Reasonable Doubt (12 page)

“Sure. Do you think we’re still on for tonight?”

The show. Damn. Was Ellery under arrest? Surely, HSI wouldn’t be beating down the door of a lawyer without some very damning information to back up their investigation. “I don’t have a clue.”

“Are you going to call her?”

“What?” Sarah had heard Danny’s words, but she was stalling. Her first instinct had been to call Ellery, but years of experience kicked in and she knew she should get more information before she talked to the suspect. Suspect. If Ellery really was a suspect, then they were done. No way could she socialize with her, even casually. She should rely on her training and steer clear of anything to do with Ellery Durant.

Except it’s your years of law enforcement work that’s kept you from meeting anyone in the first place.
As the thought echoed in her head, Danny’s voice came through on the line.

“Sarah, are you okay?”

She shook off the inner voices. “I’m fine.” She was, considering an hour ago she’d been excited about the prospect of seeing Ellery again. She looked at the clock on her dashboard. It was not even noon. She had a full day to find out what was going on with Ellery before she had to make a decision about her plans for the evening. If she couldn’t get the information she needed in that amount of time, she should turn in her badge. “I’ll be at your place at seven. If it’s a no-go, we’ll grab dinner out. My treat.”

After she hung up with Danny, Sarah considered her options. She was expected back at the office this afternoon. She could only imagine the atmosphere there. Despite the fact that another agency was conducting this search, the fact that there was a break in the bombing case would send a ripple of anticipation through all the federal agencies in town. That one of the suspects was a former high profile adversary would only add to the excitement. She didn’t think she could handle being part of the celebration until she was convinced her own gut instincts about Ellery were wrong.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she dialed the number to the office. When Bev answered, she feigned illness, said she was headed home, but would be available on her cell. Bev seemed distracted, but said she’d let Mason know and Sarah got off the line as quickly as possible to avoid having to add details to her lie.

That settled, Sarah punched the accelerator on the ’Vette and headed for home, glad she’d had the foresight to keep her copies of the records HSI had carted away earlier that week.

*

The knock on the door brought Ellery out of deep thought. She glanced at her watch. She’d only been in the hotel room for an hour, but it felt like much longer. Hoping her father had arrived, she closed the distance to the door in long, quick strides.

The man standing outside wasn’t her father but, judging by the nameplate, he was an employee of the hotel. She swung the door open.

“Ms. Durant?”

“Yes?”

“May I come in?”

She looked over his shoulder. Another man, one of the hotel bellmen, stood at the end of the hall, and a prickly sensation traveled up her spine. Something was up. “Actually, I was about to get some much needed sleep. I’ll give you a call when I wake up.” She started to shut the door, but he placed his palm against the heavy wood.

“I promise I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t important.”

His tone was authoritative, but his eyes implored her not to cause a scene. Since a scene was the last thing she needed on this crazy day, she waved him in, offering a tiny salute to the bellman as she shut the door. “What is it?”

“We ran your credit card for incidentals when you checked in, but the credit card company just called back and let us know they would be declining all charges.”

Ellery shrugged. She had no idea why her credit was declined. She walked over to the desk and picked up her wallet. “I have other cards.”

“I’m afraid I can’t—”

She cut him off before he had to deal with the unpleasantness of telling her he didn’t want to run another card. “Cash then. You have an ATM in the hotel?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Durant, but we’re going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Excuse me?”

“I shouldn’t have booked the room. It appears there is a conflict. Again, please accept my apologies. I have a bellman waiting to help you with your things.”

Ellery watched him closely as he looked around the room. She read the suspicious glint in his eyes, as he assessed that she didn’t really have much in the way of “things” and she realized the only conflict about the room was the fact that he wished he hadn’t given it to her in the first place. She walked over to the desk, picked up her phone and wallet, and shoved the laptop into her father’s small carryon. “I think I can handle it on my own, Mr.…” She squinted at his name tag. “Ross. Let your friend down the hall know he’s off the hook.” She shouldered past Ross and walked down the hall, past the bellman, and punched the button for the elevator. Ross and the bellman joined her in the car when it arrived and followed her to the exit. She didn’t look back as she pushed through the doors, ignoring the valet who offered to fetch her car. She didn’t have a car, she didn’t have a place to stay, and she didn’t have a clue what she was going to do next except clear her name.

