Slow Kill - Michael Mcgarrity [100]
“I’ll get one,” the DA answered nervously.
Warren smiled. “Until such time, Your Honor, I respectfully request that Mrs. Spalding be released from jail.”
Frye glared at him. “So ordered.”
“Thank you. Would you call the jail now?”
Frye slammed his hand down on the telephone. “You’d better make damn sure your client stays put, Mr. Warren.”
“She gave me assurances to that effect, Your Honor. She’ll be at her home in Montecito. I’ll take her there myself.”
While Frye made the call, the DA used his cell phone to rally the sheriff’s troops.
With a signed release order in hand, Warren left the courthouse, called the jail, and told them he would be picking up Mrs. Spalding in a matter of minutes. Two deputies in unmarked police cars were waiting when he arrived. Warren figured a surveillance team was probably on the way to Montecito to make sure she stayed put while other detectives scrambled to get an arrest warrant from New Mexico.
He went inside and got Claudia, who didn’t say a word until they were in his car.
“Well done,” she said as she buckled her seat belt.
“I don’t think you’ll be free for very long,” Warren said as he pulled onto the highway, the two unmarked police cars close behind. He explained the situation. “Perhaps no more than a matter of hours.”
“I understand,” Claudia said softly.
Warren glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. The hem of her black dress rode up an inch above her knees, showing sleek, smooth calves. Her hips were nicely rounded, her neck long and flawless.
She turned her head and smiled warmly at him. “Could you hurry a bit, please?”
Claudia Spalding’s allure was subtle yet powerful, and Warren found himself obediently hurrying along.
At the gate to the estate, the two unmarked police cars pulled to the curb as he turned into the driveway and entered the code Claudia provided on the keypad. He drove up the lane not knowing what to expect. But he’d represented many celebrity clients, was familiar with their extravagant lifestyles, and figured the estate had to be top of the line. When the mansion came into view it matched anything he’d seen in Beverly Hills.
He parked and looked at Claudia Spalding. “There’s a slight chance the judge will reconsider granting bail if you’re here when the police show up with a new warrant. I’ll certainly make a strong argument for it.”
“That’s something to look forward to,” Claudia said.
“Would you like me to stay with you until they arrive?”
Claudia shook her head, her hand on the door latch. “No, Mr. Warren, that won’t be necessary.”
“It would be in your best interest to have me stick around,” he said, fully aware his motives were mixed.
Claudia flashed him a knowing smile and stepped out of the car. “Yes, I’m sure it would. Good night, Mr. Warren.”
He watched her walk to the house, her posture perfect, body moving in a lithesome rhythm, as though she didn’t have a care in the world.
Lieutenant Dante Macy found it no easy matter to have a warrant for Claudia Spalding’s arrest issued by a Santa Fe district court judge. Since it was after normal working hours on a Friday, he first had to go through a Santa Fe PD dispatcher, who put him in touch with the highest ranking officer on duty, a patrol captain, who in turn referred him to the lieutenant in charge of special investigations.
Macy called the lieutenant at home, who contacted an off-duty detective named Matt Chacon. Detective Chacon got on the stick in a hurry and talked to the ADA on duty. He reported back promptly to Macy that the original arrest affidavit prepared by Sergeant Pino had been turned down by the DA and would have to be reworked and re-submitted.
Macy knew Pino was on her way to California, bringing with her all the case materials. “Do you have the information you need to do it?”
“We have copies of everything,” Chacon replied.
“How long will it take you?”
“I’ll use what the sergeant wrote, add in the Dean confession, and that should do it.”
“How long?” Macy repeated.
“An hour to do the paperwork,” Chacon replied. “I’ll hand-carry it to the ADA, who has