Chapter 20
Jodie Marshall
As soon as Jodie got to work she called Detective Besch to advise him of the cigarette butt they had found near where her car had been torched. She advised him that the Collin County Sheriff’s office had the evidence and it might be a good idea to compare any fingerprints or DNA evidence obtained from the cigarette butt to Tom Wilkinson and his underlings.
“I’ll make sure that gets done,” Detective Besch assured her. “But I doubt they’ll be able to lift a fingerprint off the butt of the cigarette. It will be a partial at best and DNA evidence takes weeks even if I can convince my bosses to authorize the expense.”
“Well, whatever you can do will be appreciated.”
Jodie hung up, a little disappointed with Besch’s response to the new evidence, and began going through her telephone messages. She noticed she had a call from Special Agent Lot of the FBI. She had worked with Agent Lot on a case in the past and helped him bring down the Burillo Drug Cartel. She wondered why he’d be calling. She dialed the number and asked for Agent Lot.
“Jodie, how are you?” Agent Lot said.
“Fine. Busy helping Paula with her triple murder.”
“Yes. I’ve been reading about it in the newspapers. In fact that’s why I’m calling.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, we’ve been monitoring Tom Wilkinson’s money laundering operation for some time. We’re making progress but it is slow.”
“How can I help?”
“Well, I think we can help each other.”
“Really? How’s that?”
“Well, while we were monitoring a court authorized telephone tap of Mike Sutherland’s telephone line we overheard a conversation between Sutherland and Benjamin Jamison. The purpose of the conversation was to arrange for the theft of your car. Apparently you really pissed off Mike Sutherland for some reason.”
Jodie laughed. “Yeah. He got all bent out of shape when I told him my boyfriend Carl was moving into my apartment. He wanted me to break up with Carl and date him exclusively.”
“Well, in the conversation he told Jamison to steal the car, take it to a secluded place and burn it.”
“God. I can’t believe this. The guy is a regular Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When you meet him he is as likeable and as laid back as a guy could get but if you piss him off he turns into a monster. Carl calls him Mike the Maniac.”
“Well, you’re not the first person to say that. Anyway, what we would like you to do is file criminal charges against him with the Collin County Sheriff’s office. We’ll provide the Collin County DA with a copy of the tape so they shouldn’t have any trouble getting an indictment. Then we’ll try to turn Sutherland against Wilkinson and his associates in both the money laundering operation and the restaurant murders Paula is working on.”
“That sounds good to me. The only thing I’m worried about is if Sutherland implicates Ricardo Rizzi. I couldn’t do anything that would hurt a client.”
“Well, talk to Paula about it. We would really like to nail Wilkinson and his crew for the murders since we haven’t had much luck with his money laundering operation.”
“I’ve run across a couple other of Wilkinson’s victims who would love to see you put him away.”
Jodie told him about the other people who Wilkinson had forced to sell property he wanted against their will.
“That sounds good. I’ll get someone out to interview them. A few counts of conspiracy and fraud couldn’t hurt. The more we have against them the better.”
Jodie hung up and immediately went into Paula’s office. When Paula heard what the FBI wanted to do she told Jodie to go get Stan so they could all discuss it. Jodie nodded and went and got him and then they all moved to the conference room to consider the implications of the offer.
“So, the FBI wants Jodie to press charges and be their star witness against Mike Sutherland for auto theft, so they can offer him a free pass if he testifies against Tom Wilkinson, Chris Hunt and Benjamin Jamison in the money laundering and/or murder cases?” Stan summarized.
“Yes,” Paula said. “But it’s dangerous because we don’t know if Sutherland will implicate our client.”
“If our client is telling the truth,” Jodie said, “Sutherland couldn’t implicate him unless he lies. Of course, being the maniac that he has proven to be he might just do that for spite.”
“Even if he doesn’t implicate Ricardo, it doesn’t mean Ricardo is off the hook,” Stan said. “We still have to convince the jury that he is innocent and since neither Wilkinson, Jamison or Hunt will be testifying they’re not going to give us any help.”