Sarah waited through the rings, impatiently tapping her foot on the floor, until Trip answered. “We need to talk,” she said. “Is this a good time?”

“For you, it’s always a good time, but I need to call you back. The battery’s about to go out on my cell.” He clicked off the line and Sarah went back to foot tapping until her phone rang again. She answered on the first ring. “You should keep that thing charged. Whatever happened to always being prepared?”

“My battery was fine, but I didn’t trust the line. How did those names I sent you pan out?”

“One of the names, Sadeem, is a well-known commodity here in Dallas, but by all accounts he’s a great guy, solid businessman and philanthropist. But obviously there’s more to it than that. I was hoping maybe you’d have some intel to share.”

“What makes you think there’s more to him?”

“Well, he has family and business connections to a charity our unit’s been looking at for potential fraud. That by itself doesn’t tell me anything since my boss appears to be casting a wide net after all the crap in the news about the IRS not cracking down on pseudo nonprofits. But here’s the deal. The minute I started looking closer, the files got snatched from me by HSI and I’d bet my car they think he or his cousin had something to do with the bombing.”

“They may be right. What’s the charity?”

“Welcome Home International. His cousin is Amir Khan.”

“Holy shit. HSI is searching his attorney’s offices today.”

Sarah’s gut clenched. “Wait a minute. Ellery Durant was Amir’s attorney?”

“That’s what I’ve been told. Was your office involved in the search?”

“Didn’t even know it was going down. Since when does HSI work with other agencies? I saw it on the news, just like everyone else.”

“Smart move, taking down these guys’ structure first. If they didn’t have help setting up networks here in the US, they’d have a much harder time getting their operations off the ground.”

Sarah bristled at the idea Ellery could be involved in a terrorist plot, especially one designed to kill citizens in her own community. She had a choice to make. She could continue to let Trip believe she knew who Ellery was from local news reports or she could come clean and admit she’d actually met Ellery and had at least started to have a personal relationship with her. If she wanted the information she’d called him for, she knew she had to tell him the truth. “I know her.”

“Who? Durant?”

“Yes. We had coffee Monday. I was supposed to see her tonight. I might still see her if she’s not scared to come out in public after the witch hunt this morning.”

“I don’t want to tell you your business, but seeing her is not a good idea.”

“Are you willing to tell me why? And are you willing to tell me why BAU is working on a terrorism case?”

“The director asked us to provide an assessment of the suspects.”

“And Ellery’s a suspect? What’s your analysis of her?”

“Slow down, kiddo. All I know is what I’ve been told. She’s listed on the IRS Form 1023 as the attorney who structured the WHI and there’s a power of attorney attached, giving her authorization to make financial decisions for the organization. WHI has a wonky financial relationship with Sadeem Jafari’s foundation, the Global Enterprise Alliance. Appears they dip into each other’s accounts on a regular basis. HSI has traced funds from an offshore account held by GEA to an Al Qaeda training camp in Libya. Of course, it’s not a direct line. The money bounced around before it got to Libya, but the working theory is that years of experience working with criminals gave Durant the perfect knowledge base to advise Khan and Jafari as to exactly what they needed to do to try to hide the money trail.”

“And the other names on your list?”

“Not sure what their involvement is yet. Michael and Brian Barstow are local boys. They started volunteering at WHI a year ago and now they go by Hashid and Abdul Kamal. Their Internet postings have gotten increasingly radical, but they’ve made no direct threats. They were both arrested with Amir’s son, Naveed, late last year, for breaking into an office building, but the case is still pending and so far we haven’t been able to relate it to anything to do with the bombing.”

