Reunion Fever Ch. 05

"What?!" Steve Greene gasped. "I had nothing to do with that!" Sekou again admonished his client to stop talking.

I said "Mr. Greene, we have the GPS data from your vehicle for Friday night. It shows that your car drove up to Pennington's Farm, and was parked there right at the time Craig Reynolds was attacked the first time. Then your vehicle left right after the attack and drove via the long northern route right back to your house. FBI experts will testify to the veracity of that data."

"Whaa?!" Greene exclaimed again. Then he settled back into his chair and said "Ohhh, shitttt." as something came into his mind.

"Mr. Greene," I said, "how long have you been in a sexual relationship with Lisa Baker?"

"Don't answer that!" Jeffrey Sekou immediately said, almost shouting the words.

"Shut up!" Steve Greene. He turned to me and said "I had nothing to do with either attack on Craig Reynolds---"

"Stop talking!" Jeffrey Sekou all but shouted. To us, he said "I need a moment alone with my client."

"No! No you don't!" said Steve Greene. "Now shut your goddamned mouth and sit there and represent me. I'm not taking the rap for either Lisa or Kitzi!"

Steve turned to me and said "I'll tell you everything, and then you'll see I've done nothing illegal. To answer your question, Commander Troy... yeah, I've been having an affair with Lisa for several years.

Steve: "Kitzi and I had been living together, but she and Roddy had been having sex since they were in high school, and never stopped. I never had a problem with that, but after Kitzi and I separated, Lisa came over to my house. She didn't like hanging around Roddy when he got drunk; he was verbally abusive to her, though I've never seen him physically hurt her."

Steve: "That day she came by, I went for it and made love to her, and we ended up in bed having sex. It was good, and still is good, and we get together once every month or so. I didn't feel bad about fucking Lisa behind Roddy's back; after all, he's fucked Kitzi in front of me a ton of times, and sometimes we'd take turns fucking Kitzi."

"So Lisa didn't leave Roddy for you?" I asked.

"No." Steve said. "She brought it up and we talked about it. The biggest problem was that I was not ready to have kids... and especially not Roddy's. His oldest girl is pretty bright, but their younger daughter is really introspective and not learning well in school. And his son is already getting bad grades and getting in trouble at school, playing sports too hard and getting into fights. He's going to grow up bad, just like the rest of his family."

Steve: "Lisa didn't want to leave her kids, especially to Roddy's sole custody, and I don't blame her. But she kept coming to visit me for sex, and to vent her frustrations about her life."

"Does Roddy know you are having sex with Lisa?" I asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so." said Steve.

"What is your relationship with Roddy?" I asked.

Steve: "Roddy and I have been friends for a very long time. I'm one of the so-called 'Baker's Dozen', a group of men and women that do whatever we can to keep Roddy out of trouble, and thwart that Wisocky bitch from trying to set him up and falsely accuse him of crimes."

Steve: "And that's why on Friday night I drove him in his truck to the reception and to Molinari's for the after-party. And it was a good thing I did. Roddy drank a good bit and everyone was joking around, having a good time. He was talking to Jenny Reynolds and she showed him a photo of something, maybe her family. He got really quiet after that, I mean he literally sobered up on the spot. A few minutes later, after a couple more drinks, he had me take him home."

"Did he tell you on the way what was bothering him?" I asked.

Steve: "No, not directly. But he said to himself 'That bitch lied to me... she lied to me...' over and over. He didn't say what over, and I didn't ask. I've learned to understand his moods, and at that time he was pretty agitated under the surface. So when he got home, I let him out, then backed into his driveway as he went inside. And I waited for a while, to make sure nothing happened."

I said "And then what?"

"Something happened." replied Steve. "Less than five minutes later, maybe just two or three, I heard shouting inside, mostly Roddy. Then I heard something shatter, and what sounded like furniture turning over. A few seconds later, Lisa came flying out the front door. I called out and she came and got in the truck, and we drove out of there just as Roddy got to the door."

Steve: "I drove Lisa to my house. I handed her my keys so she could let herself in, and I said I was going to check on Roddy. On the way, I called Kitzi and asked her to meet me at Roddy's, so that I could leave his truck at his house and she could give me a ride to my house. She got there right after I did."