“And we don’t even know if Mike Sutherland knows anything about the murders,” Jodie interjected. “Didn’t you say, Jodie, that he was just a construction manager?”
“Yes, but if he doesn’t know anything, that’s okay, they can still nail him for the auto theft,” Jodie replied. “That will, at least, get him off the street for a while.”
“Yes, but if you prosecute him, whether he cuts a deal or not, he may come after you or hire someone to hurt you.”
Jodie shrugged. “I think if he testifies he’ll have to go into witness protection and the U.S. Marshall’s office will keep an eye on him.”
“I don’t know,” Paula said. “It sounds pretty risky to me. I would die if anything happened to you.”
“If he testifies against Wilkinson, Jamison and Hunt, Jodie will be the last thing on his mind,” Stan said. “I don’t think the risk will be too great if he knows anything about the murders. If he doesn’t then we better be damn sure he gets convicted of the auto theft.”
“Ultimately the decision has to be Ricardo’s,” Paula reminded them. “If he doesn’t agree to the deal we can’t even consider it.”
“Fair enough. Why don’t we table this discussion until we have a chance to discuss it with him.”
“We better get him in this afternoon,” Jodie said. “Agent Lot wants a decision by tomorrow.”
“Okay, I’ll get Maria to get him in here as soon as possible.”
The meeting broke up and Jodie went back to her office. She decided she should discuss the situation with Carl but when she called him he was working a case, so she left a message. While she was waiting for Ricardo to come in, she decided to try to figure out the identity of the woman who’d accompanied Chris Hunt to Emilio’s restaurant on the night of the murders. She would be an important witness if Chris Hunt was the one who poisoned the Parmesan cheese and then switched bowls. She thought about the security system installer who had warned her to stay clear of Tom Wilkinson. Perhaps he would know the identity of Chris Hunt’s girlfriend. She looked in the yellow pages and found the number for Allied Security. She knew his name was George so she hoped there was only one George working there.
“Allied Security,” a female voice said.
“Hi. Is George in?”
“Yeah. Hang on.”
A few moments elapsed and George picked up the phone. “Hello.”
“George. This is Jodie Marshall. I don’t know if you’ll remember me, but I met you when Mike Sutherland was giving me a tour of the Montfort Building you were working on.”
“I remember you.”
“I wanted to thank you for warning me to stay clear of Wilkinson Properties. It’s turned out to be good advice.”
“Well, I’m glad you took it. They are not people you want to mess with.”
“How well do you know Mike?”
“We’re not close friends. I’ve done a few jobs for him is all.”
“How do you know so much about Wilkinson Properties?”
“I don’t know that much. Just what Mike has told me and what I have heard from other subs.”
“I don’t know if you know it, but our law firm is defending Ricardo Rizzi in the triple homicide at Emilio’s Italian Restaurant a couple months back.”
“Oh, is that your firm?”
“Yes, and we could use your help. . . . Behind
the scenes, of course. Nobody would know you helped us.”
“I don’t know too much about them. What do you need to know?”
“Do you know Chris Hunt?”
“Sure. I’ve met him several times.”
“He took a woman to dinner at Emilio’s on the night of the murders. Do you know who that woman would be?”
“That would be his girlfriend, Evelyn Sanders. She used to be a Cowboy Cheerleader. Hunt brags about her all the time.”
“Do they live together?”
“Yes. She stays at his apartment but you can find her at her job. Hunt set her up in a President’s Health Club franchise—the one on Forrest Lane and Preston Road.”
“Oh, great. That’s all I need for now. Thank you so much.”
“Hey, I heard Mike threatening to do some nasty things to you. What did you do to piss him off?”
“I guess he assumed because I was letting him help me on the construction project that I’d be his girlfriend. But I already had a boyfriend and when I wouldn’t break up with him he got very angry.”
“Yeah. Mike has a bad temper. He’s the nicest guy in the world until you cross him.”
“Yes, I found that out.”
“Well, I was just worried he might have hurt you, but I guess you’re okay.”
