Murdered at the Courthouse Read online

  When she couldn’t wait any longer, she tapped on Hannah’s name on her cell phone’s contact list and a moment later heard her say, “Good morning, Kat. I’m not surprised you’re calling, given everything that’s happened. What can I do to help Blaine?”

  “I don’t know if it will help, but I’d like to see you as soon as possible and pick your brain. From the way the television and radio news went last night, it looks like Blaine may be a suspect and with this Lawrence trial looming, I thought I’d see if I could help.”

  “Even though we both know Blaine is incapable of committing murder, I’m glad to hear you’re going to help him,” Hannah said. “It’s 7:30 now. Let’s meet at the diner across from the courthouse at 8:00. That will give us time to talk and time for me to get to work on time. Is that okay with you?”

  “Yes, see you then.”

  The next call Kat made was to Nick. Even though it was early, since he was leaving on vacation she was pretty sure, as conscientious as he was, that he’d be working right up to the moment they left to drive to the Kansas City airport.

  Nick picked up on the first ring. “Hi, Kat. Figured you’d be calling early. How’s my brother holding up?”

  “He’s been better, Nick. He was glad to hear that I’d talked to you and that I was going to do what I could for him. Poor guy has enough on his mind preparing for the Lawrence trial. The last thing he needs is to be accused of murder. Were you able to find out anything?”

  “Yes, although certainly not enough to solve the murder. Looks like the judge was a real piece of work. Cantankerous would hardly describe him. I think downright nasty would come closer.”

  “I believe Blaine used the word cantankerous yesterday morning before any of this happened.”

  “He was being charitable,” Nick said. “In addition to the judge’s charming personality, he has a penchant for the ladies. The latest one is a woman by the name of Kim Rosen. She seems innocent enough, but here’s the interesting part. Her husband served time in prison for assault and battery. Seems he wasn’t real thrilled when Kim had an affair with her boss. A husband who has a past history of assault and battery as well as a wife who is currently having an affair with a man who gets murdered could provide probable cause for murder.”

  “Wow.” Kat’s eyes widened. “That’s a major find to start the day with. Anything else?”

  “Yes, quite a bit. I got in touch with a contact of mine at the police department who works the night shift. He told me that one of the officers had brought in the judge’s computer and was going to see what he could find out.”

  “Why would they bring in a computer in a murder case? Seems odd.”

  “No, not really. They’re looking for any clues, websites the decedent might have visited, who he emailed, who sent emails to him, things of that nature. Anyway, he got back to me a couple of hours later and told me the computer expert said the judge had more porn sites on his computer than he’d ever seen on a computer. He even laughed and wondered how the judge had time to listen to cases, as busy as he must have been looking at those sites.”

  “Just because he occasionally looked at porn sites doesn’t seem all that significant to me,” Kat said.

  “Kat, it’s possible to check the dates for when porn sites were visited, actually when any site was visited. In the judge’s case, pardon the pun, it seemed he was spending several hours a day looking at those sites. This is not the behavior of someone who has an occasional interest. My friend says the MO fits someone who has an addiction to porn.”

  “Pardon my ignorance, Nick, but I have no clue what MO means.”

  “Sorry. It stands for modus operandi. It’s a commonly used police term, and it means a distinct pattern or habit present in someone. It’s usually used in reference to criminals.”

  “But the judge wasn’t a criminal,” she said.

  “No,” Nick mused, “but he definitely engaged in a type of behavior that in some states is a violation of the law. I suppose his saving grace, so far, is that he didn’t have any child pornography on his computer. His porn sites featured adult women. By itself, unless there’s a new law I’m unaware of, he wasn’t breaking any laws of the State of Kansas. However, if word got out about it, it sure might make his re-election as a judge questionable. His opponents would love to have that information.”

  “Yes, I see what you mean, but I don’t understand how having porn on your computer could cause someone to murder you.”

  “Nor do I, but between his charismatic personality and his porn addiction, he’s not someone I’d like to spend a lot of time with. I sure as heck wouldn’t want to have to try a case in his courtroom.”

  “Agreed. Anything else?” she asked as she continued to write notes about their conversation.

  “The guy seemed to surround himself with strange people and things. Usually the first person looked at in a murder case is the spouse. I did an extensive search on the judge’s wife, Stephanie Dickerson. I found out she came from a very wealthy family and inherited everything when her parents died at an early age in a car accident, but that’s not what makes her strange.”

  Kat fiddled with her pen. “Okay, I’ll bite. What makes her strange?”

  “The woman, using a word that came up several times in my search, is considered to be extremely eccentric. Seems like the judge and she had a marriage in name only, then he started taking lovers, and she built a castle outside of town, or I should say, she’s still building it.

  “It’s kind of like that church in Barcelona that’s been under construction for over one hundred thirty years. You know the one by the famous Catalan architect, Gaudi. The church is called the Sagrada Familia. Her castle is like the church. It’s never been finished because she keeps building it. Anyway, Kat, this is not your ordinary castle. This is a castle with a moat that has alligators in it. That’s not only eccentric, that’s downright weird.”

  “How could she buy the alligators? I thought they were an endangered species.”

