Icy Betrayal (8 page)

“Scott told me to park my car on the street. Then we went inside and waited.”

Keller tried to assemble a plausible defense for his daughter. She hadn’t actually killed George Lombard—that was all done by Lennox. She was, however, certainly a conspirator in the crime—that much was clear. And because of her assistance, she would also be considered an accomplice. It wasn’t good, but it wouldn’t be a life sentence. With a good attorney, she was probably looking at 5-10 years in prison. That’s if she gets caught, thought Keller.

“Then you staged the accident?”

“We waited in the office until a couple hours before sunrise. Then Scott drove his car, and I drove Lombard’s car out to Highway 46. Scott wanted Lombard’s car to be found close to the accident scene.”

“Did you wear gloves?”

“Yes and a hat. Scott was worried about my hair somehow being found in Lombard’s car. We left it near where we planned to stage the accident and went back to the plant in Scott’s car. That’s when I got into mine. Scott took the ice truck and again we went back to Highway 46. Once we were there, we staged the accident. Then he left me, telling me to wait a few minutes before calling 911, and he drove the ice truck back to the plant.”

“The damage to your car—how’d that get there?”

“Once we got out on Highway 46, Scott drove my car into a tree. Not very hard, just going maybe ten miles per hour. He tacked some moving blankets to the tree so the bark wouldn’t come off on the car. Scott said that would leave enough damage to the front end and the police would believe that I hit Lombard on accident.”

It almost worked, thought Keller. And most importantly, investigators would have no reason to look for any kind of link between the woman involved in the accident and the deceased’s business partner. The plan was pretty ingenious.

“What about the hunting vest and the rifle?”

Her answers were rhythmic, recited as though in a trance. “Scott took some keys from Lombard’s desk and got them from the safe and the locker. Once we got to the place on Highway 46, Scott put the vest on him and tossed the rifle into the brush. Then we took Lombard’s body out of the ice truck and put him on the shoulder of the road. Scott said everybody knew Lombard liked to hunt so it wouldn’t be suspicious.”

“And you’re sure both you and Scott wore gloves while doing all this?”

“Yes, both of us. But once the accident was staged I gave Scott my gloves, and he took them.”

“And once all the pieces were together you called 911 and reported you hit someone crossing the highway?”

“Yes,” she said, fighting back the tears.

“Scott kept saying it would be okay. ‘I’m gonna take care of you, baby,’ he told me. I guess deep down I’ve always wanted a man to take care of me. Ever since I was little.”

Keller winced. He knew her vulnerabilities were largely his fault. He reached down into his pocket and quietly switched off the tape recorder. Then he reached out and held Lisa’s hands in his.

“Listen, consider the facts. Scott lied to you about being married. And he lied to you about the insurance policy. It wasn’t $500,000; it was for $2 million. He was playing you. If it came down to you or prison, what do you think Scott would do? He’d say it was all your idea, cut a deal, and hang you with a murder charge. Think about it.”

“Two million dollars?” Lisa was stunned.

“Yes, two million bucks. Lisa, I know I’ve been a horrible father to you. I want to make it up to you as best I can. I’m gonna do what I’ve never done for you, I’m going to take care of you, but you have to do what I tell you to do. It’s the only way to keep you out of prison.”

Lisa turned toward the window. A light snow had begun to fall. She took a deep breath. “Okay, I understand.”

“I promise I’ll take care of you now.”

“Okay.”

Keller reached down for the bag he’d brought in from the truck and set it on the table. “There’s one more thing. I have some phones here. They can’t be traced. You and I need to stay in touch, but we have to use these phones and these phones only. Don’t ever call me from your home phone or your cell phone. Don’t even use a work phone to contact me. Those can easily be traced by police. Do you understand?”

Lisa agreed and took the phone.

“Here are the numbers to the phones. The first one listed is yours. The second is the one I’ll be carrying. You can reach me 24 hours a day.

“Okay, thanks.”

The impact of the moment reverberated through them both. A photograph, taken thirty years earlier and posted on a worn out refrigerator had led a father and daughter back to each other. Maybe it wasn’t too late after all, Keller thought.

They walked from the Mountain View Café toward an uncertain future together. Jack and Lisa shared an awkward hug. Like it or not, they needed one another.

Keller watched as Lisa’s car pulled onto eastbound I-70 and disappeared from sight. He reached into his pocket and pulled the audio tape from his recorder. He studied it for a moment, dropped it onto the pavement, and smashed the cartridge with the heel of his shoe.

There was no going back.

FIFTEEN

F
ather Jon Foley pulled into the parking lot at Rock Trail County Park just as Keller was stretching his aging hamstring.

“There’s nothing like a nice run up the rock when it’s 35 degrees outside,” said the priest.

