The Competition - [87]
Because he was, at the very least, on the hook for selling guns to a minor, for selling guns without registration, probably for buying stolen guns, possibly for burning off the registration numbers. The list went on and on.
“Where were you at the time of the Fairmont shooting?”
“At the VA hospital in Westwood, getting my meds. Check it out; they keep records.”
“Don’t worry, we will.” Or rather, we’d been trying. The VA records were a mess. When Bailey got the tip about Shane being in La Conchita, she’d told the unis to drop everything else and focus on any records dated on or near the day of the shooting. With a little luck, we’d have our answer soon. “What were you getting meds for?”
Shane tightened his lips for a moment and looked away. Finally, he answered. “PTSD. I’m not saying I was a model citizen before the war, but when I got back…” He shook his head. “I couldn’t deal. Couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think straight. The only thing that made me feel better was getting high. It was the only way I could block out the memories. I couldn’t hold down a job, and after getting fired a couple of times, I was totally hosed.” Shane looked up at me. “But I’m guessing Luke already told you about that.”
“Some, yeah.”
Shane nodded. “After Luke moved out, things really went to shit. I fell apart. They denied my disability claims, I lost my job at the garage, so I couldn’t pay the rent. The landlord gave me a three-day notice. I was pretty much homeless. That’s when I met up with a guy at a gun range out in Agoura Hills.”
I figured out where this was heading. “And that’s the guy who got you into gun sales.”
“Yeah. It was a natural move for me. I was raised in Montana. Learned to shoot before I learned to read. So I knew guns. And the money was great. I got myself out of debt and out of L.A. and got myself a job at the tree service. And I’m practically off the meds. Doing good now.” Shane looked at the three of us surrounding him. “Well, I was.”
“Good? You call illegal gunrunning good?”
He leaned back and glared at me. “What the fuck do I care? The U.S. government screwed me over. Hard. Used me up and spit me out. The VA takes a year to process my claims. They were worthless when I needed help finding work. So the government wants to regulate gun sales? Fuck ’em. It’s my constitutional right to bear arms.”
“And to sell them to kids?” Shane looked away. “Where have you been for the past two days?” I deliberately didn’t give him the date of the theater shooting. I wanted to see how much of his time he could account for.
“Up north, near Red Bluff.”
“When did you get down here?”
“This morning. I dumped the car-”
“The Jetta?”
“Yeah. Figured you guys might be onto that. Picked up the bike-”
“You mean stole-”
Shane glared at me. “Bought-just outside Sacramento.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
If that was true, there was no way he could’ve done the theater shooting. “Who’d you buy it from?”
“Look in my wallet. There’s a receipt. Seller was a guy named Trinidad…something. Got his phone number on there and everything. You’ll see.”
Bailey leaned over and whispered to Todd and he nodded. “Be right back,” she said. “You keep going.” I knew she was going to check Shane’s alibis.
“Assuming your alibis check out and you’re not one of the shooters, you’re still on the hook for selling the guns to them-”
“Them? I didn’t sell anything to ‘them.’ The only person I sold to was Logan. I never saw anyone else.” His voice was firm. “I kept my customer list tight. Never spread my net too wide.”
“You didn’t deal with any friends of Logan’s?”
“Never. Our deals were always one-on-one.”
“Didn’t it strike you as odd that one kid would buy that many weapons? All those AKs and at least four handguns?”
“No, it didn’t strike me as ‘odd.’” He tilted his head to indicate air quotes. “I had more guns than that by my thirteenth birthday.”
“Your dad gave you an AK for your thirteenth birthday?”
Shane looked away.
“How’d you get your hands on a fully automatic AK?”
“I didn’t. I converted it myself. It’s not that hard.”
“How many guns did you sell to Logan?”
“Two assault rifles and four handguns.”
I had an idea, but before I could pursue it, Bailey came back and pulled me aside. “The VA story checks out,” she whispered. “He was there at eighty thirty a.m. the day of the Fairmont shooting and he was in the pharmacy getting his script filled at ten forty-five. No way he could’ve been at the school.”
“And Cinemark?”
“We’re waiting to hear back about him buying the bike the day of that shooting, but the receipt was in his wallet and the voice on the answering machine gave the name Trinidad. It’s probably going to check out.”
And in any case, he had an airtight alibi for the school shooting. If Shane hadn’t been involved in the Fairmont shooting, then he probably hadn’t done the theater shooting either. Which only begged the question: who the hell was the second shooter? I’d never been wild about the theory that a grown man like Shane would be Logan’s sidekick. But clearing Shane meant we had no one on the hook.
