Sedona Law 6 by Dave Daren (best non fiction books of all time .TXT) 📗

“Okay,” I said as I sipped my terribly bland coffee. “What do you know?”

“Well,” he said. “I went back and forth as to whether or not this even meant anything to her case. But, the more I think of it, the more I realize you ought to know.”

He fingered the rim of the table.

“On the tour in Africa, I saw something that I hadn’t told anyone,” he said. “One night in Kenya we all went out to this bar. It was the night before Kelsi left, and she had an early flight, and she was worried about the kid being sick, so she didn’t go out with us.

“Right,” I said. “Makes sense.”

“Neither did Roy,” he said. “He didn’t say why he wouldn’t go. He just stayed back at the hotel and no one thought anything of it. So we got to this bar, and James spent the whole night arguing with her on the phone about something. I don’t know what.”

He took a long sip of his drink.

“I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” he shrugged. “Look, if this turns out to have nothing to do with her case, then, cool. I just know that no one knows anything about the elephant tusks, and so I just thought I’d tell you what I knew.”

“I appreciate it,” I said. “Go ahead.”

“So,” he sighed. “I ended up, long story short, going back to the hotel early. I come out, and I passed by the pool, and well, there’s Roy and Kelsi in the pool, and they’re making out.”

“Roy and Kelsi?”  I asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” he smiled sheepishly. “I pretended I didn’t see anything and just went up to my room. I don’t think they saw that I saw them. They didn’t act like it the next day or anything. It could have been a one time thing, you know, a mistake. But, I just thought you should know what you’re dealing with.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Did they know each other before the band?”

“Oh yeah,” Gary nodded. “Roy and Kelsi have known each other for years. Long before either of them met James.”

“Really?” I asked. “Were they ever together?”

“Not that I know of,” he said. “But I’ve only met them all about five years ago.”

“Had you ever seen anything or heard anything before that that would make you think there was a connection between the two?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “I was totally shocked. I mean, he’s a lot older than her. And, he doesn’t seem like her type. He’s nothing like James.”

“Right,” I said.

“But the whole thing has given me a bad taste in my mouth,” he said. “For both of them. It’s low to cheat on your husband. Even lower to cheat on him with someone that he’s close to. But, I’ve heard that if she goes to trial, she could be in prison for a really long time. And I don’t want that to happen to her. I mainly don’t want that for her kids. They don’t deserve that. Losing both of their parents like that. That’s gotta kill you.”

“It would be hard on those kids if she goes to jail,” I nodded.

“That’s why I wanted to tell you that,” he shrugged. “Take it for what it’s worth.”

I stood and rose from the table. “Thanks for coming forward, Gary.”

“Well,” he said with a smile. “There’s one more thing.”

I raised an eyebrow. He pulled out his iPhone.

“One night,” he said as he tapped around the screen. “We were at a rehearsal, and we were working on this new song, and it wasn’t going so well, so I set up my iPad to record the rehearsal so we could listen to the playback.”

“Uh-huh,” I responded.

“The iPad was rigged up on a chair, at really bad angle, honestly,” he said. “And it caught something.”

I raised an eyebrow, and he showed my a video clip on his phone. He forwarded a certain point and then played. It appeared to be an empty club or cafe. The lighting was horrible, and the captured audio quality wasn’t much better. But, I could make out the band on a stage, in a stop and start rehearsal.

“Watch behind that counter,” Gary said.

I watched where he pointed, and sure enough, Kelsi and Roy were in the background. It was almost off camera, and they stood way too close. And then, I raised my eyebrow as I caught it. They kissed.

“Whoa,” I said. “I didn’t expect that. Do they know this recording exists?”

Gary shook his head. “Nope.”

With a couple of keystrokes, he e-mailed the file to me.

“You’re willing to sell out your friends like that?” I asked.

“If it will help Kelsi in the long run,” he said. “And I think it will.”

“I think you might be right,” I said.

I tossed my coffee cup and left the green mermaid. I drove back out to the office and contemplated what had just happened. How did all of these pieces fit together? I called the one person who I knew would know.

Roy Oberland.

“Roy,” I said once he answered. “This is Henry Irving, Kelsi Matthews’ lawyer. How’s it going?”

“Henry Irving,” he said. “Yeah, I remember you, good to hear from you. How are things going with Kelsi?”

“Well,” I said. “We’re getting closer to some answers for her.”

“I know she’s grateful for that,” Roy said. “We all are.”

“The reason I called,” I said. “Is that I want to meet with you. I had a few questions. Are you busy right now?”

“Uh,” he groaned. “I’m at work, but you can come by. Roy’s Body Shop, you know where that is?”

“I do,” I said. “I’m on my way over.”

“Great,” he said. “Can’t wait.”

I smirked as I ended the call. I wasn’t sure that