Robert Crais - The Two Minute Rule

It was as if she and Holman had uncovered two separate cases, with Random on both sides-Fowler’s search for the missing money and Warren Juarez’s alleged murder of the four officers. Random had been a principal in the Marchenko investigation and now he controlled the investigation into the murders. Random had immediately closed the murder investigation by naming Warren Juarez the assailant even though unanswered questions remained. He had denied that Fowler and the others were in any way connected to Marchenko and had actively suppressed further inquiry; so actively, it was clear he was hiding something.

Only Fowler and his boys had been searching for the money, and they hadn’t been searching alone; at least one other person was involved-the fifth man. Someone had given them copies of Robbery Special reports they otherwise would not have been able to acquire, and two of those reports had been written by Random, who later confiscated those reports from Richard Holman’s apartment. Someone had also accompanied Fowler to see Mrs. Marchenko, and Pollard believed it likely this was the same person who provided Fowler with information learned from Alison Whitt. Pollard believed Alison Whitt was now the telling key and would still likely connect everything to Random.

But Pollard still had a problem with Maria Juarez. When she disappeared, Random had issued a warrant for her arrest, yet Chee claimed the police had taken her from her cousins’ home. Now, Holman had seen her in Random’s custody. If Random was covering the true murderer of the four officers, why would he hold Maria Juarez captive and not simply kill her? Since her visit to the murder scene, Pollard believed the four officers had knowingly let their killer approach. If the killer was Juarez and if the officers were at the bridge that night on their search for the money, then Juarez must have had a connection with Marchenko. Maybe Maria Juarez knew what her husband had known, and Random needed her help to find the money. This would explain why she was still alive, but Pollard wasn’t happy with the explanation. She was guessing, and guesses were a sucker’s game in any investigation.

Pollard was trying to reconcile why so much of what she had didn’t add up when she pulled into her drive. She hurried through the hellish heat and let herself into the house. She stepped through the front door, her irritation about Alison Whitt now being replaced by her dread at the inevitable phone call to her mother. She was lost in thought as she entered her house, thinking how absolutely nothing was going to work out, when a red-haired man waiting inside pushed the door out of her hands, slamming it shut.

“Welcome home.”

Pollard startled so badly she jerked backwards as another man stepped from the hall, this man holding a credential case with a badge.

“John Random. We’re the police.”

POLLARD SPUN into Vukovich, driving her elbow hard into his ribs. Vukovich grunted and jerked to the side.

“Hey-”

Pollard spun in the opposite direction, thinking she had to get to the kitchen and then out the back door, but Random was already blocking her path.

“Hold it! We’re not going to hurt you. Hold it!”

Random had stopped between Pollard and the kitchen and had come no closer. He was holding up both hands with his badge dangling over his head and Vukovich had made no further move. Pollard edged sideways to see both of them at the same time.

Random said, “Take it easy now. Just relax. If we wanted to hurt you would we be standing here like this?”

Random lowered his hands, but made no move forward. It was a good sign, but Pollard still edged to the side, eyes going between them, kicking herself for leaving her service pistol in the box in her closet, thinking, how stupid could you be? Thinking she might be able to get one of the kitchen knives, but she’d hate to fight these bastards with a knife.

“What do you want?”

Random studied her for a moment longer, then put away his badge.

“Your cooperation. You and Holman have been messing things up for us. Will you give me a chance to explain?”

“Is that why you grabbed him, to explain?”

“I wouldn’t be here now and telling you what I’m about to tell you if you hadn’t forced my hand.”

Vukovich was leaning against the door, watching her, but his eyes were curious and his manner relaxed. Random seemed irritated, but his eyes were tired and his suit was rumpled. Nothing about their body language was threatening. Pollard felt herself begin to relax, but she was still wary.

She said, “Question.”

Random opened his hands, saying go ahead, ask.

“Who murdered those men?”

“Warren Juarez.”

“Bullshit, Random. I don’t believe you and I don’t believe they just happened to be under that bridge. They were looking for Marchenko’s money.”

Random opened his hands again and shrugged, the shrug saying he could take it or leave it whether she believed him.

“Yes, they were looking for the money, but Juarez was the shooter. He was hired by someone to kill them. We’re trying to identify the person who hired him.”

“Stop lying to me. Holman saw Maria Juarez with you at the house.”

“Not lying. That house is a safe house. She was there voluntarily at our request.”

“Why?”

“Juarez didn’t commit suicide. The person who hired him murdered him. We believe he was hired because of his connection with Fowler and that the person who hired him planned to kill him from the beginning. We grew worried that this person might also murder his wife. We brought Holman to the house so Maria could tell him herself. I didn’t expect him to believe me otherwise.”

Pollard watched Random as he spoke and believed he was telling the truth. Everything he was saying made sense. She thought it through and finally nodded.

“All right. Okay, I buy that, but why did you have Chee arrested? I don’t get that.”

Random glanced at Vukovich before looking back at her. He shook his head.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Holman’s friend, Chee-Gary Moreno. He was raided this morning and taken into custody. We thought that was you.”

“I don’t know anything about it.”

“What are we talking about, Random? Am I supposed to believe it was a coincidence?”

Random looked blank, but he glanced at Vukovich again.

“Vuke, see what you can find out.”

Vukovich took out a cell phone and drifted into the dining room toward the kitchen. Pollard could hear him mumbling as she continued with Random.

“If you knew another person was involved with Juarez, why did you close the case?”

“His killer set up the murder to look like a suicide. I wanted him to think we bought it. I wanted him to believe we didn’t know he existed so he would feel safe.”

“Why?”

“We believe this person is a high-level police officer.”

Random said it matter-of-factly and without hesitation. This was exactly what Pollard and Holman had been thinking, only they had figured it was Random. Pollard suddenly realized how the disparities between the two Randoms made sense, and how all the inconsistencies about him could be consistent.

“The fifth man.”

“What’s the fifth man?”

“We knew someone else was involved. We called him the fifth man. We thought it was you.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

“You’ve been running an investigation within an investigation, one public, the other secret-a secret investigation.”

“There was no other way to approach this. The only people who know what we’re doing are my team, the chief, and one assistant chief. This investigation began weeks before those guys were killed. I was informed a group of officers were making a play for the money. We identified most of them, but someone with an intimate knowledge of Marchenko and Parsons was feeding information to Fowler, and Fowler was protecting the sonofabitch like a pit bull. Fowler was the only one who knew this person, the only one who spoke or met with him, and that’s who we were trying to identify.”