BRENTWOOD – A Las Vegas contractor is expected to testify today that he discussed how to murder Jack Reid with Jesse Brooks and his multimillionaire father, John "Jay" Brooks, at a meeting in Las Vegas.

Those talks included how Jesse Brooks, 32, on trial for conspiracy to commit murder, allegedly agreed with his father to pay Joseph Vrooman for taking part in the murder-for-hire killing.

Vrooman, 53, is poised to be a key witness against Brooks in the days ahead as the trial nears its third week in Rockingham County Superior Court.

Defense lawyers plan to suggest to jurors Vrooman has false memories about Brooks' involvement because he has been interviewed so many times by police and prosecutors, court documents indicate.

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Vrooman began testifying late Tuesday about how John Brooks first offered him $10,000 -- during an early morning encounter at the O-Aces bar in Las Vegas -- to kidnap and murder Reid in New Hampshire.

A day later, according to Vrooman's previous testimony, he met with Brooks and his son, Jesse, at their home in Las Vegas.

Vrooman's first public account of Jesse Brooks' alleged participation in the murder scheme came last year during John Brooks' capital murder trial. John Brooks, 57, who made his fortune founding PolyVac, a medical supply company, is now spending life in prison without parole for capital murder.

"Jay first told Jesse that, 'Joe is in on this. He is going to help us with this problem,'" Vrooman testified. "He asked Jesse, 'Can you get $10,000, so it's not coming all out of one account?' Jesse first thanked me and (said) make sure my father doesn't get hurt."

Vrooman also stated previously that Brooks told his father that Michael Benton, 33, was waiting for his call back in New Hampshire to reassume his role as a participant in the Reid killing.

Benton, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, has admitted to participating in two efforts to kill Reid in the fall of 2003, then again in June 2005.

Reid, 57, of Derry, was bludgeoned to death by Benton and John Brooks inside a Deerfield horse barn after being lured there for a fictional trash-hauling job.

Vrooman pleaded guilty in June 2008 to conspiracy to commit capital murder and hindering apprehension in a plea deal with prosecutors that required him to testify. He pushed Reid into a commode area where Benton, armed with a three-pound sledgehammer, was waiting. Benton drove two to three blows to Reid's head. Vrooman testified that he later cradled Reid's head in his lap while John Brooks drove final blows with the hammer into Reid's chest.

"I just looked away," Vrooman said.

This will be the third time Vrooman has testified for the state. He last took the stand in May against his former boss, Robin Knight, 57, of North Hampton, who was convicted of accomplice to first-degree murder. He is spending life in prison with no chance of parole.

Vrooman has not yet been sentenced. He is expected to serve 17 1/2 to 35 years in state prison for his guilty plea and cooperation.