by Allan Topol
At first she didn't hear him. She stopped in front of her apartment, the key in her hand.
"Don't go in there!" he screamed.
His momentum carried him into Taylor, and the two of them tumbled to the floor, scattering her mail. "Thank God I caught you in time," he cried out.
She was flabbergasted. "You want to tell me what this is all about, C.J.?"
He explained it to her as he helped her gather up envelopes.
"Do you really think that—" she started to ask.
Cady cut her off. "I didn't think so in my Russian case, and I ended up with two dead witnesses. I've gotten to like you more than either of them. I don't want to lose you."
She flashed him a grateful smile. Out in California, she'd gotten to like him too. "That's very sweet, C.J. What do you want to do now? Suppose I open the door carefully and look around. See if anything's been disturbed."
He wouldn't hear of it. "We need a professional. You and I will never be able to tell. If we find something, we won't know what to do." He whipped out his cell phone. "I'm calling the FBI bomb squad. You don't set foot in there until they say it's okay."
* * *
An hour and a half passed before the bomb squad, with great care, disconnected the powerful bomb that had been planted in Taylor's apartment.
Shell-shocked, Taylor was sitting down, leaning against the hallway wall.
"Pack a bag," Cady said. "You can stay with me until this is over."
He carried the duffel with her things to the car. As they pulled away in the XK8, he said to her, "Dammit, Taylor. Put on that blond wig and the rest of the Caroline Corbin disguise. I don't care how much it itches."
She didn't respond. Tears were running down her cheeks.
He leaned over and gently fastened her seat belt. "We're going to my house," he said. "You'll be safe there."
* * *
Across the street, Terasawa cursed when the Jaguar pulled away with Taylor inside. He knew what would happen once he saw the driver come back, then the van with the words Bomb Squad painted in red letters.
He couldn't believe they had thwarted his plan. Well, it wasn't over yet. He had the license plate of the Jaguar. She was probably going to stay with the driver. In the morning Terasawa would find a way of getting his name and address from the D.C. motor vehicle office.
Terasawa was a patient man. Taylor wasn't going anywhere.
Chapter 24
Taylor woke with a start and sat up in bed when she heard a door slam downstairs. The bedroom was strange. It took her a few seconds to remember what had happened last night and that she was in Cady's house.
She heard footsteps on the stairs, coming her way. That had to be Cady, she thought, but what if it wasn't? She wrapped the sheet tight around her upper body and held her breath.
The footsteps were getting closer. Suddenly a face appeared in the doorway. It was Cady, carrying two mugs of coffee and the morning newspaper. Taylor let out a sigh of relief.
"Did you sleep all right?"
As he sat on the bed, she clutched him tightly, remembering the bomb that had been planted in her apartment. If Cady hadn't come back when he did, she would have been killed. Her body quivered against his, and she began to cry.
"You don't have to worry. It's over now."
"Those people will try again. You know that, C.J."
"They'll never be able to find you. They have no idea you're with me."
When Taylor finally pulled away from him, he stood up.
He tossed her a blue terry-cloth bathrobe and said cheerfully, "Breakfast is on the kitchen table."
Fifteen minutes later Taylor was in the kitchen munching a piece of toast when the sound of sirens shattered the morning calm. A wave of panic engulfed her as she heard a commotion outside on the street in front of the house. She watched Cady cross quickly to the living room window. On his way, he grabbed the gun lying on the shelf above the fireplace. She was two steps behind him.
Out on the street they saw two blue-and-white D.C. police cruisers and an unmarked black Chevy Caprice. Cady, gripping the gun hard, carefully watched the figures who stepped out of the car.
"Clint Perry," he said to her. "A member of the local D.A.'s office. I know him fairly well."
"Why are they here?"
"My guess is that he's legit, but I'm not going to take any chances. I'll stall him for a few minutes. You go upstairs and put on the blond wig. Then return to the kitchen. Get ready to play the bimbo. Look like you're hungover. Just keep your purse and your Caroline Corbin ID nearby."
