Brad Meltzer - Dead Even

“HOW’S YOUR GRANDFATHER?” CONRAD ASKED WHEN Sara and Guff entered his office.

“He’s okay. The nurse said he slept through the night, which is a good sign.”

“That’s good to hear,” Conrad said. “And on the bad side, Victor told me about your conversation with Monaghan.”

“He did?” Sara asked, confused.

“I don’t understand this guy,” Guff said. “Last week, he wanted to tear you a new one, and this week he’s your BFF.” Realizing that no one knew what he was talking about, Guff added, “BFF – best friend forever. Didn’t you ever have that in junior high?”

Ignoring the joke, Conrad studied Sara’s face. “You still think Victor’s wrapped up in this, don’t you?”

“I’d be a fool if I didn’t. No matter what I do, he always knows what I’m up to. And that means one thing: Victor Stockwell’s either really concerned, or, much as it offends you, really dirty.”

“Don’t say another word.” Conrad checked the hallway, then closed the door. When he returned to his seat, he explained, “This isn’t something to be flip about. Victor’s been here for almost fifteen years. He’s got a lot of friends wandering these halls, and he’s not the type of person you want as an enemy.”

“That’s fine,” Sara said. “But where does that leave me?”

“Accusing a veteran with no proof,” Conrad said. “Now did you finish going through his old files?”

“Most of them, but I think it’s time to move past the cobweb stuff. We have to get back to the original question: If you were one of the best prosecutors in the office, why would you request this petty burglary in the first place?” Sara asked. “I was thinking about this on the train this morning. Besides prosecuting a case, what else can an ADA do with it?”

“We can decline prosecution, or we can downgrade it to a misdemeanor,” Conrad answered.

“Besides that,” Sara said. “And think about the other party in this case. From hiring my old firm to hiring Jared, someone is obviously looking out for Kozlow. He’s clearly connected to someone. Now assume Victor is also connected to those people. If you were a dirty ADA, what else could you do?”

“You could bury the case,” Guff said.

“Exactly,” Sara said, pointing at her assistant. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Victor promises some hotshot that he’ll bury a case. But when the case comes in, some eager new ADA grabs it before it hits his desk. When Victor hears the news, he goes nuts and has the ECAB secretary call every ADA in the building until they find out who has it.”

“But if that’s all true, why didn’t Victor just take the case back?” Guff asked.

“He couldn’t at that point. I had already brought it into the open. It was too late to-”

“Are you both out of your heads?” Conrad asked. “You think Victor Stockwell is burying cases?”

“It’s a possibility.”

“There’s a difference between something being possible and something being provable,” Conrad said. “And if I were you, if you can’t prove it, I wouldn’t say it. Besides, you’ve got no business going after someone like that in the first place.”

“If you really mean that, why do you keep encouraging me?”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard what I said. From the very start, you’ve been warning me away from Victor, but every time I need help going through his background, you’re more than happy to point me in the right direction. So what’s the truth?”

Conrad showed the tiniest of smirks.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Sara asked. “You think he’s dirty, too.”

“I’m reserving judgment. But the truth is, I trust your instincts. There’re too many unexplained coincidences in this case, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that I don’t believe in coincidences. Now if you want to keep looking, I’ll help you look, but once again, I’m not going to let you put Victor’s career at risk unless you have proof.”

“I’m not bringing him up on charges. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on.”

“Whatever you’re doing, I still think you’re missing part of the picture,” Conrad said. “Even if you did bring the case out in the open, if Victor really wanted to bury it, he could’ve taken it back and declined prosecution.”

“Are you kidding? Once I saw the facts, Victor couldn’t just decline prosecution. It may’ve been small, but it was still a good case.”

“Maybe,” Conrad said. “Although he still could’ve pled it out. All he had to do was give Kozlow a reduced sentence or downgrade it to a misdemeanor.”

“Unless, for some reason, the person pulling the strings didn’t want any record of the burglary at all.”

“I’d believe that,” Guff said, shrugging his shoulders.

“You also believe all vegetarians are evil,” Sara said.

“Don’t laugh,” Guff said. “Hitler was one.”

“There’s still one flaw in your theory,” Conrad said to Sara.

“Which is?”

“You have no explanation for why this minor burglary was supposed to be hidden.”

“I know,” Sara said. “That’s where I get stuck every time.”

“How about this?” Guff asked. “Maybe Kozlow is related to someone and they’re trying to keep his record clean.”

“Or maybe Kozlow’s on parole in another state, and any record here would get him crucified there,” Conrad added.

“I checked that the first day,” Sara said. “Kozlow’s been arrested twice, but he’s never been convicted.”

“Maybe he’s up for a job where he can’t have any sort of criminal background on his record,” Conrad said.

“Now that’s interesting,” Sara said.

“Wait, I got it,” Guff said. “Maybe Kozlow made a bet with some really bad-ass tough guy. And the bet was that Kozlow wouldn’t get arrested for a whole month. Then, he pulled the burglary and got arrested. So now, he has to hide the arrest, or he’ll lose the bet.”

“Yeah, that could be it,” Conrad said sarcastically. “The way I hear it, betting on your own likelihood of being arrested is all the rage these days. It’s sweeping Vegas like an electric broom.”

“C’mon, stay with me,” Sara said. “Any other ideas?”

“I think the first step is finding out more about Kozlow and who’s footing his legal bills,” Conrad said. “When you get that, you’ll at least know the parties involved. Then we can try to put together the motive.”

“And then we can figure out how they’re related to the doorknob guy from yesterday,” Guff said.

“The doorknob who?” Conrad asked.

Sara shot Guff a look. “He means Kozlow,” she said abruptly. “If we can link him with his moneyman, we’ll have a much better idea of what’s going on.”

“Did you do it?” Jared asked the moment Kozlow entered his office.

“Do what?” Kozlow asked, strolling to his usual chair in the corner.

Jared shot out of his seat and slammed his door shut. “You know exactly what I’m talking about,” he said. “Sara’s grandfather fell down a flight of stairs last night and-”

“Calm yourself. I heard what happened.”

“How’d you hear?”

“Like I said, I heard… but I had nothing to do with it.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Believe what you want, but I’m telling you the truth. If we did do it, we’d make sure you knew about it. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Jared thought about the logic of Kozlow’s argument. “So it wasn’t you?”

Kozlow smiled. “For once, boss, we’re innocent. The old man just took a fall down some stairs.”

Sitting alone in her office, Sara picked up the phone and dialed the general number for Jared’s law firm. “Wayne and Portnoy,” the receptionist answered. “How can I help you?”