Deadly Distractions, page 18
"All the members of the People’s Mission stood to lose plenty if Agent Tuttle was successful in overturning the tax exempt status of the organization. Most of them seemed satisfied with a resolution of the issue in court. But two of the members indicated they would never pay, under any circumstances, an assessment against them if they lost in the tax court."
"Who were they?"
"Peter Lowe and Don Harris."
"Peter Lowe, yes, I talked to him. I would agree he had ample motive to kill Tuttle. I don’t know this Harris character though. Tell me about him."
"He’s a graphic artist. Apparently he’s quite good. He designs ads, book covers, logos, etc."
"Really. So why do you think he is a suspect?"
"Besides the losses he would take if the tax deductions weren’t allowed, Bobby was threatening to torpedo several government contracts Harris had going if the didn’t pay the new assessment. This was bread and butter stuff that paid his rent. He may have decided to take a preemptive strike."
"How could he torpedo the contracts?"
"Simply by garnishing them. If the agency under contract were served with an IRS garnishment they would have to pay the IRS the money due under the contract rather than Harris. He would effectively be put out of business."
"Did you interview him in person?"
"No, over the telephone. He refused to meet with me."
"Did he say where he was on the date of the murder?" I asked.
"Supposedly at his lake house at Lake Lavon. He’s living there now while he and his wife are having a new house built in Plano. It’s not too far from the Double T Ranch."
"Wow. Good work, Jodie. I guess I’ll have to pay a visit to Mr. Harris."
Rather than calling Don Harris and telling him I was coming, I decided it would be better to show up unexpectedly. If he was involved in Bobby’s murder, Jodie’s phone call would have already shaken him up. My request for an interview would likely prompt him to retrace his steps and destroy any evidence that he might have left behind. I prayed he wasn’t already in the process of doing that. It took me about an hour to get to Lake Lavon. I stopped on the side of the road and opened my Mapsco. After finding the street I was looking for, I started moving again. It was an old county road that hadn’t been maintained very well and there was a lot of dust. Finally I got to a cluster of houses overlooking the lake. The address I had was 2255 Lakeview Drive, St. Paul, Texas.
It was an older house but well maintained. There were an expensive looking ski boat and a red Dodge pickup truck in the driveway. I knocked on the door but there wasn’t any answer. I thought Mr. Harris might be in the back so I walked around the house. There were a large patio, a brick barbeque, and several picnic tables. It looked like a perfect place to throw a party. There were voices so I continued toward them.
"Hello," I said as I approached a man and a woman sitting in two lawn chairs. The man jumped to his feet and glared at me. "Excuse me. I’m looking for Don Harris."
"You’re looking at him," he said.
The woman got up and looked at me curiously. "Please excuse the intrusion. I knocked on the front door but there was no answer, then I heard voices."
Harris frowned. "Okay, so you found me. What do you want?"
"I’m Paula Waters—"
"Oh, shit!" Harris said. "I talked to some lady in your office and told her everything I knew about Bobby Tuttle."
"Yes, Jodie told me she had talked to you. I just wanted to ask you a few questions myself, if you don’t mind."
"Yes, I do mind. I can’t believe you showed up here without an appointment. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave."
"I just have a few questions."
"I don’t talk to attorneys without my attorney present."
Harris escorted me back to my car. I was mildly upset with his rude treatment. It aroused my suspicion that he was hiding something. His companion didn’t intervene on my behalf, but rather made a dash for the house. After getting in my car, I drove off out of view but, instead of leaving, I parked around the corner where I could observe who came and went from the house. About twenty minutes later the woman I had met came out the front door, got in the pickup, and drove off. I didn’t know whether to follow her or watch the house. I elected to continue watching the house. A few minutes later a silver Mercedes pulled up in the driveway. Another woman got out and went inside. With a pair of opera glasses I kept in the glove box, I got the license plate number, and wrote it down on a legal pad. I waited a few more minutes, but nothing happened so I decided to go back to the office. As I started to pull out onto the road, I saw the red Dodge pickup that had been in the driveway coming straight at me. I froze as the Dodge came to a screeching halt in front of me and the woman I’d just met flung opened the door, got out, and strode toward me angrily.
27
THE PHONE CALL
When I got to the office, Jodie told me that Paula had gone to check out a suspect at Lake Lavon. She told me who it was and why Paula thought it was important to go out there right away. I thanked her and started going through my telephone messages. As I was about to pick up the phone to start returning calls, Jodie’s voice came on the intercom. "Logan and Cox are here to see you."
"Logan and Cox? What do they want?"
"I don’t know. They just walked in. Should I ask them?"
"No, I’ll be right out."
I got up and walked into the reception area. Logan was smiling. Cox looked grim.
