“Sometimes guys would slip me cash to go into the jail and speak to people who were under arrest. It was usually when pretty drunk girls were being held. You know, the kind who’ll take a dollah to make you hollah?” Duncan elbowed Fitz.
“Yeah, I know the type. Did people ever slip you money to visit male prisoners?”
“Sure, all the time,” Duncan said. “It’s a free country. You love who you love, right?”
Ten felt sick to his stomach. Obviously the corruption went further than the four men who’d been murdered in the jail cells.
“Duncan, four men are dead. Killed by overdoses of insulin. All four of them died onyourwatch. You understand this looks bad for you, right?” Fitz asked, his earlier friendliness gone.
Duncan sighed. “I want immunity.”
“You know we can’t guarantee that,” Ronan said.
“Yes, we can,” Fitz interrupted. “Tell us everything. Now.” He pulled up his phone and set it in front of Duncan. “This is Captain Kevin Fitzgibbon meeting with Duncan MacBain regarding the Jefferson McGrath investigation.” He turned to Duncan. “Who was going into the jail to visit suspects?”
“Cops, lawyers, medics, you name it,” Duncan said.
“Jesus Christ,” Ronan whispered under his breath.
“What can you tell us about the men who were murdered in the cells?”
“They paid the price for not agreeing to work with-” Duncan stopped. He eyed Fitzgibbon. “I’ve got immunity, right?”
“Yes, you have immunity from prosecution,” Fitz said, sounding annoyed. “Now, tell me what you were about to say.”
“It was the price to pay for not working with Fallon Kirkpatrick and Doom.”
Fitzgibbon’s eyes widened. “Who the hell is Doom?”
MacBain shrugged. “Beats me. All I know is that he was in charge of the scheme.”
“What scheme?”
“Cops pull over and arrest drunk drivers. The perps are booked and get a little visit from Kirkpatrick, who offers to take their case and promises to get them off, but he needs to be paid in cash.”
“Hold on a second, Kirkpatrick works for the public defender’s office, clients don’t pay him.” Fitzgibbon wore a confused look.
“The cases were off the books,” Duncan said. “Anyway if the person agreed, they paid the money, and Kirkpatrick contacted the cops who made the arrest and made sure they knew not toshow up at court so the case would be dismissed. The money each defendant paid was split between Doom, Kirkpatrick and the cops in on the arrest.”
“What was the fee?” Jude asked.
“Five grand per charge.” MacBain grinned as he spoke.
Jude whistled. “No wonder Kirkpatrick was living in a million dollar house. God, you’re an asshole!”
“What?” MacBain held his hands up as if to say he was innocent. “It’s better than losing your license and spending five years in jail for a first OUI offense. Ten years in jail for a second and the third’s a felony charge doing real prison time, not that bullshit county jail which is more of a glorified country club.”
Ten couldn’t believe his ears. Turning to Ronan and Jude, he could see both men looked dumbfounded.
Fitz wore an incredulous look. “Ten, is he telling the truth?”
“Yeah, it’s all true. He also worked security for underground poker games members of the SPD ran.”
“Who’s Doom?” Fitzgibbon asked.
“He doesn’t know. I can see everything in his mind from first grade through this moment, clear as day. He doesn’t know who Doom is.” Ten crazily wondered for a minute if Everly would have been able to get that information from MacBain.
“Can you make an educated guess based on the cops who paid you to let them into the jail?” Ronan asked.
