“Me and the Cowan family go way back. I’d never arrest Trey unless I was forced to. Trudy knows that.”
“Does she also know that you work for me?”
“Of course not,” Kelly said. “Nobody knows that.”
For a moment, there was silence, and then Kelly asked the question hanging in the air. “Tyson, did Trey make a run for you?”
“No,” Tyson answered.
“Then where’d he go?”
“Beats the hell out of me. Doesn’t his father live in Florida?”
“Yeah, but according to Trudy, Trey won’t have anything to do with him.”
“Maybe not,” Tyson said. “But money is a strange motivator.”
“What does that mean?”
“Maybe the golden boy wanted some dough? Maybe he borrowed fifteen grand from his old man so he could pay Waylon Pike to kill Waters?” Tyson chuckled. “Wouldn’t that be some shit?”
“You don’t really believe that, do you?” Kelly asked.
Tyson’s grin faded away. “Do you really think I’d tell you what I believe, Kelly?” Tyson waited a beat and changed the subject. “What’s Rich up to? What’s the scuttlebutt in the office?”
“He shook everyone up with his press conference today, which immediately led to a gag order from Judge Conrad.”
“Do the sheriff and the district attorney still feel confident in a conviction?”
“Yes, but they’re concerned about Pike.”
“Why?”
“He’s a convicted felon, just like Rich said on television today. They’re concerned about his credibility.”
“Don’t they have more?”
“Of course. They have motive out the ying-yang with Dr. Waters’s affair and his threat to file for divorce. Plus, no one had more contact with Pike than Jana Waters. And she’s one of the richest women in town, and she did take out $15,000 cash from the bank the day before the murder.”
“Sounds rock solid to me. Jason Rich is going to have to be a magician to get his sister out of that.”
“He’s not going to roll over. That seems pretty clear.”
“Maybe not,” Tyson said. “And as long as he keeps his word about not implicating me, I don’t care what he does. Hell, I almost hope he wins.”
“You’re not serious?” Kelly asked.
Tyson thumped the deputy on the side of the head with his index finger like he might be a five-year-old kid acting up. “You’re not going to make me beat your ass, are you, Kelly?”
“No, sir,” Kelly said.
“Good.”
“Now, is there anything else you can tell me about what’s going on with Jana’s lawyer?”
Kelly rubbed the side of his head. “He’s receiving a public reprimand by the Alabama State Bar tomorrow at their monthly meeting in Montgomery.”
“Really?” Tyson asked. “Montgomery, huh?”
“Yes. Rich had to go to rehab for ninety days for being drunk during a deposition. The reprimand deals with that. Apparently, he has to stand before all the bar commissioners while they publicly shame him.” Kelly whistled through his teeth. “Sounds awful.”
“It does,” Tyson said.
And it also sounds like an opportunity, he thought.
41
Jason found Knox Rogers sitting by himself on a wooden bench on the outside patio of Yellowhammer Brewing. The attorney had salt-and-pepper hair and sported large circular glasses, faded jeans, and a white button-down with the sleeves rolled up. He had what looked like a case file laid out on the table and was marking medical records with a yellow highlighter. As Jason approached, the man leaned back and held his glasses out from him.
“Well, God-a-mighty,” Knox said. “You look just like your billboard.”
Jason sat on the other side of the bench and extended his hand. “Jason Rich.”
“Knox Rogers,” he said, taking a long sip from his glass. “Really. I think that’s the same suit and tie that’s on the one on the parkway.” He winked. “I passed it on the way here.”
“My wardrobe is pretty limited right now,” Jason said. “Thanks for making time for me.”
“I’d say get a beer, but I suspect you probably shouldn’t be doing that.”
Jason tensed. “You know . . . about my problem.”
“I’ve got a lot of lawyer friends in Birmingham,” Knox said.
“Why’d you insist on meeting here then?”