After Dark (33 page)

"Judge I think Justice Griffen and Laura Bizzatti were murdered because they learned that a member of this court is influencing the outcome of cases involving the Otero narcotics organization."

Alice Sherzer stared at Tracy for a moment. Then she shook her head. "I don't believe that for a moment," she said angrily.

"Hear me out. I know how you feel. I've been sick with the thought of it, but I can't see any other explanation for what I've found."

Justice Sherzer frowned. Then she pressed the button on her intercom and told her secretary that she did not want to be interrupted by anyone.

Tracy told Justice Sherzer about Laura's reaction when she had caught her reading the Deems transcript and the way Laura hid the names of the cases on the legal pad. Then Tracy explained how she found the transcript and the yellow sheet in the evidence taken from Justice Griffen's den.

"I'm sure Laura figured out a connection between the cases and told Justice Griffen what she discovered. I think they were both murdered to prevent them from disclosing what they knew."

"And what is that?"

"I still have no idea why the transcript is important. But I'm certain I know the significance of the cases."

Tracy gave Justice Sherzer a summary of the cases. Then she said, "Ernesto Galarraga worked with Charlie Deems and they both worked for Raoul Otero. Jorge Zamora was an enforcer for Otero. He murdered one of their rivals in a convenience store. He also killed the clerk to make the hit look like a robbery. Pedro Cardona was a front man for Otero in southern Oregon. He was trying to establish a distribution network in Medford when he was busted.

"Deems, Cardona, Zamora and Galarraga all worked for Otero. They were all convicted, but their convictions were reversed by a divided court.

Justice Lefcourt was in the majority in Zamora, but he dissented in the other cases. Justices Griffen, Kelly, Arriaga and Pope were in the majority in every one of the cases.

"In every case but Zamora, which was reversed on an evidence issue, the court reversed on a novel legal theory. In Deems, the majority adopted a rule involving confessions that is the law in only three other states.

In Cardona and Galarraga, the court interpreted the Oregon constitution in a way that ran contrary to the interpretation of the Fourth Amendment to the federal constitution. I talked with the DA who prosecuted Cardona. He was shocked by the reversal. There was a U S. Supreme Court case right on point. He said the trial judge upheld the search without batting an eye and the Court of Appeals affirmed with no dissenters.

"I spent two hours this morning reading the criminal cases the court has decided in the past five years to see if I could find any other cases that fit this pattern. I think that's what Laura did.

Justice Sherzer, those cases are unique. There are no other criminal cases with this exact voting bloc in the past five years."

"How did Laura stumble onto the pattern?" Justice Sherzer asked.

"I have no idea. The cases are spread through a five-year period. The reversal of any one of them should have gone unnoticed. I think something in the Deems transcript tipped her off, but I have no idea what it is. What I strongly suspect is that either Justice Kelly, Pope or Arriaga is working for Raoul Otero to influence the other judges to reverse cases in which important members of the Otero organization are the defendants. Somehow, this justice learned that Laura knew what was going on and had told Justice Griffer. I think that's why they were killed."

"How could one person guarantee three other votes?"

"There were no guarantees. But some of the judges, like Frank Arriaga and Justice Griffen, were very sensitive to defendant's rights and you know how an undecided vote can be influenced by a passionate advocate."

"Tracy, listen to what you're saying. Can you honestly imagine a member of this court murdering Laura and Robert?"

"No, but I can imagine him paying Charlie Deems to do it. I think the hundred thousand dollars that Matthew found in Deems's bank account was the payoff for a double killing."

"Tracy, this doesn't make sense. I know these people."

"Did either Justice Pope, Arriaga or Kelly take the lead in trying to reverse these cases during conferences?"

"You know I can't reveal what goes on in conference."

"You've got to. We're talking about a double homicide and the possibility of an innocent person being convicted for one of them."

Justice Sherzer sighed. "You're right, of course. But I can't remember the discussions of those cases. Some of them took place four years ago."

"What about Deems. It's fairly recent. Who pushed for the reversal?"

