“Did your husband have any idea how much you hated it there?”
“I didn’t hate it. But Oscar loved it. At least until the very end.”
“I guess it’s fair to say that you were going to be living in fear-as long as Oscar was alive.”
“I didn’t kill my husband in order to get off the island, if that’s your implication.”
“It’s not my implication. But it does tie in nicely with your motivation to get your hands on Oscar’s trust fund and to get off the island and enjoy life. We should expect the prosecution to play that angle.”
“It won’t work. Like I said, Oscar was beginning to have a change of heart before he died. He was making more and more comments about how it might be time for us to leave Guantánamo. Why would I kill him when he finally started to talk about leaving?”
“Did he put in for a formal transfer?”
“No.”
“Is there anyone but you who can substantiate the fact that he was thinking about leaving Guantánamo?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Did you mention it to one of your friends? Maybe your friend in Washington? Nancy what’s her name. The one who is married to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
Lindsey bristled, seeming to realize that he was testing her. “I haven’t spoken to her in a very long time.”
“Good thing,” said Jack. “She’s dead.”
She averted her eyes and said, “I found that out only after I put on that little show for you at Deli Lane.”
“Lieutenant Johnson says you did the same show for him in Guantánamo. What’s it all about, Lindsey?”
She sighed, seemingly embarrassed. “Truth is, I did meet her once. And she did give me her phone number. We weren’t exactly girlfriends, and I admit, I did throw her name around a little, just for effect. It was wrong of me to do it, but…I don’t know. The military can be such a ‘who you know’ environment, and an officer’s spouse can feel like such an ornament. It does strange things to your self-esteem. Makes you do stupid things to try to impress people. I guess I did it with you, too. I’m sorry about that.”
“Lieutenant Johnson would have had me believe that you were walking around Guantánamo talking to dead people on your cell phone.”
“He’s such a jerk. First of all, I don’t talk to dead people. Second, it’s just like him to twist the story and say it was a cell phone, which is his way of making me look even crazier. Last time I checked, civilian cell phones aren’t much good in Guantánamo. It was a Palm Pilot, not a cell phone. But that’s the way he operates. Whenever he has something to hide, he goes on the offensive.”
“You’ve seen him do that before?”
“Sure. Here’s a perfect example. After Oscar was killed, I decided to stay at Guantánamo as long as possible. I wanted to be there, eyes and ears open, until I found out who the bastard was who came into our home and shot him. Lieutenant Johnson was one of the first to complain to Oscar’s commanding officer and say I should be kicked off the base because I was bad for morale.”
“It’s pretty clear that he thinks you shot your husband.”
“No kidding. But did he tell you why he wanted me off the base before the NCIS report came back? Hell, he wanted me off the base before Oscar’s body was cold.”
“Maybe he knew what the report was going to say.”
She raised an eyebrow, and Jack realized the implications of his observation. Lindsey said, “I’m so glad to hear you say that. Nice to know I’m not the only one who understands that the fix was in when that report named me the chief suspect. What else did Lieutenant Johnson have to say for himself?”
“I didn’t get to ask him many questions about your husband’s death. Every five minutes the JAG lawyer kept reminding him that he could leave any time he wanted, and he finally picked up on the hint.”
“Who else did you get to talk to?”
“No one. Everyone else on my witness list has been transferred to another base.”
“Unbelievable. Did you at least get to visit my house?”
“Only for a few minutes. The investigators released the crime scene two weeks ago. Someone else is living there now. The place has been scrubbed and repainted.”
“That was it, then? You went all the way down there, and all you got was one partial interview and a quick stop at a cleaned-up crime scene?”
“Afraid so. From the moment we met with Lieutenant Johnson, it seemed they couldn’t get Sofia and me off the base fast enough.”
Lindsey ran her fingers through her hair, head down. “This supports everything I’ve been saying all along. They’re circling the wagons. They’re afraid you’re going to find out why Oscar was really killed.”
“That’s going to be tough to prove, but we may have an important lead in that direction. Sofia and I were stopped by the Cuban government on our way out of Havana. There’s a Cuban tower guard who may offer some helpful testimony.”
“A Cuban soldier?”
“Yeah. The Cubans and Americans are watching each other constantly down there. It’s not a total shock that someone on the other side of the razor wire might see something.”
“What did he see?”
“I haven’t interviewed him yet, so I don’t want to get your hopes up too much. But according to the colonel we met with, one of the Cuban guards saw you leave your house for work, just as you say you did. And, more important, he saw someone else come in.”
Lindsey’s mouth was agape. “Oh, my God. That’s fantastic! Did he see who it was?”
“They claim to be able to identify him. But they haven’t given me a name yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because they want me to cut a deal with them. They’ll give me the Cuban soldier as a witness, but only if I give them something in return.”
“Well, give it to them! What do they want?”
“It doesn’t matter what they want. If there’s any kind of deal at all, the prosecutor will destroy us in front of the jury. The only way we can bring a Cuban soldier into a Miami courtroom to testify on your behalf is if it’s completely clean, no deals, no strings attached.”
“Says who?”
“Trust me on this. It’s my best judgment.”
“But it’s my life. I’m staring straight at the death penalty, and you’re telling me to walk away from a witness who will testify that he saw an intruder enter my house because I might offend a few Cuban Americans on the jury?”
“I think the Cuban government will come around on this, if we play our cards right.”
“So what did you tell them?”
“That I wasn’t making any deals.”
“You what?”
“Don’t get angry.”
“I’m not angry, I’m furious!” She leaped up from her chair and began to pace. “You should have called me before making a decision like that.”
“You expect me to make a confidential phone call from a Cuban military office to a United States prison? I got a better idea. Why don’t we just conduct our attorney-client conversations on The Tonight Show?”
She stopped pacing and returned to her chair. Jack could see the worry in her face, the lack of sleep in her eyes. She seemed broken, and she spoke without heart. “I don’t have the stomach for this, Jack.”
“That’s why you hired me.”
“You still don’t seem to understand what I’m feeling.”
“I do.”
“No, you can’t. The thought of never seeing my son again is tearing me to shreds. The thought of his wondering if his mother killed his father, I-” she stopped, unable to finish. “You can’t possibly know how that feels.”
Jack considered it, but it wasn’t the first time he’d heard a parent tell him that until you’ve had children, you can’t possibly know. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Unless…”
“Unless what?” said Jack.
“Unless you have a personal stake in the outcome.”