The Amendment Killer (Brooks/Lotello Thriller) Page 17

  Adams hung up the phone. He owed his job to Webber. More than that, their families had become close. He knew Cassie. His wife and kids knew Cassie. He wanted to help them any way he could. But the White House? What was he getting into?

  CHAPTER 59

  Thursday, May 8, 6:30 am

  BROOKS WAS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC.

  Hirschfeld nibbled at the bait. “What ‘next problem’ are you talking about, Cyrus?” Hirschfeld had softened just a little his initial outward hostility. Perhaps they were moving toward some form of détente after all.

  “The endgame. What’s your endgame, Arnold?”

  Hirschfeld’s gentler demeanor hardened almost immediately. He rose from the bench and returned to the guardrail, gripping it even harder than earlier.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” Brooks said.

  “You seem to think no one has been thinking about this other than you.”

  “Not at all. Please sit down.”

  “I don’t want to sit. I can hear you fine from here. Just say what’s on our mind.”

  Brooks didn’t like talking to his old friend’s back. He stood and quietly joined him at the railing. They stared together out across the Potomac.

  “With her replenished insulin supplies, Cassie’s now safe. For the moment. The kidnappers need your vote on the outcome of the case and, if necessary, your influence to corral another vote or two. They know you won’t deliver if anything bad happens to Cassie before the Court’s decision. So, for the time being, their interest in Cassie’s well-being is identical to yours.”

  “Your command of the obvious continues to astonish.”

  “Yes, but what if there aren’t four votes in addition to yours to invalidate the amendment? What if you can’t enlist another vote or two beyond what you probably already have?

  “For that matter, what happens to Cassie even if the amendment is overturned? Once the decision is announced, whatever it turns out to be, what continuing leverage will you have at that point? Do you really think you can count on the word of these rogues?”

  “You sound like Mark, my son-in-law.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “Do you honestly believe I haven’t already been agonizing over precisely that? I know I have to somehow convince them to release Cassie first. Tell them that if they honor their word, then so will I. Emphasize that if they won’t release her first, then I’ll blow their cover, see to it that the amendment is upheld.” Hirschfeld’s voice faltered. He looked ashen.

  “Sorry, Arnold. That just won’t work. If they turn Cassie loose, they lose their only hold over you. And once that happens they will assume that your priorities will then return to your ethical roots. They know your reputation. Your character. Even if you convince yourself to honor your word to Cassie’s assailants over your duties to the Court, you’ll never convince them. They have no honor. They won’t believe you’ll have any either. No matter what you say. It’s not what you say. It’s what they believe.”

  “I know those who lack honor often have the upper hand. But what choice do I have?”

  “Perhaps there’s another way,” Brooks said.

  CHAPTER 60

  Thursday, May 8, 6:45 am

  WEBBER HURRIEDLY ANSWERED THE PHONE. He knew Adams wouldn’t be calling to make idle chit-chat.

  “Larry, hey. Anything?”

  It was all Webber could muster. No “How’s the family?” No other small talk.

  “Maybe a nibble,” Adams said. “I’ll come to that, but first tell me if there’s anything happening on your end.”

  Webber wanted to hear about that “nibble,” but he forced himself to recount the insulin drop, and how it had almost undone Hirschfeld. He thought about mentioning Lotello’s visit, Nishimura showing up, but he didn’t see how it could help and he didn’t have the patience.

  “Larry, did you say you have something for me?” He was dying for Adams to get to it.

  “Does the name Manny Reyes ring a bell?”

  “White House Chief of Staff?”

  “Yes. Do you know him?”

  “Only the name. What I read in the papers now and again. Why?”

  “Reyes put a call into the FBI last night. Arranged for a bunch of undercover FBI agents to show up at the Supreme Court proceedings later this morning. I wondered if you or Hirschfeld might have put him up to that somehow.”

  “No. Like I said, I don’t know Reyes. There’s no way I’d even know how to reach out to him.”

  “What about Hirschfeld?”

