Binding Arbitration (37 page)

“That rookie punk has a thing for leggy brunettes.” I tried to twist away from him, in that direction, but Fletch had a hand on the scruff of my neck.

“Yeah, I bet him a thousand bucks he could take her home.” He laughed. “We have business. You can admire his technique from here.”

“Fletch, I’m going to twinkle your little star.”

Fletch turned me toward him. “Concentrate. I haven’t been able to get Band-Aid Bimbos down yet.”

I was listening to him, but I was watching Ackermann bending into Libby’s breasts, as if pretending to listen to her. “When will you get the site down?” I asked.

“I tried threatening the guy, but he’s already in prison, and doesn’t seem to give a shit. Then I offered him money, and he laughed in my face. I have only one other option.”

“Uh-huh?” I asked as I watch Ackermann pull one of the pencils Libby had in her hair out, before pulling her order pad out of her apron. I was going to break the guy’s hands.

“Would you cut it out?” Fletch elbowed me to get my attention. It worked. “I’m going to have to hire some hackers to take it down. I tried everything legal. Tony said he knows some guys from Northwestern.”

“Uh-huh, Tony knows some hackers.” I was busy planning Ackermann’s imminent demise, when what he said reached my central computing station. “Are you crazy? If Libby finds out, she’ll pitch a fit. She’s Miss straight-and-narrow, no way.”

“You need to broaden her horizons, or someone else will.”

Libby was laughing at something Ackermann was whispering in her ear. I narrowed my eyes. “How many years for murder?”

“Huh?” He cut a look toward Libby. “He’s good. He reminds me of you in the good ole days. He’ll probably have her out of that waitress’ uniform before dinner.”

“I don’t care how much time I get, it’ll be worth it.”

“If you kill him, you’ll be in jail, and she’ll get lonely.” He elbowed me again when I ignored him.

“You do that one more time Fletch, and I might snap.”

“I got a call from Mrs. Landscale today.”

Libby toyed with her glasses making the chain swing.

“Yeah? Is she ready to settle?” I asked.

“Things are quite settled.”

I looked at him confused. “Spit it out, Fletch.”

“Your little Libby met with Mrs. Landscale and gave her a check for three million bucks. She said Libby explained everything, and she’s dropping her lawsuit.” Fletch chuckled. “I’m afraid to leave you alone with her.”

Ackermann had pulled another one of Libby’s pencils out of her hair, and her bun fell, cascading down her back. Ackermann stepped closer. I looked at Fletch. “You did this on purpose to distract me?” I said pointing toward Libby.

Hey diddle diddle, that cat played his fiddle. The clown is one hot dame. The little Fletch laughed to see such fun. And Mitch ran away with your flame.

Obviously, I hadn’t had enough adult reading material of late.

“I thought Mitch would distract you into going for the hackers, and once you found out about the money, I thought I’d tie up all my loose ends in one grand explosion.”

I grabbed him by his lapels. “Where is your costume?”

“I don’t dress up for other people’s amusement.”

“Too busy spending all your time hatching up this little plan to eliminate your complications, but you didn’t see it through to its completion.”

“I beg to differ. Ackermann’s in your crawl.”

“I don’t care about the money, and if Libby’s a problem, Fletch, she’s my problem.”

He grumbled his understanding. “At least let me have Tony’s guys see what they can do about the website.”

“Fine, whatever.” I let him go.

“Your little problem just cost you three million bucks.”

“If it made her happy, it was worth every penny.”

He shook his head. “You’re going to marry her, aren’t you?”

“If I can talk her into it.”

“And if you can’t?”

“A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means if she won’t marry me, I’ll knock her up, and then she’ll have to marry me. Everyone, including you, is going to insist on it.”

“Are you out of you mind?”

“This is the sanest thing I’ve ever done.”

“I’m drawing up papers to have you committed.”

Libby’s back was to me, and when Ackermann noticed my approach, he smiled broadly. I wound my arm around Libby’s waist pulling her into me. “You just lost a bunch of money ...” I let the statement hang in the hostile air between us. “A knuckle ball to the head will keep you away from my girl.”

“She hasn’t seemed to mind my company.”

“This is my son’s mother; she’s out of play Ackermann.”

“I had no idea.”

I took a deep breath. “How old are you again?”

“Twenty.”

I looked at Libby. “Babe, seriously?”

