Read Online Dark Ambition by Allan Topol - Free Book Online Page A

up to his nuts?" Ben's voice was hard, showing the cold fury he felt. "That works even better."
    "I'll forget you said that."
    "But I'll remind you if I can't use the key evidence, and the judge throws out our case against Gillis because you deprived him of his rights." Incredulous, Ben turned to Traynor. "Jesus, Bill. You know better than that. You're a pro in this business, not like our hotshot friend here from the White House."
    Traynor looked down at his hands. "The director made it clear to me at the beginning. Ed here is in charge. The order came right from Slater at the White House."
    Ben shook his head. Traynor was so eager to please, he wasn't doing his job. He turned back to Fulton. "The only thing that surprises me, hotshot, is that you called for help from the U.S. Attorney's office."
    Unchastened, Fulton glared at Ben. "We need a search warrant."
    "I assume you're a member of the bar. Go get one."
    "Judge Penn insisted that the application come from an assistant U.S. attorney."
    Now Ben saw how this had all played out. "And you couldn't cow the judge by invoking the name of Jim Slater and the White House?"
    Fulton didn't respond.
    "What a shame," Ben added. "That's the trouble with having federal judges appointed for life. You guys in the White House can't push them around."
    "If you've had your fun," Fulton replied sharply, "can we stop farting around and go get the warrant? We want to search Gillis's house and the truck that he uses to haul leaves."
    "What are you looking for?" Ben directed the question to Bill Traynor.
    "A gun. Money that was taken from the house. We think lots of money was taken. There might be other evidence."
    "You guys really think Gillis did it?"
    Traynor looked at his notepad. "He has a sick kid. He needs money for medical treatments. It certainly looks like robbery."
    "Why not Nesbitt? You haven't been able to find him."
    Traynor hesitated. "The time sequence fits Gillis better."
    He said it in a halting voice that made Ben wonder if he really believed it. "What do you mean?"
    Traynor glanced back at his notes. "According to the guards in front of the house, Nesbitt arrived at two in the afternoon and left at two-thirty. Gillis was there from eleven to four. The FBI lab puts the time of death at three-fifteen."
    "How precise is that time of death?"
    Traynor held out his hands. "It's an estimate. You know how they do these things. They check body temperature. It's got a margin of error."
    "We had the best guy in the FBI lab look at the information," Fulton interjected. "We found him at the Kennedy Center last night and brought him to check over everything."
    Ben couldn't believe this moron. "I am so impressed. And you no doubt love his answer."
    "What's your trouble, mister?" Fulton said. "You got a soft spot for gardeners? Gillis did it just as sure as God made little green apples. He looks and sounds guilty, and he's changed his story."
    Ben shrugged in agreement. "You're probably right. He probably is guilty. But that's not what it's all about, hotshot."
    "I don't like being called that."
    "I didn't think so. That's why I keep doing it," Ben said, boring in. "The point is, when we get to trial, the issue won't be whether Gillis did it or not. The issue will be whether I can put on an airtight case without getting my evidence tossed on a technicality. They taught me that at the Yale Law School, and I'll bet they even taught it to you at Harvard."
    Fulton shot Ben a surly look. "Oh, fuck off."
    Ben advanced on him. "Look, asshole, I'm on your side. I've got other things I'd rather be doing right now than screwing around with this case, but the only way I'm going to get back to them is by getting a conviction that sends Gillis to the electric chair, if he's guilty, which is likely. That means putting on evidence that won't get excluded. That means tying up every loose end. Now, what's the deal on Nesbitt, Bill?"
    "We're still looking for him," Traynor said, again uncertainly.
    Ben knew