The Competition - [89]
“You think they can’t get to me in prison?”
“Who’s ‘they’?”
Shane pressed his lips together. His face looked pinched.
“We’ll make sure you’re housed in a safe place. Maybe federal custody. Trust me, by the time you finish your sentence, they’ll have forgotten all about you.”
Shane dropped his head and sagged in his chair for several long moments. No one said a word. Finally, he cleared his throat. His voice was a hoarse whisper. “You got my cell?”
Bailey held it up. “Give me the name.”
“Jax. Jax Esposito.”
Bailey started to scroll through his contacts. “How’d you meet him?”
“At a gun show. He had a couple of guns that needed fixing. I fixed them and he paid me in cash on the spot. After that, he asked me if I wanted to help him get rid of some extra inventory. I thought, what the hell? Sell a few guns here and there, but man, I had no idea. Crates of the shit.”
“What kind of guns?”
“All kinds. You name it, he had it. Rifles, shotguns, AKs, revolvers, semi-autos. Dude even had a flamethrower. It was crazy.”
“So how did you wind up buying enough to make a living?” Bailey asked.
“Because I wound up providing…extra services. He was looking for a drug connection in the States-”
“The States?” I asked. “Where’s he from?”
“Mexico.”
“And he was looking to buy?” Bailey asked.
“No, to sell.”
“What kind of drugs?” I asked.
“Weed, yayo. I think pills too, but I’m not a hundred percent. Drugs aren’t my thing.” I raised an eyebrow. “Anymore.”
“Yayo?” Todd asked.
“Cocaine,” Bailey said. “Slang, taken from the Spanish word for ice, hielo.”
“So what was the deal?” I asked.
“I’d hook him up with a buyer in the States and he’d give me a sweet deal on guns.”
“Sweet enough to let you resell for a fat profit.”
Shane nodded. “I’ve been saving up to buy a place in Camarillo. I’ve almost got enough for a little two-bedroom near the airport.”
“Had, Shane,” I said. “You mean had.” Shane sank in his chair and nodded. “How did Logan meet up with this Jax guy?”
“How’d you know he met Jax?”
Because Logan and his buddy had dropped the assault rifles Shane sold them at the school. Because they’d had two more when they did the theater shooting. Which meant Logan had to have bought two more after the Fairmont shooting. If Shane was telling the truth and he hadn’t sold Logan any more guns, then Logan had to have had his own connection. And being a Valley boy, as opposed to the son of a Mafia don or Yakuza oyabun, his opportunities to find gun connections were pretty limited. “Just answer the question. How did Logan meet this guy?”
“The first time I met up with Jax to make the exchange-”
“Guns for you, the name of a buyer for him,” Bailey said.
Shane nodded. “I was nervous. I mean, I’d done some repair work for the guy, but this time we were making a deal, and it was pretty big, so I wanted backup. Someone else around just in case…”
In case Jax decided to take the name and blow Shane off-or blow him away. “You brought Logan,” I said.
“Yeah. Logan knew about my gun business already so I wasn’t worried about him going to the cops or anything. Plus, he was real tall, and with shades on he looked older-and kind of scary.” Shane stopped and shook his head. Even he couldn’t miss the irony of that statement.
“Weren’t you worried Logan might cut you out? Get rid of the middleman and make his own deals with Jax?”
“Of course. That’s why I never left them alone.”
“Never? Your back was never turned? Logan never had a second to slip Jax his phone number, or vice versa?”
Shane frowned. “No…well, I guess I can’t say for sure.”
Bailey and I exchanged a look. Logan was a lot smarter than this nimrod. Plus, he knew that he’d need to restock his arsenal after the school shooting and wouldn’t be able to go back to Shane. “Whose idea was it to bring Logan to that meeting with Jax?”
“Uh, mine. And his. I told him I was about to score the guns he wanted but that I needed some backup, because the guy was kind of shady.”
“And Logan said he could be that backup.”
Shane nodded. “Yeah.”
I inclined my head-Get it?