  “I thought the same thing, so I looked it up. They used to be, but the ban was lifted in 1987, and now you can buy them, but they don’t come cheap.”

  Kat was puzzled by anyone who would choose alligators as a method of protection. “Do you think she knew about the judge’s affairs? If so, maybe she was planning on feeding her husband to the alligators at some point.”

  “I couldn’t find anything out about that. Keep in mind, I didn’t have much time, but in the newspapers and things like that which usually have photos of VIPs, and as a judge, he was considered to be a VIP, I saw nothing about where the two of them ever attended anything together. Since I didn’t find anything indicating they were divorced, I can only surmise that they were two people who lived in a castle, and they just kind of passed each other in the night. Not quite what I’d want in marriage, but each to his own. So, in answer to your question, I have no idea if she knew about his affairs, but from what I’ve seen so far, if she did, I doubt if she cared.”

  “Other than the husband of the woman he was having an affair with, seems like there’s a lack of suspects.”

  “Hate to say it, Kat, but someone else might not agree with you.”

  “What are you talking about? I’m confused. You just went over the cast of characters.”

  “Yes, I did, but Kat, I’ve been in this business a long time, and quite frankly, the police and the public are also going to be looking at Blaine and Ryan.”

  Kat could hardly believe her ears. “How can you even say that? You know Blaine would never do anything like that.”

  “I know it, and you know it, but the general public and the police don’t know it. They’re simply going to look at the facts, and the facts are that Ryan Walsh and Blaine Evans were two of the last three people to see Judge Dickerson alive. His court clerk, Hannah, won’t be a suspect because it would be perfectly logical for her to see her boss, and there’s no evidence of an angry exchange between them like the one between Ryan, Blaine, and Judge Di
ckerson. Quite frankly, Kat, we need to be realistic. This may be a big problem for Blaine.”

  Kat quickly tried to point out the flaw in Nick’s logic. “Wait a minute, Nick. Blaine and Ryan were together in Blaine’s office when the judge was murdered.”

  Nick took a deep breath at the other end of the line. “Kat, think about it. People will assume they’re covering up for each other. It’s not the first time people have said they were with someone and they weren’t.”

  There was a tightness in Kat’s chest, and she was quiet for several long moments before speaking. “Nick, I kind of blew this off at first, but now I’m getting really worried.”

  “It probably isn’t much of a consolation, but I am too. I wish I could help more, but I can’t abandon my family. We’ve had this vacation planned for months,” he said. “I think you’d better see what you can find out about Kim’s husband. He seems to be the logical suspect.”

  “I will.” Kat checked the clock on the wall above the stove. “I’m having breakfast with Hannah in a few minutes. She mentioned to Blaine yesterday after the scene in the judge’s chambers that she might be able to shed some light on it. Hopefully, she’ll have something of interest for me. If she does, I’ll give you a call.”

  “Actually, give Dave a call. I’ve already talked to him, and I’m giving him everything I’ve found that might be related to the murder. Here’s his contact information.” He gave her Dave’s cell number and told her he’d try to call her from Peru, but he wasn’t sure how much luck he’d have trying to put a call through from such a remote location.

  CHAPTER 12

  A few minutes later Kat walked into the busy diner across the street from the courthouse and saw Hannah’s slight figure sitting at a booth midway along the back wall. Every time she saw Hannah she thought the same thing. As well as being pretty, smart, and hardworking, Hannah was the best mother a child could wish for. Kat just wished Hannah could find someone who would love her and be a good father to Justin. Hannah had told her between Justin and work, she didn’t have time for anything else, and Kat knew that included relationships with men or even finding the time to meet a man.

  When she got to the booth, she gave Hannah a hug and said, “Thanks for meeting me. I’m sure with everything that’s happened, you have a million things to do, so I really appreciate this.”

  Hannah’s smile was an impish grin, giving Kat a glimpse of a carefree side of the younger woman that she wished was uncovered more often. “Actually, I don’t. Chief Moore called me this morning and told me he’d like to talk to me today. We agreed to meet at ten at the courthouse. Since Judge Dickerson had cleared his docket for the Lawrence trial, nothing else much is going on. Sure, I’ll have a lot of calls today expressing condolences and phony things like that, but as far as actual work, not much.”

  “You said something about phony things,” Kat said, pressing her for more information. “What did you mean, Hannah?”

  “I’ll tell you in a minute, but we need to look at our menus. Even though nothing specific is going on in court today, I’m sure I’ll have my hands full, and I don’t want to be late.”

  A moment later the harried waitress took their order. When she left, Kat looked at Hannah and said, “Phony things, Hannah. What did you mean?”

  Hannah looked at her with the same light in her eyes as before, although her smile was more relaxed. “This may sound pretty horrible considering that my boss was just murdered, but for the first time since the second day I started working for Judge Dickerson, I don’t have a knot in my stomach. He always found something wrong with whatever I’d done. I couldn’t stand the man, and I sure won’t be crying at his funeral, although I will have to attend it, and I’m sure I’m not alone.”