Steve: "Roddy was sitting in his living room. There was a broken lamp in the back corner, and all the stuff that had been on the coffee table in front of the sofa was scattered all over the floor. I told Kitzi we needed to get Roddy out of there in case the neighbors heard the earlier fight and called the cops. Kitzi drove me home, then took Roddy to her house."

Detective Watson said "And you let her go alone with him?"

Steve said "Yes. Like I said, I've known Roddy for a long time, and I can tell when he's okay and when he's not. He was okay. And I knew Kitzi would calm him down more by fucking his balls off."

Watson: "When you went home... was Lisa there?"

Steve didn't answer immediately, and Watson leaned forward, peering hard at him. I intervened and said "Let me ask this first, then we'll come back to that. On Saturday night, your GPS data shows your car in the parking lot of the Hilton Hotel, then leaving right after the attack on Craig Reynolds. Was it you that drove there?"

Steve: "Yes." When I asked why he was there, he said "Lisa asked me to pick her up. When I got there I texted her, but she didn't come out. And then the ambulance and cop cars came rushing up..."

Then it hit him. With a look of both shock and understanding, he said "Ohhh..." Then he looked right at me and said: "She set me up, didn't she?"

I said "So let's go back to Friday night. When Kitzi dropped you off at your house, was Lisa there at that moment? Was your car there?"

Steve Greene had figured out the nature of my questions, and also the world of shit he was in. "When I got home, the door wasn't locked and a light was on. But Lisa wasn't there. She drove up a while later, and said she needed to go to the store to get some beer, but when she got there she realized she didn't have any money on her. I didn't think anything of it at the time."

I said "She was there the rest of the night?"

"Yes." Steve said. "I had her put some ice on her eye, which was beginning to swell up and blacken. After a while we went to bed, and she insisted on having sex, so we made love. The next day I took her by her house. Roddy wasn't there. She got her wallet and keys and said she'd drive herself to the clinic to have her eye looked at. And that was the last I heard of her that day, until she called asking me to pick her up at the hotel..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

7:15am, Sunday, October 3rd. My mother Phyllis had brought in boxes of... what else?... doughnuts, and we were consuming them with gusto and drinking coffee as Sheriff Hall, Deputy Biggs, my mother, myself, Captain Wisocky, Detective Watson, and D.A. Tittle discussed the case.

Leanne Wisocky said "Steve Greene's story was clever, but perhaps too clever. He could've driven his car himself on Friday night, and taken Roddy to Pennington's Farm. He and Roddy would've known the others were there, since they were talking about it at Molinari's. Lisa wasn't there, so how would she know where they went?"

Leanne: "And Steve could've given Roddy the ride to the hotel, then carried Roddy out of there after the attack. Remember that we got a tip that Roddy had been seen again at the hotel. I was asking you about it when the attack happened."

I said "I was meaning to ask you... who called that in? And to whom? You? 9-1-1?"

Leanne said "9-1-1 got a call and relayed the message to me. The dispatcher said the number was from (air quotes) 'Hilton Hotel'. That's what will show up for any phone call that goes through their main line trunk feed. It's all landline, so tracing exactly where it came from is likely not possible. The tipster did not identify himself."

I said "And what I can't figure out is why someone would call you and let you know that Roddy was there."

"They saw Roddy, thought he was a danger... and rightly so." Leanne said.

I said "The better explanation is that the tipster was trying to set up Roddy, just like Steve was set up in being asked to come to the hotel. You sure the tipster was a male?"

"No." Leanne said. "But it sounds like you're going to try to stick Lisa with this. Roddy's being charged with domestic battery, and that's his third strike; he's going to prison for life. So I better contact DFACS and have them take the Baker kids away and put them in foster care."

"Whoaaa!" I exclaimed. "Slow your roll, Captain. And that's something that the Sheriff should take care of, not the Police."

"I agree." said Sheriff Hall. "I'll take care of it myself."

"No, I'll do it!" Leanne persisted. "I've been waiting for years to do this."

"All the more reason for me to handle it. You stand down, Captain." said Sheriff Hall. He fished out his cellphone as he left the room. Leanne was typing furiously on her cellphone, sending a text message.

"All right." I said, gathering some papers into my notebook. "Confidence is high that the data will come through for us. So are y'all ready to nail this case down?"

D.A. Tittle said "Commander Troy, you've done an amazing job here, and you've outlined a great case. But we just don't have enough proof to go to a Jury."