He expelled a long breath and turned his head away as he muttered, “Fucker played me.”
Big-time. I took Shane’s phone from Bailey and looked at the entry for Jax. The area code was for Riverside, a few hours south of La Conchita. “You know what, Shane? You need more guns. And right away.”
58
Bailey tapped me on the arm. “Can we powwow for a minute?”
“Sure.” I turned back to the bound-and-cuffed Shane. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”
“‘Don’t go anywhere,’” Shane said. “That’s a real knee-slapper. Who knew you DAs could be such a laugh riot.”
Bailey pulled me into the bedroom. “I like your idea of a setup with Jax, but I think we need to take a minute and decide what we want to do with him, assuming Shane can arrange a meet.”
“My guess is that Logan has to hook up with him again to restock. So, we put a bug on Jax and follow him until they meet.”
“But what if Logan’s already met with Jax?”
Then the next shooting couldn’t be far off. That was probably true regardless. I knew that. We all did. But somehow, Bailey’s words brought the urgency home in a way that made my chest tighten. “Then we’ll need to squeeze the guy. Find out everything he knows about Logan. See if he knows what Logan’s planning.”
First in a new series from bestselling author and famed O. J. Simpson trial prosecutor Marcia Clark, a "terrific writer and storyteller" (James Patterson).Samantha Brinkman, an ambitious, hard-charging Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, is struggling to make a name for herself and to drag her fledgling practice into the big leagues. Sam lands a high-profile double-murder case in which one of the victims is a beloved TV star – and the defendant is a decorated veteran LAPD detective. It promises to be exactly the kind of media sensation that would establish her as a heavy hitter in the world of criminal law.Though Sam has doubts about his innocence, she and her two associates (her closest childhood friend and a brilliant ex-con) take the case.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE is an all-new short story featuring Rachel Knight, star of thrillers GUILT BY ASSOCIATION and GUILT BY DEGREES.Rachel Knight and her friends Toni and Bailey are taking a break from their busy, crime-focussed lives with a trip to tropical island paradise Aruba. But trouble is never far away from these three, and on their first day their investigative skills are called on when a reality TV child star goes missing…
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.
Книга написана по сценарию известного российского драматурга А.В. Тимма. На страницах романа вы встретитесь со старыми знакомыми, полюбившимися вам по сериалу «NEXT», — благородным и великодушным Лавром, его сыном Федором, добродушным весельчаком Санчо и решительной Клавдией. Увлекательное повествование вводит в мир героев, полный настоящих рыцарских подвигов и романтических приключений.
В повести «Искупление» автор показывает, как человек, стремящийся к чувственным наслаждениям, попадает под подозрение в убийстве и вынужден скрываться от полиции. Находясь на нелегальном положении, он постоянно подвергается опасности. Это заставляет его пересмотреть свои взгляды на смысл и основные цели своей жизни. В основу повести Ильичева В. А. положен опыт работы автора в уголовном розыске. Читатель знает автора по книгам «Элегантный убийца», «Гильотина для палача», «Тайна семи грехов», «Навстречу Вечности», «Жизнь и криминал», «Приключения подмигивающего призрака» и ряду других.
Над Кольским полуостровом нависла полярная ночь. Солнечные лучи уже давно не заглядывали в окна. По утрам было сумрачно, и постоянно болела голова, отчего Павел Николаевич Ларин зачастую впадал в меланхолию. Всё же лучше быть седым, чем лысым, — подметил Павел Николаевич и, насухо обтеревшись махровым полотенцем, освежил гладко выбритые щёки пахучим одеколоном. Что воскресенье, что понедельник — теперь всё было едино… Павел Николаевич непроизвольно начал размышлять о превратностях беззаботной старческой жизни.
В порыве гнева гражданин Щегодубцев мог нанести смертельную рану собственной жене, но он вряд ли бы поднял руку на трёхлетнего сына и тем самым подверг его мучительной смерти. Никто не мог и предположить, что расследование данного преступления приведёт к весьма неожиданному результату.
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».