“Yes, the boyfriend I mentioned is a Plano cop, so I’m well protected.”
“Good. You seemed like a nice girl and I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“ I appreciate that. Thanks.”
As Jodie hung up the intercom buzzed. “Carl is on line 2.”
“Hey, what’s up?” Carl asked.
She told him about the deal proposed by the FBI.
“I don’t think you should do it. Even if Mike is convicted he might have one of his friends come after you. It’s not worth the risk.”
“Maybe, but I can’t let him get away with what he did. What’s the point of laws if you don’t enforce them?”
“I know, but your safety is more important. If he wasn’t such a lunatic I wouldn’t be so worried about it.”
“If he strikes a deal with the feds it could mean putting away two or three more thugs. Isn’t that worth the risk?”
“Not for me, but I’ll support whatever decision you decide to make and I’ll do my best to keep you safe.”
“Thank you. I know you will. I just wanted to brainstorm the situation with you before I made a decision.”
“I’m glad you did.”
Jodie hung up. She looked at her watch and saw it was almost noon. She asked Maria when Ricardo was coming in and she said he would be in about 1:00 p.m. That didn’t give her much time so she went downstairs to the café and got a sandwich. On the way back up she got the mail and ran into the security guard who had helped her when her car was stolen. He wanted to know if she’d gotten her car back. She told him what had happened. He shook his head in disbelief and told her how sorry he was. When she got back up to the office Ricardo was in the waiting room. She greeted him and showed him into the conference room. A few moments later Stan and Paula joined them.
“I’ve received an informal offer from the DA,” Paula began. “If you will confess to being a participant in the three murders and that Tom Wilkinson, Chris Hunt, and/or Ben Jamison put you up to it, they’ll take the death penalty off the table and you’d only get life in prison.”
Ricardo frowned. “But I didn’t do it.”
“I know, but I’m obligated to pass on offers to you. There’s also a possibility I could negotiate a better deal.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if you testified that Wilkinson, Hunt, or Jamison gave you the $10,000 in cash to poison the victims I might convince them to grant you immunity entirely. They really want to nail these guys so you do have some bargaining power.”
“But I’d have to lie?”
“I know. . . . We also have been contacted by the FBI.”
“The FBI?”
“Yes. You probably don’t know this but Jodie has been doing some undercover work for us.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Wilkinson Properties has been trying to acquire Emilio’s real estate where the restaurant currently operates.”
“Right. I’ve heard about that. But Emilio doesn’t want to sell.”
“Exactly. So Jodie has been trying to get information on Wilkinson Properties to see if possibly they were responsible for the three murders.”
“Why would they commit the murders?” Ricardo asked.
“To destroy Emilio’s business so he has to sell to them to avoid bankruptcy.”
“Oh. I see.”
“Anyway, in the process she has pissed off a man named Mike Sutherland. He’s the construction manager for Wilkinson Properties. So, to make a long story short, Sutherland has been harassing Jodie and last week he had someone steal her car and torch it.”
“Oh, my God,” Ricardo gasped. “I’m so sorry, Jodie.”
“It’s not your fault,” Jodie assured him.
“Unbeknownst to us the FBI has had a wiretap in place on Sutherland’s phone and they overheard him arrange for the theft of Jodie’s car.”
“Oh. Wow. That’s awesome.”
“It is and now the FBI wants to use the car theft as leverage in your murder cases.”
Ricardo frowned. “How would that work?”
“Well, if he helps them nail Wilkinson, Hunt and Jamison for the three murders at Emilio’s restaurant, then they’d let him completely off the hook for the auto theft and any participation he might have had in the murders.”
“So they wouldn’t need my testimony then, right?”
“That’s a possibility. They don’t like to offer more than one free pass in a case.”
“Does he know anything?”
“We don’t know. We don’t want to agree to it if it could hurt you in any way.”
“How could it hurt me?”
“Well, if you were hired by Wilkinson or one of his associates to lace the cheese with rat poison on the night of the murders, then Sutherland could end up testifying against you and damaging our defense.”
