Chapter Nineteen
Carl Ridley had swapped his Harley for a dull brown van with a logo for a plumbing company that did not exist. Instead of his Lucifer’s Disciples colors, he was wearing jeans, a flannel shirt, steel-toed boots, and a gray hoodie.
The four other members of the Disciples’ Arizona affiliate were also in civilian dress. Everyone was armed.
“They’re in room twenty-four on the second floor of the motel,” Carl said to his men, who were standing next to the van in the darkened garage. “Walter wants them alive, so no rough stuff unless it is absolutely necessary. I’ll take the lead when we get there. Any questions?”
Walter’s not going to like this, Carl thought just before he told his driver to drive away slowly so they didn’t attract attention.
Audrey Packer and Chad Remington were exhausted and hungry after the hurried flight to Arizona and the drive to Red Rim. They ate a fast meal and drank several cups of coffee at a café before walking two blocks to the police station and introducing themselves to the police chief.
The police station in Red Rim looked like it hadn’t been updated since the Earp brothers were the law in the Wild West. The interrogation room where Chad was meeting with Billy Kramer was dim and uncomfortably hot and smelled of stale coffee and sweat.
Chad was sitting in a cushioned chair across from Billy Kramer, whose butt was pressed against a hard metal seat.
The locals had roughed up Kramer when they’d made the arrest, and there was a bruise under his left eye.
“Can I call you Billy?” Remington asked after introducing himself.
“You can call my lawyer,” Kramer responded.
Chad smiled. “You’re not under arrest, Billy. You could be, because you stole Terrance Cogen’s Jag, but you don’t have to be, if you tell me what you know about your boss’s murder.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
“Then why are you hiding in a small town in Arizona?”
Kramer leaned back, stared at Chad, and folded his arms across his chest. “I’m on vacation.”
“I don’t want to spoil your time off, so why don’t you cooperate?”
“And put my head in a noose? I know you’re trying to frame me for murder, and I know you can’t ask me questions as soon as I ask for a lawyer.”
Next door, Audrey Packer was having a lot more luck with Cynthia Woodruff. She had given Kramer’s girlfriend her Miranda rights, but Cynthia had waived them, claiming that she didn’t need a lawyer because she “hadn’t done a damn thing, except let that bastard Billy drag me into this mess.”
Audrey could see how a woman like Cynthia could fall for a handsome fast-talker like Kramer.
Terrance Cogen’s chauffeur had the good looks and glib tongue of a con man, and Cynthia had the plain looks and chubby body of a woman who never expected that someone like Kramer would be interested in her.
But Audrey discovered very quickly that Cynthia wasn’t stupid and that any hold Kramer might have had on her had been ripped off as soon as her arrest had opened her eyes.
“This is all on Billy,” Cynthia said. “I don’t know anything about Mr. Cogen’s murder.”
“What has Billy got to do with you hiding in Red Rim?” Audrey asked.
“Everything.”
“Why don’t you explain that to me.”
Cynthia was angry, and she was about to tell Audrey everything, when a thought occurred to her. “Am I in trouble?”
“That depends on what you’ve done.”
Cynthia leaned forward and looked directly at Audrey. “I haven’t done a damn thing, except what Billy tricked me into.”
“Cynthia, you haven’t told me what Billy did. I can’t decide whether you’re in trouble if I don’t have any facts.”
Cynthia leaned back and looked down. Audrey let her think. Eventually, Cynthia sat up.
“Okay. I’ll tell you what happened. First of all, I didn’t even know that Mr. Cogen was dead until Billy told me yesterday.”
“Did Billy tell you he killed him?”
“No. He said he didn’t.”
“Do you believe him?”
“I don’t know what to believe. Billy has no trouble lying. I do know he set up that guy Jack.”
“Oh? How did he do that?”
“It’s how I got in this mess. Billy called and said he needed a favor.
He said he wanted me to pack for a surprise vacation and drive my car to this bar.
I said I was eating dinner, but he said he was taking me somewhere special once I did him this favor.
