Balance of Power

    'Sure,' Lenihan answered, his amiability restored. 'Just don't forget to use soap.'

* * *

    When the questions resumed, Lenihan—to Sarah's surprise—abruptly changed the subject. 'Concerning this advertisement, did you contribute the language saying that the Eagle's Claw 'opens a massive wound channel'?'

    'Yes, because it's true.'

    'And that the P-2 is designed to deliver 'a high volume of firepower'?'

    'Yes,' Reiner repeated with a defiant edge, 'because it's true.'

    'Who were you trying to appeal to? Skeet shooters?'

    Reiner folded his arms. 'Gun collectors. It's not my business to judge their reasons.'

    'But you already know what their reasons are. For example, did you also write that the P-2 'can be used to initiate combat in offensive-type situations'?'

    'Yes.'

    'Who were you appealing to there? The government of Myanmar?'

    Once more, Reiner rested his forearms on the table, but, it seemed, more heavily. 'Guns,' he said, 'have a variety of uses . . .'

    'Weren't you trying to appeal to someone with plans for—or fantasies about—a military-style assault?'

    Reiner shrugged. 'There's nothing wrong with fantasies.'

    'Or plans, I suppose. Are you aware of any shooting competitions which feature the P-2?'

    'Not to my knowledge.'

    Lenihan smiled. 'What about competitions between drug dealers? Are you aware of any drug dealers who use the Lexington P-2?'

    'I don't hang out with drug dealers.'

    'Do drug dealers,' Lenihan persisted, 'use the P-2?'

    'I don't know what drug dealers use.'

    'Isn't it true, Mr. Reiner, that Lexington paid the producer of the ABC series Strike Force to feature the Lexington P-2?'

    Reiner eyed him with disdain. 'Everybody does product placement.'

    'In the case of this particular product,' Lenihan asked pleasantly, 'who was portrayed using the P- 2?'

    Reiner held his gaze. 'The drug lord.'

    'And did you approve the script?'

    'I don't specifically recall.'

    Lenihan smiled. 'Really? Why don't you reflect on that one over lunch?'

* * *

    Lenihan sipped iced tea. 'I'm saving that for dessert,' he said in response to Sarah's question. 'I want to squeeze him dry before he knows how bad things are.'

    That made sense. 'Unless he already does. Does Nolan know, I wonder?'

    Lenihan's smile was grim. 'Unless they've flipped Norman Conn, neither of them knows. But we've already got enough to do some real damage.'

    Though this was true, Sarah found it more dispiriting than hopeful. 'You know what sucks, Bob? Unless the President can kill gun immunity, none of it will matter.'

* * *

    Before continuing, Lenihan hung his suit coat loosely over a chair. Reiner's tie remained loosened, and he had rolled up his sleeves. Even Harry Fancher was in shirtsleeves; only Nolan remained buttoned up.

    Again, Lenihan leaned forward. 'Are you aware,' he asked the witness, 'of any states besides California which ban the P-2?'

    'No.'

    'But you are aware that the P-2 is commonly used in crimes in California?'

    'Commonly? How would I know?'

    'But you were aware—even before the Costello shootings—of at least one crime where a P-2 was used in California.'

    Reiner frowned. 'Yeah—the day-care center in Oakland. The media called us for comment.'

    'How many kids died in that particular incident?'

    'Four.'

    'Where did the shooter get that gun?'

    'I don't remember knowing. We didn't sell it to him.'

    Lenihan stared at him. 'Aren't you at least curious? After all, don't you commonly receive tracing requests concerning guns used in crimes?'

    'We get some.'

    'Specifically, don't the legal authorities involved provide the make and serial number of the gun, and ask you to identify the dealer or distributor you shipped it to.'

    Reiner emitted a sigh of boredom and weariness. 'Yes. But I'm not involved. There's no legal requirement that we retain trace requests.'

    'No? Didn't the ATF specifically, in writing, ask you to retain them?'

    If Reiner was unaware of Conn's betrayal, Sarah knew, this was his first hint that something had gone badly wrong. Nolan glanced at his client with new keenness, his expression suggesting that he sensed, rather than knew, that there was trouble. 'It's our policy,' Reiner answered in a monotone, 'to discard nonessential records. But I have no specific memory of that kind of letter.'

    'Or ordering it destroyed?'

    Once more, Reiner squeezed his wrist. 'No.'

    'What about tracing requests from California? Did you order them destroyed?'

    'I have no specific memory,' Reiner repeated, 'of ordering documents destroyed.'

    Lenihan regarded him with a skeptical smile. 'Do you have a more specific memory of learning that the ATF lists the P-2 as the leading semiautomatic handgun used in crimes?'

    Almost imperceptibly, Reiner seemed to relax. At least, Sarah sensed him thinking, this question was based on public information. 'I pay no attention,' he answered. 'We sell a lot of P-2s, so some of them show up in crimes. Not our fault.'

    'Even if those same figures show that many of those crimes occur in California?'

    The witness hunched his shoulders. 'Not our fault.'

    'Even if you suggested to the promoter of the Las Vegas gun show— the show where Bowden bought his gun—that he place his ad next to yours?'

    'If I did that, I don't remember it.'

    Lenihan considered him. 'When,' he inquired, 'did you first become aware that the gun John Bowden used to kill six innocent people was part of a shipment stolen by a paramilitary group called the Liberty Force?'

    Reiner's eyes widened slightly, and then Nolan touched his client's arm. 'We've been going for an hour,' he told Lenihan. 'Before the witness answers, I'd like a ten-minute break.'

    As they left the room, Sarah whispered to Lenihan, 'Nolan doesn't know.'