"Hi. What’s up?" I said.
Logan pulled out a pair of handcuffs and said, "I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, Turner. You’re a traitor and a disgrace to your profession. You’ll do anything for money. I’ve been praying you’d screw up. Wiring that money to General Moya was really stupid. The game is over. You're under arrest."
"Ah!" Jodie gasped.
"It’s true I wired some money for a client, but how do you figure it went to General Moya?"
Logan shook his head with a look of disbelief. "It wasn’t difficult. We just notified your bank to report any wire transfers to known Moya accounts. If they didn’t comply, they could have been heavily fined."
"I know you’re feeling pretty good right now, Logan, but you’ve got this all wrong," I said.
"Oh yeah. Tell it to the judge," he said as he threw me up against the wall and put the cuffs on me.
A pain shot through my wrists as he clamped the cuffs closed. I bit my tongue to keep from showing my discomfort. I had feared this moment but somehow had convinced myself it wouldn’t happen. I could see the morning headlines in my mind's eye: "Stan Turner Arrested for Drug Trafficking—Money Laundering—Treason?" I wondered what the charge actually would be. Then I thought of Rebekah and the kids. The thought of them having to see the headlines and endure the ridicule that would surely follow made me sick.
"Let’s talk a minute. I can explain everything," I said in desperation.
"Sorry, it’s too late. Besides being wanted by the government of Ecuador, there is a warrant for Moya’s arrest out of the federal district court in Miami for drug related offences. You obviously are connected to him somehow and we’re going find out exactly how that is."
Logan turned me around and looked me in the eye. He gave me my Miranda warning and escorted me out to a waiting car. Logan sat in the front seat and Cox sat next to me.
"Sorry about the cuffs, " Cox said, "but it’s procedure."
I nodded and looked away. My mind was racing as I tried to figure out what had gone wrong. General Moya apparently wasn’t very good at covering his tracks. What was I going to do now? My heart sank as I contemplated hours of grueling questioning. How could I possibly explain what had happened without compromising Tex or getting him killed? Just as we started to pull away, I heard Jodie’s voice screaming. I looked over and she was racing toward our car.
"Stop! Wait!" she screamed.
Logan rolled down his window. "What’s wrong?"
"Stan’s got an important telephone call. You have to let him take it."
"What? No way. Get away from the car," Logan commanded as his window started back up.
Jodie started pounding on the window. "He has to take this call! You’ve got—"
"Come on, Logan," Cox said. "Let him take the call if it’s that important. Two minutes isn’t going to make a difference."
Logan glared at Cox and then threw up his hands. "Okay, okay."
We got out of the car and Logan escorted me back inside. As he passed Jodie he said, "This better be damn important."
Jodie nodded. "It is, trust me."
I picked up the receiver that was laying on Jodie’s desk.
"Hello, " I said.
"Stan, this is Tex."
"Oh, Jesus. Am I glad to hear your voice. Where are you?"
"I’m at the Miami airport. I’ll be in Dallas about 6:00 p.m. tonight. Can you pick me up at the airport?"
"Oh, yeah. You bet. I’ll be there. Are you all right?"
"More or less. We’ve got a lot to talk about."
"Yeah, I guess so. . . . Ah . . . I’m afraid I’m going to have to bring some friends with me."
"Who?"
"A couple of FBI agents. I guess it’s about time we leveled with them."
"Oh, Jesus. Do we have to?"
"Yeah, I’m afraid so."
"Okay, whatever. I’ll see you soon."
I hung up the phone and looked at Logan and Cox, who were waiting for an explanation for the call. I told them that Tex had been kidnapped while in Ecuador and that I had wired the money as part of his ransom. They seemed skeptical but agreed to take me to the airport to pick up Tex. I was still hoping to avoid the issue of Tex’s reason for being in Ecuador but didn’t know if it would be possible. Despite being in handcuffs, I felt great. Knowing Tex was alive was such a relief. I knew it was just a matter of time now before I’d be cleared of any wrongdoing and could get back to practicing law in peace.
When Tex arrived, Logan and Cox took us to the Federal Marshall’s office for questioning. After several hours of grueling interrogation they let us go. Jodie and Toni were sitting in the waiting room when we were released. Toni and Tex embraced.
"Oh, honey. I was so worried about you," Toni said.
"Ah, you didn’t need to worry. You know I always find my way home."
I laughed. "Yeah, well this time it was a little too close for comfort."
Tex smiled. "You’re probably right. I suppose I’ll have to cool my heels for a while."
Toni nodded. "You better believe it. I’m not letting you out of my sight."
