Chapter 32

 

“Is this the woman you colluded with?” Morris slapped the photo of Camila on the desk in the interview room.

Sitting across the table with a smug look on his face was Matthew Newman. The man had remained silent and asked for his lawyer when Morris started asking questions. If there was one thing Morris hated, it was to be made a fool.

“I won’t say anything without my lawyer,” Newman repeated.

“Very well, he’s on his way. We’ll resume when he has arrived.”

Agent Morris stood. As he was about to depart the room, the door opened and a suited individual with a silver briefcase entered. “I’m Jack Smart, Mr. Newman’s attorney.”

“I’ll give you a few minutes. Be back in a few,” Morris replied and slipped through the door.

He didn’t go far as he wanted to wrap this case up quickly. If Newman’s lawyer had any sense, he’d have his client come clean. Fifteen minutes later, he went back in. That was enough time, he figured as he pulled up the chair and sat.

“Are you ready to tell me what’s going on?” he demanded of Newman, however, his eyes were on the lawyer.

“My client would like a deal.”

Agent Morris wasn’t surprised. He had a feeling it would come to this. He looked from client to attorney and back. “I’d have to consult with the prosecutor on this, but I warn you, you’d better not be yanking my chain.”

“I’ll tell you who hired me if you give me a reduced sentence, but it wasn’t Camila Lopez.”

Newman’s attorney seemed displeased that he let that slip. Jack Smart leaned towards his client and spoke in a low tone, Newman’s face seemed troubled and his eyes darted to Morris.

“We’ll meet again soon,” Agent Morris saluted with a broad smile.

When he returned to the office, another man in a suit, one he knew well, accosted him. He rolled his eyes and made as if to return where he had come from.

“Morris, I know you saw me,” the man hollered.

Family was the last thing Morris needed at two in the afternoon. Coming towards him with a dangerous look in his eyes was his cousin, Mark Rickards. The big family reunion was last weekend and he completely forgot about it. He knew his cousin was there to give him hell.

Morris turned with a grimace towards the approaching figure. “Mark, what can I do for you?”

“You think I’m here to see you? I don’t care what you do. I’m here because of my client.”

“How is Aunt Marcy?”

“Mother is fine. It’s you who have to explain to her why you missed last weekend. As for me, I had to listen to Uncle Bob tell his fifty-year-old stories. You do this to me every year!”

“You could have told them you were working,” Morris stated with a suppressed grin.

Mark shrugged. “I didn’t want to let Mother down.”

Something Mark said came back to Morris. “Who is your client?”

“Camila Lopez.”

“Bizarre. I’m working her case.”

Mark frowned. “What do you mean by bizarre?”

“We know Camila never purchased that phone and she wasn’t the one to do the bank transfer to Newman. We just need to establish the identity of the woman.”

“So, you are saying that you know that my client is innocent?”

“Let’s not jump the gun just yet. She may be in collusion with someone else. We need to find the woman and sort this before I can release her.”

“What can I do to speed up the process?”

Morris ushered Mark over to his desk where he indicated he take a seat. “Tell, me how well do you know your client?”

“I just met her. Kristen Broderick is the one who asked that I represent her.”

Morris squinted at him. “The mother of the victim provides a lawyer to the suspect? Isn’t that a little strange?”

“Not when you both know your client is innocent.”

“Do you know anyone with a vendetta against your client?”

“Why?”

Morris rose. “I want to show you something.”

He led the way to the room where Charles was viewing several video clips. The tech looked up as they entered and went back to what he was doing.

“Any luck?” Morris asked Charles.

“Her face is clear on the electronic shop video. Here,” he replied as a face zoomed onto the screen.

“That’s Helen Broderick,” Mark announced. “What’s going on?”

“She’s the one who bought the phone and made the bank transfer.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t disguise herself or have someone else do it. She’s supposed to be smarter than that,” Mark remarked. “On the other hand, human beings do crazy things when their emotions take over. I’ve seen people do even more weird stuff.”

Morris puckered his brow. “You don’t seem surprised.”

“We knew she did it, we just didn’t know how.”

They went back to Morris’ desk where he asked Mark to tell him about Helen. Mark told him about the lawsuits against Kristen, but as far as what Camila told him, Morris needed to talk to her himself.

*

The conversation happened in the same interview room where Kristen had visited with her. Mark was present in the event that she needed to consult with her attorney. He learned that Helen assumed Camila’s son was her husband’s illegitimate child and was seeking to destroy her.

“So now we have motive and the means,” Morris said.

“Morris, this woman is dangerous,” Mark said. “She has the best attorneys. A single mistake will have her walking out of here a free agent. You must have something more than this.”

“Matt Newman is ready to plea, we’ll have his testimony.”

“You can also get her for attempted murder as well,” Mark told him. “We think she had Kristen’s car rigged.”

Morris turned to Camila, “Miss Lopez, can you hang in here a couple of days more?”

“Does that mean you believe me? Are you letting me go?”

Morris smiled. “Looks that way, but I need to investigate a little further before I can release you.”

“Will you arrest Helen?”

“If we find that she did this, she will be arrested.”

“The court date for the lawsuit is in two days, I wanted to be there,” Camila said.

Mark fingered his chin. “What if we get her right there in the courtroom?”

“Talk to me,” Morris said.

“She’ll be in court. She thinks Camila is behind bars. We have a counter-suit where we plan to bring up Kristen’s accident. I can accuse her of the abduction since she’s suing Kristen for negligence.”

“What are you planning?” Morris asked.

“Just leave everything to me. Make sure Camila and Newman show up at the courthouse.”

Morris didn’t know what he agreed to. He was a federal agent of the state, not a common detective involved in courtroom ploys. Mark was acting like Perry Mason, trying to get his suspect to confess in court. This drama was too much for a federal agent. However, he must admit he liked the drama.