“But they didn’t hire me to do that,” Ricardo protested.
“That’s what you say and I believe you, but if you were involved in the murders I’d have to recommend against Jodie cooperating with the FBI.”
“No. I’m innocent. Let Jodie help them. I’m not going to lie to help them convict them. It wouldn’t be right.”
“Okay,” Paula said with a broad smile.
“One more thing,” Stan interjected. “This Sutherland character is a real piece of work. He comes off as very amicable and laid back but he has a temper and if he’s pissed off he becomes irrational. With a guy like this there is a possibility that he might lie and say you were involved in the murders just to hurt you or because he’s pissed off at Jodie and you’re one of her clients.”
Ricardo frowned. “Do you think he would really do that?”
Stan shrugged. “It’s quite possible. That’s why I brought it up.”
“Well, I’ll leave it up to you. Whatever you recommend.”
“No, you need to make the decision,” Stan replied. “It’s your life that is at stake so you have to make the call.”
Ricardo swallowed hard. “So what happens if I say yes, do it, and then he tries to implicate me in the murder?”
“Then we’ll have to discredit him and convince the jury he is a liar,” Paula replied.
“Do you think you can do that?”
Paula shrugged. “Yes. I think so, but there are no guarantees.”
Ricardo nodded. “Go ahead. Help the FBI. I’ll take my chances.”
“One last thing. The DA wants to try all of you at the same time and unless you have some objection to that I’m going to agree to it.”
“What difference does it make?” Ricardo asked.
“It will make the trial longer and more complicated, but overall I think it will b
e to your advantage. With everyone before the court the jury will have a clearer picture of what happened and will be able to observe all the defendants for the duration of the trial.”
Ricardo shrugged. “That’s fine then.”
After the meeting Jodie went back to her office and called Agent Lot. She told him she was prepared to help in any way she could. While she had Agent Lot on the phone she asked him about Chris Hunt.
“I assume you know that Chris Hunt was at Emilio’s on the night of the murders with his girlfriend.”
“Right. Detective Besch told us that.”
“Have you questioned him about the murders yet?”
“We tried but he wasn’t cooperative. He asked for an attorney and his attorney advised him not to say a word.”
“Hmm. What about his girlfriend who was with him?”
“We haven’t been able to identify her yet.”
“Her name is Evelyn Sanders. She’ll probably lawyer-up too, so why don’t you let me talk to her first. Maybe I can become her best friend and get her to open up.”
“I’ll have to run that up the chain of command, but since I don’t know where to find her and you do, I couldn’t keep you away if I wanted to.”
“Thanks,” Jodie said. She knew that the higher ups at the FBI would probably not want her to talk to a potential witness before they did, but Agent Lot was right, she had a perfect right to do so as co-counsel for Ricardo Rizzi. She picked up the phone and called President’s Health Spa to see what hours Evelyn Sanders worked. The secretary who answered the phone said she’d be in for her “Pushin’ 30" aerobics class at 3:30 p.m. In the best southern drawl she could muster she asked, “Does she have any room in her class? I’d really like to be in a class with a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.”
“Former Cheerleader,” the secretary corrected dryly.
“Right. I knew that. Can you imagine being a cheerleader? Wow! That would be so awesome.”
“She’d love to have you in her class,” the secretary assured her. “Come in fifteen minutes early to fill out the paperwork. It’s $120.00 for the full thirteen weeks and they meet every Thursday at 3:30.”
“Super. I’ll be there.”
Jodie knew that Evelyn could be a key witness. She’d had a ringside seat for the murders and would have seen Chris or anyone else who might have put the rat poison in the cheese or switched bowls. She also might have overhead conversations between Tom, Chris and Ben. She had to get close to Evelyn without making her suspicious. Then if she could get her to talk about the murders conversationally she might learn something important. She also knew if Evelyn figured out who she was and told her boyfriend about her being in her class, she’d be in mortal danger. With that in mind she decided to enroll Brandon in the class too. She smiled as she went to find him to tell him about his next undercover assignment.