Robin concluded that she really didn’t know Doug very well, and she knew even less about Frank Nylander, who didn’t handle criminal cases. Robin also realized that she knew very little about Frank Nylander’s murder. She rarely read about other lawyers’ murder cases because she tried murder cases for a living. She did recall scanning an article after Nylander was killed, but all she remembered was that the murder had been committed in Nylander’s law office.
After checking in at the jail reception area, Robin took the elevator to the floor where Doug was being held. A guard let her into the area where attorneys met their clients. While the guard was opening the door to the contact visiting room, Robin studied Armstrong through a wide pane of shatterproof glass that let her see into the room. Doug was wearing an orange, jail-issue jumpsuit that was a size too big for his pudgy body, and he slumped in his chair. When the guard ushered Robin inside, he looked at her with red-rimmed eyes.
“How are you doing?” Robin asked as soon as the guard was gone.
Doug just shook his head. “How could they do this?” he asked, choking up as tears filled his eyes. “Frank was my best friend. How could anyone think I would hurt him, let alone kill him?”
“That’s what I’m going to find out, Doug. But it’s going to be a lot harder to do if you don’t pull yourself together and help me.”
Doug wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. I can’t imagine the stress you’re under. But you’ve got to take a deep breath and morph into lawyer mode. You’re a bright guy, and I’m going to need your help if I’m going to get you out of this mess.”
Doug gave Robin a weak smile. “I’ll be okay.”
“Good. Now, who were the detectives who arrested you? Do you know them?”
Doug nodded. “It was Carrie Anders and Roger Dillon.”
“How did they treat you?”
“I was a little surprised. They were very considerate. I don’t think they had their heart in it.”
“What makes you say that?”
“They told me they were sorry they had to arrest me, and they waited until we were in the elevator to cuff me so no one in the office would know I was under arrest. Carrie even asked if the cuffs were too tight.”
Robin frowned. Something was going on, and she made a mental note to talk to the detectives to find out what it was. “Did they tell you the basis for the arrest?” Robin asked.
“Roger said he couldn’t tell me what the evidence was, but he did say that Rex Kellerman had gotten the indictment.”
Doug looked down. “I don’t know what Rex has against me, but for some reason, he doesn’t like me.”
“Rex treats everyone like crap,” Robin said.
“This is something different. He goes out of his way to humiliate me. He alerted the press, and they were waiting outside my building, so everyone who watches the evening news would see me perp-walked to the police car.
“Carrie told me she didn’t know that Rex had done that, and she pulled my coat over my face as soon as she saw the TV cameras.”
“Did Carrie or Roger say anything else?” Robin asked.
Doug nodded. “Yes, they did. They said that I should tell my lawyer to get the reports from the crime lab. Especially the one about the DNA evidence.”
“Interesting.” Robin made a note. “They seemed to be bending over backward to be nice to you.”
“That was my impression.”
“Look, I know you know this, but I’m going to tell you that anything you say to me is confidential and warn you not to talk to anyone, including the other prisoners, Marsha, or anyone in law enforcement. You’re a lawyer and you’ve given this advice to your clients, but now you’re a defendant, and the pressure to unburden yourself—to try to convince others that you’re innocent—is going to be overwhelming.”
Doug smiled. “Don’t worry, Robin. I’m upset, but I do have my wits about me.”
Robin smiled back. “Good. Can you tell me about your relationship with Frank? I’ve known you two for a while, but I don’t know you very well.”
Doug told Robin about his dismal academic record at West Virginia University, his attendance at the law school at Sheffield College in Arkansas, his infatuation with Oregon, and the depression he suffered when his attempts to get a job in Portland failed.
“I’d hit rock bottom, and I was ready to pack it in and go back home. That’s why I was quietly getting drunk on a barstool in the Cascade Tavern when Frank sat down on the stool next to mine. There was a basketball game on the tube and we started talking about it.”
Doug smiled as he remembered that first meeting. “Have you ever met someone and immediately hit it off? After a few minutes, I felt like I’d known Frank my whole life. When he found out I was a lawyer, he told me about opening his own firm and how tough it was to break through financially. But he said things were looking up and he was starting to get some decent clients.
“I told him my tale of woe, and he told me that he had an extra office in his space and could use some help. I told him I wouldn’t be able to pay the rent. Frank said he’d hire me, pay me a small salary, and let me keep a percentage of what I brought in. I had nothing to lose, so I said I’d give it a go. Other than marrying my wives, it was the smartest move I’ve ever made.”
Robin grinned. “Your story sounds like a love affair.”
Doug laughed. “In a way, it has been. We’ve been there for each other at every step of the way for twenty-odd years.”
“So why are you suspected of killing Frank?”
Doug looked completely lost. “The only thing I can think of is that I don’t have an alibi.”
“That can’t be all there is.”
“How much do you know about my case?”
“Other than that Frank was killed in his law office, not much.”
“Then you don’t know that I have amnesia for the week of the murder.”
“What do you mean?”
“I remember going to Seattle to negotiate a settlement in a case, and I remember landing in Portland. I also have a vague memory of talking to Frank in his office about Blaine Hastings being free on bail. But that’s it until I was found by the police wandering around downtown about a week after Frank was killed.”
“You can’t remember anything?”
Doug shook his head. “Believe me, I’ve tried, but there’s nothing there.”
Robin asked Doug to tell her everything he remembered after he was brought to the hospital. Doug told her that he’d remembered his name and recognized Marsha. His house seemed a little strange at first, but he felt comfortable there now. When he returned to his office, he’d studied his cases and recalled details. But he had not recovered any memories of the events surrounding Frank’s murder, with one exception: he thought he might have told Frank that Blaine Hastings had been released on bail.
Robin made a note to talk to an expert on amnesia.
“I think this is enough for now. You’ll be arraigned tomorrow. I’ll set a bail hearing then. I want you out of jail if that’s possible. Get me a list of character witnesses and anything else you think will help convince the judge to set bail. I’ll also get you a copy of the discovery. When you’ve studied it, call me and we’ll brainstorm.”
“I told Marsha to write you a check for your retainer. How much will it be?”
Robin told him, and he said he would be able to pay her.
When they were finished discussing business, Robin reached across the table and laid her hand on top of Doug’s. “You have a very good reputation in the bar. Use your lawyer smarts. I want you thinking like an attorney, not a defendant. Got that?”