CHAPTER 20

“Five years.”

Aaron Garrett stated as soon as he stepped into the room. He was dressed well in a black fitted suit, with a blue tie lying straight down the middle of his crisp white shirt. “Early guilty plea, and he serves five years. That deal is still on the table, and I suggest your client takes it.”

Hennessy closed his laptop, turned over the file on his desk, and invited Garrett to sit. “He won’t even consider it.”

“Will you at least encourage him to take it?”

“I presented it to him, but he doesn’t want to do a day in prison. He says he’s too old for prison and doesn’t like the idea of dying back there. It doesn’t matter if it’s one year or fifteen; he’s not going to survive behind bars.”

Garrett placed his briefcase beside him and sat down, leaning back in his chair, trying to present an image of confidence. But it was fake confidence, trying to mask the nerves he was feeling. His movements were twitchy, and he couldn’t find a comfortable position in the chair. He avoided eye contact with Hennessy. “He could survive five years. If he keeps his head down and doesn’t make any trouble, he could be out before he knows it. Then, he has a chance at living a great life after his prison sentence. He’ll serve five years, be out in his mid-sixties, and he can go off and do whatever he wants in his retirement.”

“I’ll take it to him again, but he won’t accept it.”

Hennessy leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “The missing witnesses hurt your case.”

“Maybe.”

Garrett nodded and looked at the wall. “But they’ve made statements we can use in court.”

“You must know that I’ll dispute the use of those statements.”

“Of course.”

Garrett nodded and let the silence hang between them for a while. When the moment dragged on for too long, Garrett felt the need to fill the gap in the conversation. “I’m sure you’ve figured out who Witness Two and Three are by now.”

“John Tilly and Debra Fisher.”

Garrett nodded. “Both parties have disappeared off the face of the planet, and nobody knows where they are. They were both reported missing by their respective spouses, and I must say that both parties’ disappearances were similar—their cell phones were left at home, they disappeared on the same day, and none of the children are talking. Their vehicles are still in the driveway, most of their clothes are still in the bedrooms, and their valuables have been left behind.”

“Did they withdraw any cash?”

Garrett didn’t answer, pressing his lips together and looking away.

“How much did they take out?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“I’m going to receive the missing persons file as part of discovery for this case this week. I’ll get the information one way or another.”

Garrett looked away and then sighed. “Tens of thousands each.”

“Enough to start a new life.”

“Maybe.”

“This better not be a cheap tactic by your team, Aaron. If they reappear in two weeks, I will dispute their appearance at the trial.”

“Is that what you think this is? No way. That would be a very underhanded move. I can assure you that we have no idea where they are. It’s been five weeks, and no one has found them.”

Garrett scoffed and shook his head. “And we know what you’re going to do. You’re going to target them as part of your third-party culpability defense, suggesting that they were hiding the cash before their getaway. You’re going to blame them for the despicable actions of Bernard Palin.”

“Two members of an accounting firm are having an affair, they quit the same day, and then disappear without a trace before a criminal trial. That sounds like more than a coincidence.”

“Come on, Joe. This case isn’t about catching a couple having an affair—this is about catching a career-long criminal who has gotten away with so much that he couldn’t remember what innocence is. This is about justice. This is about all the people he’s ripped off and betrayed. This is about the struggling children he stole money from.”

“Palin is claiming he’s innocent.”

“You and I both know that man is far from innocent. He’s spent a lifetime ripping people off and using his connections to wield power over vulnerable people. There are so many witnesses who will testify that Palin has ripped them off in the past. That’s not a good look, and the jury will take one look at him and understand the type of man he is.”

“Your duty is to the courts and the justice system. Your duty is not to convict someone because you think they’re guilty. If you put people away because you ‘think’ they’re guilty, you’re going down a slippery slope to tyranny.”

“There’s no tyranny here. We all know the truth. Palin was embezzling money from a children’s charity foundation to set up his retirement in Costa Rica. There’s no moral good in that.”

Garrett held his stare for a few moments before looking away. “And no matter how you play this with Fisher and Tilly, there’s still a long witness list willing to testify against Palin. He’s guilty, no doubt about it.”

“You’re not the jury. You don’t get to decide who’s guilty or innocent.”

“But I’m the prosecutor. I get to decide who is charged or not, and let me remind you, I have a ninety-five percent win rate. I don’t take cases to court unless I’m sure I can win it. I’m almost certain of the outcome if I end up in court. And in this case, well, it’s about as solid as they come. I don’t even know why he’s trying to weasel out of it. He’s going to prison, and there’s nothing you can do to stop that.”

“He deserves a fair trial.”

“Fair?”

Garrett scoffed. “That’s a matter of opinion. He certainly wasn’t thinking about fairness when he stole all that money. Do you think it’s fair to the children?”

Hennessy didn’t answer.

“I can see we’re getting nowhere today,”

Garrett said. He reached down and picked up his briefcase, opening it on his lap. He removed a file and placed it on the edge of Hennessy’s desk before he closed his briefcase and stood. He tapped his finger on the file. “Here’s the redacted witness list, which is accompanied by several pieces of evidence. We’ll email you a copy as well, but I thought I’d personally drop this one off. I’m sure it’ll make for good reading.”

“What’s the new evidence?”

“A bank statement from the account in question. Palin gave one witness a copy of the bank statement to prove he had the money. We couldn’t release this evidence before now because it would’ve identified the witness. It’s an important piece of the puzzle, so I’m sure if you apply for a continuance, Judge Clayton will allow you extra time to review it. We won’t object to that.”

Garrett nodded to Hennessy, and then left without another word. Once he had gone, Jacinta walked back into the office.

Hennessy looked at the folder, contemplating what was inside. When Jacinta sat down, Hennessy reached forward and opened the file.

His mouth dropped open as he read the first page.

“Who is it? Do we know any of the other witnesses?”

Jacinta asked.

Hennessy stared at the first page of the file, examining the details. The first page listed the five witness names, followed by their aliases.

And it was Witness One that had caught his attention.

He’d been played. He’d been set up from the start.

“Who is it, Joe? Who is Witness One?”

He turned the file around and pushed the page before his assistant.

“Oh,”

Jacinta whispered. “Really?”

“Our mystery witness, Witness One, who made the tip-off and started all of this, is Clarence Berkley.”