The Undertaker's Widow by Phillip Margolin Page B

said.
    Garrett grinned back at her. “Good. I’ve been told that you have a thick skin. I wanted to see for myself. You’re going to need it before this thing plays out.”
    â€œWhat exactly do you take ‘this thing’ to be?”
    â€œThe Prince of Darkness’s dumber brother has an indictment charging you with two counts of aggravated murder. Aggravated murder, as you know from your days as a cop, carries a possible death sentence.
    â€œBefore I go any further, I’m going to explain the attorney-client relationship to you. And I want you to listen very closely to what I say, because this is not just a civics lecture.
    â€œAnything you tell me is confidential. That means that, by law, I’m forbidden to tell anyone what you confide to me. It also gives you the freedom to tell me the most outrageous lies, but you may pay a price if you aren’t completely honest. The best liar I ever represented is sitting in prison because I turned down a plea offerthat would have kept him out of jail as a result of a fairy tale that he concocted. Do I make myself clear?”
    â€œPerfectly. But I have no reason to lie to you.”
    â€œThen why did Riker go to the grand jury?”
    â€œIsn’t it obvious? Have you seen the latest polls? Cedric Riker is one of Ben Gage’s tools. Gage was a major contributor to Riker’s campaign and Riker owes him his job. Indicting me is a way of paying back Gage.”
    â€œI don’t doubt that Riker is motivated by politics, but he can’t go in front of a grand jury without evidence.” Crease remembered that Orchard had said the same thing. “What does he have on you, Senator?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    Garrett formed a steeple with her fingers and thought out loud.
    â€œWe know Jablonski fired the shot that killed your husband, so the only way you would be implicated in your husband’s death would be if you hired him to do it.”
    â€œMs. Garrett …”
    â€œCall me Mary. We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other.”
    â€œMary, then. I didn’t even know Martin Jablonski existed until my husband was murdered. Cedric Riker could not have any evidence implicating me in my husband’s death, because I had nothing to do with it.”
    â€œLet’s approach this problem from a different angle,” Garrett said. “Was there something going on in your relationship with Lamar Hoyt that Riker could interpret as a motive for murder?”
    Crease hesitated and Garrett concluded that her client was making a decision that would shape the direction of her representation. After a moment, Crease looked directly at her lawyer and said, “There’s the money I’m going to inherit and the Hoyt Industries stock, which will make me the majority shareholder. Butif I had hired Jablonski to kill Lamar, it would have been because Lamar was cheating on me with a woman named Karen Fargo.”
    â€œHow long had you known?” Garrett asked softly.
    â€œSince Lamar stopped having sex with me regularly.”
    â€œDid you confront your husband?”
    â€œYes. I wasn’t surprised. In fact, I’d been expecting this for some time. I was Lamar’s third wife and each marriage followed a pattern. Lamar would marry a woman in her twenties, then tire of her when she turned thirty or so. He began cheating on his first two wives when they were about my age and I expected him to cheat on me. The difference is that I’m not a docile airhead like the first two Mrs. Hoyts. I loved Lamar and I decided to break the cycle so I could keep our marriage intact.”
    â€œWhat did you do?”
    â€œI made it crystal-clear to Lamar that I wasn’t going to stand for his bullshit. He bought off his first two wives. I told Lamar that he’d be living on the street if he tried to pull this crap with me. Then I asked him point-blank if Miss Fargo could ring his bell