The Perfect Alibi Page 16

Robin was confused. “I don’t understand.”

  “I cheated on Doug with Rex.”

  “You what!?”

  “I miscarried and I was depressed and Rex acted like he cared, but he didn’t.”

  “Slow down and tell me what happened,” Robin said.

  Marsha told Robin about her miscarriage, her depression, and her brief affair with Doug’s prosecutor.

  “When I came to my senses, I realized that I’d made a big mistake and I broke it off. Rex didn’t take it well. He was really angry, and I think he’s going after Doug to get even with me.”

  “Jesus. Why did you wait to tell this to me?”

  “I couldn’t before. I thought this was all a mistake and you’d get Doug out and he wouldn’t have to know. Even after he was denied bail, I kept fooling myself because I couldn’t bear to hurt Doug. And I know this could kill him. But now he might really die and … Will this help? Can you use it against Rex?”

  “I’m going to have to think about what you’ve told me. One thing is certain: Rex Kellerman has a big fat conflict of interest. The question is how to exploit it.”

  * * *

  “You’re kidding!” Jeff said.

  They were in his office with the door closed, and Robin had just finished telling him about Marsha’s affair.

  “Interesting, huh?”

  “Did you take a class in understatement at Yale?”

  “What do you think I should do?”

  “If Marsha isn’t making this up to help Doug…”

  “I don’t think she is. You should have seen her. She was in tears and she looked awful.”

  Jeff grinned. “Rex is definitely fucked whether Doug is guilty or innocent.”

  Robin nodded. “This screams prosecutorial misconduct. No one but Rex was pushing the theory that Doug killed Nylander.”

  “Get me photos of Marsha and Rex,” Jeff said. “I’ll go to the hotel in Vancouver.”

  “If you can find evidence to back up Marsha’s claim, I’ll move to have the case dismissed.”

  Jeff shook his head. “Don’t go to the judge. Set up a meeting with Paul Getty. If you work this out privately, Getty can say they’ve reevaluated the DNA evidence or give some other excuse for dismissing. That way Marsha can decide whether she wants to tell Armstrong about her affair and Paul can save face by dismissing without embarrassing his office.”

  “And if they don’t dismiss?”

  “Then you have no choice. You’ll have to go before a judge and move for dismissal on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct. But if I know Getty, he’ll want this settled quietly.”

  “I think you’re right. But before I go to Getty, there’s one other thing we need to do.”

  * * *

  Robin and Jeff were waiting in the parking lot at Nilson Forensics when Greg Nilson walked to his car.

  “Dr. Nilson?” Robin asked.

  Nilson stopped and looked at Robin, then Jeff. “I’m Dr. Nilson.”

  Robin held out her business card. “My name is Robin Lockwood, and I represent Douglas Armstrong. I believe you’ve met my investigator, Jeff Hodges. We’d like to talk to you about a DNA test your lab conducted.”

  Nilson looked nervous. “I told Mr. Hodges that I wouldn’t discuss the test without the district attorney’s permission.”

  “When you say the DA, do you mean Rex Kellerman?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, Mr. Kellerman is going to be in a world of hurt very soon, and anyone who did anything even mildly dicey in Mr. Armstrong’s case is going to be in big trouble, too. Do you fit into that category?”

  “What … what do you mean?”

  “I can’t go into details, but Mr. Kellerman violated a number of ethical rules, and the odds are that Mr. Armstrong’s case will be dismissed. When Jeff tried to talk to you, you refused and he got the distinct impression that you were scared. Why would that be if you had nothing to hide?”

  “Look, I don’t want any trouble.”

  “Then you better come clean about what you did,” Robin said.

  “What would happen if I told you about the test and you thought I’d done something I shouldn’t have done?”

  “You’re not under oath right now, Dr. Nilson. But you will be if I start filing motions. If you lie under oath, that’s perjury and you could go to jail. If you’re honest with me, I will try to protect you if I can without hurting my client. Now, what did you do?”

