Wild Justice (20 page)

52 The guard let Justine Castle into the interview room at the jail. She looked at Amanda expectantly. Amanda waited a beat, then smiled. I ve got great news. We re holding another release hearing this afternoon. The DA s recommending your release. I ll get out of here? Justine said in disbelief. By tonight. Justine sat down heavily. After a moment she reached across the small table and gripped one of Amanda s hands. Thank you, thank you. You have no idea what it s meant to have you as my attorney. I don t think I could have made it through this ordeal without you. The warmth and intensity of Justine s response caught Amanda by surprise and made her heart swell with pride. She covered Justine s hands and squeezed them. You ve been incredibly brave, Justine. I think we ve turned the corner on this case. With luck, it will be behind you very soon. Justine was about to say something else when her features changed from relief and happiness to concern. She released Amanda s hands. Why are they letting me go? Justine asked abruptly. Have they arrested Vincent? Amanda stopped smiling. No, but they ve spoken to him. She related what Mike Greene had told her earlier in the day. They just let him walk away? Justine asked incredulously. They can t prosecute him, Justine. They don t have any evidence connecting him to the murders at the farmhouse. What about the murders in Milton County? All of the evidence from that case was suppressed. This is bad, Justine muttered to herself. This is very bad. You ll be okay, Justine. Justine fixed Amanda with her eyes. A pulse was throbbing in Justine s temple, and her skin was so tight from tension that Amanda could imagine it ripping. You don t understand the way Vincent s mind works. He s insane, he s relentless and he believes that he is infallible. No matter what the odds are against him, he ll come after me. He won t try anything with everyone watching. That s the worst part, Amanda. Vincent will bide his time before making his move. He waited four years to frame me. Now he ll disappear and wait until everyone has forgotten about him. I ll never be able to sleep, I ll never be able to lead a normal life. Amanda wanted to comfort her client, but she knew that Justine was right. Cardoni was insane and he was patient, and that was a deadly combination. I have an idea, Amanda said. Do you remember Robert Vasquez, the detective who searched the cabin in Milton County? He s a private detective now. He s been doing some work on this case for me. You might consider hiring him as a bodyguard. I could have him drive you home from the jail. He s responsible for Vincent being free, and you want me to hire him? Justine, Bobby Vasquez has been living with his guilt for four years. He s dedicated himself to getting Vincent. This wouldn t just be a job for him. You won t be able to find anyone who would be more committed to protecting you. Amanda was getting ready to go to the courthouse for the hearing when Vasquez returned her call. Amanda told him about Cardoni. He sounded devastated. Cardoni won t be able to control his impulse to kill. There ll be new victims if we don t do something. Look, Bobby, I hired you to help on Justine s case. Our job was to clear her, and that s been accomplished. Your job was to clear Justine. Mine is to get that motherfucker. Don t even think like that. The last time you took the law into your own hands, you blew the State s case out of the water. Amanda paused to let what she d said sink in. Bobby? Yes? Promise me you won t go after Cardoni on your own. Don t worry, Vasquez said a little too quickly. Amanda was not reassured. I had another reason for calling you. Justine is going to be released from jail this afternoon. She s worried that Cardoni will come after her. I think she s smart to worry, and I suggested that she hire you for protection. As a bodyguard? Right. Will you do it? It ll keep you in the case, and she s really scared. With Cardoni out there, she s got a good reason to be.

