Before he left Rex at the courthouse, Les had told him that he wanted him to go through the files in Frank Nylander’s case so he could tell him the strongest argument he could make that Doug had killed his partner. Shortly after three, a messenger from Kreuger’s office arrived with copies of the discovery that Vanessa had turned over.
Rex spread the files across his kitchen table and fixed a cup of black coffee. While the afternoon slipped away, he read the files in the Nylander murder case, the New York City case file that contained the investigation into Tyler Harrison’s murder, Nylander’s file with the information about Leonard Voss’s lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company that had brought him to New York City, and the file about the murder of Leonard Voss.
Kellerman made notes on his laptop during his initial read-through. He got hungry a little after eight and made a sandwich. It was already dark when he started to reread the files. By eleven, he’d finished the interviews with Ken Norquist and the other employees of Nylander & Armstrong, the Harrison murder file, and the forensic and autopsy reports. Rex’s eyes were getting heavy and he was ready to pack it in when something occurred to him. He frowned. Then he went back to two of the files. His heart began to thud when he found what he was looking for. It was strange, but was it relevant?
Kellerman did a web search and found what he was looking for. He peeked through a window. The reporters had cleared out. He walked outside and stared into space. It was cold on the patio, but Rex was too distracted to notice. It was too late to follow up on his idea. He decided that he shouldn’t be the one to investigate anyway. That was his lawyer’s job. Les had crack investigators who could find out if there was anything that could help him.
Rex went back inside and found his cell phone on the kitchen counter. That’s when he realized that he didn’t have the number for Les’s cell phone. He looked up the number for Kreuger’s law office. A computer voice told him to leave a message.
“Les, this is Rex. I came across something odd in the files you sent me. I don’t know if it means anything. Give me a call in the morning when you get this message.”
Rex disconnected. He was tired, but it was too early to go to bed. He decided to watch some television and was headed for the den when he heard a noise. He paused. Someone had come in the door that opened onto the patio. It was probably a reporter. Rex was furious. He walked toward the rear door.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
“It was definitely arson,” Carrie Anders told Vanessa Cole.
They were standing in front of the charred remains of Rex Kellerman’s house. The blaze had awakened the neighbors, but the house was badly damaged by the time the fire trucks arrived.
“Any leads on who did this?” Vanessa asked.
“It’s too early.”
“Any thoughts?”
“There are all the defendants he prosecuted,” Anders said, “and no one I know liked Rex. Doug Armstrong comes to mind. He must hate Kellerman for framing him. If he found out that Rex was having an affair with his wife, that would give him another motive.”
“If I were Doug, I’d want to see Rex go through the hell of a trial,” Vanessa said. “Then I’d wait to see if he went to prison. That would give me more satisfaction than killing him.”
“I’ll check on his alibi anyway,” Anders said just as Les Kreuger drove up.
“What’s Les doing here?” the detective asked.
“I don’t know. He was representing Rex,” Vanessa said.
Anders and Cole walked to Kreuger’s car.
Kreuger got out and stared at the ruins of Kellerman’s home. “What happened?” he asked
“Rex was murdered last night, and his house was set on fire,” Carrie answered.
Kreuger looked stunned.
“Why are you here?” Vanessa asked.
“Rex left a voice mail message last night. He said he’d found something odd in the files I gave him. I called when I got the message. He didn’t answer. Then one of my associates told me he’d heard on the radio that Rex’s house had burned down, so I drove over.”
“Did Rex say what he’d found in the files?” Carrie asked.
“No. Only that he found something strange. I saved the message. I’ll give you a copy.”
“When was the last time you saw or talked to Rex?”
“When he was arraigned. One of my associates drove him home and dropped off the files yesterday afternoon. I can make him available if you want to talk to him.”
“What files did you give him?”
“It was your discovery, Vanessa. The files in the Nylander case, the stuff the New York detective sent about the Harrison murder, some information about the case Nylander went to New York to negotiate.”
“The arson investigator thinks the fire might have been started by setting the files aflame,” Vanessa said. “Did you see anything in the files you gave Rex that can help us figure out why someone would want to destroy them or what Rex was talking about?”
“I’ve been through the files a few times, but I didn’t see anything that struck me as ‘odd.’” Kreuger looked at the house. “Did he die in the fire?”
“No,” Carrie said. “His body was burned, but the ME says he was probably dead when the fire started.”
“Thank God he didn’t burn to death. That’s a horrible way to die.”
“Dr. Grace found an entry wound in his forehead, and forensics found a bullet lodged in a wall under a painting. His body was found near the back door. Dr. Grace thinks Rex was shot by someone who came in that way and that he died immediately.”
“Do you have any more questions for Les?” Vanessa asked Carrie.
“No.”
“Why don’t you take off,” Vanessa said. “If you think of something that might help, give Carrie a call.”
Kreuger nodded. He took another look at the house and gave a sad shake of his head before walking to his car.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
The doorbell woke Marsha Armstrong from a deep sleep. She looked at the clock on her end table. When she saw the time, she bolted up in her bed. Ten o’clock! How had she slept until ten o’clock? She was an early riser, out of bed by seven at the latest. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept until ten. She looked at Doug’s side of the bed. It was empty, the sheets rumpled and his blankets thrown back. Doug was also an early riser, so she guessed that he was at the office.
The doorbell rang again. Marsha grabbed her robe and rushed down the steps. When she looked through the peephole, she saw Roger Dillon and Carrie Anders. She had no idea why they would be here. She opened the door.
“Hi, Mrs. Armstrong,” Roger said. “Is your husband home?”
“No. He’s probably at work.”
“I guess that means he’s feeling much better.”
“He is, but he still can’t remember what happened on the night Frank was murdered, if that’s what you’re here to find out.”
Carrie smiled. “It’s not.”
Marsha frowned. “Then what do you want with Doug?”
“Actually, we wanted to talk to the two of you.”
“Oh?”
“Can you tell me what you and Doug did last night?”
Marsha’s brow furrowed. “Why do you want to know?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute.”
Marsha hesitated.
“It’s important,” Roger said.
Marsha shrugged. “We stayed home. I fixed dinner and we watched some episodes of Game of Thrones Doug missed when he was in jail. Then we went to bed.”
“About what time was that?”
“I don’t know. Nine, nine thirty.”
It suddenly dawned on Marsha that she couldn’t remember what time she’d gone to bed or even going up to bed. She did remember seeing the episode where the dragons burned up the army, but even that memory was hazy.