Icy Betrayal (16 page)

With Lisa Sullivan still on the loose at 7 pm, the RCSO proceeded with the press conference. Mark Archer stood before the dozen or so reporters gathered in the RCSO downstairs conference room testing the mic levels. A podium was set up at the front of the room with the backdrop of the Rocklin County Seal on the wall directly behind it. The TV crews had set up lights pointing towards the front of the room and a small stack of microphones lay along the top of the podium. Anita Sanchez was in the front row.

Archer began, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’d like to get started now. First off, thank you all for coming out on such short notice. Does everybody have a copy of the press release?”

Archer continued, “This afternoon, the RCSO arrested 46-year-old Scott Lennox for the November murder of 56-year-old George Lombard. Both men are Castle Springs residents. The details of the murder and the arrest of Mr. Lennox this afternoon are all outlined in the press release. As I’m sure you all know, I’m not in a position this evening to answer specific questions about the homicide or the investigation that led to the arrest of Lennox. We can’t do or say anything that could possibly compromise the integrity of the case. The only details we can offer to you this evening are what we’ve covered in the release. If any of you need the content of the release said aloud by either me or Captain McCallister for the purpose of on-camera TV or radio interviews, we’d be happy to do that at the conclusion of this press conference. Having said all that, there is something we need your help with this evening. At this time, I’d like to ask Captain Mick McCallister to come up and talk about that.”

Mick stepped up to the bank of microphones and looked out at the reporters.

“As Lieutenant Archer indicated, we need your help this evening. We do not believe that the individual arrested today, Scott Lennox, acted alone in carrying out this homicide. We are seeking a second individual we believe played a role in the murder of Mr. Lombard.”

He held up a color, eight by ten copy of a Sullivan photo they pulled from the Internet.

“That second individual is Lisa Sullivan, 32 years old, of Rosebud. At this point, I can’t elaborate on her exact involvement, but we consider her a suspect and are seeking the public’s help in getting her into custody. We have copies of this photo for you to take with you this evening, and we have them in electronic format as well. Again, anything you can do to get her photo out to the public would be greatly appreciated.”

“Is the RCSO offering a reward for her capture?” asked a young female TV reporter.

“No, not at this time,” he responded.

Mick knew the story would get plenty of attention based on the sensationalism of the case and the photo of Sullivan. Even still, Mick knew interest would quickly wane without an arrest. If Sullivan was still at large after a couple of days he would need to shift gears. Offering a reward when the interest had faded would get the story back on the on the front page. “Give it legs,” as the reporters liked to say.

After a few more questions, the formal conference ended. Both Mick and Mark Archer spent another thirty minutes doing TV and radio interviews.

The media event gave Keller another chance to sneak out.

“Lisa, what happened?”

“You won’t believe this. A trooper pulled me over for talking on my cell phone. God, if he only knew,” she said with a nervous laugh.

Keller was relieved, but still concerned.

“Shit, that’s not a good thing, Lisa. That ticket will go into the system and—”

“I said he pulled me over. I didn’t say he gave me a ticket. He was cute, and I flirted with him. We talked for almost fifteen minutes. He was super nice, said he’d let me off with a warning, just this once.”

Still not good, Keller thought. Clearly she had made an impression. If he saw her picture on the news, the trooper would certainly remember her. All Jack could do was hope the news story didn’t make it to the television stations in Santa Fe or Albuquerque any time soon. He didn’t share his concerns with Lisa; she had enough to worry about.

“Okay, well, keep on driving. Go as far as you can tonight; get into Arizona if you can.”

“I will. I’ll call you when I get to a motel.”

“Okay, if I don’t answer, I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”

THIRTY

K
it Bumgartner was sitting in her apartment in Golden with her husband Ralph, watching the credits roll at the end of an old episode of
American Gladiators
, when the ten o’clock news came on.

“Turn it to Channel 40. They’ve got reruns of
Roseanne
. I don’t want to watch the news, hon, it’s too depressing,” she said.

Ralph nodded toward his wife and looked for the remote control to change the channel.