When I went back to Shane, his head was hanging down and his expression was tortured.
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Without a Doubt is not just a book about a trial. It's a book about a woman. Marcia Clark takes us inside her head and her heart. Her voice is raw, incisive, disarming, unmistakable. Her story is both sweeping and deeply personal. It is the story of a woman who, when caught up in an event that galvanized an entire country, rose to that occasion with singular integrity, drive, honesty and grace.In a case that tore America apart, and that continues to haunt us as few events of history have, Marcia Clark emerged as the only true heroine, because she stood for justice, fought the good fight, and fought it well.
Someone has been watching D.A. Rachel Knight-someone who's Rachel's equal in brains, but with more malicious intentions. It began when a near-impossible case fell into Rachel's lap, the suspectless homicide of a homeless man. In the face of courthouse backbiting and a gauzy web of clues, Rachel is determined to deliver justice. She's got back-up: tough-as-nails Detective Bailey Keller. As Rachel and Bailey stir things up, they're shocked to uncover a connection with the vicious murder of an LAPD cop a year earlier.
When the daughter of a billionaire Hollywood director is found murdered after what appears to be a kidnapping gone wrong, Los Angeles Special Trials prosecutor Rachel Knight and Detective Bailey Keller find themselves at the epicenter of a combustible and high-profile court case.Then a prime suspect is revealed to be one of Hollywood's most popular and powerful talent managers-and best friend to the victim's father.With the director vouching for the manager's innocence, the Hollywood media machine commences an all-out war designed to discredit both Rachel and her case.KILLER AMBITION is at once a thrilling ride through the darker side of Tinseltown and a stunning courtroom drama with the brilliant insider's perspective that Marcia Clark is uniquely qualified to give.
Предать жену и детей ради любовницы, конечно, несложно. Проблема заключается в том, как жить дальше? Да и можно ли дальнейшее существование назвать полноценной, нормальной жизнью?…
Будущее Джимми Кьюсака, талантливого молодого финансиста и основателя преуспевающего хедж-фонда «Кьюсак Кэпитал», рисовалось безоблачным. Однако грянул финансовый кризис 2008 года, и его дело потерпело крах. Дошло до того, что Джимми нечем стало выплачивать ипотеку за свою нью-йоркскую квартиру. Чтобы вылезти из долговой ямы и обеспечить более-менее приличную жизнь своей семье, Кьюсак пошел на работу в хедж-фонд «ЛиУэлл Кэпитал». Поговаривали, что благодаря финансовому гению его управляющего клиенты фонда «никогда не теряют свои деньги».
Очнувшись на полу в луже крови, Роузи Руссо из Бронкса никак не могла вспомнить — как она оказалась на полу номера мотеля в Нью-Джерси в обнимку с мертвецом?
Действие романа происходит в нулевых или конце девяностых годов. В книге рассказывается о расследовании убийства известного московского ювелира и его жены. В связи с вступлением наследника в права наследства активизируются люди, считающие себя обделенными. Совершено еще два убийства. В центре всех событий каким-то образом оказывается соседка покойных – молодой врач Наталья Голицына. Расследование всех убийств – дело чести майора Пронина, который считает Наталью не причастной к преступлению. Параллельно в романе прослеживается несколько линий – быт отделения реанимации, ювелирное дело, воспоминания о прошедших годах и, конечно, любовь.
Егор Кремнев — специальный агент российской разведки. Во время секретного боевого задания в Аргентине, которое обещало быть простым и безопасным, он потерял всех своих товарищей.Но в его руках оказался секретарь беглого олигарха Соркина — Михаил Шеринг. У Шеринга есть секретные бумаги, за которыми охотится не только российская разведка, но и могущественный преступный синдикат Запада. Теперь Кремневу предстоит сложная задача — доставить Шеринга в Россию. Он намерен сделать это в одиночку, не прибегая к помощи коллег.
Опорск вырос на берегу полноводной реки, по синему руслу которой во время оно ходили купеческие ладьи с восточным товаром к западным и северным торжищам и возвращались опять на Восток. Историки утверждали, что название городу дала древняя порубежная застава, небольшая крепость, именованная Опорой. В злую годину она первой встречала вражьи рати со стороны степи. Во дни же затишья принимала застава за дубовые стены торговых гостей с их товарами, дабы могли спокойно передохнуть они на своих долгих и опасных путях.