  Hannah was on a roll. “That man was one of the nastiest people I’ve ever been around. I’d bet every attorney who ever appeared before him is doing a happy dance about now. I think his favorite hobby was belittling the attorneys who tried cases in his courtroom. I’m no psychologist, but I often thought he must have had a severe inferiority complex, and the only thing that made him feel better was to make someone else feel bad.” She sat back in the booth and took a deep breath.

  “I don’t know if Blaine mentioned it, but I asked him to give me a call when he walked out of Judge Dickerson’s chambers after their set-to yesterday afternoon. With everything that happened, he didn’t call me, and I completely understand, but I’m sure you’ll tell him what I’m about to tell you.”

  “Yes, he mentioned that and asked me to talk to you about it.” Kat looked around, but no one was in the next booth. “What were you going to tell him?”

  “You know, as the judge’s clerk, I was always in the courtroom, so I was there during the entire day of the court proceedings in the Lawrence case. Everything seemed to be going along fine until Mr. Walsh brought up the information about the defendant watching porn on his computer and he intended to show that was what led the defendant to sexually abuse Krysta Lawrence prior to murdering her.”

  Kat made a face. “I don’t know the specific details, and I’m still unclear as to how that relates to him maybe murdering her.”

  “I don’t know if it has anything to do with her murder, but Kat,” Hannah said leaning across the table towards her, “Judge Dickerson spent a lot of time, and I mean a lot of time, watching porn on his computer. I’ve been thinking about it ever since yesterday, and I wonder if Mr. Walsh hit a nerve when he talked about the defendant watching porn on the internet. Maybe the judge was afraid the whole porn thing was hitting too close to home.”

  Kat sat back in the booth, trying to digest what Hannah had just told her. “Are you saying the judge used a state computer to watch porn?” she asked incredulously, not wanting to reveal that Nick had already told her about the judge and porn sites on his computer.

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. And Kat, here’s something I think I better tell the chief when I talk to him today. The judge was watching a porn site when he was murdered.”

  “How can you be sure of that? You said you’d gone home and when you came back you found him.”

  “I can be sure because I was the one who turned off his computer after I found him dead. There was a porn site on it. I was getting kind of used to seeing them on there because he often forgot to turn off his computer when he left, and I’d go into his office and do it for him.”

  “Hannah, do you think that was wise? I’m sure your fingerprints will be on his computer.”

  “I covered my hand with a tissue.” Hannah gazed away for a moment. “I don’t know exactly why I did it. Maybe at some level I felt no one in his position should be murdered and then have all of the police personnel and everyone else I was sure would be there know he watched porn. He was my boss, and I guess on some level, I felt a sense of loyalty. I thought it was pretty sick behavior, but that was just my opinion, because it’s nothing I have any interest in.”

  Kat sat speechless for several long minutes trying to make sense of what Hannah had just told her. The waitress brought their breakfast, and Kat watched Hannah start to demolish a huge stack of pancakes covered in maple syrup with thick whipped cream and topped with mixed berries.

  When Kat finally spoke, she said, “Okay, the judge had a thing for porn, and I can understand why you’d feel that given everything that was going on, no one needed to know that the judge had been watching porn when he was murdered. I can just imagine what that newswoman would have done with information like that, but I don’t see how that had anything to do with his murder, do you?”

  “No.” Hannah dabbed the sides of her mouth with a paper napkin. “I rather doubt the judge was very vocal about that part of his life, but he watched it a lot more than I think most people would. In fact, most evenings if I left before him, when I said good night to him he was in front of his computer. I didn’t always see what was on the screen, but I saw enough a number of times to make me think he was watching porn.”

  “
Let me change the subject, Hannah. Have you ever met his wife? Do you know anything about her?” Kat compared her bowl of granola with yogurt to Hannah’s pancakes, and wished she’d gone for the high-calorie option.

  “No, I’ve never met her, which is kind of strange,” Hannah said, taking a sip of her cappuccino. “I think it was a loveless marriage, because I’ve never even received a call from Mrs. Dickerson, and I never heard him talking to her. Maybe she called his cell phone, but somehow, I don’t think so. He didn’t have any pictures of her in his office, and he never mentioned her. Not even once, which I think is very odd.”

  “Do you know anything about the castle she’s building? I guess he probably lived there.”

  “Again, no.” Hannah launched back into her tower of pancakes, which was now more like a molehill. “I Googled her once when I first started working for him,” she said between bites, “and several articles mentioned she was building a castle outside of town and had been for some time. That was pretty much it.”

  Kat ran her spoon around the sides of her bowl to scoop out the last bits of the crunchy granola mixed with yogurt. “Hannah, I can’t thank you enough for taking time to meet with me. How’s Justin doing?”

  “Maybe a little better. He has good days and bad days. I have a live-in nanny who’s wonderful for both of us. I don’t know what I’d do without her. She stayed with him when I attended a two-day conference in Kansas City on autistic children.” Hannah smiled. “Kat, when I worked for Blaine, he was always telling me not to sacrifice my life because of Justin. I just want you to know that I met a doctor who specializes in autism, and we had dinner while I was at the conference. It went well, and we have a date next weekend. He’s a speaker at a conference being held here at the university in town, and he wants to meet Justin. Can you believe it?”