Greg Matthews rubbed his hands across his closed eyes; he had been at work now for the past 10 hours and still had to drag himself through a couple more before he could finally go home. His wife had been badgering him lately about his long work hours; feeling how exhausted he was at the moment, he made a note to take a well-deserved vacation by the end of the month to try and make it up to her.
Hearing someone knock on his door, he glanced up and observed two men: one of average height, with dark blond hair and a tailored suit, and the other, a red-haired, wiry man who someone looked familiar.
"Yes?" he asked the two who were standing in his doorway.
"Are you Mr. Matthews?" the more conservative-dressed of the two asked him.
"That's right. What can I do for you gentlemen?" He motioned for them to enter his office, and they moved to take the two seats in front of the policeman.
The one in the tailored suit spoke first. "My name is Bruce Settlemeyer. I'm an attorney," he explained, handing Greg a business card. He nodded toward the other man sitting to his left. "This is my client, David Kingsley."
Greg finally realized why the red-haired man looked familiar; he was the detective who had been associated with Prescott and had testified during the man's trial.
"I know who you are," Greg responded as he looked at Kingsley, not quite unable to keep the scorn out of his voice. He suspected this man had engaged in a lot more unsavory activity than he had admitted to, and he did not trust the man at all. "What can I do for you two?" he repeated.
The attorney looked toward the private detective, a silent prodding for him to speak. "Actually, that's why I'm here," Kingsley confirmed. "I have some information I think you would be interested in regarding Lane Prescott."
Matthews studied the man, who appeared fidgety and nervous about something. "What about him?" he pressed.
Kingsley looked over at his attorney, who then picked up the conversation, deciding they did not want to divulge too much until they knew it would be worthwhile. "It seems Prescott contacted my client regarding some illegal activities he wishes him to pursue on his behalf."
"What type of illegal activities?" Greg prodded, growing just a little tired of the cat and mouse game these men were playing. "You're going to have to be more specific than that."
The attorney pondered just how much to impart at the risk of revealing their intention today. He finally decided he would have to be at least somewhat specific in order for his client to get what he wanted.
"My client was contacted by Prescott in an attempt to locate someone who could take care of two problems he had: Wyatt Sinclair and Brian Kinney."
Matthews felt a sudden chill as his blood ran cold. "Are you saying what I THINK you're saying? Are you telling me that Prescott wanted to take out a hit contract on these two men?" He applied his best prosecutor's stare at the two men as he peered pointedly at them to make sure he understood them correctly.
Kingsley again glanced at his counselor, making sure it was all right to answer the question. Receiving an affirmative nod from the other man, Kingsley, responded simply, "Yes, that's correct."
Matthews continued to stare in disbelief at the two men. "Those are very serious allegations, gentlemen."
"Yes, they are," Settlemeyer agreed. "But my client was there in person when the request was made of him."
"He went to the prison to see Prescott?"
"Yes, he was asked to come there by Prescott for the express purpose of demanding my client find someone who could take care of his problems for him," the attorney verified.
Greg narrowed his eyes. "So why are coming to me with this information? I'm sure you didn't just come here out of your sense of duty." The young prosecutor felt sure that Kingsley didn't have an altruistic bone in his body.
"You're very astute, Mr. Matthews," Settlemeyer responded professionally. "My client came to me for guidance on how to handle this situation. He admits that he initially pretended to go along with what Prescott wanted, but he decided to come and seek me out afterwards for advice. I'm sure he would be the first to admit that he perhaps doesn't always conduct his undercover work by the book, shall we say, but he's no killer, either. Nor is he a go-between to FIND one. However, he IS concerned about the possibility of some additional charges being assessed against him, so before he divulges anything further, he is interested in coming to a mutually beneficial arrangement between him and the prosecutor's office."
Matthews suspected as much. He had also long assumed that everything Kingsley had done during Prescott's relentless pursuit of Justin Taylor had been strictly at the direction of the other man. Perhaps this was what the other attorney was alluding to when he mentioned additional charges. If Matthews could nail Prescott on these more serious allegations, however, it would be well worth releasing this little fish from liability at the expense of nailing the BIG one.
"And just what would that arrangement entail?" Matthews pressed.
"I'll be direct with you, Matthews," the other attorney stated. "My client is willing to admit to everything he has done previously at the direction of HIS client, Lane Prescott, as well as cooperate fully with you regarding this latest request he was given by him at the prison, provided he is promised immunity from any further prosecution."
