No Time To Run (Legal Thriller Featuring Michael Collins, Book 1) (20 page)

The words kept coming now, and Michael didn’t stop. He was afraid to stop, afraid of what Andie might say.

“
Krane gets out of the car, grabs his briefcase, disappears into the bank for about ten minutes, and then comes back out. I’m just sitting there waiting, right. He puts his briefcase next to mine in the backseat, and then we’re off, as if picking up accounts and access codes for a half-billion is something we do every day.

“
We’re driving back to the office and talking about something, small talk, probably sports, and I stop at Broadway and West 23rd for a red light. I look over at Krane and finish whatever it was that I was saying, and then I look back at the light. I’m waiting for it to change, and then there’s the first pop, then another.

“
It was loud, and it felt like someone fired the gun right next to my ear. I know that’s not true, but that’s how it felt. All of the sound disappeared into a loud ring. Glass shattered, spraying across the dashboard. Another shot was fired into Krane. His head was half-gone, and a bullet to his chest jolted him like an electric shock.

“
It happened so fast. I was looking at Krane. I never really saw the guy who did it. I mean, he was thin. I know that, or at least his shadow was thin. So he takes a step back and fires another shot. The next thing I know is that I’m in the hospital, it’s five days later, and I have a bullet fragment about a millimeter away from my spine.

“
That’s it.” Michael ran his hand across the thin layer of sweat that had built on the back of his neck. “After I got out of the hospital, I tried to go back to the firm, but it seemed ridiculous. So I went in late at night, cleaned out my desk, and called in my resignation. No letter or exit interview. It was over. I never intended to come back.”

Michael allowed himself to breathe, leaning back in the chair and taking in his surroundings. “Then I met you.”

Andie squeezed his hand, and waited for a few moments, and then asked, “Did they catch the shooter?”

“
I guess you could say that. It was a Krane shareholder who had lost everything. The guy’s mother said that he suffered from schizophrenia and depression. He had written about ten threatening letters to Krane leading up to the shooting.

“
The FBI evidently had us under surveillance. So an agent chased the shooter and there was a confrontation in an alley a couple blocks away. The shooter’s name was Reginald Thompson, I think. The agent fired and he fired, and they both went down. That’s what they say.”

“
I’m sorry.” Andie kissed Michael on the cheek. “I wondered … but the past was always the past with us.” She looked away. “I liked that, actually. The past being the past.”

Andie kept Michael’s hand. She held it, and they sat for awhile.

“
So … why am I telling you this now?” Michael touched her cheek. “Well,” he said, answering his own question, “let’s just say that my abrupt exit from the legal profession caught some by surprise. I don’t know why. I had been shot in the face after all, but lawyers are forever lawyers or so they say. Rumors started about the settlement, the secret accounts, and about why Krane and I were going to the bank.

“
Security cameras showed Krane entering the bank, getting an envelope out of his safe deposit box, and placing it in his briefcase. Security cameras also showed him getting into my car. So people think I took the account numbers and went to Mexico.”

“
They didn’t find the papers in Krane’s briefcase?” Andie asked, even though Agent Vatch had told her the same story that morning. She knew the briefcase had been empty.

“
No,” Michael said. “Krane’s briefcase was found empty near Reginald Thompson’s body. They looked in my briefcase, which was still in the backseat, and found no envelope, no codes or passwords, and no bank account statements.”

“
So maybe somebody took it from Reginald Thompson?”

Michael was about to answer with the truth, but he held back. He didn’t know why. He had gone this far.

“
I don’t know.” Michael shrugged. “A lot of this is just what I heard.”

Andie shook her head.

“
I guess I’m still confused. How does this relate to me?”

“
Remember those mob ties with Krane Engineering?”

Then Michael continued his story.

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

In the morning, Michael’s computer beeped and a small envelope appeared at the bottom of the screen. He clicked on the envelope and read the message sent from somewhere in the inner-ring of the firm:

AN 18 PAGE FACSIMILE HAS ARRIVED FOR YOU FROM (212) 589-2938. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE DOCUMENT. IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE OPENING THE DOCUMENT, PLEASE CONTACT MARIA, SYSTEMS SUPPORT, EXT. 1437.

Michael clicked on the link. The image of an hourglass flashed and turned, and then the document appeared in front of him.

He took a deep breath and read the order slowly, making sure that he understood every word. Such care, however, was not necessary. Judge Baumann had clearly and unconditionally granted the government’s motion to stay the proceedings while the federal charges proceeded.

The judge had ordered Andie Larone to be transferred out of state custody upon the filing of a federal case. The state court proceedings would resume only upon the resolution of the federal case, and only if necessary.

Michael started to read the decision a second time, when his computer beeped again and another small envelope appeared at the bottom of the screen.

Michael clicked on the envelope and read the message:

A 2 PAGE FACSIMILE HAS ARRIVED FOR YOU FROM (212) 637-2201. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE DOCUMENT. IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE OPENING THE DOCUMENT, PLEASE CONTACT MARIA, SYSTEMS SUPPORT, EXT. 1437.

Michael clicked on the link. The image of an hourglass flashed and turned, and then the document appeared in front of him.

His first appearance in federal court was set for the next day to determine Andie’s bail and to set the trial schedule.

