“What the hell does that mean?”
“The proof is complete.”
Chapter
47
The day after Lance Guidot Esq. began his court-appointed task of defending Cameron Flick, he was fired by his client.
Milo said, “I was over at the jail filing papers, met the guy leaving and looking kinda glum. I said what’s up, he said Flick claimed he wasn’t smart enough and gave him the boot. But that’s not why I’m calling. Followed your advice and called Crystal Jo Wiebelhaus in Akron and yeah, she’s Flick’s older sister. Hasn’t seen him since he moved to L.A. ten years ago but her voice still shakes when she talks about him.”
I said, “She grew up with his unpredictable cold anger and his cruelty to animals, other kids, and her.”
Silence.
“Why do I bother? Yeah, from the time he was little he terrified her and her mother. Who is indeed Felicia Sue in Vantage who is not taking my calls. Crystal’s sure Cam murdered Wiebelhaus but not because she has evidence. She just said Leonard was strict, he and Cam didn’t get along, and Cam hated his guts and smiled for days after Wiebelhaus’s death.”
“No abuse.”
“Not according to her. Looks like Cam doesn’t need much of a trigger to reach for his trigger.”
Chapter
48
The day after firing his first lawyer, Cameron Flick was assigned a second counsel from the court roster named Marcia Kendall.
That association lasted twenty-six hours, after which Flick fired Kendall for “insufficient attention to the gravity of my situation.”
Milo called and told me. “Gonna be a while before we’re rid of him. He’s obviously playing games.”
I said, “Is there a limit how far he can take it?”
“I asked Nguyen. He says when you pay your own way you can manipulate for a while but with court-appointed counsel it’s up to the judge. Luckily for Flick he got one of the D.A.’s buddies on the bench, total moron, believes bad guys can do no wrong. So who the hell knows? I’ll keep you posted if anything changes.”
It did. But not the way either of us expected.
—
On the third day of his incarceration, Cameron Flick summoned a jail deputy and announced that he’d be serving as his own counsel. Then he said he wanted to talk to Milo.
Chapter
49
I left my car at the station and the two of us drove east of downtown to the Men’s Central Jail on Bauchet Street. Forty-minute ride from West L.A. Five minutes from the Coroner’s on Mission Road, which is efficient.
Before we got out, Milo said, “Anything else you want to tell me?”
“Nope.”
“Just be aware that his world revolves around his self-image as brilliant.”
“Exactly. He’ll likely insult our intelligence and try to control the situation with insults and erudite vocabulary.”
“Got it,” he said. “Duh.”
—