He stuck the gun in the drawer of an end table.
"Should I get dressed?" she asked.
"What do you have on under the robe?"
"Nothing."
"Leave it that way. If the going gets tough, let the robe open a bit and show them a little tit. It distracts cops every time. And if it really gets tough—"
"You're a sexist pig."
He held up his hands in innocence. "You want to end up in a Mississippi jail? Or even worse, if these guys figure out who you are?"
"Not if I can help it."
"Then do what I said."
She was hastily adjusting her wig in his powder room mirror as the doorbell rang.
Cody waited until she emerged and sat back down at the kitchen table. "All right, all right, I'm coming," he shouted.
"Sorry to bother you," Perry said when he opened the door, "but we're looking for a woman by the name of Taylor Ferrari. We've got a Mississippi extradition order for her. We're supposed to fly her down to Jackson. I'll show you a picture."
Listening in the kitchen, Taylor held her breath.
"I don't need a picture, Clint," Cady replied casually. "I know Taylor Ferrari from the Boyd case. I haven't seen her since the grand jury last week. Why would you possibly think she was here?"
"We got a tip this morning."
"A tip from whom?"
Perry shrugged. "I don't know. It was phoned in. Guy knew all the details."
Cody seemed genuinely puzzled as he said, "Well, your tip was wrong. She's not here."
"You mind if we look around? I'll have to file a report. Even though I know you and it's your house, I'd better do this according to the book."
"Be my guest."
Through the open kitchen door, Taylor saw one uniformed policeman go upstairs to look around. Another one went down to the basement.
Cady took Perry aside, close to the kitchen door. "Listen, Clint, last night I picked up this broad in Georgetown. A real looker, with a shape like you wouldn't believe."
"You must have had a hell of a night then."
"Actually, we did. Anyway, she's in the kitchen now. I don't want you guys scaring her away."
Perry smiled at Cady and gave him a thumbs-up.
"I'll owe you for this," Cady added.
Perry went into the kitchen himself and scrutinized Taylor carefully. "D.C. police," he said. "Can I ask your name?"
"Caroline Corbin," she said, sounding intimidated by the police.
"Can I see some ID?"
She got up from the table to get her purse, which was on the counter next to the sink. From the corner of her eye she was watching Cady, and his advice—show them a little tit—popped into her mind. She'd be damned if she would do that. She pulled the belt, and the blue robe tightened in the front. She handed Perry her driver's license and one of her credit cards.
"Looks okay to me," he said quickly.
At the front door, as they were leaving, Perry asked Cady, "Got any idea where we can find Taylor Ferrari?"
"Beats me. If I hear from her, I'll let you know."
Perry winked at Cady. "Have a nice morning, C.J."
* * *
Terasawa was in a gray Mercedes parked across the street from Cady's house and two doors down, when, without any warning, the door of the garage alongside the house went up and the green Jaguar shot out. Terasawa started his engine, but as the Jaguar passed, Cady was alone in the ca
r. That meant Taylor must still be in the house. Without Cady being there, Terasawa would have an easy time with her.
Terasawa glanced at the clock in the car. He'd wait a few minutes before going in, just in case he came back.
When the time was up, Terasawa sneaked around to the back of Cady's house. Without any difficulty he picked the lock on the back door and went inside.
With a gun in his hand, on his tiptoes, he searched the house. It was empty. Terasawa was furious, realizing they had tricked him. Taylor must have been in the trunk of the car. He cursed in Japanese.
Terasawa had no idea where they went. With a deep scowl he decided to go back to the Capitol City Motel and keep out of sight. This evening he'd return to Cady's house. If they weren't home, he'd let himself in and wait inside for them.
* * *
Pug Thompson was sitting at a table in the back of the Corner Bakery restaurant in Chevy Chase when Taylor and Cady walked in and looked around.
