Tim kept the phone against his face until the dial tone turned to a hiccup.
'Two phone calls, one day,' Tannino said. 'This guy might come after you.'
'Rack's not a target.' Bear pocketed the DVD. 'He's his idol.'
'Or vice versa,' the marshal said wryly. 'But I'm not complaining. That's the one goddamned thing we have going for us.'
Chapter 56
ESTEBAN MARTINEZ, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW. Tim, Bear, and Dray sat on the couch back, their feet on the cushions, regarding the verboten file box centered on the throw rug before them.
Frisk and his ESU team had doggedly backtracked the records from the disposable cell phone company. They'd managed to source Walker's incoming call, only to learn that Walker had anticipated them and left a customized taunt, routing the connection-again-through the Vector switchboard. The trail before that was impossible to trace.
The early-morning light at the windows was sufficient that they didn't need the lamps in the living room. Dray shifted her weight impatiently.
'Confidentiality is still attached,' she said. 'You crack that box, you lose those files as evidence.'
'We don't have them as evidence to lose,' Tim said.
'Maybe the box spills,' Bear said. 'Maybe the files fall out and they're not clearly marked.'
Dray eyeballed the fluorescent orange labels. CONFIDENTIAL: LAWYER-CLIENT MATERIALS. 'That's bullshit.'
'Yeah,' Bear said. 'Sure is.'
'The AUSA'll have your ass,' Dray said, 'but it might be worth it. Then again, if the box contains the only solid evidence you get, since Walker is nicely killing the roster of prosecution witnesses, you could blow any possible case against the Kagans and Vector.' She added quickly, 'Not that you're pursuing one.'
A few minutes passed, their focus intensifying. Finally Bear lumbered off the couch, popped the lid from the box. He chuckled and raised a sheet of paper with a handwritten note: Thought you could make better use of this than I could.
Bear set aside the paper and started rooting inside. Tim joined him. Dray mumbled to herself a few moments before sliding down and circling the box, peering in at first, then finally settling between them. There wasn't much inside on Tess's case-the only paperwork detailed Esteban's hiring and firing and the dates and times of the two visits. Esteban had been her attorney for four days, not long enough to get past preliminary discussions or generate much paperwork. Tess met with and retained him May 28. But why had she discharged him the same week? No clear answers. After all they'd staked on the confidential files, they hadn't yielded much.
Bear ran a thumb across a rectangular indentation in the manila folder that housed Tess's thin sheaf of documents. Something had been stored there that had fallen out or been taken. Bear dug around the bottom of the box, past the other clients' files, and came up with a microcassette. He held it up, matching it to the indentation. 'I suppose this explains the answering machine at the safe house. Walker must've been getting ready to use it when we stormed his ass.'
Dray went to search for the microcassette recorder she used to take statements in her deputy days; once she set it on the coffee table, they huddled around like kids listening to a game on a transistor radio.
Rustling. Background voices. The clink of silverware. After a few moments, Bear grew impatient and fast- forwarded a few bursts.
Dean Kagan's voice: 'Hello, Ms. Jameson. Thank you for agreeing to meet me.' The sound of a chair pulling in and then, 'Pellegrino, please. No ice.'
Tess said something inaudible, the recorder-buried in her purse? — rubbing against fabric.
Dean said, 'You threatened my son yesterday. I think this is going in the wrong direction.'
'It seems like a lot of things are.'
'He should have known not to try to handle this himself. He's not a bad businessman, but he's a poor negotiator.'
'I'm not much of a negotiator, either. Good thing there's nothing to negotiate.'
'I suspected I was dealing with a smart woman. A lot smarter than my son, surely.' A thoughtful pause. 'Here's the part where I offer you money and you say it's not about money, right?'
'Right.'
'Of course it's not.' The jangle of ice cubes against glass. 'No ice, please, as I said.' Pause. 'All of these issues are resolvable without any disruption of your life, ours, or Vector's important work on behalf of those afflicted with AAT. As much as we matter, I'm sure you agree, they matter more. So let me be plain-'
'Please.'
'I've dealt with mobsters and health ministers and other extortionists in more countries than you've heard of, young lady, and I'm certainly not going to be blackmailed by you and whatever attorney you can afford. I could purchase your whole block tomorrow and have it bulldozed. We can do this the wrong way, my playing the asshole CEO, you playing white trash-'
'Don't count out trash.'
'— but I suggest you will do much more for your son by continuing your relationship with Vector than by trying to bring out big guns. Our guns are bigger. And our leverage better.'
Beside Tim, Dray stiffened.
'I understand, of course, that you want to prosecute Chaisson,' Dean continued. 'As I'd guess even your own attorneys would caution you, this is in the line of 'acquaintance rape,' as they put it now, I think. You got into the car willingly, knowing his interest in you. Of course, your attorneys have told you all of this. What they may not have is that Vector, the biomedical firm of which the accused is chairman, cannot expose itself to the liability of actually treating, particularly in the clinical trial of a drug involving risks, a patient who is the accuser's son. If something should go wrong, it would be impossible for Vector to defend itself against the allegation that this was willful malpractice, in some kind of sick revenge.'
Tess released a rush of air. 'Trials start in a few months. I already have a signed agreement for Sammy.'
'Of course you do. Your consent to his involvement. No obligation by Vector is provided, however. That's why I suggest we do nothing to jeopardize our relationship. You love your son. As unlovable as they may be, I love my sons. Let's start over. On the right track. We're having a celebration tomorrow night at The Ivy to commemorate Xedral's patent approval. It won't be complete if you're not a part of it.'
Tess sounded calm, but her voice quavered, ever so slightly. 'My dating history with your execs hasn't promoted a lot of trust in your corporate culture.'
Anger edged Dean's voice for the first time, though not directed at Tess. 'Believe me, you won't have any problems.'
'That's good. I'd hate to tear another good dress.'
'I like you, Ms. Jameson. Under other circumstances we could do some good work together.'
'We still might. For all those AAT-afflicted you lose sleep over.'
'I'm not sure I catch your drift.' Dean's voice held genuine puzzlement; she'd caught him off guard.
'I mean,' Tess said carefully, 'it's nice to have our aims aligned once again.'
'Agreed. I'm afraid I have a meeting that got moved up. But, please, order whatever you'd like. The waiter's already got us on my house account.'
The sound of a chair scooting out, and then footsteps tapping away.
Tess's breathing was audible for a moment, and then she made a soft sigh between relief and frustration. There was a rustling, and then the recording abruptly ended.
'Sharp,' Dray said. 'And given that prick, you gotta give her credit.'
'He is smooth,' Bear concurred. 'He made no illegal threats. Didn't have to-he held all the cards. Tess wasn't gonna let her son get dropped over a rape case. She was boxed in before she got started.'
'So the day after this lunch, Tess goes in and plays Esteban the tape,' Tim said. 'They confer. He concedes
