Dead Wrong (A Cal Murphy Thriller Book 7) Jack Patterson (good beach reads .txt) 📖

“Okay, fine. But you’ve gotta tell me everything.”

“Those two men whose fingerprints I took and whose tattoos I sent you pictures of—they’re both dead.”

“Dead? How’d that happen? You didn’t do it, did you?”

“I would’ve if I had the chance. They were about to kill me and Kelly. But someone else took care of it for us.”

“Who?”

“Terrance Goodwin, one of the assistant coaches.”

“Wait? What? How did he get a gun in the middle of the desert?”

“Talk to him about that. All I know is that I’m thankful for what he did. Otherwise, we’d be rotting under some tumbleweeds about now. I’ll send you the coordinates of the bodies.”

“Now my turn to divulge some information to you.”

“For print?”

“Maybe, but not yet.”

“Both of those Bratva members have ties to Nikolay Gavin.”

“What are you suggesting? That Gavin was trying to have us killed?”

“Sure looks that way to me.”

Cal shook his head. “I don’t believe it. It’s not his style.”

“You might be right, but be careful. Gavin has ties to some dangerous people.”

“You’re worried about me? I think you’re wrong here. I can’t figure out why he’d want to come after me.”

“Well, let’s hope not. Nikolay Gavin was just released from custody.”

CHAPTER 33

REESE OLSON HELD UP his hands to silence the throng of reporters peppering him with questions. Nikolay Gavin’s attorney knew how to handle the media and always refused to address anyone until silence had fallen. Since he first defended a former U.S. Senator arrested for raping a staff member thirty years ago, Olson built a reputation as the best criminal defense attorney inside the Beltway. His tactics in and out of the courtroom were often studied in law schools across the country. And he wasn’t going to let anyone control the narrative—or the press conference—other than himself.

Once the crowd settled down, Olson, flanked by Gavin and several other lawyers from his firm, began.

“Earlier today when I received a call from Mr. Gavin regarding his arrest, I wasted no time in agreeing to defend him against such scurrilous accusations. I’ve known Mr. Gavin on both a personal level and a professional level for the better part of a decade and immediately knew such allegations had to be false. I’m happy to announce that the court dismissed these charges and has set my client free.”

A wave of murmurs rolled through the reporters on hand. Olson held his hands up and waited again until everyone was silent.

“The fact that any judge granted an arrest warrant for Mr. Gavin in the first place was absurd, based more on conjecture, hearsay, and prospective circumstantial evidence than fact. We were able to reasonably prove the case against him would never stand up to any scrutiny and the judge agreed.”

He paused and took a drink of water before continuing.

“In the short time since Kelvin Jameson’s death, everyone within the Wizards’ organization has desperately wanted to get to the bottom of the truth. Anyone who knew Jameson finds the idea that he died after a night of binging on drugs to be absolutely ridiculous. And that’s why the Metropolitan Police is continuing its search for the real killer and leaving Kelvin Jameson’s death open and under investigation. It’s clear based on their actions today that they aren’t satisfied with the initial apparent explanation and will continue to seek answers until they achieve justice. I am relieved that we have a legal system that believes in due process of law and strives to make sure the right people serve time for the crimes they commit.”

He collected his papers and straightened them up by tapping them on the podium.

“That is all for today,” he said. “Thank you for your time.”

Olson then directed the rest of the lawyers to form a human shield around Gavin as they hustled down the courthouse steps and into several waiting cars. The press corps continued to shout questions as cameramen tried to get tight shots of Gavin escaping into his limousine.

Once inside the car, Gavin stuck his hand out toward Olson.

“Thanks,” Gavin said. “I knew I could count on you.”

Olson smiled. “My pleasure. Now, let’s hope they catch the sonofabitch who did this.”

Gavin said nothing.

“You don’t look happy,” Olson said.

“I’m not.”

“Why’s that?”

“If Kelvin Jameson was indeed murdered, it’s going to cost me quite a bit of money. I need that money to stay freed up. I don’t need it going to his widow, who’s become a pain in my side.”

“Unless she did it,” Olson quipped. “She won’t have any use for that money if she’s sitting in prison for the next seventy years.”

“One can only hope.”

CHAPTER 34

ON THE WAY HOME, Cal and Kelly tuned into the press conference regarding the charges of murder dismissed against Nikolay Gavin. Radio programming then turned to several experts on the law to explain how this could happen so quickly.

One of the legal analysts explained: “It’s clear that the case against Nikolay Gavin was circumstantial at best—and at worst, contrived. Perhaps some detective had a personal vendetta against him and had a judge who owed him a favor. Based on the facts, it’s inconceivable that a judge would issue an arrest warrant for Mr. Gavin.”

Cal turned the radio off and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

“What are you thinkin’?” Kelly asked.

“I’m trying to wrap my head around who’s behind all of this.”

“Any guesses so far?”

“The obvious person is his widow. Follow the money, right? She had every motive in the world to kill her husband—millions of reasons. Far stronger reasons than Gavin would’ve had.”

“True. But I sense you’re not sold on that.”

He shrugged.

“Let’s talk it out. Who else would want him dead?”

Cal stared at the red taillights on the car in front of him and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

His phone buzzed with a text message. He checked the light. It was still red. Wasting no time, he opened up the message and read it, along with an attachment.”

His eyes bulged as he read it.

“What is it?”

“I