Pug had initially objected to meeting in a public place when Cady called to say, "Willy Knowles thought we might want to talk." Pug had suggested Rock Creek Park, but Cady was afraid to take a chance. He and Taylor needed the protection that a public place offered. Chevy Chase was far enough away from town that they would not be recognized.
Pug sipped his cappuccino as they sat down. At the nearest table, a woman was giving a bottle to one child and rocking another one in a stroller while she talked to a friend who had a child on her lap. Coffee break in the 'burbs.
"Glad you could meet us," Cady said, "but I guess you didn't have any choice."
"Shh, keep your voice down," Pug responded. "And tell me what the hell this is all about."
"I think you know."
"Humor me."
Cady told him about their conversation with Knowles, deciding to omit any mention of their meeting with Trish to minimize the danger to her. He snapped open his briefcase and showed Pug the Knowles affidavit.
"So you see," Cady said at the end, "we've got you dead to rights. We can—"
Pug cut him off in midsentence. "Let's not waste our time farting around. I have a law degree. Don't forget that."
"Actually, I didn't know it," Cady said. He looked at Taylor, who shrugged her shoulders. "What do you have in mind?"
"You give me complete immunity, and I give you McDermott. It's that simple."
That was precisely what Cady had been hoping for. "How good's your evidence?" he asked.
"Don't worry about that. It's enough to give you a solid case against McDermott. Are you ready to deal?"
Cady gave him a hard stare. "If I don't think your evidence is good enough, the deal's off."
"That doesn't seem right. I open my kimono and you—"
Cady narrowed his eyes. "Don't play games with me. There's no other way I'll do it."
Pug sighed. "Word around town is that you're an honest guy, but I'd still be taking a hell of a chance."
"You're not doing me a favor," Cady said. "You're about to drown. If you want to go down alone, be my guest." Cady snapped shut his briefcase and stood up. "C'mon, Taylor. We're outta here."
Pug grabbed his arm. "All right. We'll do it your way. Give it to me in writing."
"I can't do the deal myself," Cady said. "I need the approval of Sarah Van Buren, the assistant A.G."
"Go call her then. I'll wait here."
It took a while for Cady to get what he needed from Sarah, then put the agreement in writing. When he laid it on the table, Pug reached into the briefcase at his feet. He pulled out a scientist's lab notebook with a black-and-white cover bound on the side.
"I made contemporaneous notes of every discussion I had with McDermott about this business from the time it began."
"Why did you do that?" Taylor asked.
Pug gave her an ugly smile. "In case we ever got to this point. To save my own ass. The way I'm doing right now."
"Let me see the notebook," Cady said.
As he read through the notes, he was amazed. McDermott had directed the whole Napa records fabrication each step of the way. He had supplied the woman, Karen, who Pug said had been a paralegal at McDermott's Chicago law firm, which would be powerful corroborative evidence. According to the notebook, Pug had delivered the Mill Valley backup documents to McDermott. He had no idea where they were now.
When Cady finished reading, he handed the notebook to Taylor for her assessment. "It's all good stuff," he told Pug, "but McDermott may deny he had any role. He may say you did it on your own. You have to give me something besides this to nail McDermott."
Pug reached back into his briefcase and pulled out a single piece of paper. "I needed McDermott's authorization to get the hundred K that I used to pay off Knowles. I couldn't do that myself."
With the glint of victory in his eye, Pug handed Cady the page. It was a photocopy of the authorization for a check request. The stated purpose of the hundred thousand was "miscellaneous expenditures."
The date fit the Napa time frame perfectly. Pug had carried out his end of the bargain: He had given them McDermott.
Chapter 25
Cady parked the XK8 on Capitol Hill, raised his head out of the car, and looked around. He didn't think they had been followed, but he didn't want to take any chances. He gripped the gun in his jacket pocket.
Once he was convinced the coast was clear, he leaned back in the car and said to Taylor, "Okay, let's go." He hid the gun under the front seat.
