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

I needed to get the conversation back on track.

“Well,” he said. “James Matthews approached me out of the blue. Said he needed a manager. He wanted to get more exposure, out of Sedona. At first I told him, no. I was done with music.”

“And what changed your mind?” I asked.

“Oh,” he said. “James invited me to one of his shows, and it was good. And I couldn’t keep from being involved.”

Something about that sounded too fishy and vague. I suspected Kelsi had something to do with him changing his mind.

“I heard you knew Kelsi from way back,” I said.

“I did,” he nodded. “Kelsi…”

His voice trailed off for a minute and then he had a faraway look in his eyes.

“Kelsi was in the first band I managed,” he said. “It was a couple of girls called Lips. It was the summer after high school for them, and they were just having fun. Nothing serious. They were alright, for a bunch of kids that didn’t know how to play. I booked them a few coffee houses and festivals and then one of the girls went off to college, and you know how it goes after that.”

“Right,” I said. “And what was your relationship with Kelsi after that?”

He made a face and then his tone turned defensive. “If you’re implying that I had a romantic relationship with her--”

“Whoa, I’m not implying anything,” I replied. “You had a professional relationship with her, and then later on with her husband and I figured that’s connected. Really, I’m just trying to find out how Kelsi went to Africa and then wound up with a dead husband and elephant tusks in her backyard.”

“My sincerest condolences go out to Kelsi,” he said. “But I don’t know anything about either of those incidents.”

“I didn’t say you did,” I responded. “But, you knew all of those guys. You knew more about what was going on on that tour than any of them, didn’t you?”

“What makes you think that?” he raised an eyebrow.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a copy of the contract between James and Roy.

“You had James’ ear,” I said. “Why?”

Roy leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips as he stared at a fixed point on the wall. Then he turned back to me.

“James was a hard man to know,” he said. “Smart as a whip and talented to boot. But, he could be cold and calculating, that’s why Kelsi was--”

He stopped himself mid-sentence and shook his head of the thought.

“Why Kelsi was what?” I asked.

“Nevermind,” he sat up straighter in his chair. “I signed a contract with James because I knew he was going somewhere, and I knew what he knew. He wasn’t going anywhere with that amateur band behind him. He needed real talent.”

“Whose idea was it to fire the band?” I asked.

“His,” he said. “Look, this is all sensitive band politics that I don’t care to discuss, and it has little to no bearing on Kelsi’s current predicament.”

“On the contrary,” I smiled. “I think it has everything to do with Kelsi’s current predicament.”

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “How so?”

“Try this on,” I rose and leaned over his desk.

A slight smile played about his lips, and his eyes twinkled with amusement.

“You and Kelsi had an on and off fling since she was barely legal,” I started.

Roy raised his eyebrows, grinned sideways, and his belly shook with silent laughter.

“You moved back here to get her back,” I continued. “Only to find that she was happily married. Or so you thought. She came crawling back to you, and got you to manage her husband’s band as a cover.”

He cocked his head, and ran his tongue over his teeth.

“Is that so, John Grisham?” he mocked. “What happened next?”

His arrogance was meant to throw me off my game, but I charged on. The case had come together in my mind.

“James got into financial trouble of some sort,” I said. “You knew Irwin Montague.”

The smile faded from his face at the name.

“You introduced James and Irwin,” I continued. “And then booked the trip to Africa. Had him buying and selling contraband left and right. That’s what the whole trip to Africa, and the alleged donation to the Kenyan Wildlife Fund was all about. And then, James died with the feds on his heels. And you let Kelsi take the blame.”

He studied the desk and then glanced back up at me, anger smoldering in his dark eyes.

“Why?” I asked simply. “Why leave her out in the cold like that? What’s your angle?”

“As entertaining as your anecdote may be,” he said. “I’m afraid you’ve watched too many crime TV shows. You’re completely off base.”

“No, I’m not,” I held his eyes hard.

“Prove it,” he demanded.

“I intend to,” I said.

“This is a small town, Henry,” he began. “I’ll be seeing ya.”

On that comment, I turned and left the shop.

I drove back to our office, and arrived to find it a flurry of activity. Kelsi was in the office. The arraignment was in the morning, and she and Vicki were going over the details. AJ looked to be buried in requisition requests, and I handed her a sticky for another one.

“We will want the financials for both James and Kelsi, Roy, and the James Matthews Band,” I told her.

“Got it,” she said.

I settled into my desk and listened to Vicki and Kelsi.

“It will be quick,” Vicki told her. “The judge will read the charges and ask you how you plea.”

“Well, I’m definitely going to plead not guilty,” she said.

At the moment, even hearing her voice grated on my nerves. I didn’t love what I had just uncovered about her, and I didn’t