Was he losing his mind?
"I've been helping Brad deal with this the past few days," William began, taking a sip of coffee. "When Brad told me everything, I was… well, I was shocked. It's just-"
"It's just so unbelievable that people would be into such things," Frank Miller said, shaking his head. "I know It sickens me."
William glanced at Frank, noted his expression. Was Frank's expression of shock genuine? It was hard to tell. William pressed on. "Anyway, I… I employ the services of a lot of private detectives. I'm sure you know that. And I gave the details of the case to one of them and he went to work on it. I've also been working with law enforcement in California in helping to find the people that… you know… abducted Lisa in Ventura. Of course, we had no idea that what happened today was going to happen. I had Lisa and Brad sent out here for their safety, not knowing that-"
"How the hell did they find them?" Frank looked at William, open shock and horror in his features. "How the hell could these… these freaks find my son and Lisa and try to do what they failed to do in California?"
With rising doubt, William shook his head. "1 don't know, Frank. That's what I'm trying to find out."
"It just makes no sense," Frank continued. He took a sip of coffee. William noted that, as usual, Frank looked impeccable in his Gucci loafers, his polo shirt, his dark gray slacks. His wavy hair was slicked back, speckled with gray. A gold bracelet dangled from his wrist. He should be a criminal defense attorney, William thought, rubbing self-consciously at his own gold chain bracelet. "The only people that were supposed to know about Brad and Lisa being here were your people, us, and Lisa's parents! Who else could have found out?"
"I don't know," William said quickly."That's what we're trying to find out"
"1 know Brad hasn't talked to anybody in California since arriving here a few nights ago," Frank continued. "He asked us to start looking into getting psychiatric care for Lisa. I just don't see how anybody outside of our little circle could have-"
William tuned him out as a slow, dawning realization came to him. Lisa's boss, George Brooks. He had called just yesterday, wanting to get ahold of Lisa. Something about missing files. He'd needed to speak to Lisa desperately. And what had William done?
He'd given George their room number at the Luxor.
It can't be George, William thought. I know him. He's no more a sadist than I think Rank is. And as far as I know, he has no connection to Golgotha. The only way I can pin him to anything is that he had knowledge of where Lisa and Brad were holed up and-
"You okay, Billy?"
William started, looking at Frank. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"Looked like you were letting your mind wander. I know this looks bad, but we're gonna,nail these bastards. Don't worry about it. I've been talking to one of the lead detectives on the case and-"
William spit it out. "I know the FBI hasn't questioned you yet, Flank, but I'm guessing they will soon because of your affiliation with Golgotha. That you know one of the board members, that he gave you a key to his place. I know all about it.'
Frank stopped talking, mouth gaping open in shock. He looked stunned.
William pressed on, feeling inspired. "Why didn't you come to me with this information before? When we found out?"
"When you found out?" Frank asked. "What do you mean, when you found out? How was I supposed to know that a man I'm friends with would be linked to a crime scene that my daughter-in-law was a victim of? My God, Billy! If I had known-"
"You would have told the authorities? If so, why didn't you?" William could feel himself getting on a roll now. He felt very much the way he did when he was in court cross-examining a witness. "You would have found out about the Golgotha cabin the same time Brad and I did, which was shortly after the FBI took Lisa up to Big Bear and she identified the place. I got her and Brad out of Orange County that evening, and here it's been over two days and you haven't said a word about it."
"Are you accusing me of setting this up? Is that what you're getting at?"
William stared at Frank. "I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just saying that the circumstantial evidence is-"
"What? Overwhelming?" A red flush crept up Rank's neck. He looked pissed off, but there was something about his eyes that gave off a hint of panic. Was he panicked because he had been found out or because he was scared that he was being framed?
"Yes. It's overwhelming."
"Bullshit!"
"Rank, listen to me" Flank had stood up and was walking back toward the waiting room. William caught up with him, their coffee cups left behind on the snack room table. "Just listen to me. If you aren't involved, fine. But the police are already nosing around. If they catch this Tim Murray guy and he corroborates any of the evidence they've found, there could be some serious implications-"
Frank stopped, whirled around so that he was facing William. "You are accusing me of arranging this, aren't you? You think I had something to do with it! You think / set up the murder of my daughter-in-law, that I hired a snuff pornographer to capture her rape and murder on videotape for whatever reason you've dreamed up in that sick little mind of yours. And you're coming to this conclusion because in Lisa's confusion and fear she misidentified the place she was taken to as the Golgotha cabin. That's it, right?-
"The FBI is still running tests on the evidence they found at that cabin," William said, "and you know it. If they don't find anything, great, but if they do, it might be wise for you to start thinking now about retaining the services of-"
"Of a lawyer. Right, Billy. I take it you're going to recommend your services to me, huh?"
He wasn't listening. William could see that Frank was furious. His face was beet red; his eyes were blazing pits of anger. He could feel the tension in the air, thick as butter. "You and I know that you were nowhere near that cabin that weekend," William hissed, meeting Frank's gaze. "1 saw you that weekend, Flank. I saw how Lisa's disappearance affected you. I saw how worried you were, and how worried you are now even though she's been found. I know you're not anywhere capable of-"
"77zen why are you accusing me of setting this up?" Frank shouted.
William started, the loudness of Frank's voice ringing in his ears. He looked around, saw a nurse coming down the hallway glance at them with a frown. William turned back to Flank, his heart pounding. "I'm not accusing you of anything! I'm just saying that the evidence that points to you is-"
"Overwhelming. There we go again!" Frank threw his hands up in the air, and there was something about hisdemeanor now that William would look back on later as odd. For despite Frank's obvious anger, William detected a hint of genuine fear coming off the man. It was a fear that said I've been caught. William had seen this behavior thousands of times in his career. He'd defended thousands of people in various criminal cases, and most of them were guilty-he'd known that going in. Yet he never coerced his clients into revealing their guilt or innocence; his job was to defend his clients, to ensure them a fair trial as outlined in the U.S. Constitution. And even though William had never outright asked his clients if they had committed the crime in question or not, they always volunteered their plea anyway: I didn't do it! It wasn't me! And they always made that plea with the same look and telltale body language signs that told William they were lying. Frank Miller's speech, the way he reacted to everything, told him all he needed to know. And with that epiphany came a sudden burst of revulsion.
William stared at Frank, mouth gaping open in horror, which he tried to rein in. "Oh my God," he said.
"What?" Frank barked.
As quickly as the feeling came William shook it off, hoping Frank didn't catch it. He didn't want Frank to know that he had gotten a sudden revelation.