William Grecko was in his office putting the finishing touches on a case file so he could turn his attention back to the Miller matter, when his secretary forwarded a call to his personal line.
He picked up on the first ring. "Yeah, Becki?"
"George Brooks is on the line," Becki said. "He says he's the senior partner of Peterson and Dunn, and that he's Lisa Miller's employer."
"I'll take it." Billy knew George well.
Becki put the call through and George's voice came over the speaker. "Mr. Grecko?"
"What can I do for you?"
"Well, I was wondering if you could help me" William leaned forward as he listened. He had dealt with George a few times in the past, mainly in assisting with various court cases. George knew that he and Brad were friends, and William guessed that the reason the man was calling him now had to do with Lisa. He was right. "I need to get ahold of Lisa, and I understand she's in kind of a sticky situation."
"Yes, that's right, George. I'm afraid I really can't go into it any more than that, though!
'"Rut's quite all right. I surely understand the attorneyclient relationship." Billy smiled to himself as he listened to the man on the other end ruffle through some papers on his desk. It sounded like George was talking on speaker as well. "1 do need to get in touch with her, though. It's rather important."
William opened the bottom drawer of his desk and extracted a flask; he unscrewed the lid. "I can give her a message. He took a sip; the rum burned straight through to his gut.
A short pause from George. "It's that serious, then?"
'I'm afraid so."
"Forgive me for my ignorance, Billy." George picked up the phone and William picked up the receiver of his own phone, giving them a secure line. George's voice was clear, tinged with concern. But what in God's name is going on?"
"You don't know?"
"I know that Lisa was kidnapped by what sounds like gang members and was sexually assaulted, but that's all I know"
1M." George Brooks wouldn't have found out what had really happened, not so soon. He had no idea what was going on. "Well, I'm afraid it's a little more delicate than that, George" Despite the stress he was going through, Billy relaxed a little. He had known George for twenty years, and he was one of the most reputable lawyers he had worked with. Although he knew George on a somewhat casual basis, he liked the man. Still… "Again, I'm sorry, but-"
No, no, no, don't apologize," George said, sounding worried and frustrated. "It's just that.. " He sighed. "Lisa was working on the Henderson vs. Colby case and was finalizing the deposition for an appearance in court this morning. She finished it shortly before she went on her leave, and there's another file that goes with it and we can't seem to find it."
"I see." William could detect the urgency in George's voice. Lisa's workload had probably been handed off to an associate and a clerk, and knowing from experience, anything could have happened to the file George was looking for.
"Danielle's looked all over for it and we've called Lisa at home twice," George continued. "In fact, Danielle went by there last night and Lisa wasn't in. We really need this file, Bill. If we could just.. "
The second line on Billy's phone console lit up. The LED readout on the screen flashed: WESLEY cowNS. Speaking of cases that needed closing, he'd been expecting this call from Wesley all morning, and the sooner he could talk to him, the sooner he could close his own affairs and get back to the Millers' personal safety issues. "Listen, George," William said, replacing the lid on the flask. "You can get ahold of Lisa at the Luxor Hotel in Vegas. They're in room 2727. And George?"
"Yes "
"Don't give that number out to anybody. Not even to Danielle." William knew that Lisa and Danielle Kwong were close friends, but he couldn't risk anything right now. He trusted George, though, and knew that the lawyer's intentions were honest.
"You have my word," George said. "I'll call you later. If there's anything I can do to help, you know where to reach me." "
"Thank you," Billy said, hanging up on George and picking up the second extension to speak to Wesley. The sooner he could finish his business for the day, the sooner he could get to the bottom of this snuff-film business. And the first order of that was the court-ordered search on the Golgotha cabin in Big Bear Lake, scheduled to take place this afternoon barring any unforeseen last-minute legal maneuvering.
"Brad?"
*Yeah?" At first Brad didn't recognize the voice on the other end of the line.
"It's George Brooks. Can I talk to Lisa?"
Recognition flooded in, and Brad turned to the bed in the center of the room. He had been in the bathroom when the phone rang, and it had rung at least five times before he managed to pick it up. Lisa had been asleep, but stirred when he picked up the phone. Now she turned over and looked at him, sleepy-eyed. "Who is it?" she murmured.
"Hold on," Brad said, placing his palm over the mouthpiece. "It's George… from work…"
"George?" Lisa looked confused, but then she recognized the name. She held out her hand for the receiver and Brad passed it to her. "Yeah?"
Brad listened in on Lisa's end of the conversation. He had been surprised at the phone call and a little scared. How the hell did George find out we were here?
"Oh, that," Lisa said, her voice heavy with sleep. "Its in the center file along the wall, under the label 'D.* A pause. "Yeah" A longer pause. "You found it! Good… okay… Um… yeah… okay… bye" Lisa handed the receiver back to Brad.
"What was that all about?" Brad asked.
"chat Henderson case," Lisa said, lying back down. "Id forgotten all about it." " -
"What about it?"
— Me hearing is this morning and they couldn't find my file on the addendums and amendments to the deposition," Lisa said. Her eyes were closed. "I forgot to tell Danielle where I had filed it"
"Oh " As likely as that prospect sounded, Brad was still uneasy. He liked George Brooks just fine, but if there was some way that their security was breached, Billy had to know about it.
Brad picked up the phone and carried it with him to the bathroom. He looked back at Lisa, who appeared to be falling asleep again. Then, he dialed Billy's number at the office.
Billy picked up on the second ring. "Brad?"
"Yeah. I just got a call from George Brooks. Did you-"
"He called here and I gave him your number," Billy said; he sounded busy, under pressure. "It's okay."
"Are you sure?"
"He wanted to talk to Lisa about a file, a legal case, right?"
"Yeah."
"Listen, I know how you feel." Brad could hear Billy rummaging on his desk. "I know you're nervous about this, but I guarantee you that George is okay. I mean, shit, I've known the man for over twenty years!"
"I'm sorry," Brad said, feeling his heart pound. "It's just that.. "
"I didn't tell him what was going on," Billy said. "He knows not to let anybody at the office know where you are. He's a professional, Brad. Trust me on this, okay?"
Brad sighed and nodded. Much as he hated it, he had to put all his faith and trust in Billy right now. George Brooks was one of the first people Brad had wanted to go to for legal advice when Lisa had originally turned up safe. No doubt George already knew the original story. Besides, the man had a wife and two children; he was involved in the community, in local charities. He wouldn't jeopardize his career, his life, for violating attorney-client privileges. Surely he'd recognize and respect that Billy was representing them.
"I'm sorry, Billy. I guess I just got a little carried away."
"S'okay," Billy said. 'Paranoia is healthy in this case. You have nothing to worry about. George and I are the only ones who know where you are!
"And our parents."
"And your parents."