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Rex Kellerman was in a great mood when he walked down the hall to Paul Getty’s office. The day before, he had won a motion to suppress in a high-profile case. He guessed that Paul wanted to congratulate him in person for his coup.

  Kellerman’s mood changed from elation to confusion when he saw Robin Lockwood sitting across from his boss. Then he smiled. Maybe Lockwood was here to work out a plea in Armstrong.

  “Close the door and have a seat, Rex,” Getty said. He didn’t sound happy.

  “What’s up?” Rex asked.

  “Miss Lockwood has just given me some deeply troubling information,” Getty answered.

  Rex glanced at Lockwood. She looked grim. Rex frowned. “What did she say?”

  Getty nodded at Robin.

  She turned so she could look Kellerman in the eye. “Doug Armstrong’s wife came to my office two days ago. She told me that you met her at a hotel in Vancouver, Washington, on four occasions. According to Mrs. Armstrong, the second and third time, you had sexual relations, and the fourth time you met, she broke off the relationship.”

  Kellerman looked stunned, but he recovered his composure quickly. “That’s ridiculous.”

  Getty handed Kellerman several documents. “This is a sworn affidavit from a desk clerk at the hotel who identified you and Mrs. Armstrong from photographs Robin’s investigator showed him. The other documents are copies of the hotel register signed by Mrs. Armstrong.”

  Rex kept his eyes on the paperwork so he wouldn’t have to look at Robin or his boss.

  “Well?” Getty asked when enough time had passed without a response.

  “I…” Kellerman ran his tongue over his lips. “This is a setup, Paul. I mean, maybe Armstrong’s wife was having an affair with someone at the hotel, but it wasn’t me.”

  Getty handed more paperwork to Kellerman. “I sent a detective to the hotel,” the DA said. “The clerk made another positive identification of you. He also gave us credit card receipts signed by you. Lying is just going to make this worse.”

  Kellerman was dizzy, and he felt like he might throw up. “Okay, yeah, we had a brief affair, but it was before Armstrong murdered his partner.”

  “Rex, you’re a smart guy,” Getty said. “Don’t tell me you didn’t understand that you had one hell of a conflict. Mrs. Armstrong thinks you’re prosecuting her husband to get even with her for breaking off the affair.”

  “No, no. He did it. That’s why I’m after Armstrong.”

  “We had a talk in this office before you went to the grand jury. I told you that I was dubious about Armstrong’s involvement and so is everyone else who’s had any part of this case. I think what Robin told me explains why you were so enthusiastic about indicting Doug.”

  “I know how this looks,” Kellerman pleaded, “but Armstrong is guilty. I knew I might have a conflict, but no one else was willing to go after him. I couldn’t let him get away with murder. He was alone with Nylander. Armstrong’s blood is under Nylander’s fingernails.”

  “The DNA evidence presents another problem,” Getty said. “Robin spoke to Dr. Nilson, who runs the lab that conducted the DNA test you say supports your theory. He told her that you were informed that his initial test of the blood sample was inconclusive and that you offered him several incentives for him to retest it. Did you share the results of the first test with the defense?”

  “No. I didn’t think it was necessary. The retest showed it was Armstrong’s blood.”

  Getty was starting to look angry. “You do know t
hat the United States Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors have to give any exculpatory evidence to the defense?”

  “Yes, but the first test wasn’t exculpatory. It was inconclusive.”

  “I’m not even going to respond to that ridiculous argument,” Getty said. “But I am going to ask you if you offered a bribe in the form of extra payments and a chance for Nilson to get publicity for his company in exchange for a positive test?”

  “No, never. I don’t know what Nilson told you. I just asked him to retest the sample. I couldn’t expect him to do it for free. And his company is new. I just let him know that the press would be covering the case and if he got a positive result and testified in court about it, people would learn about Nilson Forensics. But I never told him to fake a result.”

  Getty was shaking his head, and Kellerman stopped when he realized his boss’s mind was set.

  “I’m taking this case away from you,” Getty said, “and I’m going to dismiss it with prejudice. That’s the deal I’ve made with Robin in exchange for a promise by her to keep the reason for the dismissal between us.

