Act Normal, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 9

was angry. Nobody likes to see their best friend hauled off by the cops."

  "Angry at Ben Stover, right?"

  "Sure, I don't deny it, but I was angry because he stashed away hundreds of thousands of dollars and tried to pin it on Ralph . The son of a—"

  "Objection, non-responsive?"

  "Sustained," Mr. Eiseman. I warned you," the Judge said. "Anything else Mr. Turner."

  I thought about asking one more question. Were he and Herman more than friends? But, I wasn't sure of the answer since Herman had been married to Alice's daughter. The cardinal rule in cross examination was never to ask a question you didn't already know the answer to, so I shut up.

  "No, Your Honor," I replied.

  It would do no good to continue the pissing match with Eiseman, so I sat down and watched him as he slithered by and took a seat in the gallery. Stokely said he had no further witnesses, so I called Alice's daughter who testified as to Ben's long history in Waco and his ties to the community. We also called the family's pastor who testified to his moral character and who said he was certain that Ben couldn't have done what the U.S. Attorney said he'd done. Finally, the judge made his ruling.

  "Although it is clear that Mr. Stover has been a well-respected businessman for many years in Waco, I can't overlook the obvious risk of flight we have here. Therefore, I'm setting bond at $500,000."

  Alice let out a shriek in despair. There was no way she and Ben could come up with that kind of a bond. We all knew that. Ben would have to spend the next few months in jail until his trial. This was a federal case but I knew it was likely they'd keep him at the closest facility available which would be the McClennan County Jail. At least I hoped so.

 

  30

  Dead End

  Paula Waters

  Almost three weeks went by and little progress had been made tying Stout's security team to the Brown murders. They were professionals and had covered their tracks very well. The triggering device used to set the fire turned out to be made of many different parts that could have been used in a variety of products. Although Paul had been able to track sales of some of the components to the security team, it wasn't enough to prove anything.

  As the trial date was set for early October our time to investigate was running out. It appeared our only hope was to prove reasonable doubt. We couldn't prove that Stout had ordered the murder of the Brown family, but we could point out a good motive, and with the security team in Dallas the day before the fire broke out, that was certainly an indication of ample opportunity. This was not concrete proof but it might be enough to create reasonable doubt.

  But might is a shaky word, so we told Stanley he may want us to try to negotiate a plea bargain. We told him the DA probably would take the death penalty off the table and settle for life imprisonment, if he pled guilty to the homicides. At least then he wouldn't die.

  "But I might as well be dead if I spend the rest of my life in prison," he replied. "I know I'm innocent and I have confidence you'll be able to convince the jury of that."

  His confidence in us was flattering, but realistically there wasn't much hope of getting him off. Unreasonable expectations usually just made matters worse in this type of situation. It put undue pressure on the attorneys and gave the client a false sense of security. At a time when the client should be mentally preparing himself for the worst, he's getting ready to celebrate his expected exoneration. Then when he is convicted, the trauma is far worse than what it would have been had he been more realistic and prepared himself.

  While I was contemplating all of this Maria stepped into my office and advised me Roger Rand was on the telephone. She said he had called for Stan, but when Stan wasn't available he wanted to talk to me. What could this be about?

  I picked up the telephone. "Hello. Roger?"

  "Paula, I'm sorry to bother you but Stan wasn't available—"

  "I know. What's wrong?"

  I just got a visit from Detective Kramer. He gave me a hard time about Charlotte Wenzel's bond."

  "What? Why would he do that?”

  “He doesn’t understand how she was able to post it. He wanted me to enlighten him.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “I refused at first. I told him to call Stan, but he said he’d arrest me if I didn’t cooperate. He said there's no confidentiality between a defendant and a bondsman."

  “So, what did you do?”

  “I told him it was a cash bond, put up by one of Mrs. Wenzel’s admirers. Fortunately, that’s all I knew. Stan never told the identity of the person who put up the bond.”

  “Don’t feel bad, he hasn’t told me either. . . . So, how did you leave it.”

  “He said if he found out I was lying he’d put me out of business and arrest me for obstruction of justice.”

