Tuesday night, cont.
Don slipped his arm around Susan's as they exited Palio. It was a protective gesture that she decided to accept without any objection. Clearly the encounter with Dominic Morgan had upset Don deeply.
"So, that's all you're going to say about Mr. Dominic Morgan? That he was the defendant in Georgia?" she asked him quietly.
"First thing tomorrow I'm getting on the line with the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. I have a feeling they'll be interested in knowing what Morgan's doing here in New York…"
"You suspect he's up to no good?"
"Susan, the guy killed his wife, or at least was complicit in her killing. We might not have been able to prove it in court, but he's still guilty. Right now he's so smug; thinks he's gotten away with it. He thinks he's safe. I'm not buying that line about his being here on 'business'. The only business that needs to be taken care of is the unfinished business having him convicted."
"You think he followed you up here?"
"I raked his reputation over the coals in court down in Georgia. He's a liar and a manipulator. He's also prone to violent, jealous rages. He can't have been too pleased with what I had to say about him."
"Be careful, Don. What Morgan said to you back there was true: the jury found him not guilty. Sometimes, you've just got to let it go. We both know this."
"I know that…but he's up to something. And I'll be willing to bet that it's nothing good..."
As they hailed a cab and climbed in, they failed to notice that the defendant they had just been discussing slip inside a phone booth across the street. Watching the cab pull away from the curb, he placed a quick call.
***
Wednesday, November 28.
The next morning, Susan decided that more details about Dominic Morgan and the events in Georgia needed telling. As they were eating breakfast, she decided to broach the subject with Don.
"We never really talk about cases you've been called to testify at, first because it's not professionally appropriate, and second because you've been doing it by yourself long enough that you don't need my input. But I want to hear everything you can tell me about what happened in Georgia."
Don nodded. "That 'not guilty' verdict was a blow to the prosecution and to Morgan's in-laws. Now, we knew Morgan had been arrested once during a domestic 'dispute'. Seems he suspected that his wife, Sylvia, was cheating on him. Got him in a rage, gave her a black eye. She didn't press charges and he was released… The thing is, we were pretty sure Morgan was cheating on her… Insecure bastard beats his wife and suspects her of infidelity when he himself is up to no good… Problem is, we found scant evidence of there being another woman."
"So what happened? Besides the domestic incident, why was Morgan a suspect?"
"You know as well as I do that police always look to the family first when something like this happens. Sylvia was filing for divorce. She'd called her lawyer, and was getting the process going. Then when she was found dead in their home of a single gunshot wound to the chest, authorities were initially unconvinced of the evidence there that suggested a robbery. One homicide detective testified at trial that it looked too staged." Don frowned in disgust. "But the defence was able to make mince-meat of that testimony…"
"What else was there? Did you have a weapon? Motive? So far it's not sounding like the prosecution had a strong case." Susan shook her head.
"Morgan's a prominent Atlanta businessman," Don responded. "He'd have lost a bundle in a divorce settlement. Also, the murder weapon was a .38 calibre. It was never found, but Morgan held a permit for a .38. He claimed that it was stolen from his car earlier in the month that the murder took place, and the police had a record of the theft report as 'proof'. He made the claim that whomever stole the weapon from his car glove compartment would also have had access to information like his home address."
"The insinuation, of course, is that the person in possession of that gun is also the one who broke into the home and shot Sylvia," Susan mused.
"Right," Don nodded ruefully. "But with his wife dead, not only does Morgan not have to pay through the nose with a settlement and alimony, but he gets to collect on her life insurance, too."
"So you had no weapon, and the motive is still a bit far-fetched. I'm a little surprised it went to trial."
"The problem is his alibi for the night of the murder stinks."
"Oh?" Susan asked with raised eyebrows.
"Guess where Morgan claims he was on the night of the murder? New York! He claims he was here for a business dinner, but that he came down with a mild case of food poisoning and stayed in his hotel room the whole night. When eventually pressed to provide the name of his business party to verify his story, he was unable to."
"So he was lying about having a business meeting…but was he actually at the hotel like he claimed to be?" Susan questioned.
"Yes. He'd booked a reservation and checked in, then checked out the next morning after being contacted by authorities in Georgia that Sylvia had been killed."
"But that leaves a very small window of opportunity. Did the prosecution try to sell the notion that Morgan doubled back to Atlanta, shot his wife, then caught a red-eye back to New York just to check out of the hotel the next morning?"
"No… What the prosecution wanted to do was plant the idea that Morgan planned his wife's death, but did so knowing he would be the main suspect. My job was to show that he was jealous and upset that Sylvia was filing for a divorce – upset enough to want her dead - which I think I did quite effectively."
"Of course you did," Susan smiled affectionately.
"The police actually believe he hired someone to do it," Don continued, "but Morgan knew he'd need an alibi just in case. But why he had such a flimsy one always perplexed us. There are still a few pieces to the puzzle missing that the prosecution hoped to find before it went to trial. Unfortunately, that didn't happen."
"I have to say if I was the one working on that case, I'd have some serious reservations about prosecuting Morgan with the evidence available," Susan said. "Now you mentioned they felt Morgan had a girlfriend…"
"Yes. He always went alone on business trips. But the ones especially to the north-eastern states like here, Jersey and Connecticut were always overnight, if not for a few days. Investigators combed through his phone records – home, business and mobile phone – but nothing out of the ordinary showed up. All the calls made from those points were legit. However, he was stupid enough to charge flowers to his credit card once. But that was hardly enough evidence to bring to court, even though Sylvia's family swears Morgan never once sent her flowers, and if he did, they'd have heard about it."