I asked him why he needed my car if he was taking me on a vacation.
He told me he’d explain when I got to the bar. ”
Cynthia sighed. “Billy can be sweet when he wants to be, and we’d been seeing each other. He got me believing it was serious, although I’m not so sure now.”
“What happened at the bar?” Audrey asked to get Cynthia back on track.
“He asked for my car keys.”
“Why did he want you to give him your car keys?”
“So he could pick me up later. The idea was I was going to be with Billy when this Jack showed up at the bar. After a while, I was supposed to say that I wanted to go home. Billy was going to say he was too drunk to drive and Jack should drive me in the Jag.
“Billy told me that Jack was crazy about cars and would go nuts about being able to drive the Jag. I asked him what he was doing with the Jag. I don’t know anything about cars, but I knew that this Jag was very expensive and Mr. Cogen’s pride and joy. Billy said Mr. Cogen had said he could use it.
“A little while after I got to the bar, Jack came in. About half an hour later, Billy gave me the signal. I said I wanted to go home, Billy said he was too drunk to drive, and I took Jack to the Jag. He was out of his mind as soon as he saw the car, and he couldn’t wait to drop me off.
I sent him to a part of town far from my apartment.
It was where Billy said he’d be, but he wasn’t waiting for me.
Jack drove off, and I started to worry. I texted Billy, and he said to hold on, that he was on the way.
About an hour later, Billy picked me up in my car, and we drove here. ”
“Why did Billy want Jack to drive the Jag?” Audrey asked.
Cynthia shook her head. “That was the worst thing Billy did. That’s when I knew I had to get away from him.”
“Can you explain that to me?”
“He’s trying to frame this guy Jack for Mr. Cogen’s murder.”
“How did giving him the Jag do that?” Audrey asked, even though she knew the answer.
“The bastard called the cops and said that the Jag was stolen. He figured that the cops would think Jack killed Mr. Cogen when he stole the Jag. I told Billy it was a rotten thing to do. He said he’d clear everything up with the cops if Jack got in a lot of trouble, but I don’t believe him.”
“Did Billy say anything about bringing a beer glass to Mr. Cogen’s house?”
“A beer glass?”
“From the bar where you met Jack.”
“I don’t remember him saying anything about a beer glass. Is it important?”
“It’s just something that came up. Don’t worry about it. Is there anything else you want to tell me?” Audrey asked.
Cynthia remembered what Billy had said about his and Terrance Cogen’s connection to the Lucifer’s Disciples, but she was more frightened of the Disciples than she was of the police.
“No, that’s it.”
“You’ve really helped yourself, Cynthia.”
“What’s going to happen to me?”
“You’ve given me a lot to think about,” Audrey said.
“Are you going to let me go? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I’m leaning that way, but I want to talk to my partner. Would you be willing to tell a district attorney what you told me?”
“Yeah, if you promised that I wouldn’t get charged.”
“Are you hungry?” Audrey asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’m going to have a meal brought to you while I talk to my partner. I’ll also see if there’s somewhere more comfortable for you to stay. Hang tight while I figure out how to help you.”
Chad was sitting on a bench sipping a cup of coffee outside the room where Audrey was talking to Cynthia Woodruff. He stood up when Audrey walked into the hall.
“Any luck?” Audrey asked.
Chad shook his head. “My guy stonewalled. What about you?”
“Cynthia is really pissed off at Mr. Kramer,” Audrey said before telling her partner everything she’d learned from Woodruff. “What do you want to do with Kramer?” Audrey asked when she was through.
“They’re arranging for him to talk to a lawyer. He’s coming over in the morning, so we’re in limbo until they conference. What do you want to do with Woodruff?”
“I think she’ll come back to Portland with us. I’ll want to get her immunity from prosecution if she agrees to testify against Kramer. She’s mad enough at him, so I think she’ll agree.”
“Do we have a problem with the charges against Jack Blackburn?” Chad asked.
“That’s up to Oscar Vanderlasky to decide. But Cynthia is going to supply Karen Wyatt with a treasure trove of reasonable doubts.”