me. Most people wouldn’t have been that conscientious.”
“What was that all about?” Morelli asked as soon as they were alone. Ami sank into a chair and started to shake.
“Are you all right?” Morelli asked.
“Barely. That jerk Kirkpatrick accused me of…” She shook her head, “all sorts of things. He said I was an ambulance chaser.” She looked at Morelli. “They would have arrested me if you didn’t say I was your lawyer. Thank you, Dan.”
“My pleasure. Kirkpatrick is an asshole.” He smiled. “I liked the way you handled him.” Morelli laughed. “I thought his head was going to explode when you told him you wanted an apology.”
Ami tried to be dignified for another moment, but all of sudden the tension that had been crushing her evaporated and she began to giggle uncontrollably.
“He was pretty upset, wasn’t he?” Ami said.
“I don’t think he likes people who stand up to him.”
Ami blushed. She felt proud of herself for not backing down. Then she sobered up.
“There are two things we have to discuss,” Ami said.
“Go ahead.”
“You need a lawyer.”
Morelli started to say something but Ami cut him off.
“I’m only going to represent you until I can get a good criminal defense lawyer to step in. But you need help.”
“I don’t know if I want help.” Morelli looked sad and defeated. The sudden transformation shocked Ami. “I almost killed Barney, and I would have killed that cop if his partner hadn’t shot me.”
“Why did you do it?”
“When Barney swung, my training took over. I wasn’t thinking,” Morelli answered so softly that Ami had trouble hearing him. “I swore I’d never hurt anyone again, Ami. I’ve tried so hard.” He shook his head. “Maybe I should just take what’s coming and get it over. I’m so tired of running.”
“Who are you, Dan?” Ami asked.
Morelli blinked. “What?”
“Who are you really?”
“I don’t understand the question,” Morelli answered warily.
“They checked your ID. It’s phony. They ran your prints and they came up blank. Who are you?”
Morelli turned his head away from Ami. “I’m not anyone you’d want to know,” he answered sadly.
“Dan, I want to help.”
“I appreciate that, but you’d better go.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Vanessa Kohler paced her room, feeling more like a caged animal than a hotel guest. From her window she had a view of the majestic snow-covered slopes of Mount Hood and sailboats cruising the Willamette River. The streets below were full of people taking advantage of the sun. She would have given anything to get outside and away from the recirculated hotel air, but she was afraid that she would miss Ami Vergano’s call.
For a while, Vanessa had tried to distract herself by watching television, but the shows were vapid and so boring that she could not stick with them. The news channels were worse. They were obsessed with the presidential campaign and Morris Wingate’s surge in the polls. Every channel showed her father smiling with smug superiority. It made her furious.
The phone rang.
“Ms. Kohler?” Ami asked.
“Why did it take you so long to call? Is anything wrong?”
“There were problems, but I think I’ve handled them.”
“What kind of problems?”
Ami told Vanessa about her adventures with Dr. Ganett, Deputy District Attorney Kirkpatrick, Detective Walsh, and Daniel Morelli.
“Dan doesn’t want to see you,” Ami concluded. “He got upset when I tried to get him to talk to you. He’s also pretty adamant about me getting off the case as quickly as possible.”
“Shit.”
“I tried, really. I’ll take another shot at him after he’s had some time to think, but I don’t know if it’ll make any difference.”
Vanessa had some ideas but they weren’t the kind that she could confide to an officer of the court.
“Okay,” she told Ami, “you did your best.”
“Do you want me to find him a good criminal lawyer?”
“Yeah.”
“It will be expensive.”
“The money is the least of our problems,” Vanessa said.
“What does that mean?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.”
“Vanessa, who is Dan? The DA said that his ID is phony and they can’t match his fingerprints. When I asked Dan for his real name, he got very upset.”
“Believe me, you don’t want to be burdened with that information.”
“No lawyer is going to be able to help Dan without knowing who he is. No judge will grant bail to a man with a fake identity.”
“You’re right, but I won’t answer you.”
“Was Dan in Vietnam?”
Vanessa hesitated. “I don’t know.”
“I think he was a prisoner of war. Did you know that?”
“No.”
“But you know that he was a soldier?”
“I want to end this conversation, Ami.”
“Kirkpatrick and Walsh think he may be a terrorist.”
“I know that you’re just trying to help, but I’m going to hang up now. Thank you for everything you’re doing.”
Vanessa cut the connection and tapped a cigarette out of the pack that lay next to the phone. She paced the room as she smoked. What were her options? There was only a limited amount of time before her father figured out Daniel Morelli’s real identity.
It occurred to Vanessa that she had not spoken to Sam since she’d arrived in Oregon. Had Victor Hobson honored his promise to protect her lover? Was he safe? Vanessa looked at the clock. It was three hours later on the east coast. She dialed her apartment and Sam picked up immediately.
“Thank God you’re okay,” she said as soon as she heard Sam’s voice.
“I’m fine, but I’m really worried about you.”
“Did the FBI…?”
“You friend Victor Hobson had me picked up at work, Vanessa. It was very embarrassing, especially after having the police barge in the night before.”
“Why aren’t you in a safe house?”
“Because this is nonsense. I’m not in any danger.”
“Damn it, Sam, you are in danger. You have to believe me. My father will stop at nothing once he learns what I know.”
“Is this about Carl Rice, the guy in your book?”
“How do you know about Carl?”