We drove Tex and Toni home but before I let him go I made him promise he’d come to my office the next day so we could sort things out. There was the matter of sending the rest of the money to General Moya, and I wanted his account of how he got the 1.8 million dollars in the first place. Although Tex was back, there were still a lot of land mines lurking ahead that we needed to avoid. I just prayed we’d be able to figure out a way to do it.
28
THE DEAL
My skills as a private investigator were obviously lacking. The big brunette had spotted me spying on them and came to give me a piece of her mind or perhaps her fist, I wasn’t sure which. My adrenaline level soared as she slammed the door and came quickly toward me. I had taken a self-defense course that the Dallas sheriff’s office gave to all the assistant DAs, but I wasn’t anxious for a test of the skills that I had learned. Fortunately, she stopped without raising her fist.
"Miss Waters. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you’re messing with the wrong man. If he sees you spying on him, he’ll kill you."
The sudden rush of relief I was feeling quickly fizzled. "Kill me?"
She nodded. "Yes, he’s a very dangerous man and I’d hate to see you get hurt. If I was you I’d get back in your car, go home, and forget you ever met Don Harris."
"If he’s so bad, why do you stay with him?"
She sighed. "I don’t have a choice but you do."
"Why don’t you have a choice?"
"He said if I ever left him, he’d kill me."
She spoke with such conviction I was tempted to take her advice, but this was exactly the kind of man who could have killed Dusty Thomas. I had no choice but to pursue this lead. I wondered if I could turn this encounter to my advantage.
"Miss—what was your name?" I asked.
"Jill Murray."
"Jill, maybe we can help each other out here."
"How’s that?" Jill asked.
"I’m working on a puzzle and your boyfriend is one of the pieces. I need to figure out where he fits in."
She looked at me curiously. "I know you're defending Dusty Thomas. I’ve seen you on TV."
"Right. Has Don been following his trial?"
"Oh, God, yes. He watches the news three times a day to see if there is any coverage about it."
"Really? What if I fixed it so he couldn’t ever hurt you?"
"Yeah, right," she said.
"I mean it. If you help me, I’ll give you your freedom."
"But how could you do that?"
"I’ve got connections with the DA’s office. If Mr. Harris is involved in Bobby Tuttle’s murder and you help me prove it, he'll go to jail for the rest of his life."
"But what if he wasn’t involved?" Jill said.
Jill was no dummy. She knew there was only so much I could do to protect her. I didn’t want to mislead her so I said, "Well, then I’ll help you get a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting you or coming anywhere near you. If he violates the order, he’ll go to jail."
"Sure, but he doesn’t respect the court. He’ll kill me anyway."
I smiled sympathetically. "I don’t think so. Most people like him are cowards and wouldn’t jeopardize their freedom just to get a little revenge."
"I’m not saying I’ll help, but if I did, what kind of help do you need?"
I smiled and said, "Do you spend a lot of time with him?"
"Not a lot. His wife’s usually at home. But when he summons me, I come."
"Was that her who just showed up?"
"Yes, that’s why I hightailed it."
"We better go somewhere else to talk. If you spotted me, your boyfriend might also."
"Good idea. If he sees me talking to you, we’re both in serious trouble."
We agreed to meet at a restaurant in Wylie. It was mid-afternoon so it wasn’t busy. When I arrived, Jill wasn’t there yet so I got a table in the corner where we wouldn’t be seen. I was thrilled that I had apparently struck a deal with her. She could be instrumental in solving Bobby Tuttle’s murder and I’d feel good if I was able to free her from Harris’ control. When she walked in the waitress showed her to my table. After we got a couple soft drinks, we continued our conversation. She told me that Harris had served eight years in the army until he got into some kind of trouble and resigned his commission. She didn’t know the details but she said he was very bitter about it and had joined some kind of paramilitary group that trained in the Texas Hill Country.
She didn’t know much about his business or the government contracts he had, but she had heard him complain many times about Bobby Tuttle’s obsession with putting the People’s Mission out of business. Apparently he had bragged on occasion that if Bobby Tuttle wasn’t careful he’d end up with a bullet in his head. I asked her if Harris had a Remington shotgun and she indicated she thought he did. In fact, she said he had quite a collection of weaponry back at the house. Finally, I asked her about the silver Mercedes.
"It belongs to Charlotte, his wife," Jill said.
"Does he ever drive it?"
"Sure. If they go out together, they take the Mercedes."
"Have you noticed any damage to the left, side mirror?" I asked.
She hesitated. "Yes, Charlotte has knocked it off a couple of times backing out of the garage."
"Really? Who told you this?"
"Don. He's always complaining about what a klutzy driver she is."
"Do you know where he gets it fixed?"
"Probably at Park Place Motorcars. That’s where he usually takes it for repairs."