"I assumed as much," he admitted. "AND I might be willing to make such a deal. But I just can't take your client's word for it, Counselor." Turning directly to the smaller man seated at his attorney's side, he asked, "Would you be willing to wear a wire or some other type of listening device to prove you are telling me the truth?"
"I don't know," Kingsley answered warily. Being a detective himself, he knew this would be one possibility; he was well aware the prosecutor would not agree to the deal without more proof than just a verbal accounting from him of what Prescott had said. "The man has already given me my instructions; I'm not how open he will be about repeating them without becoming suspicious. In fact, he was going to have the money disbursed through an intermediary, since he does not have direct access to his wealth anymore."
"An intermediary?" Greg's ears perked up at that word. That means there had to be at least one more accomplice involved in this sordid situation. "What KIND of intermediary?"
"Now, Counselor, you really wouldn't expect my client to reveal that information without some type of assurances first," Settlemeyer chided.
"Well, it seems you have already played your own hand to a certain extent. But I will assure you that if your client delivers on his end of the bargain, I WILL provide you with a written statement granting him immunity from further prosecution. So again, Mr. Kingsley, WHO is this intermediary?"
The wiry man hesitated, glancing over at his attorney, who considered the statement. He wasn't very fond of Matthews, having heard of his tenacious character from other colleagues, but he HAD heard at least the man was fair and followed through on his promises. He nodded encouragement to the detective to answer the question.
"He told me to seek out Aiden, who has control of all his money," the detective answered.
"Aiden? Is that an employee of his?" Matthew had never heard that name mentioned before.
"No, Aiden is Lane's brother. He was the comptroller of his sportswear conglomerate before Lane was sent to prison, and he now apparently has a power of attorney to control all of his money. I was told to meet with Aiden, who would provide me with half the money up front to give to the hit man, once I found a suitable one, and the other half once the job was done. That was for Sinclair. For Kinney, Lane told me he would pay DOUBLE over the first amount."
Matthews whistled softly. Prescott's BROTHER? It was a scary thought there could be TWO evil lunatics running around from the same family tree. "I didn't know Prescott even had a brother," he admitted to the two men. "Interesting. Did Prescott tell you just how MUCH he was willing to pay for the services rendered?"
"No. Apparently he has already spoken to his brother and told HIM, though, because I was told to go see him about the details."
Greg pondered that for a few minutes. "Perhaps that is our solution, then. We will outfit you with a wire before you go to see Prescott's brother. With any luck, his own brother will implicate him in this hit man plot and we can nail BOTH of their asses to the wall. Two for the price of one – one's immunity, that is."
"So we have a deal?" Settlemeyer asked for clarification.
Greg smiled faintly. "Yes, gentlemen, I believe we do. Come back later today and I will have the papers drawn up. Say, about 3:00?"
Kingsley's shoulders sagged in relief; hopefully, he will be able to get out from under this huge mess as long as Prescott's brother cooperates. At this point, the detective just wanted to get the whole mess over with and be done from any further association with the Prescott name ever again.
"David?" the attorney asked his client, seeking confirmation. As the other man nodded his head in agreement, Settlemeyer stood up to shake hands with the other attorney. "We'll see you at 3:00, then. It's been a pleasure doing business with you."
"Yeah, well, just make sure your client holds up his end of the bargain, and it will be well worth it. Everything hinges on him being able to put on a convincing enough act to get Prescott's brother to provide the information needed to nail the bastard. And this time the only way the SOB will be getting out of jail will be in a coffin." He watched curiously as the two men left his office.
He debated what to do next; he had spoken recently to Brian, who had divulged to him that he and Justin was leaving on a three-week vacation, actually today, he remembered ironically. He had Kinney's cell phone number; should he call the man to let him know what was going on? After considering the idea for several seconds, he decided perhaps it was best if he kept them in the dark until he could reveal what had happened after Kingsley met with Prescott's brother. He decided the two men had been through enough turmoil lately and deserved some blissfully unaware time to themselves. There would be time enough in the near future to fill them in on what was transpiring now. And hopefully by then, he would have even better news for them – that he had found a way to not only keep Lane Prescott in jail until he rots, but also keep his brother in there with him for company. Smiling smugly, he picked up the phone to call his assistant to prepare the needed paperwork for later this afternoon.