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

know what else she might be lying about. If the jury found out what I knew about her and Roy, she would look to be as unreliable as I found her to be.

We weren’t dealing with the Sedona PD, this was a Department of Justice prosecutor. The DoJ has a ninety-six percent conviction rate in cases it brings to trial. These guys were as sharp as tacs. They would find out about her relationship with Roy. Hell, they probably already knew.

“Right,” Vicki said. “If that’s the plea you enter, we only have a couple of options. We can try to get the case dismissed, or we’ll go to trial.”

“Are you suggesting I lie?” Kelsi asked incredulously.

“No one’s suggesting that,” I jumped in.

I leaned against the back of Vicki’s desk where Kelsi sat. I crossed my ankles and looked into her pleading eyes.

“We don’t want you to lie,” I repeated. “But, are you being completely forthcoming?”

“Yes,” she said. “I don’t know anything about smuggling.”

“Right,” I said. “I understand that. But, we have some evidence that’s not directly related to the case, but if it fell in the wrong hands, can compromise your position in front of the jury.”

“What evidence?” she said.

“What’s your relationship with Roy?” I asked.

“Uh,” she shrugged. “He was just James’ manager.”

“But you knew him before he did that,” I stated.

“Well,” she said. “I’ve known him a long time. I used to play, and we traveled in the same circles at some point.”

“Uh-huh,” I said. “Is there any reason he might have to be vindictive toward you or your marriage?”

“What?” she asked incredulously.

I pulled out my phone, and pulled up the file Gary had sent me, and played it.

“What is this?” she asked as I handed her my phone.

“It’s a rehearsal,” I said. “Watch behind that counter, just off camera.”

She watched impatiently. The clip was much longer without Gary forwarding to the time stamp. Then she suddenly gasped and then blinked and handed me the phone. I stopped the video, and she bit her lip and avoided eye contact.

“I don’t care what you do in your personal life,” I said. “That’s your business. But, when you’ve got a felony, a love triangle, and a death, all in one band, we need to know what’s going on.”

“Okay,” she said. “Roy and I had something, I don’t know what it was, a long time ago. Whatever it was, it didn’t work out. He can be charming, but at his core, he’s an asshole. So, I moved on, and he left town. I met James, got married, had Elias, our oldest, and then Roy shows back up. James wants a ticket out of Sedona, and I knew Roy could get him there, and so against my better judgment, I went to see Roy to ask him about it, and we rekindled what it was. He’s disgusting and old and... ugh. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. So Roy managed James’ band, and I told him we had to stop. And we did for a while...but…”

Her voice trailed off, and she looked at Vicki for sympathy. I glanced sideways at my fiancee, who damn well better not be empathetic to this cheating wife story.

“I think Henry’s right,” Vicki replied. “If the jury hears about this, you could lose credibility. Was the affair going on when you went to Africa?”

“No, no,” she shook her head. “By then, it was all over.”

I sighed and leaned my head back and then looked back at her.

“God damnit, Kelsi,” I said. “We’re trying to help you, but you’ve got to help us.”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked.

“We’ve got a witness that says they saw you and Roy in the pool in Africa,” I sighed.

“What?” she gasped. “Who?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “All that matters is if the prosecution gets the witness to testify. Then, you look like you were screwing around on your husband with the tour manager, and while it might be sexist as hell, no one, especially not a jury, ever sympathizes with a cheating wife.”

“I don’t know what this mysterious witness saw, or think they saw,” she said. “But, Roy and I were talking about--”

“It doesn’t matter, Kelsi,” I interrupted her. “There’s video footage, and a witness. It doesn’t look good. But we’ll try to spin it the best way possible. Keep the jury’s eye on the ball, the real case. Just because you might have had a dalliance with another man does not mean you were part of an international smuggling ring.”

“Exactly,” she said. “What does Roy have to do with the smuggling?”

“We’ll find out when we see what evidence the prosecutor has against you,” I replied.

“They won’t have any,” she pouted.

“Don’t push your luck,” I shot her a wry look. “Just be ready for the arraignment in the morning.”

“Thanks,” she said sarcastically.

She left the office and Vicki and AJ turned to me with shocked expressions.

“What was that?” Vicki asked.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

“Gary,” I said. “He saw them in a hotel pool in Africa and caught accidental footage of them kissing. Roy swears up and down that there was never anything going on between them. But, I think they’re both liars.”

I pulled up the video clip, and AJ and Vicki both watched the footage. I was tired of seeing it. Something about being an almost married man made me particularly impatient with a cheating wife. I was glad Vicki wasn’t the type. I had never once my doubts about her in that respect. The whole incident made me appreciate her that much more.

I turned off the clip and rolled my eyes.

“Well it doesn’t prove anything,” AJ said.

“No,” I said. “But James is dead, and there’s a backyard full of smuggled