“I can believe WHI might be supporting terrorism in general, but is there really evidence to tie them to the bombing?”

“CIA and HSI say they are close to being able to make arrests.”

Sarah sank into a chair and put her head in her hands. She’d worked with Trip for years and trusted him completely. He wouldn’t be passing along these accusations if he didn’t have solid evidence to back them up, but she’d sat across from Ellery, looked her in the eyes, and hadn’t detected a single signal of deception despite her years of training in behavioral analysis. Either Ellery was wrongly accused or she was such a cold-blooded criminal that she could fool even the best.

“Trip, I hear what you’re saying, but I just can’t believe it. I was with her the night of the bombing. We were only a couple of blocks away when it happened, and I’ve seen her since. She was as shocked as anyone by what happened.”

“She was a couple of blocks away, huh? Sarah, listen to what you’re saying.” He paused. “Maybe you should see her tonight. Now that you know what you do, you might be in a better position to assess whether she was duped into helping Khan and his associates, whether she’s in it for money, or whether she really supports their cause.” He started talking faster, as he warmed to the idea. “In fact, that’s a great idea. She may not lawyer up before charges are filed. If you can get close, we’ll be a step ahead of the game.”

“What does that even mean? You want me to develop some personal relationship with her to get her to fess up to helping terrorists? And you’re crazy if you think she won’t be represented. She comes from a family of lawyers.”

“You’d be surprised. Sometimes lawyers are the worst about thinking they can handle things on their own. Besides, you don’t have to talk to her about the case. Observations only. I just want your impression, now that you’re looking at her as something besides a potential lay.”

“Watch it, Trip. Not cool.”

“I’ve seen her picture and I know you well.”

“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think. I moved out here for a change. I haven’t had a single one-night stand since I got here.” She considered her next words carefully. “I like her. I like her a lot.”

“Then check her out a bit more closely.”

“How do you suggest I do that? After the searches this morning, she’s all over the news. Mason would have my hide for even being in the same room as Ellery.”

“I’ll clear it with the director. You’ll be working with me as part of the behavioral analysis he wants so badly. It’s a win-win. If you’re going to change your ways for a woman, you should at least find out everything you can about her first. Right?”

She couldn’t deny his logic. And without agency sanction, it would tank her career to be around Ellery with all the dirt swirling around her. This way she’d get the opportunity to hang out with Ellery and make her own decision about whether she was a person capable of helping terrorists or a person with the kind of honor and integrity she was looking for. The only harm would be if Ellery figured out she had an ulterior motive, but in exchange for the opportunity to get close to her, she was willing to take that chance.

*

Ellery looked up from her phone and told the cab driver to pull over at the end of the street. A quick glance up the road confirmed that federal agents were still hard at work sifting through her personal life. They’d already done plenty of damage, judging by the few phone calls she’d just made. On the drive over she’d called her credit card company, asking about the charge at the hotel. They’d confirmed that they’d declined the charges and that her account was suspended, but they insisted she’d have to wait until she received written notification to find out why. A quick check of her other available cards resulted in the same story. She’d counseled enough clients through the deep and violating intervention of federal seizure to realize what was happening to her now, but there was no way she could have ever prepared for the personal reality. All she could do now was find out why. She counted out the cab fare and handed it over, pocketing her last five dollars.

A few neighbors were out observing the action and she nodded to them as she passed by, but didn’t engage with their curious expressions. She liked this older neighborhood for its combination of hospitality and privacy. People looked out for each other, but didn’t meddle in each other’s private business. Except for Leo Jacobs, the elderly vet who lived next door. As always, he was on his porch and he called out as she approached. She knew he’d have questions, and not wanting everyone to hear their conversation, she walked up the front steps so they could talk away from the action. He sat in his ancient rocking chair and the table next to him held a platter full of sandwiches and a six-pack. Clearly, he anticipated a lengthy show.