Found Money - James Grippando [117]
“Wait a minute. You mean they’ve already linked me to Brent’s murder?”
“You’re probably the number one suspect, Ryan. And that’s just based on what happened in court yesterday. They don’t even have the gun yet.”
“Great. Kozelka is going to give them the damn gun if we go forward with tomorrow’s meeting with the FBI.”
“Kind of a catch–twenty-two, I know. But there’s one sure way to beat it.”
“What?”
“Just tell the FBI you’re being framed.”
“I can’t. It’s like my mom said. If I tell them I’m being framed, I have to tell them why I’m being framed—which means telling them all about the rape and the extortion. And you know what, Norm? You may have your doubts about my father, and those doubts may be reasonable. But if that letter from Debby Parkens is true and my dad didn’t commit the rape, then he did deserve the money. That money was his justice. Turning it over to the FBI and telling them it’s extortion isn’t just stupid. It’s a betrayal.”
“I can see how you feel that way. But there comes a point where it may be too late to claim you were framed.”
“I haven’t even been formally accused yet, Norm.”
“True. But as more time passes, the tighter Kozelka can weave his net.”
“Why the hell is he going to all the trouble of framing me, anyway? If he wanted to keep me from talking to the FBI, why not just kill me outright?”
“My guess is that the trip you made to K&G Enterprises saved your life. It would have been very incriminating if you were to turn up dead right after paying Kozelka a personal visit.”
“That makes sense, I guess.”
They paused to collect their thoughts. Finally, Norm asked, “What are you thinking?”
“I was thinking about timing. You said Joe Kozelka and Marilyn Gaslow were divorced twenty years ago. Was it before or after Amy’s mother wrote this letter to my father?”
“After. The divorce was final within a year, actually.”
“So they were still married when Kozelka started making the first few extortion payments to my father.”
“That’s right.”
Ryan asked, “Why would he keep paying after they were divorced?”
“Probably for the same reason he’s so determined to keep you from talking to the FBI.”
“But speaking from personal experience, if someone were blackmailing Liz, I’m not sure I’d feel obligated to keep paying after our marriage was over. What kind of thing could he have going on with his ex-wife?”
“Something’s screwy there.”
“You’re telling me.” Ryan thought for a moment. “Push our meeting with the FBI to the end of the day, at least. I need some extra time.”
“Oh, shit. Last time I heard you talk like this you nearly landed in a Panamanian prison.”
“Don’t worry. This time I’ll wear my running shoes. Talk to you later.” He hung up the phone and hurried to his truck.
54
Sunday was a workday for the presidential appointee. Marilyn Gaslow had just a few days to prepare for her Senate confirmation hearings, and she was wasting not a minute.
Her advisors were working with her at her home in Denver. Some were her friends, some were paid consultants. Today, they would engage in role-playing. Five partners from her law firm pretended to be the Senate Judiciary Committee, firing questions. One of them even showed up with a hangover to lend an added element of authenticity. Marilyn would answer as if it were the real thing. No one was to pull any punches. They assured her that this mock exercise would be much tougher than the real thing.
Marilyn prayed they were right.
To say that head of the Federal Reserve had been a lifelong dream wouldn’t be entirely correct. Marilyn was too much of a realist to dream for things that didn’t seem attainable. True, she had been one of the President’s earliest supporters in Colorado. Her law firm had raised millions for his two campaigns. It didn’t take a cerebral hernia to figure out that someone at Bailey, Gaslow & Heinz was due a political plum of an appointment. The buzz at the law firm was something along the lines of an assistant cabinet position or perhaps an appointment to the federal