Mickey Haller, aka the Lincoln Lawyer, had fought many cases in the past, but nothing came close to the kind of dilemma he faced at each and every step of the Lisa Trammell case. Mickey was known for bending the rules, but he never did anything that his conscience did not allow, and Jesus Menendez’s case was an evidence of that fact. For the first time, Mickey had doubts about his own client and till the very end, he wasn’t able to ascertain if she was telling the truth or merely playing with him. The moment Alex Grant’s name came up, it felt as if Mickey hoped that he had committed the crime, and he tried to connect the dots even when something just didn’t add up. So, let’s try to decipher first what made Mickey Haller consider Alex Grant as a probable suspect, and with how much certainty we can say that Alex had reasonable cause to kill Mitchell Bondurant.
Spoilers Alert
How Did Alex Grant Become The Straw Man?
Alex Grant’s name popped up in the investigation in The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2, Part 1 when Mickey and his entire team were desperately looking for someone whom they could use as a straw man to create suspicion in the minds of jury members. Lorna, Izzy, and others were going through the emails of Mitchell Bondurant when they struck gold and found out that Mitchell had threatened to expose one of his contractors, who was apparently involved in illegitimate activities.
Mitchell wanted this contractor named Alex Grant to share the losses he was incurring from a project called The Terrazzo, but obviously, Alex was not accepting his demands. Upon digging further, Mickey and his team found out that Alex Grant’s real surname was Kazarian, and he belonged to an Armenian crime family. Mickey felt excited about this revelation, as he knew that now he not only had a straw man but one who had a dubious past as well. But Alex Grant was nowhere to be found, and Mickey knew that unless and until he found him and made sure that he got a chance to make him stand in the witness box, his entire theory would be of no use. Cisco went to one of the construction sites and tried looking for Alex Grant but the man was nowhere to be found.
Finally, in The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2, Part 2, Mickey came up with a plan to bring Alex Grant out of hiding and somehow make him testify in court. Mickey knew that he was once again resorting to questionable tactics, but desperate times needed desperate measures and Mickey had no qualms about it. Mickey asked one of his clients, who still owed him a lot of money, to make a fake website where they were going to show that they had a lot of famous paintings and that they were up for auction. Alex really liked a European painter named Tinto, and he already owned a chunk of paintings by the great man. There was one last painting that Alex desperately wanted in his collection, and Mickey’s fake website was going to claim that they had it in their possession.
As soon as Alex learned about the website, he came over to the specified location to buy it, but it was then that he realized that he had been deceived by Mickey and his team. Alex was summoned to the city, and he filed a motion to quash that, but Mickey obviously had something else on his mind. Mickey was able to create reasonable doubts in the eyes of the law, and Alex Grant felt compelled to take back his motion because he didn’t want the court to pursue the claim that he was indulging in some illegal practices. The FBI was already suspicious of him, and he didn’t want them to have another reason to come after him. Mickey knew that he needed more evidence to corroborate his stance and make it look like the heir of the Armenian crime family had killed Mitchell Bondurant, or at least could have done it.
Did Alex Murder Mitchell Bondurant?
After the FBI target letter was presented in court and its legitimacy was proved by Mickey, one thing came out in the open: Alex did indulge in a lot of illegal activities. The FBI was after him without rhyme or reason, but the man was good at hiding his tracks, and that is why, to date, no incriminating evidence has been found against him. Though we cannot say for sure, it could have been possible that Alex Grant actually asked Walter Kim to murder Mitchell Bondurant, as he would have felt that the man would expose him. Mitchell Bondurant had written the letter threatening to expose Alex on the 10th of January, and within one week, the FBI had issued a target letter. We refrain from calling it just a coincidence and it is possible that Alex would have believed that if he didn’t do something about the situation, Mitchell would leak the intel, and he would be put behind bars.
Walter Kim was also under the threat of being exposed, and it is possible that he acted on his own accord. We understand that, as of now, when the sword has been dangling over the heads of Lisa Trammell and Alex, Walter Kim seems like a far-fetched speculation, but nonetheless, it cannot be denied completely as of now. Maybe Walter Kim had disappeared at the end of The Lincoln Lawyer season 2 because he wanted to escape the authorities, but if Cisco’s speculations are to be believed, then Alex Grant killed him. Lorna had always had her doubts about Lisa, and after the entire scam about her husband, Jeff, came to light, her suspicions got even stronger. As a matter of fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if Alex Grant tried to come after Mickey, as even though he was acting courteously till now, we knew what he and his family were capable of.
The one thing that makes us more inclined to believe that Alex was the one who killed Mitchell was that, till now, Lisa Trammell didn’t have a strong reason to take such a drastic step, whereas Alex and Walter Kim had a lot at stake. It could very well be possible that in The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3 (if there is one), the FBI would finally find some evidence that proves that Alex indulged in a lot of malpractices and a lot of his construction sites were not exactly legal. Sooner or later, it would come to light that Alex used to bribe officials to get permits and violated many laws to legitimize his unauthorized constructions. Eventually we might come to know of some hidden motive on Lisa’s end, but until then, we believe that for Mickey and the FBI too, Alex Grant and Walter Kim would be the prime suspects, and they would want to look in that direction and find something substantial that proves their guilt.