53 In order to develop expertise, the judges in Multnomah County were assigned to rotations where they heard particular types of cases for set periods of time. There were three judges who handled only homicide cases for one or two years, depending on the judge s preference. Justine Castle s case had been assigned to Mary Campbell, the judge who tried the Dooling case. At four o clock the parties met in Judge Campbell s chambers so Mike Greene could explain why the State was willing to release Justine Castle on her own recognizance, even though she was charged with four counts of aggravated murder. Justine, Amanda and Frank were present for the defense. The Multnomah County district attorney accompanied Mike Greene. The grand jury had enough evidence to indict Dr. Castle, Judge Campbell said when Greene was through. That means that you were able to establish probable cause. Yes, Your Honor. Our problem is that there is a very real possibility that Dr. Castle was set up by her ex-husband. And there was no way to hold him? No, Your Honor. Not at the present time. This is very troubling. The idea of releasing the perpetrator of these crimes is repulsive to me, but it is equally repulsive to keep an innocent woman locked in jail. The judge stood up. Let s go into court and put this on the record. I m going to grant release on Dr. Castle s recognizance. Keep your statement tight, Mr. Greene, but make certain that the press understands the basis for this motion. Ms. Jaffe, you may speak if you feel the need, but I ll ask you not to use my courtroom as a pulpit. You ve already won. Don t worry, Your Honor. I don t plan on making any statement in court. Very well. Amanda preceded Justine and her father into the courtroom. Someone had leaked news of the hearing, and every seat was taken. Amanda scanned the faces and saw several that were familiar. Vasquez had found a seat near the front. Amanda nodded to him moments before spotting Art Prochaska in the last row. Seated two rows in front of him was Dr. Carleton Swindell, the hospital administrator, whom Amanda had interviewed as a possible character witness. But the person who captured and held her attention was sitting beside his attorney in the front row, directly behind the defense table. When their eyes met, Vincent Cardoni smiled coldly. Amanda stopped short. Cardoni shifted his attention to Justine. Amanda had described Cardoni s new look to her client, but Amanda could tell that seeing it in person was a shock. She started to comfort Justine but stopped when she saw that would not be necessary. Justine returned Cardoni s stare with a look of intense hatred. Frank saw what was happening and walked between Justine and Cardoni. Good afternoon, Vincent, Frank said in a calm and measured tone. I see you re representing a less desirable class of client these days, Cardoni responded. I m going to ask you to act like a gentleman. We re in a court of law, not a barroom. Chivalry is usually reserved for the protection of ladies. Frank s features darkened. But I ll behave myself, out of respect for our friendship. Thank you. Frank took the seat beside Amanda, directly in front of Cardoni. This put Justine as far from her ex-husband as possible. Judge Campbell entered the courtroom. As soon as the judge was seated, Mike Greene moved to have Justine s release conditions changed. He gave the judge a severely abridged version of the reasons he had outlined in chambers for the reversal of the State s position on bail. Amanda found it hard to concentrate on what Mike was saying with Cardoni so close. Judge Campbell made her ruling swiftly and left the bench. As soon as the judge was gone Justine turned slowly and walked to the rail, her face inches from Cardoni s. Amanda had never seen a face so white with anger. When Justine spoke, her voice was barely audible, but Amanda thought she heard Justine say, This isn t over, Vincent.

54 Reporters swarmed around Vincent Cardoni as soon as he left the courtroom. Roy Bishop cleared a path, chanting, No comment. The reporters kept shouting questions as Cardoni descended the marble stairs to the ground-floor lobby. A Town Car was waiting in front of the courthouse. Cardoni and his lawyer ducked inside and the driver took them to the Warwick, a small luxury hotel a few blocks from the Willamette River, where Cardoni had booked a suite. He had no plans to return to the cramped basement apartment he had lived in as Andrew Volkov now that his identity had been discovered. A mobile van from one of the TV stations followed the Town Car, but the driver phoned ahead and hotel security blocked the reporters from entering the lobby. After a brief consultation, Bishop drove off in the Town Car, and Cardoni took the elevator to his rooms. As soon as he locked the door, he stripped off his clothes and showered under steaming hot water. After the shower, he put on a terry cloth robe and ordered room service. The restaurant at the Warwick was one of Portland s best. The meal was exquisite and the wine superb, but the food and drink could not dull the rage Cardoni felt. Justine would soon be back in his old house, luxuriating in the bath the way she had when they were married. She would be washing away the smell of jail and gloating because she was free and his plan had been thwarted. By the time room service brought him a bottle of twelve-year-old single-malt scotch and cleared his trays, the sun had fallen below the horizon. Cardoni stood at the window, watching the lights of the city glitter and gleam. The sight soothed him and helped him to put his feelings of failure behind him. Negative thoughts had to be banished. Positive thinking was required if he was going to avenge the loss of his hand and his profession, and his years in exile.

55 Bobby Vasquez was waiting when Justine Castle came out of the jail elevator. He was wearing a sports jacket, a clean blue Oxford shirt and pressed khakis. He had even shaved to make a good impression. Justine paused to study the private detective. He shifted nervously. Justine held out her hand. You must be Mr. Vasquez. Her grip was firm, and her hand was cool to the touch. Yes, ma am, Vasquez answered, thinking that she was remarkably composed for someone who had spent several weeks in jail. Is your car outside? Vasquez nodded. Then get me away from here. We can talk while you drive. Vasquez owned a ten-year-old Ford. It usually looked like a garbage dump, but he had gotten rid of the empty chip bags, old socks and other refuse before driving to the jail. Justine Castle was classier than his usual clientele. She also made him a little nervous. He had seen her confrontation with Cardoni earlier in the day. Do you know where I live? Justine asked when Vasquez drove away from the jail. Yes, ma am. I was at your place when we arrested Dr. Cardoni. They rode in silence for a while. Vasquez glanced at Justine. She had closed her eyes and was savoring her first moments of freedom. So, Mr. Vasquez, she said after a few moments of silence, tell me what you think of my ex-husband. Didn t Miss Jaffe tell you? I want to hear it from you, Justine said, turning so she could observe Vasquez when he answered. I don t think he s human. I think he s some kind of mutant, a monster. I see we share the same view of Vincent. I can t think of many people who wouldn t think that way. Will he try to kill me, Mr. Vasquez? I think he has to kill, and he won t stop with you, Bobby answered without hesitation. Will the police be able to stop him? Honestly, no. He s going to disappear. Then he s going to surface someplace else. Sooner or later he ll buy another property and start his experiments again. I don t think he can stop himself. I don t think he wants to stop. Then what can be done to stop him? Justine asked. There was a determined set to her jaw. What do you mean? he asked, even though he was certain he knew. We both hate Vincent, Mr. Vasquez, and neither one of us thinks the police are capable of dealing with him. I m certain that he ll try to kill me. If not today or tomorrow, then someday when I least expect it. Vasquez could feel Justine s eyes boring into him. I do not want to live in fear. What are you suggesting? How badly do you want to stop Vincent, Mr. Vasquez? How far would you be willing to go?

