Fatal February (13 page)

I was flabbergasted. Carlos entered the room. He looked professional in a conservative navy suit and white shirt. He also looked gorgeous.

Carlos was sworn in, and Karen began.

“State your name, please.”

“Carlos Martin.”

“What do you do for a living, sir?”

“I’m the owner of Martin Development Company.”

“Say, young man, is your grandfather Jose Villa-Malado, on the board of the university?” one of the panelists inquired.

“That is correct.”

“Well, I remember you when you were about five years old. You always were building something in his office, with boxes and ashtrays. So you’re a builder now?”

“May I continue, gentlemen?” Karen smiled at the panel.

“Do you know the attorney, Mary Magruder Katz?”

“Yes, of course. She’s my girlfriend. I am in love with her. And she’s my attorney. And the best attorney I’ve ever had. Well, I mean ever hired.”

I heard a few snickers from the panel.

“Now, Mr. Martin, have you been completely satisfied with her work on your behalf? That is, has she
ever given you questionable advice or taken advantage of you because of your relationship?”

“Absolutely not. In fact, she tells me when I am wrong and makes sure that all my transactions are beyond reproach. In fact, I have been so impressed with her devotion to her profession, that I have just made a large contribution to the bar’s foundation to aid children.”

“Thank you, Mr. Martin. Does anyone have any questions for this witness?”

“Yes,” said one of the three. “The complainant alluded to some ethical violations related to the transactions Ms. Katz has concluded for you, but there were no specifics. Can you shed any light on this?”

“I’m afraid not. Everyone I deal with makes money. They would hardly be complaining.”

Karen took over. “If there are other allegations, we are unaware of them, and feel these innuendos are prejudicial to Ms. Katz.”

“Counsel, don’t get excited. I think I can speak for the panel when I say that this so-called violation is just a waste of time. It’s clear that a family member can represent another family member. If you ask me these two look like they’re going to become a family. Carlos is a nice boy, and I’m satisfied that this complaint must be dismissed. By the way, how much was that bar donation?”

“One hundred thousand dollars,” Karen answered.

Karen had to prod me out of my chair. I was stunned. We left the room and the building and it wasn’t until we hit the sidewalk that we all high-fived each other.

The last of the Franklin Fieldstone trumped-up litigation was over. I still needed to deal with his stalking before it escalated. Utilizing the courts would look like I was trying to manipulate the system just as Frank did. I hoped my plan of attack would work better than a police action.

I returned to the office to find Marco in the waiting room chatting up Catherine, who looked extremely interested in his every word. Well, he was a macho-type guy and she was single.

“Come on in, Marco. I have a job for you.”

I explained my theory about Frank and why I didn’t want the police involved.

“I know that Frank is a total wimp. He’s terrified of physical confrontation when he might be the one getting hurt. Suppose that you or a couple of your Pit Bulls hang around and catch him in stalking mode. Maybe a little roughness would go a long way.”

“You mean beat him up?” Marco looked surprised. “And how do you know he’ll strike again?”

“Oh, I know he will. As soon as he finds out that I beat the ethics charges that he filed against me. He lost that one and his lawsuit against me. He can’t stand to be beaten in court. I don’t mean really beat him up. Just scare him a little. Like bend his left arm so he can’t
hoist his golf club. Maybe give him a black eye so he looks bad at the office.”

“Okay, Mary, we’ll do it. I can’t say we haven’t done similar in some divorce cases. A little threat goes a long way toward settlement. It works better than mediation.”

“And one other thing, Marco. Don’t tell Carlos about any of this. His Latin temper might cause him to try to remedy the situation in an inappropriate fashion.”

“Oh, yeah. Carlos knows how to be inappropriate.” Marco chuckled. “Hey, does Catherine have a boyfriend?”

Lillian’s hearing was scheduled for the following Monday afternoon. I was far from ready. The next four days would be 24–7 devoted to Lillian. I called Carlos and thanked him for saving my skin at the ethics hearing. I explained I would be working all week and weekend. He wasn’t pleased, but he said he’d use the time to catch up on his own work.