She smiled innocently and batted her lashes.

Ackermann leered at Libby and said to me. “You got plenty of babes.”

“She’s my no-hitter. You want to mess with my record?” I pushed him in the direction of a large group of players. “Go find Exley’s wife. She likes all the young players.”

Libby followed my eyes, locating the woman. “This is a kid’s party. There’s more exposed skin on her than your ex’s dogs.”

“She used to be a Baseball Annie, a groupie. Before she married Exley, she had her way with many boys on the team.”

“Please tell me you weren’t one of them, or we’ll need to run out for a rabies shot.”

I raised a brow. “In the time we’ve spent apart, have you ever seen me with a woman that wasn’t top of the line?”

“No they all seemed like Grade A beef to me. Except for Vanessa, she seemed more like rotting fish eggs.”

“I believe they call that caviar.”

“You can call it by any name you choose, but it’s still stinky, rotting fish eggs.” She started to walk away.

I grabbed her and turned her back toward me, she had to look up at me even with the stilettos. “I’m in the mood for a perfectly cut filet,” I said as I looked her up and down. “Will you deliver it to my room?” I asked suggestively.

“Maybe you need a little more ground round before you can truly appreciate a prime cut.”

I pulled her closer. “Not only can I already appreciate it, I can almost taste it.” I put my lips on hers, and when I was done kissing them, I licked them. Then I whispered, “I’ll have a fine appreciation of it in my bed on your back, in my car on my lap, in my office on my chair, or just about anywhere.”

“Have you been reading Dr. Seuss again?”

I went to take her mouth again, but she put her fingers over my lips. “The children are watching.” She smiled.

I caught a glimpse of Cass and Madi heading our way. “It’s only a matter of time before I get all of it.”

Libby plucked on one of Madi’s pigtails, as she passed her, going to check on Hildy. Madi beamed me with a killer smile. “Since you’re like my uncle now, does that mean we can sit behind home plate at the Wiggley Field and get free snacks?”

“If that’s what you want.”

She jumped up and down with excitement. Cass said, “Mr. Pole-ow-ski, me and Madi need more tokens.”

I smiled at him. “Are you ever going to call me daddy?”

He beamed me with a crooked smile and a pinched dimple. “I’m just waiting for when you really need it.”

I took his hand in mine; he always had these prophetic ways of answering my questions that were as smooth and sweet as the soft skin on the back of his hand. “Go play.” I put tokens in his hand as easily as he put them in my heart.

I located Libby speaking with Vicki, Fletch, Tony, Evita, and a woman I’d never seen before. I took in the woman’s practical black square-heeled shoes, her sensible suit, and blond crew cut; it was so precise that it must have been shaved today. Her calm demeanor, as she relayed information to the group, marked her as some sort of high-level law enforcement. Besides, I could see where her bullet proof vest pushed against her suit jacket.

I moved in their direction. “He’s in the process of being picked up by officers out of the field office in D.C.” I heard the blonde woman say, as I stepped into the conversation.

My eyes immediately went to Libby’s. She seemed to be concerned, but calculating what she wanted to know. When she met my eyes, the woman stopped speaking and extended her hand. “Field officer Gwen Foley, FBI.” I shook her hand and started to speak. She interrupted, “Aidan Palowski, I know who you are.”

“We’ve had Doyle under surveillance for some time now, but when we got your tip, Libby, we started to dig a little deeper. We raided the warehouse you tipped me on. Three tons of cocaine concealed in chili pepper cans. The Justice Department decided to indict him. The Attorney General, Jonathan Gomez, has been a staunch ally on the war on drugs. It’s not word-smithing for him, his kid brother died from a heroin overdose. He’s going to try this case personally.”

“So what does this mean for Evita?” Tony asked.

“It means immediate citizenship, and the thanks of the justice department. We should have enough evidence that she won’t have to testify, but it depends on how things sort out.”

“Good,” Libby said, cautiously. “Gwen, you could have phoned me with all this. What else?”

“You aren’t going to like it, none of you will.” She looked around making eye contact with several other agents I hadn’t noticed. “We’ve had Doyle’s phone tapped, and he received an interesting phone call from Bogota yesterday. The man never identified himself, but he warned Doyle that he was going to be arrested. We have a leak somewhere, and it’s dripping right to Espinoza’s ear.”

