Sweet Dreams Boxed Set (18 page)

“You think it was violent sex.”

“I would call it rape, even if her john paid her. But no jury would convict on that unless she testified, and even then—” She shrugged. “It sucks, but it is what it is. I saw one more similar case, a year or so ago, that ended in an unsolved homicide. Similar bruising, anal tearing, hair pulled out. Also a Russian prostitute. John caught the case, but the girl was dumped in the river and we couldn’t get any DNA or viable evidence. Can’t even say it was the same guy.”

“But you think so.”

“Yeah. I do. And I can’t help but think if Jim had just pursued that first case harder we might have found the guy and the other girl would still have been alive.”

“I wished you would have told me.”

“There was nothing to tell. It was a gut feeling that he was hiding something that didn’t make it in the report. He accepted my argument that I was curious because I’d picked up the assault case and wanted to find the person who beat her. He even gave me access to her apartment to see if there was any evidence there. There wasn’t. But ... I just felt like he was watching me closely. He asked questions, like what she’d said to me while in the hospital. Nothing overt. Just ... odd.”

“Tommy used Russian prostitutes.”

“You don’t think Tommy ...?”

“I don’t know.” If not Tommy, he could have known who. He’d been so wrapped up in that world, he must have known about the beatings and the murder.

“Do you want me to talk to John?” Detective John Black was Selena’s brother.

“I don’t want it getting back to Jim.”

“John doesn’t like him.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me when I first started dating Jim? I feel like an idiot.”

“Because John can be a judgmental prick. I love my brother, but he sees everything in black and white. He didn’t like Gabriel when I first started seeing him. Even now, though they get along, I always feel like John is looking for a reason to dislike him.”

“Because you’re his baby sister.”

“Jim is cute, he’s fun, you had a good time with him. You’re always so serious. I know—I have that problem, too. Being with Gabriel has given me a life outside of the job. You deserve a life outside of the job, too. Who was anyone to judge that? But I always thought you were too good for Jim. Maybe because of the situation with the hooker, but also because of his off-color jokes.”

“Jim’s not a racist.”

“No, not that—his way of looking at sex crimes. The jokes he’d make about some of the cases I was working. You know how some of the guys are.”

“Yeah.” Alex always thought the guys pushed the boundaries to piss off the female cops, or make them uncomfortable.

“And usually we ignore it. But with you—Jim was better when you were around. Even though you were too good for him, he’d mellowed out once you started dating. He liked you.”

“Or maybe,” Alex said, “he was pretending all along.”

“What does that mean?”

“You can’t tell anyone this, Selena. No one. Not even Gabriel.”

“I trust Gabriel, but I won’t tell him.”

Alex glanced around, but one reason she’d picked this coffee house was that it was the least likely place they’d run into another cop. Still, she kept her voice low as she told Selena what really happened last year. She went through how she started working undercover for the feds and about documenting Tommy’s illegal activities and trying to get something big on Rykov, the head of Russian organized crime. “Everything was working fine until I caught Tommy with that underage prostitute. I had been investigating him for months, not long after I transferred to Northern Command. And that’s around the time Jim and I started dating.”

“Wow,” Selena said. “None of that came out when Tommy shot you.”

“Because the FBI didn’t have enough on Rykov, and if Rykov knew that I had documented everything Tommy did, it put others at risk. I agreed to stay quiet so they could find another way into the organization.”

“Shit, Alex.” Selena paused. “You don’t think that Jim knew about the investigation?”

“No. I honestly don’t. But before we split up, things were tense—I was keeping secrets and he knew. Only, he accused me of having an affair. I wasn’t, but I left anyway.” She paused, everything from her relationship with Jim starting to look a whole lot different.

