Moment in Time Part 3
Chapter 34
Tone Death
Part 3
"Robyn was one lucky woman living through a car crash like that," Rick observes. "Between the alcohol and the trauma, it's no wonder she didn't remember what happened. Too bad her luck didn't hold. Kind of chintzy for the guy who saved her to record what he did on video, though. It looks like Percy Johnson III was more interested in making himself a hero than he was in saving Robyn. Oh, wait a minute. Roll that back! Do you see that scarf he said he used to apply a tourniquet?"
"I see it. Why?" Kate wonders.
"Because it's Aramis. Gina bought one like it on one of her shopping sprees. It took a $2,000 bite out of my credit card. So why would an ex-con struggling to make ends meet have an Aramis scarf? And it doesn't exactly match Percy's outfit either."
"No, it doesn't, Kate agrees. "And if Robyn doesn't remember what happened, maybe it was because she was so wasted that someone else was driving – someone who could afford an Aramis scarf."
"Linda Weinstein," they mouth together.
Kate springs from her chair. "We need to have a look at that accident report."
With Rick reading over her shoulder, Kate settles behind her desk to view the police account of Robyn's crash. "Someone was sloppy, Babe. Look at the photos inside the car. There's blood around the passenger seat but none in the driver's seat. So Robyn couldn't have been driving. It says that she left a party benefitting the NBP at the Jervis estate. No way Linda Weinstein wouldn't have been there. And if she saw Robyn in that condition, she would have wanted to get her out before the press picked up on it."
"And if the scarf did belong to Linda Weinstein, she wouldn't have willingly left it behind – except as a tourniquet," Rick figures.
Kate's teeth find her bottom lip. "Which means that Percy might not have been such a hero. I'll have the boys bring him in."
"You're right," Percy admits reluctantly. "I wasn't the one who put the tourniquet on Robyn. She was already wearing it when I got there. But I was the one who called the paramedics. So she still might not have made it without me."
Rick shakes his head. "Whether she would or not, you were still willing to take full credit."
"My social media profile was slipping. Robyn's rescue gave it a boost. I didn't think my little fib hurt anyone until Robyn came to see me. She was very upset and demanded to know where I got the scarf. I had to tell her that she already had the tourniquet when I arrived. I also told her that I saw a car driving off just as I got there. It was a silver BMW X5."
"According to the DMV, the Weinstein's own two silver BMW X5's Ryan reports. "But BMW sold 47,000 X5s in the last year, and a lot of them were silver."
Kate sighs. "No way that would stand up in court. We need evidence that Linda Weinstein was wearing that scarf to the Jervis party."
"Ask, and ye shall receive," Rick announces. "Parties may come and go, but they live on the web forever." He holds up his phone. "I have the link, but we can see the revelers better on the big screen."
"Hmm," Rick mutters, regarding the images. "The gala had an open bar. Not usually the best way to raise money. But the Jervises are infamous for their ability to burrow into deep pockets. Alcoholic offerings would have been designed to open checkbooks. The regulars on the circuit would have been accustomed to them, but no wonder Robyn got tipsy. Still, I don't see the scarf yet."
Vikram slowly advances the images until Kate points at the screen. "There! That's the scarf, and Linda Weinstein is wearing it."
With the color draining from her artificially plumped skin, Linda Weinstein dabs at her eyes. "Yes, all right, I was wearing the scarf, and I was driving. Robyn was so out of it I needed to take her home before she embarrassed me. But a deer ran out in front of the car. I didn't hit it, but when I braked, the car spun into a tree. All the airbags went off, but Robyn was pouring out blood. I used my scarf to stop it. But I'd had a couple of drinks too. I couldn't be involved in an accident like that. I would ruin everything I was trying to do. So I called Scott to come and get me. I called 911 as soon as we left Robyn, but another driver had already called. I didn't want Robyn to die then, and I didn't want her to die now. I didn't kill her. And I can prove it. The night she died, I was across town at a showcase of paintings by NBP artists. At least 100 people saw me there."
Kate smacks her pen on her desk. "Linda Weinstein's alibi checks out. "The scarf is a dead end."
"Maybe not," Rick suggests. "Linda said her husband came to get her. That was the silver BMW X5 that Percy saw drive off. So he must have known what really went down and what would happen to NBP if the story got out. And husbands can become very protective of their wives. My gut is too aware of that every time you leave for work."
Kate squeezes his hand. "I know, Babe. But I don't want to give Scott any more time to make up a story. So let's go see him. The boys can stay outside as backup."
Scott cradles his face in his hands. "It was just so stupid! Linda did everything she could to protect Robyn, or she never would have been driving. But she also had to protect NBP. So many futures besides Robyn's were at stake. But Robyn was going to expose everything. Don't you see? All of Linda's hard work would have gone to waste. I couldn't let that happen to Linda or NBP. "
"Stand up, Mr. Weinstein," Kate orders softly, "and turn around." She snaps handcuffs on Scott's unprotesting wrists. "You are under arrest for the murder of Robyn King."
Dropping into his familiar seat next to Kate's desk, Rick hands her a latte topped with a foam heart. "You know, I almost feel sorry for Scott Weinstein, or at least I understand what he did. If I thought you were in danger, I'd do everything I could to protect you."
"You have, more than once. You put Jerry Tyson in the crosshairs of Esposito's rifle. And before that, I remember you pumping every bullet you could into him until he fell into the water. You pulled me out of a car on the bottom of the river. You went on the run from Bracken with me. But you never went after an innocent, Babe. The only weapon Robyn King was pointing at Linda Weinstein was the truth. Scott had no right to take her life. No one did."
"You're beginning to sound like one of my books – or film noir. Hey, how about an evening spent viewing triumphs in black and white? We could watch 'DOA.'"
Kate gives a little shiver. "Seems like in DC, we almost played that one out for real. How about 'Naked City?'"
Rick grins. "Followed by our own version?"
"Sounds like a plan."