e-mail from her today about cyber-evidence. She said she wanted to keep me informed because it could help Rue. She claims she’s found a tech witness who’s gonna pull a rabbit out of his hat.” He ran a hand over his hair. “Stafford Lee, you sure that’s smart?”
I shrugged. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
His voice dropped to a whisper: “Buddy. What the tech guy’s doing? It’s not strictly legal.”
Mason was right. But in my current position, that didn’t eliminate the tech guy as a resource. “That’s my problem, Mason. Don’t worry about it.”