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  “This court is in recess.”

  The two attorneys stared at each other as the defendant looked on and asked his lawyer loud enough for Alice to hear, “What’s going on? I thought this was a damn bond hearing. I want to get the hell out of this jail.”

  Alice looked over at the skin-headed kid and said, “I will deal with you when I return.” She looked at the bailiff and said, “I’m going to need some time, Harry.” The bailiff nodded and asked how much. Alice looked up at his somber face and said, “I don’t know. I just don’t know.” She walked out of the courtroom as Harry called the court out of session for an indeterminate period of time.

  She was walking initially but then took off in a full out run to her private bath off her chambers and bent over the toilet, vomiting and holding the note. She finished heaving and looked at the handwriting of her clerk on the white slip of paper. The words were direct and to the point. “Your Honor, Howard Cohen has committed suicide.” Alice fell to the floor in front of the porcelain bowl and began to weep and shake as she huddled near the wall on the cold tile floor.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Well, not as much blood to deal with.

  We left pretty much all of it on his floor

  for someone else to clean up.”

  You could have heard a pin drop when John walked in and through the bullpen and on to his private office. Chris was walking behind him, and Sam and Jim were also in pursuit. John was carrying a midsized cardboard box and was still covered in Howard’s blood, which had now dried to a deep brown on his clothing and the side of his face.

  Sam excused herself while John put the box down on his desk, and Jim sat down across from him and asked, “Well … what the fuck caused Howard to off himself, John?” Chris was standing in a corner of the office, and the door was shut. John went to speak when Sam came walking back in with two white towels, one was dripping wet, and the other was dry.

  “Here. You’re covered in blood, John. Clean up.” John didn’t say anything. He took them from Sam and wiped his face and hands and then threw them on the floor next to his desk and dried off.

  He looked at her and said, “Thanks. I forgot.” She nodded, and he pulled the three books and the folder out of the box and sat down at his desk. He had put on a pair of latex gloves as had the others in the room and slowly opened the end of the unsealed legal envelope and pulled out its contents. The bundle of papers inside the envelope was thick, and John sat down with the package and started reading. There was a one-page suicide note, neatly typed and signed. John flipped the document over, and there was a grey case file that he pulled open and started to read.

  Jim got up and walked around John’s desk and pulled the note and started reading it. Jim’s eyes grew huge as he read, and he looked at John and the others in the room and said, “Holy fuckin’ shit!” John nodded as he read, and Chris and Sam stayed silent as Jim stood over John’s shoulder reading the contents of the file.

  Jessica Holmes wheeled Cohen’s body out of the autopsy room and to one of the refrigeration units while Jade was dictating her report. “It is the coroner’s finding that Mr. Howard Robert Cohen died of a self-inflicted wound to the left and right jugular and carotid arteries in his neck. This is a preliminary report until such time as the toxicology reports return from the state crime lab. Dictating official, Doctor Jade Morgan, M.D.”

  Jessica sat in one of the steel chairs and asked, “What the fuck do you think made Cohen go harakiri on himself?”

  Jade shrugged, putting down her midi recorder and said, “I have no idea, and he didn’t commit harakiri. That’s a Japanese warrior’s way of killing himself, and it is done by disemboweling himself. Cohen slit his own throat.”

  Jessica looked on and said, “Well, it was somewhat convenient for us.”

  “Really? How so?” Jessica laughed and said, “Well, not as much blood to deal with. We left pretty much all of it on his library floor for someone else to clean up.”

  Jade shook her head with a soft laugh and said, “Well, all I can tell you is if Cohen called John and spoke to him before slitting his own throat, he gave John some serious shit to take with him.”

  Jessica nodded and said, “I would guess given the deep connections that Cohen had in this city and state there are probably a lot of people pissing their pants right now.”

  “No doubt, and I have a feeling there is going to be a rash of Eagle killings really soon, so get ready for it.”

  The clock on the wall in Sandy Hyde’s office chimed one thirty p.m., and she looked up at the clock with a bitter look on her face as she waited to be debriefed by law enforcement. She buzzed her secretary and asked, “Is there anyone out there that wants to talk to me? I need to get this shit over with, so I can have a press conference about Howard’s death.” Her secretary told her no and that she was to stay put. Sandy slammed her hand down on the phone cursing as she did it.

  Aston Phillips had arrived at Howard’s office for an early meeting. He and Paul saw the crime scene tape and the police and FBI crawling all over the building. Aston signed to Paul, asking what was going on. Paul shrugged his shoulders as an FBI agent approached the two men who were getting into the elevator headed for Howard’s apartment. The agent stepped in and rode to the top of the building with them and then stopped them in the foyer where Howard’s assistant sat at her desk weeping as several other staff members tried to comfort her.

  Paul went to speak when the agent asked the two men to sit. Aston sat silent as Paul signed to him what the FBI agent was telling him about Howard. Aston’s eyes began to tear up, and Paul pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Aston, who dabbed his eyes. The agent walked away, and Aston looked at Paul and motioned for him to follow.