  “I’ll go to Judge Greenwood in chambers and say we’ve reevaluated the evidence. That way the real reasons for the dismissal won’t come out. I’m doing it this way to protect Mrs. Armstrong’s reputation. Is that acceptable to you, Robin?”

  “Yes. If Mrs. Armstrong wants to tell Doug what she’s done, it will be her decision. My impression is that she greatly regrets the affair.” Robin turned to Kellerman. “I don’t trust you, Rex, so I’m warning you. If your affair with Mrs. Armstrong becomes public, I will have you disbarred.”

  “Okay, Robin,” Getty said. “I think Rex gets the point. Now I’d like you to leave us. I have a few more things I want to discuss with Rex. I’ll let you know when Mr. Armstrong can go home. I’ll try to dismiss soon.”

  When they were alone, Getty looked at Kellerman. “I’m also keeping the reason for dismissal quiet so you can resign from your position without anyone knowing why you left.”

  “You’re firing me?” Kellerman asked in disbelief.

  “I don’t see how I can keep you on after this. You’re a good lawyer, Rex. You’ll probably be able to get a job with a firm if no one learns why you quit. I wish you the best, but I can’t have you on my staff anymore.”

  “Come on, Paul. It was one slipup.”

  “That’s not true. Judge Wright met with me after the conclusion of the Henderson case and told me how you lied about your rebuttal witness. He wanted to file a bar complaint, but I talked him out of it. That was a mistake on my part. If you’d been forced to answer that complaint, maybe you would have understood that there are consequences if you violate your oath as an officer of the Court.”

  “Armstrong is a killer, Paul. Our job is to protect the public by putting killers where they can’t hurt the citizens of Oregon.”

  Getty looked sad. “You don’t get it, do you, so let me put this in plain English: You fucked Doug Armstrong’s wife. By keeping that fact secret, you’ve forced me to dismiss his case with prejudice. That means he can never be prosecuted for Nylander’s murder. So, if he is guilty, you also fucked the people of Oregon.

  “You should have taken yourself off the case immediately and you should have told me about the affair immediately. I’m not even going to get into the DNA evidence. You’ve left me no choice. There’s no way I can justify keeping you on my staff after what you’ve done.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  Robin and Marsha were waiting for Doug in the jail reception area. As soon as he walked out of the elevator, Marsha ran to him and threw herself into his arms. Robin waited while the couple had their moment.

  When they broke their embrace, Doug saw Robin. He put his arm around Marsha’s shoulders and the couple walked over. They were both smiling.

  “I don’t even know how to begin to thank you. You’ve been extraordinary.”

  “I just did my job, Doug.”

  “How did you get Paul Getty to dismiss my case with prejudice?”

  “I had a lot of help from Rex Kellerman. The DNA test of the blood sample under Frank’s fingernail was the only concrete evidence Rex had. The test results he gave to me said there was a match between your DNA and the DNA extracted from the blood. But there was a test that was conducted before the test results Rex gave us in discovery. That first test came out inconclusive.

  “As you know, a prosecutor is required to give the defense any evidence that supports an argument that the defendant is innocent, but Rex didn’t do that. When he didn’t like the result, Rex bribed Dr. Nilson, the head of the lab, to do a retest. Dr. Nilson shaded the results to come out with a positive match.

  “When I confronted Dr. Nilson, he confessed to screwing around with his calculations so the test came out positive. When Paul heard what Rex had done, he was very upset.”

  Doug’s face flushed with anger. “That little prick. I’m going to see that Kellerman is disbarred.”

  Robin put a hand on Doug’s forearm. “I think we should talk about what you should do when you’ve had some time to think. Getty has given Rex his walking papers. He also made Rex promise that he wouldn’t run for Multnomah County DA.”

  “What about my reputation? Everyone is going to think I killed Frank and got off on a technicality.”

  “I thought of that. Paul has agreed to hold a press conference. He’s going to apologize to you publicly, and he’s going to tell everyone that there is no evidence that you killed Frank.”

  “Getting fired isn’t enough punishment for what Kellerman did to me.”