“When you get through with her hearing, let’s have a weekend away at the beach,” he said.

“That sounds so good. I wish it were tomorrow,” I said. “Dammit, now I can’t concentrate.”

The first person I needed to interview was Cassie Kahn, Lillian’s neighbor, who had been mentioned in the police report. I enlarged the photos on my computer that Catherine took of Maddie, and set out for Bayshore Drive. I wanted to catch Cassie off guard, so I determined I would watch her house if she wasn’t home. It’s always better to catch a witness before they have time to plan their testimony. Once she talked to
me, she couldn’t change her story without blowing her credibility.

I rang the bell and was greeted by a tiny Guatemalan maid in full uniform.

“The Mrs. is outside. She love the sun.”

She motioned for me to follow her. The pool and patio were actually on the side of the house. I wondered how Cassie could have seen so much from her backyard. Now I saw her clear view of the Yarmouth house and of the street, broken only by a few well-trimmed ixora bushes.

“Mrs., a lady to see you,” the maid said.

Cassie got up from her chaise. She was wearing a very brief bikini. She was older than she appeared from across the lawn. She had a sculpted body that can only come from personal workouts at the gym. She wrapped a terry cover-up over the bikini, and glared at the maid.

“If you’re selling something, I’m not buying,” she barked at me. I was reminded of Sam’s snarl at strangers who entered our yard.

“No, I’m not a salesperson.” I handed her my card. “I represent your neighbor, Lillian Yarmouth. May I take a few minutes of your time to ask you about what you saw the day Gary died?”

“Oh, okay, I guess. Come on, we’ll go in the house.” She led the way through a side door into a library. “My husband loves to read,” she said waving her hand at the bookshelves.

I noticed several legal volumes. “Is your husband
Jay Kahn? He works in the same firm as my brother, William.”

“Yes, of course. Well, it’s a small world, I always say. What can I do for you?”

“Would you mind if I turn on my tape recorder? It’s easier than taking notes.”

“Well, okay. The police officer who talked to me the day of the murder said I might be a witness, but you’re the first one I’ve heard from since then. Maybe it’ll be good to go over everything.”

“I may need to subpoena you for a hearing,” I said. I pulled the photos from my briefcase, but I kept them turned over. Cassie looked curiously at the backs of the pictures.

“This is just like
Law and Order
. I mean it’s kind of exciting, being a witness. Do you think my picture will be in the paper? What do you think I should wear?”

“It’s possible that the papers will cover the hearing, but you should wear whatever you feel comfortable wearing,” I said. Cassie was ready to collect her fifteen minutes of fame.

“Now, let’s go back to the day Gary died. Tell me what you remember of that afternoon. Even if you remember a small detail, it might be important, so don’t hesitate to tell me everything you can think of about that day.”

“Well, I saw Lillian that morning. She was watering her garden. You know she has a real green thumb. I called over to her to tell her how pretty everything
looked, and she said she was glad because her kids were coming home for the long weekend. I told her Jay and I were giving a cocktail party that Sunday night and I told her they should all drop by. You know we always entertain a couple of the artists from the Grove Art Show.”

“Okay, did you see Lillian any more that day?”

“That afternoon, I was sitting by the pool, just like I was today when you got here. I saw Lillian’s car drive into the garage. It looked great, like she just got it washed or polished or something. She waved, and I waved back.”

“Did you see her get out of the car?”

“No, I can’t really see all the way into their garage, and she put the door down.”

“Do you know what time it was when she drove in?”

“I know exactly, because I was waiting for a call from the caterer, for the party, you know, and she was supposed to call me at two thirty. She hadn’t called and I looked at my Rolex. It said three exactly. That was right after I saw Lillian drive in.”

“What else did you see?”

“Well, right after I looked at my watch, I started to get up to go in the house, and I saw this woman running down the street.”

“What did she look like?”

“I didn’t get a good look at her, just the side of her face, but she had this amazing hair. It was sort of blondish red. But the real reason I noticed her was that
she stopped right near my yard and took off her shoes. They were those platform straw sandals. I guess she couldn’t move too fast in them, so she picked them up and raced down the street towards the Hernandez’s house. They’re my neighbors on the other side.”

