Sleight of Hand: A Novel of Suspense (Dana Cutler) by Margolin Phillip

Author:Margolin, Phillip [Margolin, Phillip]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-04-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Christopher Rauh’s hamlike hands were clenched, his massive body leaned threateningly toward Stephanie Robb, and his face was beet red.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” the man in charge of the Lee County Homicide Division asked, his voice only a few decibels below a scream.

“He killed her,” Stephanie Robb answered defiantly.

“Do you have any idea how powerful Horace Blair is? I’ve had Ray Mancuso on my ass all morning,” he said, naming the commonwealth attorney, “and he’s had the mayor on his ass, and the governor has been screaming at the mayor.”

“Powerful people don’t get a pass in America, Chris,” Robb argued. “You kill someone, you go down. Virginia isn’t a banana republic.”

Rick Hamada laughed. He was short and chubby and his sweater vest and slicked-down black hair made him look like a nerd, but in court, Lee County’s chief criminal deputy was Attila the Hun.

“Blair’s buddies live in the White House, Steph,” Hamada said. “He has Supreme Court justices over to his house for brunch. He’s a multi-fucking-millionaire who contributes to every influential politician in this state. For guys with Blair’s influence, Virginia is a banana republic.”

“We can nail him,” Robb insisted.

“Not on what you’ve given me,” Hamada said. “There’s an old saying about not missing when you aim at a king. If you arrest Horace Blair for murder and the case blows up, you’re going to be spending the rest of your law-enforcement career in animal control.”

“It’s her blood and her hair,” Robb said. “Read the lab report. We have witnesses who will testify that the Blairs had a heated argument at the Theodore Roosevelt hotel a week before she disappeared. And don’t forget the gun.”

“Which you can’t connect to a murder because you don’t even know if Carrie Blair is dead,” the assistant commonwealth attorney reminded Robb.

“You should never have made Blair spend a minute in jail,” Rauh snapped. “You knew Benedict would get him out on bail.”

“The gun gave us a legit basis for arresting Blair,” Santoro said calmly, in hopes of lowering the temperature in the room.

“Were Blair’s prints found on the gun?” Hamada asked.

“No,” Santoro answered, “but neither were anyone else’s. It was wiped clean.”

“This could turn into a major cluster fuck,” Rauh fumed. “But it won’t, because we are going to dismiss this stupid gun charge. Then you are going to stay away from Horace Blair unless I tell you otherwise.”

“So we’re off the case?” Robb asked, making no attempt to hide her anger.

“No. You’re on the case. But you will not—I repeat, will not—contact Horace Blair or anyone who knows him until you have cleared it with me. Is that understood?”

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