by Carsen Taite
*
Ellery didn’t recognize the phone number, but she was done hiding out. Holding out a fraction of hope the caller was Sarah, she answered the line. “Hello.”
“Ellery, it’s Bob Novak.”
“Hey, Bob, good to hear from you.” She was surprised to hear from Amir’s new attorney so soon, but she’d known Bob for a long time. More than likely he’d called to discuss the proposition Ellery had given Amir that morning before he contacted the AUSA handling the case. “I guess Amir told you I came by.”
“He did.” Bob cleared her throat. “Look, we’ve known each other a long time and I know you wouldn’t purposefully do anything to get a former client in trouble, but as long you’re both in the spotlight, I think it’s best if you keep your distance.”
His words were like a punch in the gut, and any hope she’d had that Amir would do the right thing faded fast. She forced herself to remain calm. “I’m guessing Amir didn’t give you a lot of detail about why I showed up to visit him.”
“He said you wanted to touch base, wish him the best, see if there was anything you could do. I told him not to talk to you anymore, but to let me be the bad guy about it. I’m sure you realize the feds probably have him under surveillance. Pictures of a co-defendant showing up at his front door doesn’t help either of you.”
Ellery seethed. Apparently, Amir hadn’t bothered to mention his transgressions or made any overtures toward clearing her name. He’d made her next decision an easy one. “Bob, I’m only telling you this because I respect you. I’ve seen the search warrant affidavit and I know exactly what I’m accused of doing and what Amir is accused of doing. Your client is not being entirely truthful with you. I just don’t want you to spin your wheels looking for defenses that don’t exist.”
“I don’t suppose you’d care to clue me in.”
She considered his request. She could share the copy of the affidavit, but she had no idea what Meg had done to get it and, as angry as she was with her right now, she didn’t want to compromise sources she could use to help other clients. Disseminating a sealed document in violation of a court order was pretty serious stuff. Besides, if Amir didn’t want to keep his new attorney in the loop, that was his business. She’d given him an opportunity to do the right thing, but she couldn’t make him take responsibility.
She could do one thing, though. “Tell you what. Talk to Amir again. Remind him I said he had until tonight to consider doing what I asked. If I don’t hear from you by seven tonight, I’ll do what I need to.”
“Sounds ominous.”
“Just talk to your client, Bob. If you can get him to be honest with you, it’ll help in the long run.”
“Who are you hiring? I heard your dad was in town. Is he going to represent you?”
Ellery laughed both at the idea she could ever put her destiny in her father’s hands and at the fact she hadn’t even considered hiring someone to represent her. “Let’s just say I’m still exploring my options.”
“Don’t try and do this yourself. You know what they say, an attorney who represents himself—”
“Has a fool for a client. I know, I know. Trust me, I have it covered.” Ellery’s mind flashed to an image of Sarah leaning close as they kissed. She harbored no illusions that their kiss, no matter how electric, would sway Sarah’s mind if she decided she’d broken the law. Sarah was all about law and order, as she should be. But she’d also be fair. If Amir didn’t own up to implicating her in his activities, then all she could do was hope Sarah would believe her side of the story.
After she hung up with Bob, she contemplated her next action. She had hours before she expected to hear back from him about Amir’s decision and to let Sarah know whether she would cooperate. The time stretched before her like an empty canvas and she knew exactly what she wanted to be doing. Within a half an hour she was in her studio, music blaring, working on new pieces to replace the sold out inventory. She may not be able to fix everything that had gone wrong in her life, but she could make something special in the time she had.
*
“I just sent you the list. Check your e-mail.”
Sarah smiled at the sound of Peter’s voice. Always brisk and efficient, he couldn’t be bothered to say hello before launching in. She clicked open her e-mail account and scanned the inbox. “I see it. Thanks.”
She waited for him to say good-bye, but instead he said, “I went ahead and cross-checked all the names with the current investigation.”
It would take her hours to do the same. “And?”
“See the entry for Chavez and Hamilton?”
“I see it. Sounds like a law firm.”
“Try architects. Want to guess what one of their big projects was back in 2001?”
She didn’t want to guess. She didn’t want to know her earlier hunch was right on target, that Naveed and his friends didn’t break into that building just for fun. But she had to know the truth. “Tell me.”
“They designed the arena.”
“Damn.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Hang on a sec.” She put the phone between her chin and shoulder and jabbed at her keyboard, pulling up the police report from Naveed’s case. While Peter waited, she scanned it, line by line. “Nothing was taken.”
“What?”
“The boys who broke in, they didn’t take anything.”
“I’m guessing the police didn’t search their cell phones when they were arrested, or even if they did, they didn’t have a clue what they were seeing.”
“You think they took pictures of the plans for the arena?”
“I don’t know, but the timing’s right since the break-in occurred about six months before the bombing. Plenty of time to strategize. I’m sending you the contact information for the named partners of the firm now. I’ll send you the rest of the info on the building occupants, but I think this one’s your best bet.”
