“I’ll draw up the check while you read this,” Amanda said as she handed Keys a document in which he agreed to give up the right to be Charlie’s agent.

As soon as he signed, Amanda handed Keys the check. Then it was Kate’s turn to take the floor.

“Mr. Keys, how did you and Mr. Marsh meet?”

Keys laughed. “That’s a good story. Charlie was a hot property after the prison standoff, but no one could get to him. Technically, he was still a prisoner and the cops had him under wraps in the hospital.” Keys flashed a proud grin. “Know what I did?”

“I can’t begin to guess,” Kate answered.

“I slipped a nurse a few bucks for the number of his room and one of those ID tags you clip on. I switched my photo for the photo of the doc on the tag. Then I dressed up. I had this clipboard and stethoscope and the white coat.” He shrugged. “It was easy as pie. The cop on the door took a quick look at the ID tag and I was in. Charlie liked my moxie. I guess he figured if I could con my way past the cops I could con the publishing and movie people. And I already had some good ideas for merchandise.”

Keys paused. He looked thoughtful. “Charlie made the right choice. I did great by him. I mean, we made out like bandits.” Keys paused again. “I guess I shouldn’t use that phrase, huh? What with the IRS and all.”

“Whose idea was the Inner Light scam?”

“I thought it up. I had the accounting background.”

“Did Mr. Marsh ever protest?” Kate asked.

“You want to know if I had to twist Charlie’s arm?”

Kate nodded.

“Don’t forget why Charlie was in prison. He’s been a con artist his whole life. He’d just never operated on this scale before.”

Amanda asked Keys to outline the scheme. When he was finished, Kate asked Keys about the evening of the shooting.

“Who was with you and Charlie at the country club?”

“Let’s see, it was me, Charlie, Delmar Epps, and…there was someone else.”

Keys thought hard for a moment. Then he rolled his eyes. “I forgot Moonbeam.”

“Who?” Amanda interjected.

“This groupie.” Keys shook his head. “She was an obnoxious little twit who attached herself to Charlie. I have to believe she was the greatest lay in history because I can’t think of any other reason Charlie put up with her. Anyway, she was in the car with us.”

“What do you remember about the fancy revolver that was used to shoot Congressman Pope?” Kate asked.

“Some broad Charlie banged in Texas gave it to him. Her husband was an oil tycoon who was ancient and he collected guns. Charlie saw it when he was at her house and took a shine to it. She gave it to Charlie when he was leaving. I bawled him out about taking it. He was on parole, for Christ’s sake. Possessing a weapon could have sent him back to prison.”

“How did the gun get to the Westmont?”

“Delmar Epps brought it. He loved toting that gun around, pretending he was Wyatt Earp. I remember him twirling it on his finger in the car, because the limo hit a bump and he dropped it. I almost had a heart attack. The damn thing was pointing at me when it bounced off the floor. I thought it would go off. I yelled at Delmar to put the damn thing away and I have a clear picture of him putting it on the seat next to him while we were driving.”

“Did he have the gun when he left the car?”

Keys’s brow furrowed. “Delmar usually had the gun stuck in the waistband of his pants, but I don’t know if he had it on him when he got out of the limo. Some guy Charlie knew opened the door to the limo instead of the chauffeur and Delmar got in his face. I was concentrating on that while I got out of the car. Then I moved back as fast as I could because I didn’t want to be in the way if a fight started.”

“Do you know where Epps is now?” Kate asked.

“Actually, I do. He’s dead, killed in a car accident. They had a story in the newspaper about it because of his involvement with Charlie.”

A knock on the door interrupted Kate as she was about to ask her next question.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Miss Jaffe,” the receptionist said, “but there’s an FBI agent in the waiting room who’d like to speak to you.”

Amanda frowned. She had a few cases going in federal court but she couldn’t think of any reason for an agent to be contacting her.

“You two go on,” she said before leaving the room.

A stocky, broad-shouldered man with wavy black hair, whom Amanda didn’t recognize, was standing in the reception area. He was wearing a navy blue pinstripe suit, a crisp white shirt, and a tasteful dark blue tie with narrow red and yellow stripes.

“I’m Amanda Jaffe,” she said as she offered him her hand.

“Agent Daniel Cordova from the FBI office in Seattle,” he said with an easy smile. “I’m pleased to meet you. They say good things about you in the Portland office.”

“Uh-oh. That means I’m probably not doing my job very well,” Amanda answered with her own smile.

“From what I hear, you do it too well.”

“What can I do for you, Agent Cordova?”

“Is there someplace private we can talk?”

Kate was still interviewing Mickey Keys, and the Pope file still covered the table in the conference room. Frank was in court, so Amanda led the FBI agent to her father’s office.

“You’re representing Charles Marsh on a state murder charge,” Cordova said when they were seated.

“Yes,” Amanda answered cautiously.

“In the course of your representation, have you come across the name Gary Hass?”

“He was a criminal associate of Werner Rollins, one of the witnesses against Sally Pope, wasn’t he?”

“That’s right. And Mr. Hass is still a criminal, someone we are very anxious to arrest. A few days ago, a Russian drug dealer named Ivan Mikhailov was tortured to death in Seattle. Mikhailov was trying to take over territory serviced by Julio Dominguez, another dealer with ties to a South American cartel. An informant told us that Hass murdered Mikhailov on orders from Dominguez.”

“What does this have to do with Charlie?”

“Hopefully, nothing. But we searched Hass’s hotel room. He’d collected several articles about Mr. Marsh and his return to Oregon to stand trial. Do you know if Hass and Mr. Marsh had a falling-out before Marsh fled the country?”

“I can’t reveal attorney-client confidences, but why do you want to know?”

“Hass is a peculiar person. He’s very smart, very violent, and he’s known to harbor grudges for years. It’s possible that he’s in Oregon seeking to even an old score.”

“Have you heard that a sniper tried to kill Charlie after his bail hearing?” Amanda asked.

“That’s why I’m here.”

“You think Hass was the sniper?”

“We have no evidence to support that but I’d like to talk to your client to see if he knows anything that will help us catch Hass. If Hass is trying to kill your client he’ll benefit by cooperating.”

“Why don’t you wait here and I’ll call Charlie.”

Amanda closed the door and started down the hall to the conference room when her cell phone rang.

“Have you spoken with your client, Miss Jaffe?” Nathan Tuazama asked. Amanda’s pulse began to race. She hated to admit it, but the Batangan frightened her.

“He’s thinking about your request.”

“I will be calling you this afternoon. If you don’t have a positive response for me I will go to plan B.”

Tuazama disconnected. Amanda swore and hurried into the conference room. She dialed Charlie’s hotel room from the phone on the credenza. Marsh picked up on the second ring.

“I called you for two reasons, Charlie. Both serious. There’s an FBI agent named Cordova in the office. He wants to talk to you about Gary Hass.”

Amanda heard an intake of breath on the line. “Charlie?”

“What about Gary?”

“They think he was in Seattle recently. He’s a suspect in a murder up there. When they searched his hotel room the FBI found articles about you. Would there be a reason he would try to kill you?”