Chapter Six
ALICIA
I actually spent a lazy Sunday just reading and catching up on housework and laundry. I didn’t hear from Adam, but I knew he was stuck at the Brigham mansion all weekend, so I didn’t worry about it. I thought it was a lot better than the alternative actually: being stuck at the penthouse with Marjorie. On Monday morning, I called him to wish him luck with his and Marjorie’s court date.
“Thanks, baby, but I don’t think I’ll need much luck today. I think she’s finally going to agree to our terms and accept them.” I wasn’t sure what had changed, but he sounded excited and hopeful for the first time in quite a while, and I was happy about that.
“Well, luck or no luck I hope all goes well. I miss you,” I told him.
“I miss you, too. Dinner tonight?”
My mood elevated at the mere thought. “Absolutely.” We made plans to talk later and after saying good-bye, I got ready for work and got my own day started. I was humming when I stepped off the elevator until I saw Carla’s face. Suddenly, I knew for sure it was Monday.
“What’s up?” I asked.
She gestured her head to the waiting room to the left. I glanced over, and in the waiting area sat DA Dawson. He was dressed to kill in what I could only imagine was a suit he had purchased in the children’s department, and his bald little head was so shiny that I almost couldn’t look directly at it.
He stood when he saw me notice him. “Ms. Winston,” he said, holding out his pudgy little hand with the stubby fingers on it for me to shake. I had to force myself to take it.
“Mr. Dawson, to what do I owe the pleasure of an early morning visit from the District Attorney?”
Dawson looked at Carla as if he was concerned she may be a spy and then said, “Perhaps we could discuss it in your office.”
“Sure, this way.” As I passed Carla’s desk, I rolled my eyes and made a face. I could tell she was trying not to laugh. Once inside the office, I offered Dawson a seat and a bottle of water. After he was settled, I asked again, “How can I help you, Mr. Dawson?”
“Well, Ms. Winston, I believe I am actually here to help you.”
“And how is that?”
“Well, I have a warrant for the arrest of one of your current clients, and I wanted to offer you the chance to surrender him, as opposed to me sending the state police to fetch him at his home or his office.”
Knowing who it was without asking, I asked anyways, “Who is this client, and what is he suspected of?”
Dawson smiled his little gnome-like smile. “The great man, Miles Brigham IV is the client, and I think you and I both know that the crime he is suspected of, as you so delicately put it, is murder.”
I could feel a headache beginning to start just slightly behind my eyes and in my temples. I had a feeling that it would only get worse as the day went on and by sundown I might be sporting a full-blown migraine.
“Murder?” I said to Dawson in a skeptical tone. “May I ask what evidence this is based on?”
“You may, indeed,” he answered smugly. “First of all, your client had motive. He had recently discovered two things about Vick Landon, the first being that he was sleeping with his daughter’s boyfriend. I’m sure that set his teeth on edge.”
He smiled that nasty little smile of his and then went on, “Secondly, Mr. Brigham had also recently discovered that much of the monies he believed had been sunk into the Presidential campaign had actually been diverted into Vick’s own account and used to keep his stripper girlfriend set up at the Plaza and in designer shoes.”
“Okay, so he had reason to dislike the man and possibly have him arrested for embezzlement or misappropriation of funds,” I agreed. “But kill him? I do think that if the affair had pushed him too far, perhaps David would have been the target of a murder, rather than Vick?”
“Yes, I thought about that. But, have you seen David since any of this took place? The man is hiding out, running for his life. I don’t believe Brigham intended to leave him as a loose string. The night that Vick died, he and David had made plans to rendezvous. I believe Brigham got impatient and scared David off before he could kill them both.”
“Fancy little theories you have there, Mr. Dawson,” I said with a smile. “But there is the small matter of proof. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”
Dawson snorted out a laugh before saying, “I have a ninety percent conviction rate, my dear. No, I have not overlooked the proof. Vick lived in a very swank apartment building in SoHo. There are security cameras everywhere. Mr. Brigham, be he a formidable business man, is not skilled at playing the dress-up game.”
I continued to sit silently. I had the feeling that Dawson was about to tell me they have Miles on tape, which was definitely a game changer. I waited for him to continue, however.