“What the hell did you do with the remote?” he snapped at his wife.

“You had it last. It wasn’t me that wanted to watch
American Gladiators
. I hate that shit.”

Kit glanced over at the TV as Ralph slipped his hand into the cushions of his lounge chair for the remote.

“Oh my…”

“Found it!” he exclaimed as he turned. “What is it, Kit? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Shhhh, quiet. I want to hear this.”

Ralph turned his attention to what Kit was staring at on the screen.

“Oh my God,” Kit replied, staring in disbelief as Lisa Sullivan’s picture flashed on the screen, followed by footage showing an industrial plant with a sign identifying it as the Lennox Ice Company.

“Police say Sullivan was part of a murder plot hatched by the owner of this Castle Springs ice company, 46-year-old Scott Lennox, who is in custody at the Rocklin County Jail tonight. Sources familiar with the case say it was Lennox who recruited Sullivan to help carry out the crime. Lisa Sullivan is described as five feet six inches tall, 130 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Police say they served a search warrant on Sullivan’s Rosebud home a few hours ago and are in the process of gathering evidence there now. Police believe that Lisa Sullivan is on the run tonight.”

“Oh my God,” Kit said again, in shock.

Anchorwoman Kate Kitchens continued the story with a large graphic displaying the RCSO phone number.

“Lord Almighty,” Kit said as the anchorwoman moved on to the next story.

Ralph muted the TV.

“What is it, Kit?” he asked.

“I know that woman they just showed on the news. She was in the café.”

“Come on, Kit, you get a lot of people coming through that place.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure I waited on her. She was with some old guy. Looked to me like he was breaking it off with her. I know that’s her, look how pretty she is. I remember thinking she could do so much better than that old fart. I remember it because she threw her iced tea on him. He just sat there with it drippin’ down his face.”

“Geez, Kit, you gotta call it in,” Ralph urged.

Kit paused and thought for a moment.

“Did they say anything about a reward?”

“No, I don’t think so. They just want people to call it in if they see her. Kit, what are you gonna do?”

“I dunno… I wanna think about it.”

After eighteen years of marriage, Ralph knew Kit did things in her own good time.

It was after ten by the time an exhausted Jack Keller left the station and headed home.

He was frustrated, but not surprised, that the Lennox interrogation went nowhere. While he hadn’t lawyered up, he did clam up. Other than a few nods, an occasional grunt and a series of denials, Lennox was pretty much non-responsive. Jack had even tried to antagonize him in an effort to get him to lose his composure and start talking, but Lennox didn’t fall for it. But Keller still had a lot of tricks up his sleeve when it came to interrogating suspects, and he’d barely had time to scratch the surface. He looked forward to having another run at him after Lennox spent a night in jail. Keller knew that a night spent with hardcore gang-bangers, rapists, and meth dealers could change a man. Lennox was a softie and likely wouldn’t get a whole lot of sleep. If a lawyer didn’t enter the picture soon, Keller felt confident that he would get something from Lennox the next day when he and Mia questioned him again.

As Jack took the exit off I-25, his burner phone went off.

“Hey, where are you now?”

“I made it to Arizona. I’m at a motel off the interstate. I’m beat.”

“Okay, good. You paid cash for the room, right?”

“Just like you told me. Other than money for gas and a quick bite to eat, it’s all I’ve spent. And like you said, I won’t use a credit card or ATM.”

“Okay, sorry to keep bringing it up, but one little mistake and we’re in deep—”

“I know.”

Keller was relieved Lisa had made it safely out of Colorado and was now two states away. He hadn’t seen the news, but doubted the Lennox story ran anywhere outside the Denver area, at least not yet.

“So where are you in Arizona?”

“A place called Winslow.”

Keller remembered the lyrics of the old Eagles song, ‘Well, I’m standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. Such a fine sight to see…’

“Winslow, like the Eagles song,” he said fondly.

“Huh?” she asked, puzzled.

“Take It Easy,” he said, referring to the song title.

“Um, okay, I will,” she replied, now thoroughly confused.

