As Emma had no answer to Agent Peyton's question, she asked a question of her own: "Agent Peyton, have you considered the possibility that someone may be trying to frame DeMarco for Canton's murder?" "You know, John Mahoney said the same thing and I'll tell you what I told him. In my twenty-five years in the Bureau, I've never heard of a single person being framed for a crime." "Well, how would you have heard?" Emma said. "If the frame was perfect an innocent man would be sent to jail and no one would ever know." "Yeah, but I've never even heard of a botched frame. Nor can I remember a defense attorney ever making a plausible argument in court that a client was framed. Mistaken identity, yes. Framed, no. People are framed in movies." When Emma didn't immediately respond, Peyton said, "Let me ask you something, Emma. If a smart, rich person like you wanted someone dead, why would you do something as complicated as framing someone for the murder? Killing the guy yourself in some clever way would be simpler. Or if you couldn't do it yourself, why not just hire a sniper to shoot the guy?" "I'll tell you why," Emma said, "and the reason is you." "Me?" Peyton said. "Yes. If the person I wanted to kill was a U.S. congressman I would know that the FBI would assign a man like you to the case, along with a hundred other agents, and you wouldn't give up until you caught me. But if I framed someone and if you caught the person I framed immediately--which you did in the case of DeMarco--then I might get away with the murder because you'd no longer be hunting for me." Excerpted from House Arrest by Mike Lawson All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