“Shit,” Libby said.

“Shit is right,” Gwen said. “So for the interim, you,” she pointed to Libby, “and Evita have twenty-four hour surveillance. We don’t have a credible threat, but we all know how these men work.” She spoke to Tony, and it wasn’t a subtle hint.

“I don’t want a surveillance detail,” Evita said. “You just told me I’m free. I’m a U.S. citizen.”

“You either have a security detail, or witness protection, Ms. Gutierrez,” Gwen responded.

Evita nodded in reluctant acceptance.

“I have also ordered wire taps on all your phones. Espinoza isn’t a well-balanced individual. We can’t be sure where he’ll strike, or when, but he will. I would venture to guess he knows about Evita’s involvement in this. You can’t remain at the rectory. I’ve arranged a safe house.”

“My home has more security than you can offer her.” Tony chimed in. “She’ll move in there.”

Evita glared at Tony, but wasn’t able to speak before Gwen continued. “You all need to be mindful of your surroundings and if you see anything unusual, you need to call us immediately. As soon as you pick up anything out of the ordinary, do something about it. Try to keep low profiles otherwise, and alter your daily activities, don’t become too predictable. We also have your cell phone activity monitored, so don’t say anything over the phones that you don’t want the Federal Government to know about.” Again, she shot Tony a look.

“Do you think Espinoza is inclined to aid Doyle? Maybe try to get him out of the country?” I asked.

“Not a chance. I think he only made the call to play cat-and-mouse with us. He couldn’t care less about Dicky boy, he was just a pawn to get his goods distributed here in the States. I’m sure he has a new source in Miami already lined up.”

Libby started to speak, but Gwen motioned to the TV’s, which were a few feet over head. The screen was filled with reporters sticking their microphones in the faces of two Federal Agents, who were pulling a handsome, but disgruntled, gray-haired man through the throng. The ticker tape at the bottom of the screen read: ‘Federal Agents have raided Senator Dick Doyle’s office on Capitol Hill and home in Virginia. Initial charges are alleged be conspiracy and distribution of narcotics.’

One of the employees had noticed our interest in the show and had turned up the volume. We congregated around a TV near the bar.

The CNN anchor, Wolfe Blitzer, took coverage over from the live footage. “This just in from our affiliate station in Miami. A search warrant has been executed on Senator Doyle’s two homes in Miami and on a large warehouse of which he is partial owner at the Port of Miami.” He looked off to his left, to the large screen behind him. “We have a live update from a local reporter on the scene at Doyle’s estate in Miami.”

A young woman’s face filled the screen. “Wolfe, sources close to the investigation have said this afternoon’s search on Senator Doyle’s home led to more questions than answers. The refrigerator in the Senator’s bedroom bar was filled with hundred dollar bills in bricks of ten thousand dollars wrapped in foil and plastic bags. The exact number of bricks recovered is unknown but apparently, it was enough to build a brick wall tall enough to bring Dick Doyle tumbling down. It seems that the Midwest heir to the Bush fortune lost his way along the sunny shores of Miami. Back to you in the newsroom, Wolfe.”

“That was local reporter for WPLG, channel 10 out of Miami, Jen Douglass. Great reporting. Stay with CNN for all our latest updates on the arrest of Senator Dick Doyle when we return.” Then CNN went to commercial.

I put my arm around Libby and kissed her temple. “It’s going to be okay, babe. Don’t worry.”

28

TRANSFEREE

It is only rogues who feel the restraints of the law.
Joshiah Gilbert Holland

Libby

I nodded to the agent assigned to shadow me today, as I donned my sea-foam green gown, mask, and gloves, the same way I had for the last three weeks. Cass’ glass ICU door slid over the track effortlessly, and the air filtration system kicked on, heralding my arrival by sifting through the atmosphere for any impurities I might have dragged in.

Aidan was sitting alongside Cass’ sleeping form. He raised a finger to the comical smile he’d drawn across the mask. The book he’d been reading Cass slipped from his lap, as he pulled the other chair closer to his.

I dropped into it and sighed heavily. When he took my hand, I started to relax. “You’re here early.”

I closed my eyes. My emotions tightened, like a noose around my neck. I felt helpless, threatened by an enemy I was unable to fight, traumatized because engrafting hadn’t happened yet, and isolated, even though Aidan was my constant companion.