“Never mind,” Jack replied, reminded of the generation gap. “Give me a call tomorrow morning when you leave. You should be there by tomorrow night. I’m very proud of you.”

“I will. And I just want to thank you again for everything.”

“Get some rest. I’ll talk to you then,” he said, trying not to tear up.

THIRTY-ONE

“
C
an u come by my office when u get in?”

Mia got Mick’s text as she arrived at RCSO the next morning. It was early, and it had been a long and difficult night. After the interrogation, Mia had driven to Rosebud where the warrant team was searching Sullivan’s apartment.

By the time she finally returned home, it was well past midnight and her father was waiting up. Chuck felt awful about the confrontation with Keller, and he didn’t want to go to bed without apologizing to his daughter for all the trouble he had caused. She accepted his apology, but not before giving him a good lecture. She knew she couldn’t stay angry with her dad for very long. Once they patched things up, Chuck told Mia what he saw while tailing Keller, including the somewhat agitated exchange between Keller and the priest at the church. While it did seem odd on the surface, it was far from sinister.

It was after two in the morning before Mia finally got to sleep. The nightmare returned, this time with a new twist. Vivid hues spiraled downward, sucking Mia into a kaleidoscope of color before exploding out in a river of red—blood red. Mia was caught in the current and struggled to find a way out, reaching for something to pull her out of the abyss. She awoke with a start, sweaty and anxious but with the lingering feeling that she was close to that one piece of the puzzle that would blow open the case.

Jack and Lisa—was there a connection?

By 6:00, she decided to get an early start to the day by prepping for the second interrogation with Lennox.

Back at her cubicle, she dropped her briefcase on the desk and, armed with an extra large latte, headed toward the captain’s office. It was going to be a day for caffeine.

She poked her head in.

“Hey there.”

“Hey, Mia, come on in and close the door. You’re here early.”

Mia smiled and responded, “I could say the same about you.”

“I was pretty keyed up after yesterday. Got home and tried to sleep but didn’t have much luck. I gave up at 4:30, hit the gym, and came in. What’s your excuse?”

“About the same as yours, minus the gym.”

Mia had already briefed Mick about Sullivan’s apartment. The search team seized the usual stuff, including her computer, but there was nothing found that pointed directly to her involvement in Lombard’s murder. However, the concert ticket from the refrigerator was gone. Mia wasn’t sure what to make of that.

She also told him that the search team deployed to Lennox’s house had similar results; they searched his computer but uncovered nothing that amounted to a “smoking gun” linking Lennox to the homicide. She also gave Mick a quick briefing on the interrogation.

“I’m hoping we can get something out of him this morning before he can lawyer up,” she told the captain hopefully.

“We have to get Lisa Sullivan,” Mick said flatly. “She’s the lynchpin. Without her, it’s all circumstantial, and we’ll have to take first degree murder off the table. Best we’d do in that scenario is manslaughter, and even that’s no slam dunk.

Mia understood. “Right now, things don’t look very good. Sullivan is on the loose, and Lennox has clammed up. And I still don’t have a good feeling about Keller.”

“Well, now that you mention Keller,” replied Mick.

“Oh God,” Mia muttered, dreading this conversation.

“As I recall from the events of yesterday morning, Keller claimed your dad had been following him. Is that…”

“Listen… what he… I thought…” Exasperated, she let out a long breath.

“Is it true?”

“Yes,” she confessed.

“What in the hell was he…” Mick started, then stopped and asked a side question. “How old is Chuck?”

“72.”

“What was your 72-year-old father doing following Rocklin County’s most experienced investigator?”

Mia took a deep breath.

“I shared some of my concerns with him. You know, about Keller possibly being involved romantically with Sullivan.”

“Which—” Mick tried to jump in.

“Was a mistake,” Mia continued. “I shouldn’t be talking about cases with my father, but I did. So my dad, wanting to help me, decided to follow him.” Mia purposely left out the GPS tracking device. Mick was stressed enough.

“Keller said Chuck followed him to a supermarket?”