“Why do I have the feeling it’s not going to slow you down?”

Father Jon quickly went through his warm-up routine. He was younger and in better shape than Keller. The priest routinely beat Jack up the trail and never let him forget it. Despite the friendly competition, their runs were mostly for fellowship.

As Pastor of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Castle Springs, Father Jon first met Jack Keller when he moved to Colorado to join the RCSO. The pair had become fast friends and would often take runs together or take in a Rockies or Nuggets game in Denver. The young priest was also a great sounding board when Jack faced struggles.

It was less than a mile to the top, but the climb was steep, with an ascent of nearly four hundred feet. At the peak, the trail offered magnificent views of Castle Springs and on a clear day Pikes Peak was visible some fifty miles to the southwest. Today, the winds were so strong the men huddled behind a boulder for protection.

“So, what’s going on, Jack?”

“I’ve got a situation, and I need to talk to somebody.”

“All right, what have you got?”

“Do you remember me telling you that I got married really young and I blew it, and my wife just packed up and left one day?”

“Yes, I do. You told me you couldn’t handle the pressure, and you used booze to cope.”

Keller loved that Father Jon didn’t beat around the bush. “Did I tell you that I had a daughter from that marriage?”

“No, I think you left that part out,” said Father Jon.

“Well, emotionally abandoning my family wasn’t something I was very proud of,” Jack responded, his voice trailing off. “But, after nearly thirty years, I have reconnected with my daughter.”

Father Jon tried to get a read. “That’s good, right?”

“Yeah, I initiated it. But there are extenuating circumstances, you might say.”

“Well, regardless of the circumstances, at least you made the effort to reconnect. Is that what you wanted to talk with me about? Did it not go well?”

“I reached out to her because she’s in trouble. I sort of crossed paths with her working on one of my cases. It’s not a good situation.”

“What can I do to help, Jack? Do you want me to talk to her?”

“No, no… nothing like that. I guess I just need to figure out how to do the right thing. Father, do you ever think two wrongs make a right? Or that the end justifies the means?”

“Typically, no, I don’t believe in either of those concepts. There may be rare exceptions but those are few and far between. Jack, you want to tell me what’s going on?”

“My daughter conspired with someone to commit a crime. She didn’t carry out the actual crime per se, but she did have a role in it—a fairly substantial role. And now I find myself in the rather unusual position of actually being able to help her, and I’m torn as to what I should do.”

“I see. Would this crime she participated in be a homicide? I mean, those are the kinds of cases you work, correct?”

“Yep,” Keller said as the sun set behind the Rocky Mountains.

“And you could help her because of your ‘unusual position’ as you describe it. Is this because you are the person who is handling the investigation of this particular homicide case?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, I can certainly see why you are conflicted, Jack. But I think you know right from wrong. Are you looking for me to tell you that it’s okay to help her, to just let this one slide, if you will?”

Jack turned to Father Jon. “From where I sit, there are two kinds of people in this world. Those who view things as black or white and others that see things in shades of gray. Personally, I’m a black and white kind of person. But now, with this case, I understand shades of gray. Look, my daughter is a good person; she just fell into a bad situation, and now I can help her. She made a mistake. She knows it. And she’s suffered enough, thanks to me.”

“But Jack, this goes against everything you believe. You have made a career of bringing people to justice. You aren’t the judge here. You’ve got to trust the system. If she doesn’t deserve punishment for this crime, then the system will make that determination, not you.”

“Look, I haven’t been the best father in the world. I screwed things up with my daughter, and I have a son who, just like his dad, was a drunk by the age of sixteen and managed to get himself killed while driving drunk. I don’t exactly have a stellar record when it comes to parenting, and I think this is my chance to make up for it. Not for my son, it’s too late for him, but for my daughter—because if I don’t do this, it may be too late for her. The good pretty much outweighs the bad. At least, it does from my point of view.”

“Sounds like you’ve made up your mind. Are you asking for my blessing? I’m afraid I can’t give you that. And you know why.”

“Thanks for nothing, Father.”

“Sorry I couldn’t be more accommodating, Jack. But I’ll pray for you both.”

The next morning, Mia ran into Keller in the hallway at RCSO. “How was your day off?” she asked.

“Good, thanks.”

“If you have some time today I’d like to get with you and go over the Lombard case. I did some work on it yesterday and have some stuff I need to fill you in on,” Mia said eagerly.

“What kind of stuff?” Jack asked, concerned.

“I did a little checking up on Lisa Sullivan. I went up to Big Pine and did some snooping around.”

“Without checking with me?”

“Sorry, but you were off yesterday, and I didn’t want to lose traction on the case. It doesn’t look like she even has a sister, so her story—”

“Damn it, Mia. Next time let me know what you are doing with the case. We’re supposed to be partners. I don’t need you flying solo on this thing.