“He came to see me last night,” Alex continued. “It was late. There didn’t seem to be any reason for the visit. But it felt familiar. He came in angry, as if I’d done something, and then said he thought I was lying about recognizing the shooter. I was lying—I did recognize him, though I don’t know his name. I didn’t tell Jim because as far as I’m concerned, the FBI needs to clear that information. So I admitted that he looked familiar but I didn’t know why. He seemed satisfied with the answer and all was well. But it reminded me of several other conversations we’d had in the past. And when I gave an answer, he was satisfied and we’d go drinking or have sex or watch a game. I think he was pumping me for information. He wanted to know what I knew or thought of Tommy’s activities. Either he thought I was extremely stupid because I didn’t figure it out, or that I was also on the take, though he never directly asked me. Yet ... Tommy may have told him that I knew about the skimming on drug busts. I pretended to ignore it, but had to make sure Tommy knew I knew what he was doing so that he would trust me.” She squeezed her temples. “This is a mess.”

“You need to tell your FBI contact all this.”

“I did. Sort of. They’re on top of things. But it makes me question my own judgment. I dated Jim Perry for more than a year. I lived with him for months. And I didn’t pick up on any of this. I feel like an idiot.”

“You’re the farthest thing from.” Selena grabbed her hand. “Listen to me, Alex—a good liar can make anyone believe a lie. I’m going to talk to John. I won’t tell him anything about what you said, I won’t even mention your name. But John is the finest cop I know, hands down. If he suspects anything, he’ll tell me.”

“Can you ask him to look into one more thing?”

“Anything.”

“Ballistics from the gun used in the Hart shooting match ballistics from an unsolved murder of a Russian prostitute.”

“I sense a theme here.”

“We’re hearing the same tune.”

“And you want to know what?”

“Anything about that case. Details—where she was found, if she had other injuries, any suspects. I can’t help but think that I have a bunch of pieces to the puzzle, but I’m missing the one piece that puts it all together.”

“I’ll call him. But Alex—please be careful. These people are extremely dangerous. If they had one cop on the payroll, they could have more.”

“I know they do. I just need to prove it.”

***

The archived files were on his desk when he arrived back to his office at ten that morning. Matt scanned the summary sheet of what was included, and all appeared to be in order. Next, he went through the detailed indictment.

The defendant, Paulson, was a burglar who primarily targeted homes of the wealthy who were on vacation, which made the robbery on River Road unusual. At the time, the business was Wallace Construction, owned and operated by Clark Wallace.

Cordell was the arresting officer, as per the computer file Matt had read last night. He’d been called to the scene when a silent alarm went off. He caught Paulson outside the building with a lock-pick set and detained him. Forensics proved that the defendants prints were on the door as well as inside the building, including on the CEO’s computer.

The CEO, Wallace, claimed that nothing had been taken. Forensics determined that the burglar attempted to access the CEO’s computer, but it was password protected and he was locked out after five attempts.

Matt pulled the rap sheet of the defendant. He wasn’t a tech guy—he didn’t break into houses with security systems. He was old school, lock picks or going through an unlocked window. He took things he could carry—jewelry, cash, small electronics like cell phones. Things that could easily be sold on the black market. Why had he changed his M.O. to steal from a business with nothing that could easily be fenced?

Matt flipped through the case. The business was a small construction company who often bid on local government projects—generally retrofitting for safety compliance. Matt ran both the business name and the CEO’s name through the database. Wallace had a DUI that was ten years old, a fine and suspended license for a year, but that was it for his record.

What about that address had tickled Alex’s memory?

And why had a criminal defense lawyer who primarily defended drug cases taken this case? It definitely stood out to Matt, and it would have at the time—but Matt had been in the Senate, not the D.A.’s office. What was in it for the lawyer? There wouldn’t have been a lot of money – in fact, it was a pro bono case, Matt noted upon further examination. Why would a high profile criminal lawyer who specialized in drug charges take a pro bono burglary case?

And had the defendant known something that got him killed in prison? Had he taken something Wallace didn’t want to admit was missing? Had Paulson been hired to steal something specific, then killed to ensure his silence?

Matt read the transcript from the trial. The trial lasted less than a day. The jury convicted him after an hour of deliberation.

