David Ellis - In the Company of Liars

Roger Ogren probably will approach Mat at some point. But Mat will do fine on an alibi. And he can refuse to answer questions about House Bill 1551 under the Fifth Amendment. He can dummy up just like everyone else around him will do.

“Roger Ogren’s going to stick with his theory,” McCoy predicts. “You were a wounded ex-lover looking for revenge. It’s not a bad story, you certainly made sure that he has evidence to support it, and-look-this guy’s going to have a tight trial date. He can’t start chasing new theories when he’s short on time. Plus, I’m going to be telling Ogren, every other day, that the bribery scandal has nothing to do with Sam’s death.”

“We’re clear on the trial date, right?” Harrick asks. “You’ll demand a speedy trial?”

“Yes,” she says.

“That will put the trial in May, probably,” Paul Riley says.

“That would be perfect,” McCoy says. “The timing would be good.”

So whatever it is the FBI is worried about,Allison assumes,it should be over by May or so. This was a matter on which McCoy has been adamant, a quick trial date.

“We can talk to Mat a little more easily than you can,” McCoy says. “We’ll let him know what he’s to do. You can help him, too, Mrs. Pagone, but just be careful about talking to him.”

Allison understands. Mat will not have too much difficulty. His job is not very complicated. More than anything, he will simply be a foil, a sounding board in Allison’s house, prompting Allison on certain subjects for the benefit of Larry Evans. He will offer to confess, will talk about how dumb he was to bribe state officials, things like that. Allison will rise to his defense, helping to convince Evans that this murder was connected to the bribery scandal, when Allison knows very well that it was not.

“I’ll write some things out for him,” she says. “Dialogue is what I do.”

“Fine.” McCoy looks at her partner for confirmation. “Yeah, you can write some stuff out for him, if you like. As long as it doesn’t sound like it’s being read over the mike. I mean, Mat’s a lobbyist and a lawyer, I assume he can pull this off.”

“He can pull it off,” she assures them.

“But listen, Mrs. Pagone. If you want to type up some dialogue, fine, but you can only hand it to him. No e-mail, no regular mail. Only hand-to-hand exchanges.”

Allison nods. “Mat’s going to pick me up from the law firm when I go down, and drive me home at night. We might have brunch on weekends, things like that. I’ll have plenty of chances to invite him in.”

“Mat’s car won’t be miked up, will it?” Paul asks.

“No.” Owen Harrick shakes his head. “We’ll be watching his house. And we’ll have someone at his parking garage downtown. No one’s getting to his car. Consider it safe.”

McCoy raises her eyebrows, lifts her hand tentatively off her knees. “I think that’s it. I think this is the last time we’re going to speak together, Mrs. Pagone, until we’re in motion. We’ll get the papers to you through Mr. Riley here. We’ll talk to you through Mr. Riley or Mat. You talk to Paul in his office, or to Mat in his car. Otherwise, assume someone is listening.”

“What about my daughter?”

“Your daughter can’t know about this at all,” McCoy says, simply.

Allison could not agree more. This is dangerous enough. “My daughter’s not in danger, though? Right?”

“I-I can’t imagine why, Mrs. Pagone. If you’re under the spotlight, then so is your family. Anything that happens to you or your family right now would be national news. Listen. Let me make this clear to you, okay?”

Allison sits back. She wants, needs, this reassurance.

“If I’m Larry Evans right now, I’m thinking, odds are you don’t know anything. I just need to keep an eye on you. Any violent act against your daughter or Mat, or you, will only make things worse. Evan is hoping that this is going to play out as a non-issue, and you’re going to help him believe that.”

“He’s not going to touch your daughter,” Harrick says. “He has no reason to. This guy is calculating. He won’t take a risk that isn’t worth taking.”

“Allisonis a risk, at the end of the day.” Paul Riley puts an arm over Allison’s chair. “She’s a risk, and if this man can find a convenient way to kill her, he’s going to take it. This guy is a pro, you already said. He can find a way to make it look believable.”

McCoy grimaces. Allison knows what she’s thinking. She can’t deny the possibility.

“I’ll do it,” Allison says. “We’ll be ready.” She looks at Paul. “I’ll do it.”

McCoy collapses into a chair in Harrick’s office. “You look like shit, Jane.”

“I feel like it. You see Allison?”

“Yeah. That lady’s torn up,” Harrick agrees. “I think she loved Dillon.”

“She’s so motivated right now-she’s got the adrenaline pumping. She’s trying to keep her family protected. She hasn’t had a chance to feel pain yet.”

“She’s smart,” Harrick says. “She spends almost her whole time talking about Mat and his immunity-”

“When what she’s really worried about,” McCoy finishes, “is Jessica.” She points to the file containing the agreement. “This is all about those affidavits naming Larry Evans as the killer. This is all about keeping Jessica away from a murder charge.”

“Right.” Harrick puts his hands on his knees. “Shiels is going to want us.”

“I know, I know.” McCoy brings a hand to her face.

“For the hundredth time, Jane,” Harrick tells her. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Okay.” McCoy pushes herself out of her chair. “Allison Pagone can’t die,” she says, as Harrick steers her down the hallway. “Even if everything else goes as planned, if I let another civilian die, I-it can’t happen.”

“She won’t die,” Harrick promises.

“You think she’s up for this, Owen?” McCoy hates this feeling of vulnerability but she can’t help it. She needs the reassurance. “You think she can handle this?”

“I think she has no choice.” Owen puts a hand on her back. “She’s a mother,” he says simply.

Allison takes the chair that is offered and sits. She declines a drink but thinks better of it, says she’ll have some water.

Detective Joseph Czerwonka returns to the interrogation room with a bottle of Evian and sets it in front of her. He takes the seat across from her. “I’m going to tape this conversation,” he tells her.

She nods. The detective reaches for the tape recorder, in the center of the small desk that separates them, and hits the “Record” button.

“My name is Detective Joseph Czerwonka,” he says. “The date is February the thirteenth. Time is three-thirteen p.m. I am speaking with Allison Quincy Pagone. Mrs. Pagone, I am going to advise you of your rights. You have the right to remain silent. Anything that you do say to me can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to counsel. If you cannot afford an attorney, an attorney will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights, Mrs. Pagone?”

“I do.”

“Would you like to have an attorney present?”

“No,” she says. “I waive counsel.”

“Do you understand that I am recording this conversation?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’d like to go over a few things since we spoke two days ago. First, do you have anything you’d like to say?”

“No.”

“Okay.” Czerwonka is dressed better today than two days ago. He’s wearing a crisp blue shirt and a nice silver silk tie. She figures he’s expecting to be on camera today.

“Mrs. Pagone.” The detective reaches into a bag at his feet. He sets a large plastic bag on the table. In it is a single platinum earring. “We recovered this earring from your jewelry box yesterday. Do you acknowledge that this is your earring?”