  “Agreed, but getting your life back on track and putting this behind you might be better for your peace of mind than seeking revenge.” Robin squeezed Doug’s forearm. “You hired me so I could give you objective, unemotional advice, and that’s what I’m doing. Go home, take a shower, eat a good meal, and get a decent night’s sleep. Then call me. We’ll talk about what to do with Kellerman when you’re calmer.”

  Doug sighed and the tension left him. “You’re a really good lawyer, Robin. I’m going to follow your advice. Especially the part about the shower and the decent meal. The food in this place is awful.”

  Robin laughed. Marsha hugged her. Then Marsha and Doug walked out of the jail, into the sunlight. Robin headed back to her office, praying that she could head off Doug before he did something that would force Rex to reveal his affair with Marsha.

  Freeing an innocent man from prison was the greatest reward a criminal defense attorney could receive, but freeing Doug and saving his marriage were something she was going to work hard to achieve.

  PART FIVE

  SOMETHING ODD

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  Vanessa Cole waited until she had shut the door to her new office before breaking into a huge grin. She still could not believe the surprising turn of events that had made her the district attorney for Multnomah County. It all started with Rex Kellerman’s startling resignation and his declaration that he had no plans to run for Paul Getty’s seat. Two weeks later, Paul suffered a stroke and announced that he was retiring. Then, yesterday, the governor summoned Vanessa to tell her that she was going to follow Paul’s recommendation and appoint her to the post.

  Vanessa wondered if she would miss trying cases and how she would feel about being an administrator. She knew she would enjoy instructing her fellow prosecutors on the ethical standards she would demand that they follow—lessons Rex Kellerman could have used.

  Vanessa detested Kellerman and was ecstatic when she learned he was leaving. Rex was smug, egotistical, condescending, and rude. Several women had complained that he’d made sexual advances or harassed them. What was far worse—though she could never prove it—was Vanessa’s belief that Rex had manufactured evidence to gain convictions. Everyone knew about the Henderson case, and Vanessa was certain that Henderson wasn’t the only time Kellerman had ignored the discovery rules; it was just the only case where he had been caught.

  V
anessa didn’t know the story behind Kellerman’s rapid exit, but there were rumors galore. Paul had personally dismissed all the charges against Doug Armstrong the day after Rex quit, so Vanessa was pretty certain that something had happened in Armstrong’s case.

  Vanessa had inherited Paul’s secretary. She told Vanessa that Robin Lockwood and Rex had met with Paul on Kellerman’s last day, but she had no idea what was said in her boss’s inner sanctum. She did say that Rex had looked like a death row inmate who was walking the last mile when he left the meeting.

  Vanessa had a ton of things to do, but thoughts of Rex Kellerman kept distracting her. She worked through lunch. When the page she was reading began to blur, she told her secretary to hold her calls. Then she put her head back and closed her eyes, but visions of Rex Kellerman danced in her head like demented sugar plum fairies.

  * * *

  Paul Getty was convalescing at his home in Portland Heights. After work, Vanessa drove there for a one-on-one seminar on how to be the Multnomah County district attorney. Paul’s wife, Sheila, greeted Vanessa with a warm hug and congratulated her on her new job. Then she led Vanessa to the sunroom, where Paul was reading in an overstuffed armchair.

  “I see you survived your first day on the job,” Getty said.

  “Just barely. How are you feeling?”

  “Much better. I went for a mile walk this afternoon, and I’m still here.”

  “Good. You had us all worried.”

  “The doctor says that stress was partly to blame for the stroke. Let that be a warning to you. If the job starts getting to you, back off. I wish I had.”

  “Well, now you can be a bum and forget about protecting an entire county.”

  “Yeah. I’m resigned to spending the rest of my days eating bonbons and watching daytime TV.”

  Vanessa smiled. “Somehow I don’t think I see that in your future.”

  Paul grinned back. “Shall we get down to business? Sheila’s preparing a gastronomic feast for you. I’m going to get the healthy, tasteless crap my doctor has prescribed.”