  Mark thought about that. Would his father-in-law do exactly what he prevailed on everyone else in the family not to do?

  “I guess it’s possible. But, geez, I don’t see him going off the reservation like that. I think he’d first discuss that with Jill and me.”

  “People do strange things under pressure.”

  “I get that. But no, I don’t think he’s called Reyes.”

  “Well something—or someone—prompted Reyes to make the call he did for agents to attend the Court proceedings today.”

  “How’d you find out about this, Larry? And what makes you think it has anything to do with Cassie?”

  “One of my contacts, he’s pretty tight-lipped, said Reyes made the request, but said he doesn’t know why. Frankly, that doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  “I don’t follow,” Webber said.

  “That my contact would know what Reyes did but not why.”

  “Hmm, now that you put it that way, I agree.”

  “I think my contact’s trying to help, but needs to cover his own ass at the same time.”

  “You’re losing me again.”

  “I don’t think my contact has a source in the FBI, Mark. I think he’s electronically eavesdropping on the FBI.”

  “Jesus. Someone can actually do that? Meaning, anyone can?”

  “Don’t get me started. We don’t have time. But that’s the only explanation that occurs to me why he’d have just the limited information he relayed to me. No context, no background. Just a packet of data he electronically captured.”

  “Larry, you still haven’t told me why you think this has anything to do with Cassie.”

  “I didn’t say it does. I said it might. Think about it, Mark. If Reyes wants to know what’s going on in the case, all he’d have to do is set his DVR. Or have someone in the White House do it for him. So, I think this tells us he’s looking for someone in the Courtroom not likely to be picked up by the TV cameras.”

  “Sorry, Larry. Can you run that by me again?”

  “Sure. There are two possibilities. One, this has nothing at all to do with Cassie. Pure coincidence. But I’m not much of a believer in coincidences.”

  “Larry, are you telling me—”

  “Two, Reyes somehow knows about the kidnapping. But if not from your father-in-law, Mark, then from whom?”

  Webber had no answer. Nothing to contribute.

  Adams continued. “My guess is that Reyes somehow knows about what’s happened to Cassie, and is trying to identify, contact, or even apprehend, the kidnappers.”

  “You think they may be in the Courtroom?”

  “To keep an eye on Hirschfeld, yeah. Maybe. But the bigger question to me is if Hirschfeld didn’t reach out to Reyes, then why the hell’s Reyes involved?”

  “Larry, are you saying the White House might have something to do with this? With Cassie’s kidnapping?”

  “Well, the amendment is pretty unpopular in political circles. In any event, my contact says he’ll follow up with me as soon as he knows something more. As soon as I know, you’ll know.”

  Webber felt as though the ground beneath him was giving way. What am I supposed to do now?

  CHAPTER 61

  Thursday, May 8, 6:55 am

  BROOKS THOUGHT BACK to the first time he had heard about it. Freshman year philosophy. “Occam’s razor.” A fundamental principle of argument often referred to as the law of parsimony, or ef
ficiency. Among competing hypotheses that predict equally well, the one with the least number of assumptions, or variables, should be viewed as correct.

  In Cassie’s circumstance, each side had virtually the same single assumption: Man is driven solely by self-interest. The corresponding hypothesis: Whoever goes first loses.

  Brooks knew a different hypothesis was needed, one that would equally favor both sides. He expounded on his clipped suggestion to Hirschfeld that there might be another way. “I do believe there’s another way, Arnold. A way to break the logjam that might be acceptable to both sides.”

  “But you said they have no honor.”

  “I did. And they don’t. But there might be a way around that. Let’s dig a little deeper.

  “I want to buy your house. And you’re willing to sell it to me. We’ve agreed on the price. Do I pay you the purchase price first or do you record the title deed in my favor first?”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “The answer is neither. I deliver my money ‘in escrow’ to a mutually agreeable and trustworthy third party, referred to as an escrow agent. You deliver the deed to that same third party. He records the deed in my favor and simultaneously releases my payment to you. We both get what we want, but neither of us had to go first.”

