Chapter 6 - The Conspiracy UnravelsZ
The arrest of Ryan Pendelton made the front pages of every regional newspaper in Northern Virginia. LOCAL MAN ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTED POISONING AND FRAUD OF AGING VETERAN FATHER.
With Ryan held without bail in the county jail, the prosecution turned its sights on the remaining conspirators. But Harrison Vance was not a man who conceded easily. Within seventy-two hours of Ryan’s arrest, Vance launched a brutal media campaign designed to destroy my credibility before a jury could ever be impaneled.
At a televised press conference on the steps of the courthouse, Vance stood flanked by Melissa Pendelton and her father, Richard Cole. Melissa was dressed in a conservative black dress, weeping softly into a tissue while Vance spoke into a thick cluster of news microphones.
"My clients, Melissa Pendelton and her family, are the true victims of a horrific tragedy," Vance proclaimed smoothly to the assembled reporters. "What we are witnessing is the tragic, violent breakdown of an elderly man suffering from severe, undiagnosed vascular dementia. Mr. Arthur Pendelton has suffered violent paranoia, shooting at his own son and fabricating elaborate conspiracy theories regarding his finances."
Vance pulled out a document, waving it toward the cameras.
"We have filed a fifty-million-dollar defamation and civil rights lawsuit against Mr. Pendelton, the State Police, and Detective Laura Bennett," Vance announced grandly. "We will prove in court that every transaction made by Ryan and Melissa Pendelton was fully authorized by Arthur Pendelton during lucid intervals, and that his sudden turn toward violence is a medical failure, not a criminal matter."
I watched the broadcast from Samuel Reed’s office. Samuel turned off the television screen with a click of his remote.
"He's trying to pollute the jury pool," Samuel said, pacing across his rug. "Vance knows that if this case goes to trial on the cold facts, his clients will spend the next twenty years in federal prison. So he's turning it into a media circus. He wants the public—and potential jurors—to view you as a senile, gun-toting old lunatic."
"Let him try," I said, my voice calm and measured. "What’s our next move?"
"Our next move is a deposition," Samuel said, turning to me with a cold smile. "Because Vance made the mistake of filing that fifty-million-dollar civil suit, we now have the right to depose Melissa Pendelton under oath before the criminal trial even begins. And she can't take the Fifth Amendment in a civil deposition without allowing the judge to draw an adverse inference against her."
Two days later, we were seated in a glass-walled conference room on the tenth floor of a high-rise building in downtown Richmond.
Melissa sat across from me, flanked by Harrison Vance. She refused to look me in the eye, keeping her gaze glued to her manicured nails.
Samuel adjusted his glasses, clicked on a digital audio recorder, and looked straight at Melissa.
"Mrs. Pendelton," Samuel began smoothly. "You claim in your civil complaint that all financial transfers from Arthur Pendelton’s accounts were voluntary gifts or authorized reimbursements. Is that correct?"
"Yes," Melissa said softly, her voice barely audible. "Arthur was very generous. He wanted us to live comfortably."
"I see," Samuel said. He pulled a thick binder from his bag and flipped to a marked page. "Let's talk about the nine thousand dollars withdrawn from Arthur’s account on April 14th of last year. You claim that was a gift for travel expenses?"
"Yes. Arthur gave us that money for a family trip," Melissa replied, gaining a small measure of confidence.
"Fascinating," Samuel murmured. "Because on April 12th—two days before that withdrawal—we have a recorded phone call from your cell phone to a plastic surgery clinic in Miami, Florida. Do you recognize this transcript?"
Vance immediately jumped in. "Objection! This is beyond the scope of—"
"This is a deposition in a civil fraud suit your client filed, Mr. Vance," Samuel shot back coldly. "She will answer the question."
Samuel slid the paper across the table. "Mrs. Pendelton, did Arthur Pendelton authorize you to spend nine thousand dollars of his pension on a breast augmentation and facial fillers?"
Melissa’s face turned bright red. "That... that was part of the personal gift package he gave me for taking care of his house!"
"And what about this?" Samuel pulled out another document. "A text message sent from your phone to your cousin, Donna Mills, dated six months ago. I’ll read it aloud for the record: 'Make sure the seal on the notary stamp looks fresh. If the old man asks, tell him it’s just paperwork for his property tax exemption. He’ll sign whatever we put in front of him if Ryan brings him his afternoon tea.'"
Melissa went dead pale. She looked wildly at Vance.
"And what was in that afternoon tea, Mrs. Pendelton?" Samuel asked, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper as he leaned over the table. "Was it the same Digitalis solution that police found in your son’s backpack? The solution that was purchased using a cryptocurrency wallet registered to your personal email address?"
Vance’s face transformed from arrogant confidence to sheer panic. He grabbed Melissa’s arm. "Don't answer that!"
"We have the blockchain ledger, Mrs. Pendelton," Samuel slammed a final stack of paper onto the table. "The state police tracked the Bitcoin transaction used to buy the unregulated Digitalis from an online vendor in Eastern Europe. The wallet was created using your IP address, paid for using a credit card fraudulently opened in Arthur Pendelton’s name."
Melissa collapsed against the table, covering her face as violent, hyperventilating sobs broke through her composure.
"It was Ryan!" Melissa shrieked, throwing her husband under the bus without a second thought. "It was all Ryan! He was the one who owed money to the bookies! He said if we didn't get the equity out of the house, they were going to kill him! He made me buy the drugs online! He made me talk to Donna! I was just trying to protect my family!"
Vance closed his eyes, placing a hand over his forehead in utter defeat. His star witness, his grieving client, had just confessed to a federal conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and financial fraud on a court reporter's record.
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Samuel slowly clicked off the audio recorder.
"Thank you, Mrs. Pendelton," Samuel said softly. "This deposition is concluded. Detective Bennett is waiting outside in the lobby to execute the federal arrest warrant."