"We will." I said. "But if we can get a confession, you will be saved a lot of time and the expense of a fair trial. Shall we go?..."

Part 17 - The Solution

D.A. Tittle, Detective Watson, and I went into the main Interrogation Room. Deputy Biggs, Sheriff Hall, and Captain Wisocky watched through the one-way glass. Sitting on the far side of the table, facing us and the one-way glass, were Robert Reichard, Esq. and his client... Lisa Lewis Baker.

We sat down and I read Lisa her rights from the card, and she just nodded that she understood them. I said "Mrs. Baker, let's not waste each other's time, okay? I know that you tried twice to kill Craig Reynolds. My only question is: Why?"

"Wow." Robert Reichard said dismissively. "I thought Captain Wisocky was bad, but you're giving her a good race to the bottom."

I said "I do not harass innocents, Mr. Reichard. I make the guilty pay. And your client... is going to pay for the crimes she committed the last two nights. And just to make it official..."

I nodded to Detective Watson, who said "Lisa Baker, you are under arrest for two counts of attempted murder, one being a count of assault with a deadly weapon, that being the attack at Pennington's Farm; and one being a count of aggravated assault and felonious battery with a deadly weapon, which will be upgraded to murder in the first degree if Craig Reynolds dies."

I said "And then there's the charges of trying to frame Steve Greene for complicity... or conspiracy with him, if we charge him. And so on and so forth."

"Pul-eeze." Reichard said. "You don't have a thing. No evidence whatsoever."

I took out two photographs from my folder. "The clothing the perp used was found hidden in the ceiling tiles of the men's changing room. The State---"

"The men's changing room." Reichard said sarcastically. "In case you didn't notice, Mr. Hotshot Crowbar, my client is a woman."

"Thank you for that observation." I said, unperturbed. "What was also observed is that the location is close to the door. All your client had to do is step inside the door, grab a chair, push the bag up into the drop ceiling, then retreat and go to the ladies's changing room. And with all the commotion going on outside after the attack, no one was in the changing room to notice."

I continued: "And as I was saying, the State Crime Lab is looking for DNA, and I have no doubt they'll find some... especially in the mask that was worn in the second attack, maybe both attacks. And then we'll be getting the cellphone data from our Federal friends. And Steve Greene, Kitzi Taylor... and of course your own husband Roddy Baker... they're not going down for you for this."

Robert Reichard tried hard to bluff. He began laughing. "This is rich. This is just too rich. And just how did my client magically walk through the ballroom or lobby hallway to the pool entrances, in a black costume and mask and with a knife, and not be seen? And how did she stab a man much larger and more athletic than her, huh?"

"Laugh it up, fuzzball." I said. "You're just digging the hole deeper and deeper for your client. To answer your question, she (air quotes) 'magically' got to the pool by going through the employees areas and back access hallway where no one would see her. She went out the service door to the pool area, TASERed Craig, stabbed him in the groin... geez, Lisa, why there?... and then ran back the way she came."

Reichard pretended incredulity as he said "This is unbelievable." Then he said to me "And just how did my client get into limited access areas like that, much less not be noticed by anyone?"

"Simple enough." I said. "What everyone either doesn't know or has not remembered, but I was told last Thursday night, Lisa was once an employee of the Hilton Hotel. She worked there. Recently."

Reichard's face fell as he realized what I was hitting his client with. Watson and D.A. Tittle listened with interest as I continued: "Captain Wisocky ran some sort of sting that supposedly netted your client a prostitution charge. The hotel agreed to fire Lisa in exchange for no further legal pursuits against the hotel or other employees."

Me: "However, I had a very interesting discussion with the shift manager on duty at the time of the stabbing, as well as some other employees who were there. It seeeems the overall Hotel Manager despises Captain Wisocky as much as many of you do. He continued to give Lisa work, and paid her cash on the barrelhead like he pays the Illegal Aliens he employs there. Lisa couldn't work as a server in the restaurant again, nor in public places where she could be seen. But she could and did work in the back areas, doing paperwork, helping in the kitchen with supplies, whatever was needed."