"I believe Frank Arriaga was very concerned about the use of the informant. He and Stuart argued vehemently about the case."

"Why did Justice Griffen write the opinion?"

"Frank was going to do it. Then he got hung up on a complex land-use decision and he asked Robert to write it. They were in agreement on the issues and Robert didn't have any outstanding decisions, so he volunteered to help out."

"Can you think of any reason why Justice Arriaga would work for Raoul Otero?"

"Certainly not! And I cannot imagine Frank killing anyone.

That's preposterous."

"What about money? Is he in debt? Does he have a drug habit? Anything like that?"

"Frank Arriaga is a dear man with a rock-solid marriage and two children who adore him. I don't even think he drinks, for God's sake. You're way off base if you think Frank is your killer."

"Then what about Mary Kelly?"

Justice Sherzer frowned. "Money wouldn't be the motive. She was a very successful corporate attorney and has done quite well in the stock market and real estate."

"Did you know that she and Justice Griffen were having an affair?"

"No, but I'm not surprised. Mary's marriage is not particularly happy."

"If they were seeing each other when Laura was killed, Justice Griffen might have confided what Laura told him without realizing that he was alerting her. If Justice Kelly is the murderer, that would explain how she learned that she was in danger."

"I'm afraid I can't help you, Tracy. I can't think of anything that would lead me to conclude that Mary is dishonest."

"Which brings us to the most likely suspect. Arnold Pope is a conservative ex-DA. What was he doing voting to reverse the convictions of two murderers and two drug dealers?"

"Arnold is a peculiar man. He's the most obnoxious and contrary justice with whom I have ever served, but a lot of what he does is a pose. The man is very insecure and he desperately wants our approval. He knows he's seen as a buffoon and he knows everyone resents the way he ran his campaign and the fact that he replaced a brilliant justice who was well liked and widely respected. So to prove he is a legal scholar, too, Arnold occasionally takes positions that run counter to his image."

"Do you know about Pope's run-in with Laura?"

"No."

Tracy told Justice Sherzer about the confrontation in the library.

"I told Justice Griffen, the day I left the court. He said he was going to tell everyone about it."

"He was very upset when Laura was killed. Maybe he forgot.

What are you planning to do, Tracy?"

"I don't know. ,I was hoping you could help me. I thought that you might recall something that would shed some light on this if I told you what I'd discovered."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you. But I'm still far from convinced that one of my colleagues is a killer who is working for a major drug dealer.

It's too fantastic."

"As fantastic as a justice and his clerk both being murdered in less than a month? It could be coincidence, but I don't think so.

I've been thinking back to the night Laura was murdered. I was in the library working on a memo for you in the Scott probate matter. When I came downstairs, there was a light on in Laura's office, but there were no other lights on in the clerks' office area.

I looked in Laura's office. I could see someone had ransacked it, so I reached for the phone to call Laura. That's when I heard the door to the clerks' area close.

"I wasn't thinking straight or I'd never have done it, but I rushed into the hall. There was no one there. I rushed to the back door and didn't see anyone in the parking lot. I was upset and I didn't want to stay alone in the building, so I calmed down and headed for my office to leave my notes with the idea of finishing the memo in the morning.

That's when I discovered Laura's body.

Do you see what I missed?"

"No, I don't."

"Where did the killer go? I was in the hall seconds after the door to the clerks' area closed. If the killer left by the front door to the building, I would have heard it close. It's the same with the back door. And there was no one in the parking lot. A stranger to the building would have hightailed it out, but someone who worked in it would have just as likely run upstairs.

"The person who killed Laura had to be familiar with the layout of the clerks' area to hide so quickly and to be able to get out in the dark without me hearing. I think the killer rushed upstairs, waited for me to go back into the clerks' area, then Shuck down the stairs and left.

This all points to the killer being a person who was very familiar with the court."

Justice Sherzer mulled over what Tracy had told her. When she made her decision, she looked grim.

"I still don't buy your theory, but I'm going to discuss it with Stuart."