  “I’ll remember that, Cyrus, the next time I purchase a piece of property. For God’s sake—”

  “Stay with me, Arnold. If only one of us performs, depositing the money or the deed in the escrow account, the escrow agent returns the performing party’s consideration and the deal is off. No downside for either party. People have been successfully breaking logjams and doing business this way for centuries. And often in strict confidence.”

  “You honestly expect to enlist a title company in a kidnap scheme?”

  “Not a title company, no. Give me a little credit, Arnold. But a middleman, yes. Someone each side trusts implicitly to follow the simple—confidential—ground rules.”

  “We’re back to trust again. But that’s the problem, Cyrus. There’s no trust here.”

  “That’s really not so unusual, Arnold. It’s actually quite common. Through an escrow arrangement, each side gets what it wants, but neither has to take the risk of going first. Having to trust the other side. They only have to trust the middleman.”

  “And where does one find the mutually agreed upon third party? On Craigslist? Under Reputable Scoundrels?”

  “I’ve actually been giving that some thought, Arnold.”

  “You know it won’t work here, Cyrus. In an escrow you have an exchange of a lawful sum of money for a lawful deed of title to property in a lawful escrow transaction. Here we are talking about an unlawful exchange of an unlawfully held child for an unlawful abuse of judicial authority.”

  “Now who’s overcooking things, Arnold?”

  “Do you really think some mutually agreeable third party exists who will do this? Someone, in particular, who would agree to return Cassie to her kidnappers if the 28th Amendment is upheld in spite of my voting to invalidate it?”

  “I’m working on that, including the fact that just because the hijackers and you are doing something unlawful doesn’t necessarily mean that the middleman escrow agent is.”

  “Cyrus, putting that aside for the moment, how would I deliver my vote into such a theoretical escrow in human traffic?”

  “It’s the same idea as the house sale escrow. The kidnappers would deposit Cassie with the middleman. If the Supreme Court invalidates the amendment, Cassie is released to you. If the Supreme Court upholds the amendment, Cassie is returned to her kidnappers. That latter prospect would, of course, be catastrophic. But please keep in mind we are only discussing how to circumvent the issue of trust and either side having to bear the risk of going first. This is not a plan on how to go in with guns blazing to shoot the kidnappers and free Cassie.”

  Hirschfeld glanced at his watch. “I’m sorry, Cyrus. I know you’re trying, but this is just too much for me to process and I simply don’t have any more time for this. Even if I did, do you actually have someone in mind, someone each side might trust, someone who’d be willing to—”

  “And if I do?”

  CHAPTER 62

  Thursday, May 8, 7:30 am

  WEBBER REALIZED there was nothing more he could accomplish at home. Jill would be here, and her mom said she would be too.

  He had quickly showered, shaved, and dressed. He explained to Jill that he needed to do something, anything, take a walk, clear his head.

  Secretly, he intended to go to the Courthouse and see if he could possibly detect anyone particularly interested in Hirschfeld. If not, then maybe he’d spot the FBI agents, see what or who they were focused on. It was a long shot, sure, but he just couldn’t sit around anymore doing nothing in the face of what Adams had just told him.

  He didn’t tell Jill his real destination, or about his conversation with Adams, either. He didn’t want any arguments, and he had little time to spare if he were going to get to the Courtroom and find a seat. He would be gone longer than a walk around the block would take. He’d have to deal with that later. Somehow.

  * * *

  As soon as Brooks and Hirschfeld had parted company, Brooks placed the call.

  Lotello answered on the first ring. “How’d it go?”

  “Not so bad. At least he didn’t reject it out of hand. He listened. He’s thinking.”

  “Of course he listened. He’s desperate.”

  “He can’t imagine someone out there who would actually agree to accept the youngster in escrow. Because each principal is engaged in unlawful activity, Hirschfeld assumes that the escrow agent would also be engaged in unlawful activity.”