Me: "Sooooo, the hotel employees knew her, and wouldn't think anything of it if they did spot her in the employee areas. Her employee ID key was never taken up, and she may have stolen or been given another one with someone else's ID information. And there's more... the hotel rooms and secure areas require an encoded ID for access, but the kitchen areas and hallways that serve them only need a generic passkey. So you, Lisa, were able to use a generic passkey to get around inside the employee areas."

I continued: "I will add to it that by being a former employee of the hotel, you, Lisa, knew the security arrangements and where all the cameras were. There is a camera inside the hallway that points at the service entrance to the pool, but you were able to disable it by covering it. You also changed clothes there, right at the end of the hallway, which was dark because you turned out the lights."

Me: "Soooo, you dressed in the black suit, which had some kind of shoulder pads to make you look broad-shouldered... like your husband is... and you ran up and attacked Craig while the outside cameras overlooking the pool and service door were jammed as if the Slender Man was there asking for twenty dollars. Then you ran back inside, shed the black clothing and mask, bagged them, and carried them around to the employee changing rooms, hid the bag in the ceiling tiles, then went into the women's room via the employee entrance, and made your way back to the main banquet hall."

"You're nuts." Reichard said, his voice low and ugly. "You don't have a prayer to convince a Jury of any of that. Cellphone and GPS data show Greene, Taylor, and Roddy Baker being more connected to the crimes than my client, here, and any so-called test-i-moan-eee they give will be the lies of losers trying to save Roddy Baker."

I said "Until Craig Reynolds wakes up and identifies the person who attacked him. The cameras went staticky, but there's enough there to show that Craig turned towards his attacker as she approached him. The TASER filaments got him from behind, but he turned enough that the stab wound was from the front. The doctor that operated on him is the very best, in my biased opinion, anyway, and she's ready to testify to that."

"What it boils down to, is this." I said to Lisa. "I have the answer, and as James Clavell said in his epic novel Shō-gun, 'it is easy to find the solution once given the answer'. If and when Craig identifies you, that's the ball game. Once we get the DNA results from the lab, once again, it's 'game over'. And your attorney here may huff, puff, and bluff about the cellphone data, but Juries are far, far more intelligent that he's giving them credit for... and more intelligent than he is, but I digress."

Lisa said "What will you offer me?"

"STOP TALKING!" yelled Reichard, nearly apoplectic with worry. To us he yelled "That was not an admission of guilt---"

"Shut up, Robert." Lisa said. "You're getting me in more trouble than I'm already in---"

"STOP! TALKING!" Reichard yelled again.

"No, YOU stop talking!" Lisa yelled back. "You think I'm stupid? I just heard you try to play me against Roddy, trying to throw him under the bus!"

"It's called 'creating reasonable doubt', young lady." Reichard said. "And if you don't keep your mouth shut and let me do my job here, you can find someone else to represent you... against the Iron Crowbar!"

"An outstanding idea." Lisa said. "Go. Get out of here."

"No, I'll stay, to make sure they don't try any tricks." Reichard said.

"Then keep your goddamned mouth shut." Lisa replied. "And just so you know, Commander Troy, I went to Apple Grove High School, just like you did. I was one of the smart set, taking the college prep courses, just like you did. And like you, I'd been accepted to (Wildcat School). But unlike you, I got pregnant, and my parents and Roddy's parents preferred the shotgun wedding to permitting me to have an abortion."

"It must be the red hair color we share." I said whimsically. Then I got serious and said: "No, you're not stupid, Mrs. Baker. That has long been obvious to me. And you have good kids. I'm glad you kept them. And I'm going to help them. D.A. Tittle, what are we offering Mrs. Baker if she saves the county the time and expense of a trial by a jury of her peers?"

D.A. Tittle said "Take this deal now, and I'm offering two 20-year terms followed by ten years on parole. Don't take it now, and it becomes two 20-year terms served consecutively, with no hope of parole until the time is fully served. If Craig Reynolds identifies you before you take it, then the deal is off the table, and you could get what will amount to life in prison."

I held up a document and said "And I'll sweeten the pot. Take the generous deal D.A. Tittle just offered you, and I'll help your kids. Sign this document, which gives up your parental rights, and I'll make sure they're put in good homes and taken care of. I'll give them a good chance to make it."

Lisa's face turned very sad at the mention of her kids. I said "Take the deal, and you'll see your grown kids, and you'll be able to hold and hug your grandchildren. If you don't?" I shrugged my shoulders and said "Then I can't help you. Or them."