“And… a few other places. Keller was apparently onto him by the time they got to the market. That’s where Keller cornered him and started asking him questions. He quickly figured things out, got pissed, and made Dad take him to the house to confront me. And apparently that’s right about the time you came down in your… your…”

“My towel? Look, you’re going to have to resolve this with Jack,” Mick said.

“I already did. We talked before the Lennox takedown yesterday. We met, and he basically bitched me out.”

“What about us? Did that come up?”

“No. There wasn’t time.”

“Well, he obviously knows. We’ll have to see how that plays out.”

“He didn’t say anything to me about it, but again, we didn’t have a lot of time. He just swore up and down he wasn’t involved with Lisa Sullivan. He actually laughed at the suggestion.”

“So, are you off the Keller/Sullivan love connection now?” he asked.

“Uh. Not completely.”

“Jesus, Mia.”

“I’m an investigator, too, Captain. What—I can’t have a hunch?”

Mick gazed at her. Even at the crack of dawn with no sleep, she was beautiful. “You know what my problem is?” he asked.

“What?”

“I’m in love with you.”

“And that’s a problem?”

“No, it’s great, but it does complicate things a bit.”

“I love you too, Mick. And as soon as this case is closed, I will get a transfer back to patrol, and we can be together. And as far as your run for sheriff, like I said the other night, I think you should do it. Don’t pass on your dreams for me. You’ll make a great sheriff after the people of Rocklin County vote you into office.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Of course, I would. If it means we can be together, then I’m happy to do it.”

“Mia, I don’t know what to say.”

“No need to say anything.”

“Well, I’m hoping we can find a way to keep you where you are. But it’s early yet. Still, speaking of running for sheriff, I do need to start the process. Set up a campaign, raise money, set a strategy.”

“What can I do to help?”

“We need to put together a campaign team of people who would be interested in supporting me.”

“Okay, I will give that some serious thought, Mr. Sheriff.”

“I like the sound of that, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“You’re going to win, Mick. And I will do everything I can to help.”

“Thanks, Mia. As far as Keller goes, there’s nothing we can do about it now, so we’ll play it as it comes.”

“Dad feels awful. Just so you know.”

“I’m sure he does.”

Mia wanted to give him a hug, but thought better of it. It was still early, and it didn’t appear anyone was around, but she didn’t want to take any chances. Mick could sense what she was thinking.

“I’d better get to work,” Mia replied as she walked towards the door.

“Yeah, me too.”

Once back in her office, Mia sent off a quick email to Keller asking what time he wanted to meet and have another go at Lennox.

Keller snatched the burner phone as it vibrated on the kitchen table. “Hey,” he said.

“Good morning.” Lisa sounded tired.

“How’d you sleep?”

“Not great, but I’m ready to hit the road and wanted to check in with you before I get going. I wouldn’t want to get a ticket for talking on my cell while driving.”

Keller chuckled. “Well, it seems you are pretty good at charming New Mexico state troopers.”

“Yeah, but I’m in Arizona now, so all bets are off,” she joked.

“Somehow I don’t think that would matter much.”

“How long do you think it will take me to get there?”

“Probably about five hours, give or take. He’s going to meet you at three this afternoon, so you’ve got plenty of time. I’ll call him again to confirm. Once I do, I’ll get you the final details.”

“So, is my picture on the news?”

“Yep, you are officially a wanted woman.”

“Is it at least a decent photo?” she asked with a tired, forced laugh.

“Yeah, we got one from your hospital’s newsletter on the Internet. Great job on the United Way campaign, by the way,” he added.

Lisa laughed. “Thank you.”

“It’s all going to work out, Lisa. You just have to trust me.”

“I do trust you. I just can’t believe how much my life has changed over the past couple of months. And I need to wrap my head around the fact that my life will never be the same. There’s no going back.”

Keller didn’t know what to say. Lisa sensed that and said, “Talk to you in a little while, then.”

“Okay,” he said. “Talk to you then.”

The line went dead.

“I love you,” he whispered into the phone.