  “Well, I’ll tell Stan what happened. Don’t worry about it. Stan will take care of it.”

  After I hung up, I tried to think back to the last time a detective or assistant DA had tried to track down the source of a bond. Nothing came to mind. It was rare and I was shocked it was now happening. What difference did it make where Charlotte Wenzel got her bond? This wasn't an embezzlement, robbery, or a drug dealing case. Could Kramer and Shepard be looking for another motive? Or, were they looking for an accomplice? I made a mental note to discuss it with Stan after he got back from Waco.

 

  31

  Snitch

  Stan Turner

  On the Friday morning after my debacle in Waco, Paula caught me early with some alarming news. I tried to sidestep the conversation because I thought it was going to be about Tehra and I wasn't prepared to talk about her just yet. There was still a lot of sorting out to do after our strange night together in Hillsboro. However, it turned out that wasn't what was on her mind. The first bombshell was that Kramer and Shepard were poking into Charlotte Wenzel's bond. That was unexpected and a major cause for alarm as I had to protect the CIA involvement in the case at all costs. The second jolt was that the DA had finally designated the witness who claimed to have been approached by Charlotte Wenzel about killing her family.

  A sudden sick feeling came over me. The fact that there was an adverse witness wasn't unexpected and something I could deal with later, but Kramer's attempt to track the source of Charlotte's bond money was alarming. If Roger Rand had disclosed where the money was being kept, I was in serious trouble. I called him.

  "Yes. They threatened to put me out of business if I didn't tell them. What else could I do?"

  "Shit! I wonder if they'll try to seize the money. They could claim it's tainted. That's just the kind of dirty trick Gary Shepard would jump on. Damn it!"

  "I'm sorry, Stan. I should have—"

  "It's okay. I put you in a bad position. I'm going to need to get the key to the box so I can move the money. We can't let them seize it. We may never get it back if that happens."

  "All right. I'll meet you at the bank. I'll help you move it, but I need to know where it is in case Ms. Wenzel skips out on me."

  "Sure, I understand, but they'll probably be watching the bank. We'll have to be careful."

  After I hung up, I called the bank and asked the office in charge of the safety deposit boxes if anyone had inquired about getting access to my safety deposit box. They said the police had been by, but didn't have a warrant so the box wasn't disturbed. I thanked them for that and then thanked God for giving me a little time to move the money. I figured Shepard would be out trying to get a search warrant or a seizure order at that very moment.

  So, how could I clean out my safety deposit box without the police seeing me? It seemed impossible. They'd let me in but I'd never get out. I'd need a distraction about the time I wanted to leave. Whoever was watching the bank had to be lured away to allow me to escape, but what kind of a distraction could I set up in such a short time? Who could I enlist to create the distraction? Roger Rand was a possibility, but if he got caught he'd probably end up in jail and lose his busin
ess. Tehra? She might be able to do it, but I wasn't sure what her capabilities were yet and there wasn't time to find her and quiz her about it.

  The more I thought about it the more I knew I needed help from Kulchz, and why not since this was his damn case. I felt in my pocket, grasped the telepathic modulator, and squeezed it. Supposedly, my thoughts would be immediately transmitted to my security team. They'd know what I needed done. But how could that be since I didn't even know what needed to be done. Then it suddenly occurred to me, I did know what I needed—a diversion like the aliens had used to abduct Cheryl Windsor.

  When I got to the bank, Roger was pacing nervously out in front. Two men in suits were loitering across the street at a newsstand. A utility truck was parked a half block away. A steady stream of customers was entering and exiting the bank. There was no way I would know for sure if Kulchz' men were there to help me. I just had to assume they were. I parked across the street, grabbed my briefcase, and jogged over to Roger.

  "You got the key?" I asked.

  Roger nodded and handed it to me. "How do you plan to get out of the bank without being stopped?" he asked.

  "Don't worry about that. Just get in your car, drive two blocks south and wait for me to drive by. Then follow me."

  "Why can't I wait for you in front of the bank?"

  "Do you want to be charged with obstruction of justice? If Shepard or Kramer see you with me, they'll know you're helping me. I'm the attorney on the case so they can't directly attack me, but there is