"Thank you. And try to think back to the conferences. If I'm right, the justice who's behind this had to have been working very hard to swing the necessary votes. If you can remember who the common denominator was in all four cases, you'll know the murderer."

Tracy started back to Portland on the interstate as soon as she left Justice Sherzer. She was certain she knew why Laura and Justice Griffen had been killed. What she did not know was the clue that had tipped off Laura to the identity of the judge who was working for Raoul Otero. No one was going to believe a Supreme Court justice was on the take without proof and she had to believe that the transcript held the proof.

As far as Tracy knew, Laura had never heard of Charlie Deems, or his case, until Deems's appeal was filed in the Supreme Court. If that was true, then the information in the transcript had to concern the crooked justice, but Tracy had read the transcript and none of the justices were mentioned in Volume XI.

Tracy arrived home at 4:30 and went for a run along the river.

She wore only shorts and a tee shirt even though it was cold. She was still sore from her climb, but the exertion soon warmed her.

When she was into a comfortable pace, Tracy began reviewing what she knew about the Griffen and Rizzatti murders. She exhausted the subject with no new insights.

Tracy turned for home. A light drizzle dulled her enthusiasm for the run. She wished Barry was there to keep her company.

She always felt so comfortable when they were together. Would Barry really leave her if she told the court what Matthew had done? The possibility was real and the thought of losing Barry frightened her. But would their relationship change if she sold out her principles to keep them together? Wouldn't the sacrifice kill the feeling between them anyway?

Tracy felt a tightening in her chest that had nothing to do with exertion. What she and Barry had was so good. Why couldn't it last?

Tracy knew Barry was special the first time they kissed.

She would always remember that morning at the beach below the Griffen cabin and the wonderful picnic afterward.

Tracy stopped in midstride. The Overlook. She bent over and rested with her hands on her knees. They had gone to the Overlook after their picnic and she had looked at the register. It had been right there all along. Tracy stood up, oblivious to the rain and cold. She followed her train of thought to its inevitable conclusion and knew she was right.

Tracy raced back to her apartment. She showered quickly and changed into clean clothes. She was impatient to look at her notes from the visit to the Overlook, but she wanted to wait until the staff was gone and, hopefully, Barry with them.

The rain stopped by 6:30. Tracy was relieved to see that the lights in Matthew Reynolds's living quarters were out when she arrived at the office. She let herself in through the back door and found her notes from the visit to the Overlook in her case file.

Tracy reread pages 1289 and 1290 of Volume XI to confirm her suspicions.

Then she went back to her car and drove to Salem.

At exactly 7:20 on Friday evening, moments before Tracy turned off I-5 at the second Salem exit, Bobby Cruz parked his car on a narrow gravel side road and walked across a field that bordered the farmhouse where Chuck Geddes was hiding Charlie Deems.

The field was damp from the rain that had stopped around seven o'clock, and there was an ozone smell in the air. When he reached the house, Cruz circled it cautiously, peering into windows so he could figure out the number of targets.

The two cops assigned to guard Deems were watching a Blazers game on the TV, in the living room. Unfortunately, Deems was not with them. If he had been, Cruz could have held all three at gunpoint, shot Deems and escaped without having to kill the cops. Now he had to take them out.

He couldn't risk Deems escaping while he dicked around in the living room tying people up. Cruz didn't mind killing cops, but Raoul was paranoid about doing anything that would bring down heat on the business. He knew he'd have to listen to Raoul scream at him, but Raoul's ass wasn't on the line.

Cruz slipped through an unlocked side door into a short hallway that led to the kitchen. To the right was a stairway to the second floor. Cruz guessed that Deems was probably sacking out in an upstairs bedroom.

When Cruz stepped around the corner into the living room the cops looked shocked. One of them was drinking a glass of soda and balancing a plate with a sandwich on his lap. He jumped up. Pieces of bread, a slice of tomato and slabsof turkey went flying. Cruz shot the officer in the forehead while he was going for his gun. He was dead before his plate shattered on the hardwood floor.