“Did you see her do anything else?”

“She ran to a red 380 BMW and got in and revved the motor. I saw that car over there earlier and I wondered about it because Marlena and her husband were away in the Bahamas on their boat. I thought maybe they had someone doing some work on their house, but, trust me, this girl was no carpenter or maid.”

“Now did you see or hear anything else?”

“I thought I heard a scream coming from the Yarmouths, but I’m not sure if it was from there or if it was kids outside somewhere. So I went in the house and a while later, the maid told me there were a bunch of police cars and an ambulance at the Yarmouths. Then the police officer knocked on our door and asked us some questions. I guess that’s how I got to be a witness. Jay told me that I might have to give a statement and go to court.”

Cassie almost licked her lips when she mentioned being a witness in court. She’s probably the same type who rushes to get her picture in the paper at the charity balls. Lucky for me, she was enjoying her role.

“Cassie, will you look at these photos and tell me if you recognize the woman in them.”

I spread them out in front of her. Catherine did a
great job. For blowups from a camera phone, they showed Maddie’s face and unmistakable hair in some detail. Cassie looked at them for a few seconds.

“I can’t say one hundred percent, but that sure looks like the hair on that girl running down the street. I think it’s her. I wonder how she gets that color. Maybe we can find out who does her hair.”

“What about the car? Had you ever seen it before around here?”

“Hey, there are a bunch of those little red BMWs all over the Grove, so I don’t know if I ever particularly saw that one.”

I switched off the tape recorder. “Thanks, Cassie. If you think of anything else, just call the numbers on my card. I appreciate your talking with me.”

“It’s my pleasure,” she said as she walked me to the door. I saw the maid in the dining room, giggling into a cell phone, which she shoved in her pocket as we passed by.

I zoomed back to the office, and dived at my computer. I fired off a letter to the state attorney rescinding my request for reciprocal discovery. I still had no witness list from the state. Without their discovery, I wouldn’t have to reveal my witnesses either. I could call anyone and the State would have no way to prepare for this hearing.

Catherine was gone for the day to her son’s soccer game, but she had left a message on my desk in large red letters.

A woman named Beverly called you. I guess it was the secretary at Elite that I remembered from your notes. She said it was urgent that you call her back. She left her cell phone number.

I glanced at my watch. It was five thirty. Maybe she’d be out of the office by now so she could talk. Beverly answered on the first ring.

“Hello?”

“Beverly? It’s Mary Katz, returning your call. Can you talk?”

“Mary, can I come right over to your office? I need to show you something. I think it’s important.”

“Sure, Beverly, but it’s rush hour. It’ll take you forever to get here from North Miami.”

“I don’t mind. I need to see you.”

“Tell you what. I’ll meet you halfway. The bar at the Hyatt downtown.”

“No. This is really private. Just wait there for me. I have your address on your card.”

“Okay, sure. I’ll be right here.”

I decided to spend the next hour shaping up the witnesses and testimony I needed for the hearing. I also decided that I was starved. A quick call to Romano’s Pizza Parlor for delivery took care of that. I sure needed an hour in the gym as soon as this hearing was over or I’d never get into my bikini for my weekend with Carlos.

Beverly arrived less than an hour later.

“You must have broken every speed limit. Here, I saved you a slice of pizza,” I said, motioning her to a seat on the sofa.

“No thanks. I’m really too upset to eat,” Beverly said. She opened a knitting bag she had placed on her lap and began pulling out some papers. “I could get in big trouble for this, especially if Jack finds out.”

“I’ll help you, I promise. Just explain to me what you’ve got.”

“Well, Jack told me to go through Gary’s papers. He told me to sort out company papers from his private correspondence. Jack said we had to prepare everything for the estate attorney, and for the company attorney. He told me to be sure there weren’t any unpaid bills sitting around. Gary’s desk and safe were filled with papers. I knew that he paid a lot of personal bills at the office. I found several bills from Bob Rose Investigation Service.”