“He wore a plaid flannel shirt and a pair of jeans. The ball cap that he wore was pulled low, almost over his eyes. His tennis shoes were well-worn. He made it through most of the place without getting his face on camera. I’ll guess he’s become pretty good at that over the years. Unfortunately for Mr. Brigham, there was one camera in the back stairwell that was not obvious. In fact, a pigeon had actually built a nest on the brackets that held it to the wall. We almost didn’t find it ourselves.”
“So, you have a man who resembles my client leaving the building on the night of the murder. No smoking gun? No witness?”
This time, Dawson laughed out loud. “Oh, I have a witness. Did I forget to mention that David contacted us? He was scared to death of facing Brigham in court, but we assured him that we would provide for his safety. So, my dear, I have to ask again… Would you like to surrender your client or should we fetch him?”
My headache began to spread. Damn Brigham if he lied to me. Taking a deep breath and calling again on my professional façade, I said, “Give me a few hours to get a hold of him. I’ll call you by noon and let you know when and where.”
Dawson rose from his seat with a satisfied smile and held out his pudgy hand once more. “I will look forward to your call, Ms. Winston. Have a pleasant morning.”
I shook his hand, and as he let himself out, I slumped down behind my desk. If they really did have video of Brigham in the building and if David really is willing to testify against him, our case was all but lost already. Brigham was a villain in the media already because of the oil spill – finding an untainted jury pool anywhere in this country would be a challenge, if not impossible. There was also the gay angle. If the gay activists attached themselves to this case as the EPA had attached themselves to the civil one, we were in for even more bad P.R.
Carla cracked open the door, and poking her head inside, asked, “Anything I can do for you?” I smiled at her, grateful I had good people in my corner.
“Yes. Please get Miles Brigham IV on the phone, ASAP. Call Mr. Hanson’s team if you need to, one of them will have to know where he’s at. Oh, and Carla, get the investigator in here, too. I need him to find someone, today.”
Carla headed out to make her phone calls, and I started making my own. First, I called Miles’s cell phone. It went straight to voicemail, and I left a message telling him he needed to call me and it was urgent. I tried his home, and left another message, this time with Hannah to have him call me as soon as he got in. Before I began dialing his office, Brett, one of Adam’s best investigators knocked on my door.
“Brett it’s so nice to see you.” I shook his hand and said, “I need to you to find someone, fast.” I told Brett a little about the case, and then gave him a description and a picture from the Brigham file of David. “I need to speak to him right away.”
“I’ll get right on it,” he said, “I’ll call you as soon as I get anything.”
I thanked him, and after he left, I called Miles’s main office and again left another message. No one seemed to know where he was. I glanced at the clock as I hung up the phone. It was ten a.m. Adam’s hearing had started at eight-thirty. I was surprised I hadn’t heard from him by now, telling me how it went. I decided to try his phone, hoping that the hearing had gone well, and perhaps he may know where I could locate Miles. Adam answered on the first ring, but he didn’t sound happy.
“Hi, babe,” I said. “How did it go?”
“It was ridiculous!” Adam barked into the phone. “The judge gave that worthless bitch everything she wanted – everything, Alicia. She has my home, my assets, and is even a financial partner of the firm. Isn’t that just great?”
I was stunned. I didn’t know what to say. Adam had been so sure that things would end on a more positive note for him. “How did this happen?”
I could hear Adam sigh. “She had pictures of us. She told the judge that we had been seeing each other even before she and I split up. She actually cried and gave him some big story about how much she had loved me. How much she had given up so that I could go to law school and establish my business. The judge bought it all.”
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” I was in shock myself. I didn’t know what else to say.
“Nothing to be done now,” he said, abruptly
I allowed the silence to fall between us for a moment, and then said, “I’m sorry to ask this right now, but do you know where I can find Miles? Dawson has issued a warrant for his arrest.”
“Damn!” Adam said too loudly into the phone. “No, I haven’t spoken with him today. Find him though, quickly! If the police or the press finds him first, there is no telling what the old SOB might say to get himself into even more trouble.”
“I know. Adam, I’m looking. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said as he disconnected the call.