They entered the Supreme Court building from the side door on Maryland Avenue. A group of high school students were milling around the white marble corridor as a tour guide gave a lecture about the first chief justice, John Marshall. Cady led Taylor through the crowd and up to the guard's desk.
"Hey, C.J.," the guard said in a friendly voice. "How's it goin'?"
"Couldn't be any better," Cady said. "We're here to see the Chief."
Taylor pulled out her Caroline Corbin ID, and after a quick glance at it he waved them through. "I'll call the chambers of Chief Justice Hall and let them know you're on the way up."
Cady also received a warm greeting from Helen, the Chief's secretary. Taylor raised her eyebrows, impressed that Cady was so well known and liked in the building. In the court's hallowed halls, with its multitude of armed guards, she felt safe and secure. After everything that had happened, that was a very good feeling.
"He's on the bench now," said Helen. "He'll be back here in about half an hour."
"That's what he told me when I called this morning. You mind if we wait in his office?"
"No, not at all. Make yourselves comfortable."
The Chief's office was gigantic, Taylor discovered as she followed Cady to the far end, to a red leather sofa, where they sat down. She peeled off the wig, which was itching like crazy, and stuffed it into her briefcase. The glasses went next. They passed the time reviewing everything that had happened to them in order to present a precise, persuasive case to Hall.
When the Chief shuffled into his office, Cady and Taylor rose to their feet.
Watching the Chief take off his black judicial robe after Cady introduced her, Taylor found a single thought running through her mind: This man is sick, very sick. He could hardly lift his arms. She wanted to go over and help, but she was afraid that would offend his dignity, which Cady confirmed by a subtle shake of his head. Finally Hall succeeded in taking off his robe and draped it over a chair. His face was pale, almost ashen, thin and drawn. His gait was slow and halting as he joined them.
"Helen told me you're up here on a great emergency," Hall said. "I assume it has to do with your Boyd investigation."
Cady gave his former boss a smile. "It's possible that the entire American government is hanging in the balance."
Hall was amused. "If you wanted to capture my attention, you certainly did that."
"I'm afraid it is serious, sir."
"Okay, you two. Talk."
For the next forty minutes Cady and Taylor had what amounted to an oral
argument before Hall. They alternated in telling their story about the events concerning the Boyd investigation and his death while the Chief interrupted to ask clarifying questions, just as he did on the bench. Physically he seemed weak, but his mind was lucid and sharp. He asked to see a copy of the Knowles affidavit and the notebook, as well as the check authorization they had gotten from Pug. He picked up his reading glasses and studied them, tapping his fingers on the desk.
When he was finished, Hall leaned back in his chair. "Unfortunately, you weren't exaggerating," he said. "This is serious business. But why did you come to me? What do you think I can do?"
For Cady, the Chief's question was a lob up to the net. "Quite frankly, sir, I was hoping that you might help us confront McDermott. On our own, I'm afraid he'll dismiss our charges and arrange to have someone kill us the way he arranged the murders of Boyd and Gladstone."
"That's a powerful charge."
"I wish it weren't true."
"Why not go to the president or the FBI?" Hall asked.
"They might be involved as well. Also I don't think you'll have the same ability to persuade them as you will McDermott."
Hall wasn't so sure of that. "What makes you think McDermott will talk to me? He's hardly one of my admirers. In fact, we've never liked each other."
Again Cady cracked a smile. "Well, I remember from my days up here that you can be very persuasive with top lawyers in the government."
Hall chuckled. With great effort he pulled himself to his feet and walked over to the large window facing the Capitol across the street.
Taylor was watching him carefully. Would the chief justice decide to pursue the case, or would he hand it back to them? The few minutes that he spent in front of that window seemed like an eternity.
Hall turned around slowly, returned to his desk, and pressed the intercom. "Helen," he said, "get Attorney General McDermott on the phone. Tell him I want to see him up here in an hour. If he asks what the subject of the meeting is, tell him that you have no idea, and I'm not available until then."
Hall turned back to Taylor and Cady.
"You think he'll come?" Taylor asked anxiously.