“Well, thank you for the word of warning,” Berry said. “I so appreciate your concern for me.”
Jacobs grinned. “Good luck.”
Jacobs turned, with Thrower opening the door as his friend reached it. Thrower followed him out the door, then closed it. They said farewell to the secretary, then went down the hallway to exit the building.
“That went well,” Thrower said.
“Just like we expected. Let’s hope he reacts the way we think he will.”
“I’m pretty confident he will. With a guy like that, you just know he’s on the phone with Mallette right now, telling him we were there.”
Jacobs smiled, hoping that was the case. “Well, if he is, our plan’s working so far.”
14
Berry looked through the blinds of his window, looking down at the street below, seeing if he could make out his two visitors. He saw them, just as they were about to get into a car. He watched them as they got in, and continued watching as the car drove away, eventually out of his sight. He immediately went back to his desk and got on the phone.
Mallette answered right away. “Yes?”
“They were just here,” Berry said hurriedly, sounding worried.
“Who was?”
“Them. Jacobs and the other guy. They were just here in my office.”
Mallette sounded surprised. “What?”
“They came right in and were talking to me.”
“What did they want?”
“You. They wanted me to give you up. Sacrifice you somehow.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that they would make the offer. What did you tell them?”
“I told them that I wouldn’t.”
“Did they say anything else? Anything about the other night at your house?”
“Not much, just a casual reference to it.”
“What about anything else, something that might indicate where they are, future plans, anything like that?”
“No, nothing,” Berry said. “Everything seemed to be based on me telling them about you.”
“And you said nothing?”
“I didn’t say a word.”
Mallette thought for a few moments. It seemed like an odd choice for Jacobs to make. Trying to turn his lawyer, though he’d done it before. This time, it seemed like an odd turn of events, though.
“How long was he there?”
“Not long,” Berry answered. “Just a few minutes, really.”
“And he was only there to turn you against me?”
“That’s how it seemed.”
“Very strange.”
“Why?”
“How hard was this pitch?” Mallette asked.
“Oh, I don’t know, medium, I guess. Said a few things, tried to change my mind, then just left it alone. I guess he figured I wasn’t going to, so he didn’t push it any harder.”
“He just barged into your office?”
“Well, not exactly. He was already there when I got there.”
“He was?”
“He apparently made an appointment, then my secretary showed them into the office before I arrived. He was sitting waiting for me.”
“He was already in your office before you got there?” Mallette asked, his voice slightly raised.
“Yes.”
“Where was he?”
“He was sitting in front of my desk. The other guy was by the door, standing there.”
“Did either of them scramble around when you came in, like they were looking for something before you got there?”
“No. They were just sitting there, calm as could be. Why, what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking they were trying to find something to use against me,” Mallette replied. “The meeting was just a ruse to get them into the office.”
“There’s nothing there to be found, even if that was the case. I have nothing here that implicates you in any way.”
Mallette kept thinking, assuming that Jacobs had something else in play, besides just talking to his lawyer in hopes of turning him. That seemed like a very simplistic move, and one that Jacobs wouldn’t necessarily do. There had to be something else going on. Mallette continued thinking of all the options available. And there was one that kept popping into his head over and over again. A listening device.
“I should send someone over there.”
“Why?” Berry asked.
“Because I don’t think that Jacobs showed up there just to talk you to death. He had something else in mind.”
“Such as what?”
“Maybe he planted a bug in your office.”
“A bug? Like a listening device?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s illegal.”
“You wouldn’t be able to prove that it was him, even if you found one.”
“Wait a minute.” Berry started thinking about Jacobs’ final minute in his office. He was standing near his desk.
“What is it?”
“Let me just check something.” Berry got down on the floor and started checking underneath his desk. It didn’t take very long before he found a small, square-shaped black object sticking to the underside of his desk. “What is this?”
“What? You found something?”
Berry put his fingers on the device and removed it from the desk. He crawled out from under the desk and sat down in his chair, looking the object over. “I think I found it.”
“A bug?”
“Right where Jacobs was standing, underneath the desk, this little object.” Berry kept analyzing it, holding it up to the light.
“Get rid of it. Smash it.”
Berry dropped it to the ground, then stomped on it several times with the heel of his shoe. It cracked into several pieces. “It’s done. It’s no longer intact.”
“Good. Get rid of it, just in case. Put it in the trash, take it to the dumpster in back of the building, whatever, just don’t let it stay in that room.”
“Consider it done.”
“It seems as if Jacobs was hoping to pull a fast one,” Mallette said. “Hoping we would slip up and say something that would lead him to me.”
“Well, we don’t have to worry about that now.”
“Just the same, take a look around your office to make sure that he didn’t plant another one, just in case that one was found.”
“I will. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
“I’ll send someone over to help. He’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“I really don’t think I need the help.”
“He’s coming,” Mallette said. “I need to be sure. I can’t afford any slip-ups. Especially not now.”
Jacobs and Thrower were still in the area. They gave the appearance that they were leaving, assuming that Berry would be watching them to make