###

Patty Bernice called at four o’clock to tell Michael that U.S. Attorney Brenda Gadd was waiting in Conference Room 8701B with two other men. Michael straightened his tie, put on his suit jacket, and then picked up a notebook for the short walk down the hall.

When he opened the door, Brenda Gadd stood.

“
Mr. Collins.” Gadd held out her hand and Michael shook it. “This is Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed. I believe you know Agent Frank Vatch of the FBI.”

“
Of course.” Michael shook Reed’s hand, but simply gave Vatch a nod. “I thought this was an attorney conference.”

“
It is.” Gadd looked at Vatch. “But he requested to be here.”

Michael shrugged.

“
It’s your meeting.”

“
It is.” Gadd and Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed sat down across the table from Michael.

Before she could begin, Michael unclipped copies of his motion and supporting memorandum.

“
These are the motion papers I’ll be serving tomorrow morning in this case.” Michael passed the copies out. “I’m compelling you to turn over your file, all of your file. I can’t believe that I haven’t received anything.”

“
We have a box prepared and will give it to you prior to the hearing tomorrow,” said Gadd as she thumbed through the papers in front of her.

“
Is it everything?”

“
Well, no,” Gadd said, “but we’ll make our arguments to the court.”

“
So what’s this meeting about?”

“
Your withdrawal from the case.” A smirk escaped the corner of Gadd’s mouth, but she recovered and continued. “I didn’t want to embarrass you or your firm by bringing it up in front of the judge tomorrow.”

“
On what grounds?”

“
There are many.” Gadd folded her hands, taking it slow. “Chief among these grounds is your personal relationship with the defendant. You may also be called as a witness in the case, and then there are other reasons.”

Vatch smiled.

“
Mind sharing them?”

“
Joshua Krane,” Gadd said. “That was my case.”

“
I know that much, but I guess I’m not following you.”

With that, Vatch laughed, and Gadd continued.

“
We know about
Maltow
.” Gadd paused. “And it makes a nice story.
Maltow
gives us motive and of course, you had the opportunity.”

“
I’m still not following you.” Michael shook his head. “
Maltow
? What’s this have to do with Andie Larone?”

“
You can’t be Ms. Larone’s attorney in a death penalty case when you are also a defendant in another case,” Gadd said. “A grand jury will be called later this week, and we’re going to indict you. I’ve gotten plenty of indictments with less, and I’m confident your day will come.”

The phone in the conference room rang.

Everyone stopped and looked at the phone, an intrusion from the outside world.

The phone rang again, and Michael got up and answered it.

“
Okay,” he said into the receiver. “I’ll be right there.”

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

He was in the hotel hallway. Kermit’s eye was bruised. A small trickle of blood ran from his nose. When he saw Michael, Kermit managed to raise his hand.

“
Hola, amigo
.” Then there was a fit of coughs, followed by a flurry of activity by several paramedics.

“
What happened?” Michael knelt next to Kermit.

“
Spent the morning with Val. I was going to meet Patty for dinner, but I had some time …” Kermit looked at the hotel room door. “Came back to work on my equilibrium, and then, you know.” Kermit closed his eyes and leaned the back of his head against the wall.

“
Did you see who it was?” Michael figured it was the Professor. Who else could it be?

Kermit kept his eyes closed.

“
No visual confirmation.”

Michael placed his hand on Kermit’s shoulder and then stood.

“
They’ll get you cleaned up, then we can figure things out.” He walked the rest of the way down the hallway to his hotel room. The door was open and he walked inside.

Desk drawers had been pulled out and scattered on the floor. The mattress and bedding had been overturned, lamps broken, chairs turned on their sides, and drapes pulled down. It looked like the photographs that Lowell had shown him the night before of his guest house.

Michael walked over to the bathroom. He stopped in the doorway.

Every surface was either splashed or covered with a thick, dark red paint. The allusion to blood was not lost on Michael, not that it could have been lost on anyone. Mario Deti was not a man of subtle negotiation.

On the back wall of the shower, scrawled across the tile, there was a short message:

EXTERNAL FACTORS HAVE ARISEN

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

When Andie Larone was little, one of the other foster kids would creep into her room at night. He’d do awful things. At first she fought and struggled, but the boy was bigger and stronger.

“
Think of sunsets,” he whispered in her ear, his full weight pressing down on her. “Think of rainbows and puppy dogs, anything but me. Don’t look at me.” It was a lesson in disassociation, separating from the present and escaping into oneself.

Andie found herself doing it, again, as her new attorney spoke in hushed tones, whispering instructions to her just like that boy so long ago.

“
We need more information,” he said. “They aren’t going to be satisfied with that story.”

“
It’s more than he ever told me before. You can’t force it.”

“
You have to,” he said. “A little. If you want out, you have to.”

“
I don’t know.”

“
When are you going to see him again?”

“
Tonight,” Andie nodded. “He called and said he got the order from the judge this morning and I’ll be transferred late this afternoon, so tonight.”

“
Then it has to be tonight.” The attorney rapped his knuckles on the table, trying to get Andie’s attention. “Andie, you have to understand that he’s going to learn all about you at the hearing. You have to do it before the hearing.”

“
It’s not true.” Tears welled up in Andie’s eyes. “Helix was part of the past, and I thought he might – “

“
I’ve seen the photos, heard the tapes. As far as Michael is concerned, it’s all going to be over after that hearing. He won’t trust you after that.”