Split Second

He thought for a bit. "No. Too many years and cases in the interim."

"And this firm somehow got the charges dropped?"

"Not only that, I heard they got the record of the arrest expunged, all the details. They must have been really good. In my dealings with the government back then, that rarely happened."

"Well, you said some of the government prosecutors were pretty unethical. Maybe people got paid off," suggested King. "Lawyers and cops."

"I guess that might have happened," said Holmgren. "I mean, if you're going to trump up cases, I suppose you'd be willing to take abribe to make a case go away. The government lawyer on the case was young, ambitious as hell, and always struck me as being way too slick. But he was good at playing the game, looking to jump to bigger and better things. I never saw him cross the line, though others in the office did. I do know that I felt sorry for his boss, who took a lot of the heat when all the crap in that office hit the fan years later. Billy Martin was a good guy. He didn't deserve that."

King and Michelle looked at the man, utterly stunned. King finally found his voice. "And the name of the government lawyer who prosecuted Arnold Ramsey?"

"Oh, that one I'll never forget. It was the fellow who was running for president and then got kidnapped. John Bruno."

59

King and Michelle went straight from Holmgren's to VCU in Richmond. Kate Ramsey wasn't at the Center for Public Policy. They were able to talk the receptionist into giving them Kate's home phone number. They called, but the woman who answered was Kate's roommate. She didn't know where Kate was. She hadn't seen her since that morning. When Michelle asked if they could come to see her, she hesitantly agreed.

On the way over, Michelle asked, "Do you think Kate knows about Bruno and her father? Please don't tell me that. She can't."

"I have a sinking feeling you're wrong."

They drove to Kate's apartment and spoke with the roommate, whose name was Sharon. At first Sharon was reluctant to talk, but when Michelle flashed her badge, she became far more cooperative. With her permission they looked around Kate's small bedroom but found nothing that was helpful. Kate was a serious reader, and her room was stacked with works that would have taxed most academicians. Then King found the box on the top shelf of the closet. It held a gun-cleaning kit and a box of nine-millimeter shells. He looked ominously at Michelle, who shook her head sadly.

"Do you know why Kate carries a gun?" King asked Sharon.

"She was mugged. At least that's what she told me. She bought it about seven or eight months ago. I hate having the thing around,but she has a license for it and all. And she goes to shooting ranges to practice. She's a good shot."

"That's comforting. Did she have it with her when she left this morning?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Has there been anybody coming to see Kate, other than school-related? A man, for instance?"

"As far as I know she doesn't even date. She's always out at some rally or march or attending council meetings to protest something. She makes me dizzy sometimes with all that goes on inside her head. I can barely make it to class and keep my boyfriend happy much less worry about the shape the world's in, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But I meant an older guy, maybe in his fifties." He described Thornton Jorst but Sharon shook her head.

"I don't think so. Although a couple of times I saw her get out of a car in front of the apartment building. I couldn't see who was driving, but I think it was a guy. When I asked her about it, she became pretty evasive."

"Can you describe the vehicle?"

"Mercedes, a big one."

"So a rich guy. When was the first time you saw that?" Michelle said.

"Maybe about nine or ten months ago. I remember because Kate had recently started her postgraduate work here. She doesn't have many friends. If she was meeting anyone, she didn't do it here. But she's hardly ever here."

As they were talking, Michelle held the cleaning kit up to her ear and shook it. There was a small sound. She dug her fingers under the lining and pulled it out. Her fingers locked around a small key. She showed it to Sharon. "Any idea what this is to? Looks like maybe a storage locker."

"There are some of those in the basement," Sharon answered. "I didn't know Kate had one."

Michelle and King descended to the basement, found the storage closet, matched the number with the one on the key and opened it. King turned on a light, and they looked around at the stacks of boxes.

King drew a deep breath and said, "Okay, this will either be a bust or a gold mine."