“I think you’re right. Go ahead and send the rest, but I’m going to head there now. Let Trip know what I’m up to, will you.”
“Will do. Hey, Sarah?”
“Yes?”
“We miss you around here.”
She started to stay she missed them too, but it was more complicated than that. She did miss this adrenaline surge, but she knew the after effect was chilling. Hunting down bad guys was definitely a charge, but in this case, it was looking like the bad guys were tied to Ellery, and she’d give anything if that weren’t the case.
She sighed. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions. After all, it was a big leap to assume that because Naveed was one of the boys who’d broken into the same building that housed the architectural firm that designed the arena, he’d been responsible for the bombing. Like Ellery had said, he was a smart, up-and-coming kid. What would his motivation be to engage in such a vicious act of terrorism? But her gut was rarely wrong, and she knew without a doubt the two things were connected.
The drive to the building didn’t take long, and within the hour, she was standing at the reception desk at Chavez and Hamilton Designs.
“I’m sorry, neither Mr. Chavez nor Ms. Hamilton have any available appointments this afternoon.”
The middle-aged, front desk power broker didn’t look sorry at all. Sarah pulled out her badge and dangled it over the counter that separated them. “I think they’ll see me. Would you mind double-checking?”
The woman picked up the phone and whispered into the line. Sarah watched as the woman’s smug demeanor deflated. When she hung up the phone, she said, “It looks as if there’s been a cancellation. I can show you in to see Mr. Chavez.”
Sarah greeted the news with an exaggerated smile. “Thank you so much.”
Carlos Chavez was waiting at the door to his office when Sarah approached. He invited her in, shut the door behind them, and motioned for her to have a seat. “Linda said you’re with the FBI?”
“Yes. I’m following up on an investigation by the Dallas Police Department. Were y
ou aware this building was broken into about six months ago?”
“No, I wasn’t, but we only lease space here. I guess if nothing happened to our offices, the landlord didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”
“So, you don’t recall noticing anything unusual or out of place around that time or after?” She glanced around the office as she asked the question. Stacks of paper covered every available surface.
He laughed. “As you can see, I’m not big on tidy, but trust me, I know what every single slip of paper means and where it is. I just work better surrounded by chaos.”
Sarah smiled. “And your partner?”
“Hard to believe, but Victoria is messier than me. They say you should find a business partner that complements you, but we decided having double the creative energy was more important than good organizational skills. Mind if I ask why the FBI would be interested in a break-in at a private office building?”
She weighed her options. If she told him the truth, she risked compromising the investigation, but she had to find out if her hunch was correct. “I understand you designed the arena downtown. Do you do a lot of jobs like that?”
“If only there were a lot of jobs like that. We’ve worked on some amazing projects, but, like many architecture firms, our mainstay is office buildings.” He dipped his head slightly and narrowed his eyes. “Are you investigating the bombing?”
“Yes, and as I’m sure you can imagine, it’s a delicate matter. Whatever I say to you, whatever you say to me—it’s important that you not discuss it with anyone else. Do you understand?”
“Of course. Ask me what you really want to know.”
“Do you keep copies of the plans for the arena here at your office? If so, where specifically, and can I see them?”
“Yes, we have them and you can see them. They’re in Victoria’s office.” He stood up. “Come with me and I’ll show you.”
They walked through a door in the back of his office down a small hallway to another large door and went inside. Victoria Hamilton’s office was lighter, more feminine, but in an equal state of disarray. Carlos walked to the back wall that was lined with cabinets and pulled out a sheaf of papers. He spread them out on a nearby drafting table and waved Sarah over. “Here they are.”
She looked down at the blue lines on the paper. Her mind whirred as she imagined two of the boys holding down the corners of the paper and the other snapping pictures with his cell, while Naveed waited in the car. She pointed at the paper. “What exactly am I looking at here?”
“This is the overall design scheme, complete with suggestions for the landscaping. When you move to the next page,” he flipped the paper, “that’s when you get into the showplace itself. The arena is designed to hold twenty-one thousand people.” He pointed to the right side of the page. “This is where the explosion went off. I don’t know what kind of explosives were used, but they had an extra boost of impact because of the way this area is structured. See the supports here? Each one of them came down, which caused this entire area to implode and block all the exits on that side of the arena.”
“You’ve obviously given this some thought. Has anyone else talked to you about this?”
“Victoria and I discussed it in the days after the explosion. It’s a bit disconcerting to see something you designed be damaged by such a violent act. But, no, I haven’t discussed it with anyone from law enforcement if that’s what you’re asking. The plans are on file with the city, so I’m sure if one of your colleagues wanted a copy, it would be easy to get one.”
Sarah looked around the room. She didn’t see any locks on any of the cabinets. “Do you have an internal security system of any kind?”
He shook his head. “We lock up at night at the front door to the reception area where you came in, but other than that, nothing. There’s a security guard in the building, and I always figured we were at low risk for theft. The other businesses in the building are all professional offices, real estate, mortgage lender, a psychologist. Probably the only things worth taking in the whole place are computers. Thieves would be better off breaking into a Best Buy if that’s what they’re after.”
