J. Jance - Betrayal of Trust

Finally my search paid off. It lay there on the carefully trimmed flat surface of the laurel hedge. At first glance it looked like a tiny coil of wire with a protuberance on one side. I grabbed it, slipped it into an evidence bag, and then climbed back down with my prize.

I handed the evidence bag over to Mel. “We need to document this,” I said when I was finally able to speak again.

“What is it?” Mel asked, frowning as she peered at the bracelet through the glassine bag. “Why would Miller bother throwing away a useless coil of wire like this?”

That’s when I realized Mel hadn’t been with Ardith and Kenny Broward on the drive back to Packwood.

“It’s not wire,” I told her. “Unless I’m sadly mistaken, we’ve just found Rachel Camber’s elephant-hair bracelet.”

While we waited for the tow truck to come collect Ron Miller’s Camaro, I got on the phone with Ross Connors and asked for a time line on our requests for search warrants.

“Judge Reston tells me the one for Ron Miller’s vehicle is not a problem since he tried to use it in the assault on Mel. Getting a warrant to search his home, which is actually his parents’ home, however, is going to be a bit more challenging. You do know about Ron Miller’s parents, don’t you?” he asked.

“Let’s just say I’ve seen the gates to their compound, and I know that a couple of years back they dropped a cool seventy-five thousand bucks to keep their fair-haired boy from facing arson charges.”

“Yes,” Ross said, “they certainly did. Ronald Miller, Senior, is a trial lawyer who specializes in beating up pharmaceutical companies for fun and profit. Mrs. Miller has recently decamped for what she hopes are greener pastures. I have a feeling Mr. Miller is going to take a dim view of having his son booked into a jail of any kind. By the time that happens, Daddy Miller will have one of his legal-beagle pals standing by to bail him out. If we’re hoping to search Ron’s room for additional evidence of any wrongdoing, we’re going to need to have a very solid basis of probable cause, more than just a few scratches on his arms.”

“We’ve got something more,” I said. “While Ron was trying to outrun Mel, I saw him throw something up into the governor’s laurel hedge. I just dragged it down from there. I’m pretty sure it’s Rachel Camber’s elephant-hair bracelet.”

“Rachel Camber,” Ross said. “Of course, the dead girl from Packwood.”

“Yes, I believe Ron was trying to smuggle the bracelet out of the governor’s mansion just as we got there. Giselle Longmire, the governor’s older daughter, is Ron Junior’s girlfriend. There’s a good chance that whatever Ron is mixed up with, Gizzy is, too.”

“Oh, my,” Ross said, shaking his head sadly. “What the hell’s going on here? These are kids who should be growing up to be pillars of the community. I’m sure that’s what their parents intended, but it sounds like they’ve turned out to be a bunch of delinquents.”

“Thugs is more like it,” I said. “And the worst kind of thugs-spoiled-brat thugs who are accustomed to having power and money and who expect to get their way no matter what.”

“What’s your plan?” Ross asked.

“First we’re going to try talking to Giselle to see if we can get her to tell us what she knows, but I think it’s a good bet that Governor Longmire won’t let us anywhere near her.”

Ross was quiet for a long time. For a moment I thought maybe he had hung up. “I’m not so sure about that,” he said. “You and I know something about this kind of thing, Beau. We’ve both been betrayed by loved ones who made all the wrong choices. The fallout that came later almost destroyed us.

“When it comes to politics, Marsha Longmire and I are miles apart, but she’s been a good governor, and I hate to see her torn apart by what’s about to happen. Before you try to question Giselle, let me talk to Marsha and see what I can do. She may just surprise you. What exactly are we talking about here?”

I ticked off my suspicions one by one. “I believe Gizzy and Ron both played a part in the cyber bullying that went on with Josh Deeson before his suicide, including staging that film clip that we found on Josh’s phone. The presence of Rachel Camber’s bracelet, one her parents told me she wore every day, gives us a possible link between Ron Miller and her murder. Last but not least is the fatal arson fire at Janie’s House this morning. I think one or both of them burned down the building in hopes of frying whatever incriminating evidence was on the computers.”

“Which Todd already has,” Ross said.

“Yes, but Ron couldn’t have known that. If Gizzy and Ron really were together all night-as they told her parents they were-then Gizzy was directly involved in the arson. If they weren’t together, and she’s providing an alibi for him, she’s still rendering criminal assistance.”

“Okay,” Ross said. “Give me a couple of minutes. I’ll get back to you.”

I closed my phone and turned to Mel. I had heard her phone ring while Ross and I were talking.

“Thanks for letting me know,” she said as she ended her call.

“For letting you know what?”

“That was Captain Hoyt,” Mel said. “Sam Dysart didn’t make it. He suffered another stroke in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, so he’s out of the picture as far as any information or criminal charges are concerned. But WSP investigators managed to track down the serial number on the watch. Sam Dysart bought that replacement watch just last week, the one Josh was wearing when he died. The one Gerry Willis gave Josh was engraved with Josh’s initials. The one found on Josh’s body had no engraving. Dysart also paid for the watch to be gift wrapped. With any kind of luck, we will find some of the gift wrapping in the trash at Dysart’s house.”

“But why did he do it?” I asked. “Was the watch a thoughtful gift, a bribe, or what?”

“Since they’re both dead, we’ll probably never know,” Mel said. “But as of right now, you and I are off the Dysart case. The Olympia PD Sex Crimes unit is on it. They’ll search Dysart’s house. They’ll also interview the other kids in the chess club, past and present. Joan believes there’s a good chance Sam Dysart used his position of authority to victimize more than just one kid.”

“Me, too,” I said grimly. “If that’s the case, the school district is going to be liable big-time. But none of this is going to help Gerry Willis. His grandson is dead, and he isn’t coming back. One way or another, Sam Dysart’s relationship with Josh Deeson contributed to the despair that resulted in his suicide.”

Mel nodded. “I agree, and that’s exactly what I told Joan-that even if we don’t end up having to prove all of this in a court of law, we need to have enough forensic evidence to be able to give Josh’s family rock-solid answers about what really happened to him-with both the cyber bullying and the sexual exploitation. The truth may be uncomfortable, but it seems to me that knowing is better than not knowing.”

My phone rang. It was Ross Connors calling back.

“All right,” he said, “here’s the deal. I’ve spoken to Governor Longmire and laid out the situation. I didn’t make any specific promises about the benefits of Giselle turning state’s evidence, but Marsha’s a smart woman and she gets it. She understands that if Gizzy talks to you before you talk to Ron, her cooperation will be well received. I think she also believes that, given the opportunity, Ron would jump at taking a plea agreement in order to testify against Gizzy. She wants to talk to you first.”

Those elusive pronouns again. “Gizzy wants to talk to us?”