Deadly Stillwater

“What are we looking for?” someone asked.

“You’re the cops, you tell me,” Peters replied edgily. He was sleep deprived, all of them were. He stopped, took a deep breath, and said, “Sorry, it’s been a long night. What you’re looking for, it’s a little bit of you-know-it-when-you-see-it. These guys yesterday set up and executed a complicated plan. In looking through the client files, does anyone strike you as having the ability to develop and execute such a plan? It wouldn’t necessarily have to be a kidnapping. Lyman’s represented jewel thieves, break-in artists, confidence guys, and the leaders of some crews who specialized in high-end crimes. Not to mention all the white-collar criminals he’s represented. So, if you run across anyone who has pulled off or was accused of pulling off an elaborate, well-planned crime, let’s take a look at them.”

“It also could be someone who wasn’t a client,” someone else noted.

“That’s right,” Peters said. “This is just one avenue to pursue. We’re looking at other angles as well. We’re talking to Hisle’s family, her roommates, her friends to see if anyone unusual was hanging around, any strange phone calls, angry ex-boyfriends, etc.”

“Anything from the cafe or over in River Falls?” someone asked.

“Not yet,” was Peters’ response. “BCA and FBI are going through it all, but our sense is, don’t hold your breath.”

“How about from the Clearwater phone?”

“Ditto,” Peters replied.

“These guys know what they’re doing and probably have a pretty good idea of what we’ll be doing,” Mac added. “So we’re not just looking for someone who would have something against Lyman. We’re looking for someone who has something against Lyman and the mental acuity to pull it off without a trace.”

“Mental acuity?” Lich whispered mockingly. “What the fuck’s mental acuity?”

“Something you don’t have, knuckle-dragger,” Mac snickered back, though Lich possessed plenty of it.

“One other thing,” Captain Peters added, pointing to four other people who entered the room. “These are lawyers from Hisle’s office. They’re in a…” the captain struggled for the right works. “…a difficult spot. There are some attorney-client issues related to our reviewing the files. These lawyers will help with that.”

“How will they help?” Lich asked.

“By helping us work through the files. They have clearance from the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board for us to access the files. But at the same time, we don’t know if anyone in these files is even involved with this. So there needs to be some sensitivity to that.”

“So what’s going to happen?” Double Frank asked. “Are they going to read it first and tell us if something’s relevant? What we think matters and what they think matters could be entirely different.”

Summer Plantagenate, one of the Hisle’s lawyers, spoke up.

“We’re not going to pre-screen for you. You can look at everything. We’re more concerned with where the information goes after you review it, especially for people you conclude are not involved. My firm needs to protect those folks, so that’s where we could have issues. But you can access everything and we’ll go from there.”

That answer satisfied everyone. Coats were jettisoned, more coffee was brewed and poured – and boxes were opened. Mac sidled up to Summer, who he’d know since law school, they’re time at William Mitchell overlapping. She had recently been named a partner at Lyman’s firm and was viewed by many as his protege. Always immaculately dressed, Summer was a cool customer, and an attractive woman with icy blonde hair and a cool demeanor to match. That demeanor caused some to call her “Winter.” But at the moment, it wasn’t hard to see the anguish on her face. Not only was Lyman like a father to her, she also knew Shannon Hisle well.

“So you guys get to work the other side of a case, huh?” Mac asked.

“Yes, we have to,” was her short reply. The attorneys were there to help, but also ethically bound to protect their clients’ interests. Letting the police rifle through clients’ files created an ethical quandary for any attorney.

“So what do we have here?”

“All of Lyman’s criminal files, both from the office and from off-site storage,” Summer replied.

“How about his civil stuff?” Mac asked, taking a sip of his coffee. Burton walked up as Summer answered.

“It’ll be here soon,” Summer answered. “Agent Burton and the chief think this is coming from the criminal side, and I tend to agree with them, but the civil files are coming just the same. We’ll get them over here by early afternoon.”

Mac nodded, recalling the conversation from the night before, and began to survey the mass of files, running a hand through his hair.

“You’ve worked for him for awhile.” He asked, “Does anyone come to mind that would have the ability to pull this off?”

“I’ve been wracking my brain on this, but no,” she replied. “But some of these files go back long before my time, so there are names I’m not familiar with. I mean, there are files that have old dittos with the yellow and pink carbons.”