“Okay, Jack, okay,” Mia said defensively.

Jack turned and marched down the hallway and into the bullpen. She heard him slam his briefcase on the desk.

“What the hell is his problem?”

As always, Sasha went a little crazy when Mia arrived home from work.

“Yes, baby, momma is home. Sasha, you want a cookie?” she teased, walking into the kitchen where Chuck was having a cup of coffee and reading the paper. She kissed him on the cheek.

“Good evening, Investigator, and how was your day?”

“It was fine, Dad. How were things around here?”

“All quiet. Just the way I like it.”

Mia set down her briefcase and purse and began tossing treats to Sasha.

“Are you hungry, Dad? I can whip something up.”

“No Mick tonight?”

“No, Dad. Look, it was nice having him over last night, but it doesn’t mean we are back together.”

“Okay, Mia. It was just nice to see him, that’s all.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just that Mick has a lot going on right now, and so do I. Things are more complicated than before.”

“Can I give you some unsolicited advice?”

“Sure, why not,” Mia said. Her father would likely tell her anyway.

“Your mother and I had a special relationship, one that lasted more than forty years. She was my best friend, and we were made for each other; I think you know that. What we had was unusual, better than anyone we knew. All of our friends and family—no one else had the special love we had for each other.”

Mia smiled. “I know, and it was pretty amazing. Mom used to tell me the same thing. You were so lucky to have found each other.”

“Well, I think you and Mick have the same kind of chemistry, that same magic. The two of you remind me so much of your mother and me when we were dating. I just think you are meant to be together, that’s all.”

“Maybe we are, I don’t know. It’s complicated, and I don’t really know what to do,” she said as she started to prepare dinner.

“Maybe I can help, Mia. I’m a pretty good listener. I mean, if you need to run stuff by someone, I’m here, and I come at the right price.”

Mia and Chuck had become very close after the death of her mother, but she still wondered if he could be objective about this topic.

“Okay, here’s the deal. I’d really like to get back with Mick, but the timing couldn’t be worse. Still, I’ve been thinking that if I made a change, we could get back on track. Problem is, I just don’t know how much I’m willing to give up.”

“Give up?” Chuck asked, wondering where she was going.

“Mick has done really well in the department, and there’s a lot of talk about him running for sheriff when Connelly retires. Last night, Mick confided in me. He’s probably going to run.”

“Mick would be a terrific sheriff. But why would you have to give anything up?”

“Well, first off, he hasn’t asked me to give up anything. It’s my idea, really. Look, if we become involved again, and if it gets out, it could get ugly, especially in the middle of a political campaign. People could accuse him of violating department policy, which technically he is by dating someone under his command. But he’s more worried about my reputation and what they might say about me. How I got my job, wink, wink. I’m sure you can imagine. He doesn’t want to subject me to that, and I’d hate to be a distraction to the campaign. It wouldn’t do either one of us any good if it got out. But I think we could get back together if I took a voluntary transfer out of investigations and went back to patrol. That way, I wouldn’t be working for him. I’d be under the supervision of another captain in a totally different division. I love working investigations, but I can’t work as an investigator and be with Mick.”

Chuck nodded but didn’t speak. He was so proud of his daughter and all she had accomplished. He also knew all too well that family and love were far more important than work. But he didn’t like the idea of Mia going back to patrol. Any job in the department brought risk, but Chuck felt she was safer in investigations.

“That’s a tough call, Mia. But if it were me…” Chuck stopped mid-sentence as Mia presented a chicken Caesar salad.

“Wow, that was fast. Looks delicious.”

“Wine?” Mia poured, then dished out the salad.

“Look, I know your career is important to you, and I’m so proud of all you’ve accomplished. Since that day at Columbine, you set your sights on something and went after it, but…”

“Uh huh, go on…” The punchline would be next.

“Mia, like I said—love isn’t something that comes around very often. Careers are important, but who you spend your life with is so much more important. I had a good career at WellRock, and I enjoyed every minute of it, but I’d trade my forty years there for one more day with your mother.”

Chuck moved the salad around his plate and tried to keep his composure. “You work hard to get where you need to be, you know, financially and otherwise…then the day comes and you finally have the money and free time you’ve dreamed about for decades, but the person you want to spend it with gets sick and next thing you know they’re gone. It’s not fair, but it’s life. And I’m not telling you all this so you can feel sorry for me. I’m just telling you that if you have a chance at real love…”

“I know, Dad,” Mia said quietly. “And keep in mind, this is all in my head right now. I haven’t discussed this at all with Mick. Who knows, maybe he’d rather not get things going again, what with the election coming up and all…”