He was right, which gave her additional confidence in her theory that the boys were after something very specific when they broke into this building. The problem would be proving it. If they had taken photos of the plans, in all likelihood, the photos had been destroyed by now. She supposed there might still be fingerprints on the plans themselves, if the boys had slipped up. She pointed at the plans. “I’m going to send someone to pick these up. In the meantime, can you make sure no one else touches them?” She gave him her business card and urged him to call her directly if he thought of anything else. She walked to the door to leave, but paused before she opened it. “One last question.”
“Sure.”
She pulled up a copy of the indictment for the burglary case on her phone and handed it to him. “Do you recognize any of these names?” She watched while he scanned the screen and knew the second she’d hit gold because his back stiffened and he sucked in a deep breath. “Who is it? Who do you know?”
“Akbar Jafari. He’s a college kid. He interned for us last year. Great student and a hard worker. Are you saying he broke in? Why would he do that? If there was something here he wanted, he could have gotten it during the time he worked here.”
Sarah didn’t have the answer to his question, but she knew without a doubt she was one step closer to figuring out who was responsible for the bombing. Naveed Khan’s cousin Akbar, Sadeem Jafari’s son, had worked for the architect who had designed the arena. The boys, along with two brothers whose terrorist leanings had drawn the attention of the CIA, had broken into a building where the plans for the arena were kept about six months prior to the bombing, plenty of time to plan and execute their fatal plan. These facts tied Naveed directly to the bombing, but still raised lots of questions. How had they managed to pull off the act? At least some of these kids were already on the CIA and HSI’s radar. Seems like someone from one of those agencies would have checked their whereabouts for the night of the bombing. What was Naveed’s role?
And the most important question of all, to her anyway, what did Ellery know?
Chapter Eighteen
“Looks like you have company.”
Ellery looked in the direction of Leo’s beer bottle and watched as Sarah’s Corvette pulled into her driveway. For the second time, she wondered how a government agent could afford such an expensive car, but she had bigger worries right now. She’d been sitting on Leo’s front porch for the past hour, contemplating her next move. Seven o’clock had come and gone and, with no further word from Amir or his new attorney, she had some decisions to make. She’d hoped to have a bit longer to figure out her next move, but Sarah’s arrival signaled time was up.
She raised her beer bottle as Sarah looked their way. Sarah’s smile was reserved, reminding her of the serious talk ahead, but she also couldn’t help but notice how good she looked in jeans, loafers, and a cherry red sweater that hugged her chest. She remembered how April had shown up for their chili dinner, looking awkward in jeans instead of a cocktail dress. Sarah, on the other hand, made every outfit look as if it was a second skin. She sighed. If only they’d met under different circumstances.
“Sorry I didn’t call first,” Sarah said as she climbed the steps. “I was hoping I’d find you home.”
“Where else would I be?”
“And it’s not like you folks wouldn’t know if she was out gallivanting,” Leo said.
Sarah smiled. “Good point.” She looked at Ellery. “If you’re busy, I can come back later.”
Ellery could tell she was only offering to be polite, but she wasn’t in any hurry to respond to Sarah’s ultimatums. “Sit down and have a beer with us.”
Sarah looked between them and Ellery was certain she was trying to find a way to assert her authority without rising Leo’s ire, so she was surprised when Sarah said, “Sure, I’ll take a be
er.”
Ellery reached into the bucket full of ice and bottles near Leo’s feet and ignored his scowl as she pulled out a bottle and handed it over. Sarah twisted the top and took a deep drink before leaning back against the railing and crossing her feet. To a casual observer, she didn’t look like she had a care in the world.
And she probably didn’t. Sarah would close out this case and move on to the next. Her reputation, her livelihood would be completely unaffected by the outcome despite the huge cloud of dust she’d kicked up as she moved along. In contrast, no matter what Ellery did to clear her name, people would always have doubts. One accusation, even unfounded, could tank a name, a career, a life. She drank from her beer because she had nothing to say.
Leo, though, had plenty to talk about. He pointed at Sarah’s Corvette. “That’s one of the anniversary cars, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Got the extra package?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Not cheap.”
“No, sir.”
Ellery watched the ping-pong conversation for a moment before butting in. “What are you talking about?”
Sarah shot Leo an expectant look, as if deferring to him. He wiped beer off his lips with the back of his hand and said, “That there’s a 2013 Anniversary edition Corvette. Chevy made three hundred of those beauties to celebrate the model’s sixtieth anniversary. She’s driving a seventy thousand dollar car, she is. Pretty fancy stuff for a government employee.”
Ellery nodded. “Some people might think she was doing something illegal to have the money for that kind of car.”
“That’s for sure, but then again, she might have some good explanation.”
“Like she won the lottery?”
“Or she found it alongside the road and no one showed up to claim it.”
Sarah shook her head. “You’re both hilarious. And subtle.” She looked at Leo. “I’m sure you would agree that the easiest explanation is usually the right one.”