That he was looking into the eyes of a man who was not only afraid but was lying.
He was lying to save his skin.
William stood straight, injecting a calm purpose in his voice and mannerism. "I'm sorry if I've offended you," he said, forging ahead with a new plan. "I just thought I would let you know and be honest about it. I don't want the police to see you as a suspect, Frank. But if you don't know what you're up against, how are you going to defend yourself if they come after you?"
That question spiked through the armor Frank had erected around himself. For a moment, the Teflon that Frank Miller wore slipped down briefly and William saw a scared, confused man standing in front of him. A scared, confused man who was afraid of being exposed for the monster he was.
Frank looked at him, the fear a faint hint in his eyes, and then it was quickly gone, the mask slipping back comfortably into place. "'T'hey won't come after me because you won't encourage them anymore, will you?"
"I'm not encouraging anybody, Frank, I'm trying to help your son and Lisa!"
Frank's mouth was open to say something, and he stopped. He nodded, his shoulders slumped slightly, as if he had seen his fate and was accepting it. "You're right," he said. For the first time, he looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry I made a scene. I know you're just trying to help. I just-"
William treaded carefully, choosing his words with precision. "'[hat's all I'm trying to do. Help your family. All I've done is help the police and the detectives with certain information I've been able to uncover. They're already investigating the underground S&M market, trying to get people to talk. I know they've talked to one guy already who they're considering a suspect."
Frank's head snapped up. 'They do? Who?"
"A guy named Rick Shectman." William watched closely for any sign of recognition on Flank's face; if Frank knew Shectman, he didn't show it. "He's got a record for peddling child smut, and it's rumored he'll film anything if the money is there. Including snuff films."
"Really." Frank's tone of voice was tinged with an inflection that suggested he had prior knowledge of Rick Shectman.
"Yeah," William said, trying to keep Rank calm. "And of course they're still working on identifying the guys who actually kidnapped Lisa. My guess is that they'll find them soon. Once Lisa comes out of surgery, she'll be talking. Your son's already given a good description of the woman who killed John and Titan, and we have witnesses that saw her with a guy that matched rim Murray. The pieces are failing into place. I'm sure Lisa will be able to tell us more by tomorrow. We're going to get these guys. You can trust me on this.'
Frank smiled, laid his hand on William's shoulder, his grip firm. "I know you will, buddy. That's why you're one of the best damn lawyers I know. Even if you do defend scum." He smiled.
William smiled back. As genuine as he wanted to believe Flank's smile and demeanor were, that sixth sense was telling him that there was something lurking beneath the surface. Something that had a dark soul and dark desires. "It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it"
Frank laughed.
They began walking down the hall toward the waiting room. Frank put his arm around William's shoulders. "Listen, I'm sorry about the way I reacted back there. I don't know what got over me. I guess… all the stress is just getting to me."
"It's okay," William said.
The waiting room was still another hundred yards away. Frank stopped and motioned toward the men's room door ahead of them, on the right. "Listen, why don't you go back to the waiting room and see what's up. I gotta pee and wash up. All that yelling made me sweat." He grinned. William laughed. Sweat dotted Flank's brow and was shining in his hair. He hadn't noticed how badly Flank had sweated; it was literally beading on him like water on a freshly waxed car. Dark wet patches had appeared along the underarms of his shirt.
Another sign of guilt? William nodded. "Yeah, sure, Frank. Take your time. And listen, I'm sorry if I came across as being… well, accusatory. I didn't mean it"
They shook hands, Flank's gaze meeting Williams. Flank's smile was pensive. "I know you didn't." Then he turned and headed to the men's room.
William walked to the waiting room, his heart racing. He felt the flesh along the back of his neck ripple in gooseflesh. A shudder of cold fear enveloped his system. Something about Frank's demeanor was really bothering him. He had defended a lot of bad people in his life: gang members who didn't care that they had inadvertently blown the head off a three-year-old while they had been aiming at a rival; child molesters who feigned repentance but went right back out again and committed other heinous acts upon children when they were released from prison; rapists who took delight in terrifying and abusing their victims. It was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it. Those accused of crimes,had the right to defend themselves in a court of law-anybody who had cruised through a course in U.S. government knew that. William had defended his share of clients who he knew in his heart were innocent of the charges brought against them. It was this motivating factor for being involved in criminal defense-to protect and defend the wrongly accused. Yes, there were times when he had to defend scum; it was part of the territory. But of all the people he had defended that he had the feeling were guilty of the crimes in which they had been charged, none had ever creeped him out as much as Frank Miller just had. Looking into Frank's eyes was like looking into the face of evil itself. He thought he had known Frank Miller; he had been proven wrong.
Halfway back to the waiting room, William got the sudden urge to head to the men's room. He didn't have to relieve himself; instead, he had the strong feeling that something was going to happen, that Frank was going to do something and that he had to somehow stop him.
William raced back down the hall and entered the men's room, and at first what he saw was so surprising his first reaction was to gasp in surprise. He felt his breath freeze as Frank Miller, who was standing with his back to the lone urinal with a gun to his head, looked up at William's sudden intrusion and, seeing him, took the gun away from his head and pointed it at William.
"Flank, no!" William cried, barely aware of the door to the restroom dosing behind him. The look on Flank Miller's face before he pointed the gun at him was one of surprise and despair. He was breathing heavily, his arms trembling as he held the gun on William.
"Get out!" Frank said, his eyes wide and scared. "Go on, get out, this has nothing to do with you!"
it has everything to do with me," William said, his mind kicking into overdrive. "Please put down the gun.. Let's talk about this."
"What is there to talk about? You've already spelled it out for me. You think I had something to do with Lisa's kidnapping and attempted murder. You think I set this up based on all your circumstantial evidence"
'That's not true, Frank, and you know it. I only want to help you"
"You've already helped me by telling me all I need to know, okay? I've learned enough to know I'm fucked"
William could tell that Frank was just as nervous as he was. When he'd entered the bathroom and saw Frank pointing the gun at his head, he could tell that Frank was trying to muster the nerve to pull the trigger. If he was that reluctant to pull the trigger on himself, maybe he could be talked into putting the weapon down. "I can help you," he said, holding up his hands. "I know it looks bad and all that stuff I said… that might not even happen. I just wanted you to be aware in case it did happen and-"
"Oh, it's going to happen, I can guarantee that," Frank said. He was sweating profusely. His eyes were wide and panicked. "'They're going to find out, and you aren't going to understand when that happens. I don't want to be around when it happens, because I don't want to see the look on Joan's face when she finds out. "