A name jumped out immediately. Detective Jim Perry. He’d been on call when Cordell called in the crime. Except ... the address wasn’t in the City of Sacramento. It was in the county. Dispatch had routed the call to the closest patrol unit, which was Cordell, even though the address was across the river from the city boundary. Border areas were handled by either the Sheriff’s Department or the bordering city. But after securing the scene, Cordell should have contacted the Sheriff’s investigation unit, not Sac PD.

Nothing particularly wrong with what he did ... except for the fact that Tommy Cordell had been a corrupt cop, and this case was anything but common.

The testimony was straightforward. Perry had investigated the case, worked with Wallace, supervised the crime scene techs.

Nothing was taken.

This case should never have been brought to trial. The defendant could easily have pled to less than a year. He had no active warrants.

Cordell found a knife on his person when he was searched.

Problematic. But the business was empty when Paulson broke in after midnight.

Paulson didn’t testify on his own behalf. If he didn’t testify, why wouldn’t he have just pled? Why go through the farce of the trial? Travis Hart should have pled if only to save the taxpayers money. Why go for the max sentence instead of an easy one year plea for the non-violent crime? And Anthony Monteith didn’t do anything particularly extraordinary to try and get Paulson off. He was competent, but the prints, the lock picks, the knife, and history of thefts all led to an easy conviction.

And then he was killed. Without ever speaking on the record as to why he had broken into Wallace Construction in the first place.

Matt turned back to his computer and ran a search on all cases attached to the defense lawyer or his law firm. He didn’t exclusively represent members of the Russian mob, but there were enough names that Matt suspected a connection.

His phone buzzed. He grabbed it. “Yes?”

“I have the property records you asked for, Mr. Elliott.”

“Bring them in, Zoey. Thank you.”

His law clerk came in and handed him the file. It was a history of the property in question.

“Is there anything else?”

“No, thank you—Cynthia is in charge for the rest of the day. I have an outside meeting at noon. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

She waited for more information. Matt knew that he was acting out of character—he always gave Zoey detailed information about his schedule. He had a secretary and receptionist as well, but Zoey was his rock.

“Thanks, Zoey,” he said a bit dismissively. He’d smooth it over with her later.

She walked out and Matt turned his attention back to the files in front of him. What the hell was going on with his case? Maybe it had nothing to do with the shooting, but that both Cordell and Jim Perry were involved in the investigation, with Travis as the prosecutor and a known Russian mob lawyer as the defense, was suspicious. Could Jim Perry somehow be tied in with Cordell? If so, why did he hide that from Alex? If Perry was connected to Cordell, did that mean he was also connected to Rykov?

One thing that didn’t quite ring true for Matt was why Tommy shot Alex in the first place. She’d found him with the underage prostitute and told him she was going to their lieutenant, that his behavior crossed a line. And he’d shot her. He could have gotten off with a slap on the wrist, maybe a suspension, but to
shoot his partner
was so over-the-top that no one could overlook it. What had been going through his mind? Was he thinking he could frame the prostitute if Alex had died? Kill her as the witness, and say she shot at both of them? Matt didn’t know because Tommy Cordell hadn’t spoken to anyone since his arrest. He likely wouldn’t take the stand in his defense.

If Tommy was suspicious of Alex’s motives, he might have shot her out of a knee-jerk self-protective instinct.

He buzzed Zoey. “Can you come in for a sec?”

She came in and closed the door behind her. “Yes?”

“Can you discreetly pull Detective Jim Perry’s personnel files? Everything you can get without throwing up any flags.”

“Of course.” Again, she was curious, but didn’t ask questions.

Matt opened the file on the property. Wallace had owned the land for a generation, and built the physical business twenty years ago. After the burglary, he went bankrupt ... not uncommon in construction, except four years ago the market was slowly starting to rebound. Though he’d owned the land outright at one point, he’d heavily mortgaged it over the years and was upside down. The bank foreclosed, and someone else bought it.

As soon as he saw who now owned it, Matt began to put the pieces together.

His heart raced as he scribbled dates, names and entities on a yellow legal pad. This was exactly the information Dean Hooper needed for his investigation. It wasn’t everything, but it was far more than they’d had before.