56 Vincent Cardoni slept through the night and awoke at nine. He wanted to take a run, but he didn t want to deal with the reporters who were certain to be lurking about, so he moved some furniture and worked up a sweat with calisthenics. After his workout, Cardoni showered, then ordered a light breakfast from room service. He tried reading the newspaper but found that he couldn t concentrate. Cardoni walked to the window. A tanker was passing under the Hawthorne Bridge on the way to Swan Island against the magnificent backdrop of Mt. Hood s snowy slopes. The scene should have brought him peace, but thoughts of Justine kept intruding. The day passed slowly. By late afternoon Cardoni was thoroughly bored and still had no plan for dealing with his ex-wife. It was soon after the room service waiter cleared his dinner that he spotted the cheap white envelope someone had slipped under his door. The envelope bore no return address. His name was typed on the front. He sat on the sofa in the sitting room and opened it. Inside were two pieces of paper. The first was a map of I-5. A rest area several miles south of Portland was circled. 11:00 P.M. was typed on the map. The second sheet was a photocopy of a journal entry. Thursday: Subject is still combative after four days of applied pain, sleep deprivation and minimal food. 8:10: Subject bound and gagged and placed in upstairs closet at end of hall. Turned out lights in house, drove off, then parked and doubled back. Watched from woods. 8:55: Subject exits house, naked and barefoot, armed with kitchen knife. Remarkable strength of character. Breaking her will be a challenge. 9:00: Subject stunned by my sudden appearance, attacks with knife but Taser stops her. Subject in shock when told that bonds had been intentionally loosened to permit escape as test to see how fast she would get out compared to other subjects. Subject sobs as I put on the training hood and handcuffs. Will begin pain resistance experiments immediately to test whether crushing subject s expectation of escape has lowered her resistance. Cardoni checked his watch. It was eight-forty-five. He read the journal entry one more time before going into his bedroom. DAs and cops said that Roy Bishop was a criminal lawyer in the truest sense of the phrase. One advantage of retaining Bishop was the attorney s willingness to render services that other, less pricey lawyers were unwilling to provide. Cardoni opened a small valise that Bishop had left for him and took out a handgun and a hunting knife. Mike Greene answered his phone after the second ring. Hey, Sean. I hope this is good news. Would you consider it good news if I could prove that Vincent Cardoni phoned in the nine-one-one on the evening of Justine Castle s arrest and made the call that lured her to the farm? I was rereading the report of the first officer on the scene. There were no phones in the farmhouse, so I asked myself how Cardoni called Dr. Castle and phoned in the nine-one-one. Volkov owned a cell phone. His records show he placed calls to the emergency operator and Dr. Castle s apartment on the evening of Dr. Castle s arrest. Great work, Sean! Do we have enough for a warrant for Cardoni s arrest? Meet me at Judge Campbell s house. Let s see what she thinks. Vasquez knew a maid who worked at the Warwick. Her boyfriend delivered room service. For fifty bucks they were willing to call Vasquez on his cell phone when the doctor left his room. For fifty bucks more one of the garage attendants at the hotel let Vasquez park in a space a few slots down from Cardoni s car. At 9:10 the maid told him that Cardoni was on the move. Vasquez ducked down in his seat and waited. Moments later the surgeon emerged from the elevator and got into his car. He was dressed in jeans, a black turtleneck and a dark windbreaker. Vasquez had no trouble following Cardoni onto I-5 south. There wasn t much traffic, so he kept a car or two between him and his quarry. When Cardoni turned off at a rest area Vasquez followed him. Cardoni parked near the concrete rest room. The only other vehicle in the rest area was a semi hauling a load of produce. It was parked near the rest room. As he passed by, Vasquez saw that the cab of the truck was empty. Vasquez parked at the far end of the lot and turned off his engine. Moments later the trucker walked out of the men s room and drove off. Cardoni left his car and entered the rest room. Fifteen minutes later he had not reappeared. Vasquez got out of his car and moved through the picnic area toward the rest room, using the trees as cover. He circled behind the concrete building and paused to listen. He was about to move again when he heard the sound of someone struggling. Vasquez edged along the side of the building and chanced a quick look around the corner. Something was huddled in the shadows under a bench. It looked like a body. Vasquez was certain that it had not been there when he drove into the lot. He was debating whether to check out the body or wait in the shadows when he heard a noise behind him.