with white sweat socks that sagged over the tops and a black felt hat over ash-blonde hair. The hat was pulled down almost to her ears. She looked sombre and walked quickly with her head down. Venable fell in beside her. Angelica paid no attention at first but finally turned and looked up at Venable.

'Hi,' said Venable, 'I'm Jane Venable. I'm your mother's lawyer. Can we go somewhere and talk for a few minutes?'

'Not here,' the young woman answered in a whisper, looking around furtively.

'Anywhere you say.'

'Anywhere but here,' Angelica said.

Venable had her car drive them to a coffee shop off campus. They found a table in the back of the small cafe. Angelica ordered cappuccino and Venable had black coffee.

'Why did you come to the school?' Angelica Stoddard said. 'Why didn't you call first?'

'I tried, but I couldn't get through.'

Angelica's shoulders sagged. 'Oh, yeah, it's a hall phone,' she said, shaking her head. 'It's always busy. I'm sorry I said that, but I… I'm so embarrassed by all this. I know it's wrong, but I can't help it.'

'It's okay, Angelica. It's absolutely understandable, you don't have to apologize to me.'

'What do you want?'

'I need your help.'

'To do what?'

'I want you to come with me to see your mother.'

The young woman looked shocked. 'I can't do that,' she said urgently, but still speaking almost in a whisper. 'She absolutely forbids me to—'

'Angelica, she must put up a fight.'

'You don't know my mother. Once she makes up her mind…'

'Look, for God's sake, she's not deciding what kind of car to buy, her life is on the line here.'

'What can I do?'

'Tell her to defend herself.'

'She won't listen to me, and she won't change her mind. I know her, Ms Venable. I talked to her. They let her call me. She kept saying, 'This is the only way.' '

'You've got to go with me to see her and back me up.'

'She'd kill me!' Angelica said, then quickly added, 'Figuratively speaking, I mean.'

'Angelica… do they call you Angel?' The young student nodded. 'Angel, you tell her you and your dad need her. She can't just stand by and get maxed out by the state. If she'll put up a fight we can win this case. Do you want her to spend the next twenty years in state prison?'

'No! Oh no. Oh God, what's happening to us?' Angelica shook her head and started to cry.

'Trust me,' Venable said. 'Just do exactly what I tell you to do and trust me.'

Vail had secured wiretapping permits for the pay phone in the hall outside Vulpes's door and in his room. The two electronics experts in the investigative department had set up a listening and watching post in an empty loft across the street from the halfway house. One of them, Bob Morris, had graduated from electronics school and had attended the FBI academy. His partner, Reggie Solomon, was a classic nerd, who was interested only in the mysteries of electronic surveillance. A second team comprised of Randy Dobson, a young, lean detective who wore baggy khakis and an Atlanta Braves T-shirt under a leather jacket, and Kirby Grosso, a tallish, raw-boned woman wearing a jogging outfit - the two best shadows on the DA's investigative staff - was on standby in a car a block away. Grosso had a Hi8 videocamera secreted in her athletic bag so she could videotape Vulpes without being detected.

They watched Terry bring Vulpes to the halfway house and help him carry his belongings to the second-floor room. Vulpes had a large old-fashioned leather suitcase, a stereo, TV, and VCR, his tool chest and two large cardboard boxes of books and tapes. They listened on the monitor when Vulpes entered his room, and Morris, using a 500mm telephoto lens, videotaped him through the open window of the room. They heard the supervisor running down the rules and regulations, the most important of which was a 10 P.M. curfew that was strictly enforced. The supervisor, whose name was David Schmidt, had a pleasant,

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