  Aston walked to the elevator and stepped in. Once the doors closed, Aston said, “We need to speak to Sandy now.”

  Paul was looking Aston in the face, so Aston could read his lips and said, “Do you think it’s wise to speak to Sandy here and now, sir?” Aston got a thoughtful look on his face and shook his head. Paul pushed the button for the ground floor, and the two men stood in silence as the elevator descended.

  It was half past two when John and Jim had finished reading both the suicide note and the files Cohen had left behind. Chris looked at the two men and said, “So, what are we dealing with?” John stood up and walked over to his office window that looked out over Wilshire and the Veteran’s cemetery across the street.

  “Based on what Howard Cohen left behind, we have a corruption ring of lawyers and judges that spans LA and all of the west coast.”

  Chris sat up and said, “Well then, what the hell are we waiting for? Let’s get this shit to the U.S. attorney and start the grand jury process.” John stared out the window as Jim closed the grey folder and started laughing. Sam and Chris looked at him as if he was crazy, and Chris asked, “Did I say something funny?”

  Jim nodded while laughing and said, “Yeah. Oh mother fucker. Yeah. You said something so goddamn funny I’m about to piss myself.” Jim coughed as he pulled a cigarette out of his top left pocket and put it in his mouth. He pulled his Zippo out and began to flick the top open and closed while looking at Sam and Chris. “If we hand these files over to the U.S. attorney here in LA, the first thing that happens is this file goes missing. Next, each of us start having unfortunate fuckin’ accidents.”

  Chris looked at John and asked, “What the hell is going on, John? What’s in those damn files?”

  John walked back to his desk and sat down. He looked at Sam and Chris and said, “Our worst nightmare. A list of attorneys who have bribed state and federal judges. A list of judges all over Los Angeles who are on the take. Forensic files detailing financial transactions between the top three law firms in LA, including Cohen, Miller & Hyde, LLP, that prove money laundering, drug trafficking, jury tampering, bribery, and even murder.”

  Chris’
s face sank. Sam looked on at the men and said, “Okay, so our lives are fucked. What do we do now?”

  Jim looked at John and said, “You know what you have to do, right?”

  John nodded, and Chris said, “No. You’re not throwing this to the Eagle.” Jim nodded as John sat silent. Chris asked, “Does the damn file tell us who this killer is that has burned two of Cohen’s attorneys alive?”

  John said, “Not specifically, but it gives motive to several people, and at least one of them is a killer.”

  Chris said, “So, there is no one we can trust?”

  Sam interrupted and said, “Yes. There are people we can trust, and it starts with the people in this room. If what Howard Cohen did today was escape the inevitability of his own disgrace by ending his life, he has put this information into John’s hands for a reason.”

  John looked at her and asked, “What are your thoughts, Sheriff?”

  Sam looked at him and said, “Well, I haven’t read the files, but given Jim’s reaction and the information you two have shared, there is only one person who can deal with this, and that’s the Eagle. This rises above the law, I’m afraid.”

  Chris threw his hands in the air and said, “Jesus Christ! Are you people listening to yourselves? ‘It rises above the law?’ Nothing rises above the law. The rule of law is there for a reason. If we can’t go to the U.S. attorney in LA, then we go to D.C. We get the rest of justice involved in this thing. We don’t just turn a blind eye and expect the Iron Eagle to go on a vigilante rampage.”

  Jim walked over to John’s window, lifted his wrist to look at the time, and then snapped the Zippo shut again. “It’s three p.m. As far as we know, we are the only four people who know that this letter and these files exist. If that is truly the case, our lives are safe, and we can work in and out of the law to get to the bottom of this situation.”

  Sam asked, “‘In and out of the law?’ What are you thinking?”

  Jim laughed and said, “The Sheriff’s department is going to open an investigation into Cohen’s death. The FBI is going to open an investigation, too, and the LAPD will do their own half-assed investigation because there are dirty cops listed in the files, though all but one of them we know about, and they were killed last year in the Death’s Valley cop killings. There is only one LAPD top cop still alive, and I will deal with him.”

  Sam asked, “And what do I do in this?”

  Jim said, “You deal with this as the Sheriff elect. It’s a week before Thanksgiving and a month and a half before you get sworn in. Let’s see if we can’t put this investigation to bed before the turkey is on the table.”

  Sam laughed and said, “And if we fuck it up, we’ll be the turkeys lying on Jade Morgan’s slab.”

  Chris asked, “And the Eagle? How does he fit into all of this?”

  John looked up at the ceiling as he answered, “Interrogation, Chris. The Eagle is going to start by grabbing the first few really, really bad guys in this report, and he’s going to have a conversation with them.”

  Jim let out a laugh, and Chris looked at John and said, “Conversation? The Eagle doesn’t have conversations. He has interrogations, torture, and eventually, when he allows it, death.”

  John stood up and said, “Well … we know what we’re going to do. Jim, we need to make up a list of people that these two can interview that won’t give away that we know a lot yet.”

  Jim nodded and said, “You set the list, and I will get people on it.”

