nowhere, I remember…
“Oh my
God.”
My
loud outburst gets Bobby’s attention.
“What
is it?” he asks, covering the mouthpiece of the phone.
“I
just remembered. I deleted several emails from both Richard and Koto on
Friday.”
“What
did they say?”
“I
never read them. I didn’t even open them.”
“Val,
honey, let me call you back.”
He
immediately calls Charles after ending the call. They have a brief conversation,
and then he turns to me and says, “Those emails could have important
information in them.”
“Do
you know if we might be able to retrieve them?”
“I’ve
seen instances where they have, and I’ve seen instances where they haven’t.”
“Oh
God.” I take a deep breath and run to the counter for my phone. “Bobby, they’re
all here. I haven’t deleted anything off my phone.”
He
holds me by the shoulders, pulls me in his arms, and kisses me on my forehead.
I scroll through the messages, and there they are. I forward all of them to
Bobby and Charles. All the messages are variations of ‘I’m sorry.’ All but one.
However, for the life of me, I have absolutely no clue what it means.
To
: Jada McLean
From: Richard
Preston
Date: Thursday,
19 September 2013, 8:45PM
Subject: 1114-9711–
RCS
I’m
sorry. That’s all I can say for now.
I get
the ‘I’m sorry’ part, but it’s the subject—that baffles me. I have absolutely
no clue what any of this means. Maybe it’s some type of code or account number.
It’s going to take a brain bigger than mine to figure this out.
Bobby’s
phone rings; it’s Charles. He puts the phone on speaker.
“They
didn’t take much from your penthouse, Jada, but the same can’t be said about
your office. Most of your staff has their computers, but they confiscated the
one in your office and your secretary’s. Do you have any clue what they might
be looking for?”
“No.
My taxes are paid. I run a legitimate business. I don’t even own a firearm… I
have no clue. It might have something to do with that last email from Richard.
But I really don’t know what that is in the subject.”
“When
the detective was leaving, he made a comment. ‘All this and it’s still not
enough.’ He seemed to be implying that you had Richard killed for money.”
“That’s
ludicrous. Don’t the police have to tell you what so-called evidence they
have?”
“Not
until they actually charge you with something. Until then, they can keep
whatever information they have to themselves. But I think, at this point, we
need to conduct a pre-file investigation.”
“What’s
that?”
“It’s
when your attorney represents you in an early stage of the investigation,
before formal charges are actually filed by a prosecutor. Much like what we’re
doing now. The point is to prevent the filing of any criminal charges against
you.”
“How
do you do that?” I ask.
“We do
research, investigate, and counsel you regarding the investigation. I have a
meeting with two of the best PI’s I know tomorrow. I will contact the police
early and try to intervene. I can also put legal pressure on them to avoid further
investigation and, often, redirect accusations, thereby informally resolving
the case by alternative means.”
Bobby
continues, “The key is to attempt to keep criminal charges from being filed. If
criminal prosecution is inevitable, it can assist you with a voluntary
surrender to avoid a public arrest and to assist you with arranging for bail so
that you do not remain in custody.”
“And
this is the best way to move forward?” I ask.
“Yes,”
Charles and Bobby chorus.
“Do
they know exactly when he was killed? I left San Francisco Thursday night.
Doesn’t that take me out of the equation? That email was sent from him after I
left San Francisco.”
“No.
Until we have a coroner’s
“Oh my
God.”
My
loud outburst gets Bobby’s attention.
“What
is it?” he asks, covering the mouthpiece of the phone.
“I
just remembered. I deleted several emails from both Richard and Koto on
Friday.”
“What
did they say?”
“I
never read them. I didn’t even open them.”
“Val,
honey, let me call you back.”
He
immediately calls Charles after ending the call. They have a brief conversation,
and then he turns to me and says, “Those emails could have important
information in them.”
“Do
you know if we might be able to retrieve them?”
“I’ve
seen instances where they have, and I’ve seen instances where they haven’t.”
“Oh
God.” I take a deep breath and run to the counter for my phone. “Bobby, they’re
all here. I haven’t deleted anything off my phone.”
He
holds me by the shoulders, pulls me in his arms, and kisses me on my forehead.
I scroll through the messages, and there they are. I forward all of them to
Bobby and Charles. All the messages are variations of ‘I’m sorry.’ All but one.
However, for the life of me, I have absolutely no clue what it means.
To
: Jada McLean
From: Richard
Preston
Date: Thursday,
19 September 2013, 8:45PM
Subject: 1114-9711–
RCS
I’m
sorry. That’s all I can say for now.
I get
the ‘I’m sorry’ part, but it’s the subject—that baffles me. I have absolutely
no clue what any of this means. Maybe it’s some type of code or account number.
It’s going to take a brain bigger than mine to figure this out.
Bobby’s
phone rings; it’s Charles. He puts the phone on speaker.
“They
didn’t take much from your penthouse, Jada, but the same can’t be said about
your office. Most of your staff has their computers, but they confiscated the
one in your office and your secretary’s. Do you have any clue what they might
be looking for?”
“No.
My taxes are paid. I run a legitimate business. I don’t even own a firearm… I
have no clue. It might have something to do with that last email from Richard.
But I really don’t know what that is in the subject.”
“When
the detective was leaving, he made a comment. ‘All this and it’s still not
enough.’ He seemed to be implying that you had Richard killed for money.”
“That’s
ludicrous. Don’t the police have to tell you what so-called evidence they
have?”
“Not
until they actually charge you with something. Until then, they can keep
whatever information they have to themselves. But I think, at this point, we
need to conduct a pre-file investigation.”
“What’s
that?”
“It’s
when your attorney represents you in an early stage of the investigation,
before formal charges are actually filed by a prosecutor. Much like what we’re
doing now. The point is to prevent the filing of any criminal charges against
you.”
“How
do you do that?” I ask.
“We do
research, investigate, and counsel you regarding the investigation. I have a
meeting with two of the best PI’s I know tomorrow. I will contact the police
early and try to intervene. I can also put legal pressure on them to avoid further
investigation and, often, redirect accusations, thereby informally resolving
the case by alternative means.”
Bobby
continues, “The key is to attempt to keep criminal charges from being filed. If
criminal prosecution is inevitable, it can assist you with a voluntary
surrender to avoid a public arrest and to assist you with arranging for bail so
that you do not remain in custody.”
“And
this is the best way to move forward?” I ask.
“Yes,”
Charles and Bobby chorus.
“Do
they know exactly when he was killed? I left San Francisco Thursday night.
Doesn’t that take me out of the equation? That email was sent from him after I
left San Francisco.”
“No.
Until we have a coroner’s
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