  “Judge, certainly you’ve heard of the word ‘accessory.’”

  “Are all homicides criminal, Detective? Aren’t there instances where the law recognizes a homicide as justifiable or excusable? Besides, it’s one thing to aid in a kidnapping. It’s quite another to aid in its possible unwinding.”

  “I don’t know,” Lotello said. “It seems to me like the ice is pretty thin out there where you’re skating.”

  “Do you really think the escrow agent here would be doing a bad thing, something for which he should be branded a criminal and punished by the law?”

  “In a word? Yes. And I doubt that I’m alone.”

  “You’re reacting emotionally. Give me twelve jurors, and I’m sure I’d prove you wrong.”

  “You really want me to chase this down?”

  “Exactly as we discussed last night. Go meet with him, see if he’ll agree to do it.”

  They hung up. Brooks wasn’t half as confident as he’d tried to sound. But he wasn’t about to defeat the narrative before it was fully vetted. That’s what lawyers do. Speaking of which, I have a case to go win.

  * * *

  Joey watched Mark Webber pull out of his driveway. He waited a moment, then started his engine and followed from a safe distance.

  * * *

  Thomas pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the Courthouse, feeling confident he’d be able to reclaim the same seat as before, and find his cell phones waiting for him, taped in place. If not, he’d have to fall back on Plan B, the nearby sports bar.

  His mind wandered to Reyes. He wondered what Reyes thought about the voicemail message he had left. Thomas hadn’t left his name, but would that matter? It had been a while since they’d last spoken, but Thomas wouldn’t likely have forgotten Thomas’s voice, all they had been through together. As loyal teammates.

  Thomas would call Reyes again this evening. He wanted to make sure they knew they could still count on him.

  CHAPTER 63

  Thursday, May 8, 9:15 am

  CASSIE WAS BORED. After breakfast, she’d spent some time looking through the school material in her backpack, but she didn’t know what assignments the teachers would be giving. Deciding to err on the side of too much rather than too little, she pushed herself several chapters ahead of where t
hey’d left off. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have the time!

  She also decided to go through another hour of exercise, not just to help her blood sugars but also to maintain her conditioning.

  * * *

  With a few minutes left before Thomas had to queue up in the Courtroom admission line, he switched on his phone and launched the camera app.

  Geez, the girl was at it again. All she did was exercise. What a waste. Not going to make a damn bit of difference in the end anyway.

  * * *

  She’d been jogging in place for about twenty minutes when she heard the ceiling camera start humming again. Maybe another chance to make him feel guilty. “Hey, can you hear me? Does that thing have a microphone? You know, it’s really become kind of lonely around here. If it’s not too much to ask, could you please maybe bring me some books or magazines to read? Maybe some puzzles. Anything like that.”

  No answer. After only a moment, the light on the camera went out.

  So much for that bright idea. Time for a little cardio. She shadow-boxed for a few minutes, working in several types of kicks—ax, hook, butterfly, roundhouse—and then collapsed onto her bed. For variety, she liked working on the self-defense stuff. Never know when it might come in handy.

  She was trying so hard to keep her spirits up, to stay positive, but it wasn’t easy. She missed her family. And her friends. A lot. She even missed taking Whitney out for his morning walks.

  And no matter how hard she tried to push it away, she was incredibly frightened. The man really scared her. He was just too weird. She tried not to think about it, but she couldn’t help wondering how long she was going to be here, and what was going to happen to her. If I get out of here, I’ll never complain about my chores again.

  The workouts helped. They kept her mind off things, and she knew they lowered her blood sugars. But then, without warning, it all closed in on her. She couldn’t catch her breath. She felt like she was suffocating. And then the dam just burst wide open, and the tears came flooding down her cheeks.

  But then, slowly, she thought of the man again. And the fact that he could turn that camera on again anytime he wanted, and start spying on her again. She hated that. And she hated him. Stop it! Concentrate. Deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. She wiped her face off on her sleeves and gradually pulled herself back. She couldn’t let him see her like that.