  “Chris, you and I are going to talk to several of Mr. Cohen’s associates and partners.”

  Chris looked at John and said, “And their names are in the bad guy part of this, right?”

  John shrugged and said, “That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

  Sam looked at Jim and asked, “And what is my role?”

  Jim said, “You’re my backup, my partner in this. You’ll work with me until we come to the end – whatever that end might be.” John told them he would call a news conference for four p.m. Everyone was to go back to their offices or to follow-up on their teams, and he would have a list of names by evening. All agreed. Jim and Sam walked out of John’s office. Chris remained seated as John shut the door.

  “Nice acting job there, kid. I like the ignorant indignation you put out.”

  Chris laughed and said, “Like I’m going to tell even Jim that I’m going to work in a background role for both John Swenson the agent and the Iron Eagle.”

  John smiled and handed Chris the grey folder and said, “Howard broke out the list of bad guys from least dangerous to most. Separate them and give Jim and Sam the less lethal ones. Keep this all to yourself, and when you’re finished, come back to me. We’ll make a plan to grab the lethal ones for interrogation.”

  Chris opened the folder and saw that there were only a few pages of information and a few names. He looked at John who had folded other papers from the file and was putting them into his suit coat pocket. “Are you going home to shower and change?”

  John nodded and said, “We’re going to need some help. I’m going to take my truck over to a couple of my Corps buddies to modify. I will enlist them. They’ll be able to get deep intelligence as well as assist in execution if necessary.” Chris nodded and stood up. John said, “Don’t let those documents out of your sight. Make the list and give it to Jim and Sam at the news conference.” Chris nodded as he walked out.

  John pulled his cell phone off his hip and hit speed dial.

  “Dr. Swenson.”

  “I’m heading to the house to shower and change. Can you and Karen meet me there at three?”

  “Yes. We’re both off shift and doing paperwork. What do you have?”

  John pulled on his suit coat and said, “A lot more than I had this morning. Things are going to get complicated and messy. I will explain more at the house.” He hung up and walked out of the building without saying a word to anyone.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “What? Did the clairvoyance

  fairy leave you high and dry?”

  There was the sound of an engine revving up as Phillip Sorano walked into the custom car and bike shop he owned with his Marine Corps buddy and love interest Lance Coswalski. Lance was sitting behind the wheel of a nineteen sixty-five Mustang convertible and was revving the engine when he walked in. Lance let out a howl and said, “Tell me this fucker doesn’t sound like a million bucks, man.” Phillip nodded and put his head under the raised hood of the car.

  He pulled his head out and yelled, “Hang on, Cosmo, the accelerator linkage is loose. I can get you even better performance.”

  Lance yelled back and said, “Do it, Philly. Come on, man. Make it better.” Phillip laughed and took a tool out of the box next to the car and made a few adjustments and told Lance to press the gas again, and the engine came to life with even more power.

  Lance shut off the engine and got out of the car and said, “Where the hell have you been, man? I need you here working on these babies with me.”

  Phillip walked over to where Lance was standing and said, “You remember I told you I was doing some PI work for Saul Winston?” Lance nodded. “Well, I just got a call from Saul that his wife has gone missing, and he wants me to find her.”

  Lance grabbed a red shop rag and handed it to Phillip, so he could wipe the grease off his hands and asked, “That’s the dude in the nasty divorce, right?” Phillip nodded, and Lance continued, “Has he called the cops?” Phillip shrugged, and Lance said, “You’re treading into dangerous territory, man. Be careful.” Phillip was about to respond when his cell phone rang.

  “Philly.”

  “Hi, Phil. It’s John. Are you and Lance free to do a little work for me?”

  Philly laughed and said, “John, how the fuck are you? We’re never free, but we can always help you out.” Lance drew near, and Phil put the phone on speaker a
nd said, “So, what’s up?”

  John asked, “You put me on speaker phone. Where are you?”

  “In the garage at the shop.”

  John sighed and said, “Private please, gentlemen. Take the phone somewhere private.” Lance and Philly walked back into a private office and closed the door.

  Philly said, “Okay, what’s up with the cloak and dagger shit, John?”

  “Philly, I have it on good authority that you have been doing private dick work for a few law firms here in Los Angeles.”

  “Yeah … it takes me out of the shop and helps me stay sharp. I also have a few high dollar clients. Why?”

  John said, “Listen, I don’t want to get into this over the phone. I need both of you to help me with a situation. One that will include you, Philly. Can you two meet me at my place in a half hour?”

  The men looked at each other and said, “Sure, John, sure. We’re on our way.” John hung up, and Lance looked at Philly and asked, “What did you do?”

  Philly shrugged and said, “Nothing that I don’t usually do for my clients.”

  Lance pulled out his car keys and said, “Well, tell me about it as we drive. We have a long haul to get to John’s in a half hour.”

  Jim’s cell phone buzzed, and he looked down to see that he had a text message and attachment. He and Sam were sitting at an outdoor table having a couple of chili dogs for lunch, and he took a drink of the root beer he had ordered and swallowed a bite of the dog and said, “We have a list.”