"Flowers," Susan murmured in a troubled tone. "Don, you don't think – "
"Oh, no…" Don whispered, images of the lilies from an unknown sender suddenly springing into both their minds.
At around ten o'clock in the excessively extravagant Bedford Hills home of Charles and Binky Chandler, the ringing of the telephone was heard. After two rings, a member of the household morning staff informed Binky that the call was for Charles.
"Tell whoever it is that he's resting," Binky snapped, "we've only just gotten back from our holiday last night."
"Of course, Mrs. Chandler, but it does sound rather important," the maid insisted.
"All right, I'll take it," Binky sighed. "This is Mrs. Chandler speaking…"
"Oh, hello, Mrs. Chandler," came a well-bred male voice, "Mitchell Fletcher here. We've met before; I'm your husband's attorney. I was rather hoping I could speak to him this morning."
"I'm afraid he's suffering the effects of jet-lag, Mr. Fletcher," Binky informed him testily. "We flew in from our Thanksgiving holiday in St. Martin only last night."
"Of course," Fletcher said with understanding in his voice. "Charles did say he would be out of the country for a few days. You see, he'd contacted me last Wednesday about some legal matters, and I'd like him to review the paperwork before we make it official. I can either fax or courier it to him today, if he so desires."
"You may fax it, Mr. Fletcher, and I'll be sure he sees it."
"Please understand, Mrs. Chandler, that these are confidential papers I'm sending…" Fletcher seemed to be considering his options. "Perhaps courier might be a more prudent decision given the private nature of the papers' contents."
"Mr. Fletcher, I can guarantee that only my husband will see the fax," Binky said, suddenly solicitous.
"Have Charles call me as soon as he's had a chance to look at what I've drawn up for him. Tell him that if it suits him, I don't see a reason why we couldn't settle everything today."
"Certainly, Mr. Fletcher," came Binky's contrite reply. "I wouldn't dream of letting such an important decision languish due to my own forgetfulness."
When she had hung up, Binky wondered what legal documents Fletcher had been referring to. What she did know was the papers in question that had been drawn up by Charles and his lawyer had the distinct absence of any input from her, and that realisation troubled her greatly.
Immediately following their conversation about Dominic Morgan, Don contacted both Det. Sean Monahan and authorities in Fulton County, Georgia. Don informed the Fulton County prosecutor of the flowers and the threat sent to Susan, and of the unpleasant encounter with Morgan at Palio the night before.
While everyone believed it was a hasty conclusion to draw, they all felt there was enough merit in Don and Susan's suspicions to look into what Morgan was up to in New York.
Det. Monahan was unable to think of a more compelling reason why Morgan would choose to threaten Susan and not Don. It seemed a bit much just to unnerve him. After all, he was found not guilty, and it would be foolish to make trouble by messing with the expert witness from his own murder trial. However, he had to admit that it was a small possibility that the former defendant was pulling this stunt, and was looking forward to what this potential lead might turn up.
"They're going to be putting out an APB for Morgan," Don informed Susan, after finishing his conversation with Det. Monahan. " 'Wanted for questioning in an ongoing investigation'"
"That's good," she said. "But it probably means news of the threat isn't going to kept under wraps for long…"
"Unfortunately," Don agreed.
"Well so far it's only us, and authorities here in New York and the ones in Fulton County that know. Let's hope it stays that way for at least a little longer…" Susan looked suddenly at her watch.
"Now, I've got to be on my way or Jed's going to blow a gasket… But Don, I hope we're not simply jumping to conclusions here. I know you want to see an end to this as soon as possible, and so do I. But if Morgan is innocent in both his wife's murder and in threatening me, he's really not going to be a happy individual."
"I know," Don said. "So let's keep our fingers crossed something happens so we get to the bottom of this."
"See you at the office after the show," Susan said, kissing his cheek.
"'Love you."
"'Love you, too."
After end of the program for the day, the station receptionist stopped Susan on her way out.
"Don't leave just yet, Dr. Susan," she said. "Some flowers were just delivered for you."
Susan stopped cold. Oh God, she thought with alarm, what now?!
"I just set them down in one of the offices – I'll get them."
"No!" Susan almost screamed, then lowered her voice. "Don't touch them…Just tell me: are they white lilies?"
"I - I don't know, I don't really know much about flowers," came the startled reply. "But they are really pretty white flowers…Is something the matter?" The receptionist was starting to show worry on her face.
"Call the police. Ask to be connected to the 22nd precinct and ask to speak to a Detective Monahan. I'll take the call from there."
The woman did as Susan instructed.
"Is there a problem out here?" Jed had left the control booth after he'd heard Susan's outburst, and was peering at her questioningly.
"There may be," Susan informed him carefully. "I'll fill you in in a moment."
"I've got the desk sergeant on the line, Dr. Susan."
Susan took the receiver that the receptionist was holding out to her.
"Hello, Sergeant?"
"Yes, this is Sergeant Williams, how can I assist you?" came a tired-sounding voice.
"Sergeant, this is Dr. Susan Chandler. I need to speak to Detective Monahan immediately. He's handling a case and some possible new evidence has just turned up…"
A half hour later, the flowers that had been delivered to the WOR studios for Susan had been inspected by detectives. White lilies once again, another note was found buried in the stems, and it contained another ominous-sounding threat:
Ask Dr. Susan if she's planned her funeral yet.