“Except it shows that he was lying to his bosses about not knowing anything,” Ben interrupted. “Does Eric even know yet?”
“He was out on assignment when I called,” Ober said. “He’ll wander in soon.”
Letting Ben have a minute of silence to process the information, Nathan said, “So I guess this means you’re finally going to the authorities.”
“What?” Ben asked, looking up at his roommate.
“You are going to turn yourself in now, aren’t you?” Nathan asked.
“No,” Ben said coldly. “I’m not.”
“Ben, don’t get mad at me,” Nathan said. “What choice do you have?”
“We can wait for Rick to make his next move. I’m sure he hasn’t sent the letters out yet. If he wanted to get us all fired, he could’ve done that months ago.”
“Who do you think you are?” Nathan demanded. “This isn’t just your life you’re playing with anymore-this is mine, and Ober’s and Eric’s.”
“But if I go to the authorities, Rick can still mail the letters,” Ben pointed out. “Which means you’re implicated no matter what I do.”
“Not if you tell the police you’re the one at fault. If you cooperate with them, we have a better chance of getting off.”
Before Ben could respond, the front door opened and Eric walked in. Looking around the room, he asked, “What’s wrong? Who died?”
“We got some mail today,” Nathan said, as he and Ober handed Eric the letters.
When he was finished reading all three, Eric asked, “What are we going to do?”
“We don’t have to do anything,” Nathan said. “It’s up to Ben.”
“He thinks I should turn myself in and take my punishment,” Ben explained.
“No way,” Eric said. “You’ll be fired in a heartbeat.”
“Forget about being fired,” Ben interrupted. “If the bankbook gets out, I’m going to jail.”
“If that’s the case, then you should take your chances trying to catch Rick,” Eric said, finally taking off his overcoat.
“Don’t give us that macho bullshit,” Nathan interrupted. “You have the least to lose.”
“How do you figure that?” Eric asked.
“If your letter gets out, you’ll probably get credit for breaking the story,” Nathan pointed out. “Which means it’s in your best interest to egg Ben on.”
“You are unreal,” Eric said, shaking his head. “Do you really think I’m that much of a scumbag?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time your self-interest interfered with your judgment.”
“You can go fuck yourself,” Eric shot back.
Looking at Ober, Ben said, “You’ve been way too quiet. What’re you thinking?”
“I guess I lean toward Nathan,” Ober said. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s crazy-” Eric began.
“It’s ridiculous to argue,” Ben interrupted, hoping to end the conversation. “I can’t do anything until I hear from Rick.”
“But-”
“I’m sorry, but that’s my decision for now,” Ben said. “All I can say is trust me. I would never do anything to put you guys at risk.”
“Do you have a plan in the works?” Nathan asked suspiciously. “Because if this is like Grinnell-”
“There’s no plan,” Ben interrupted. “I don’t have a plan. But I want you to know that I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you guys. I swear. I wouldn’t.”
“Fine,” Nathan said. He grabbed his coat from the closet and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” Ben asked.
“Out,” Nathan said. “I’m hungry and I need to get some dinner.”
When the door closed, Ober turned to Ben. “Ben, you’re forgetting what’s right. You better talk to him when he gets back.”
“But if you talk to him, be careful what you say,” Eric pointed out.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ober asked.
“It means that if I were Ben, I wouldn’t trust anybody.”
“So you still suspect Nathan?”
“Not at all,” Eric said. “I just think a better friend would’ve offered a bit more support.”
“You can be a real jerk,” Ober said as he got up from the couch. “You of all people should never talk about what a better friend would do.” Before Eric could respond, Ober was halfway up the stairs.
“Let him go,” Ben said, grabbing his coat from the closet.
“Where are you going?” Eric asked.
“I need to get some air,” Ben said, closing the door behind him.
As he inched up the block, Ben kept looking over his shoulder. Scrutinizing every person he saw, he wondered where DeRosa’s agents were, and if they were even in place. When he reached the commercial section of his neighborhood, Ben ducked into Jumbo’s, the area’s best late-night eating spot. He sat down at the counter and ordered one of the daily specials. He then got up and walked to the pay phone at the back of the restaurant. Ben inserted the required change and dialed Lisa’s number. “C’mon, be home. Be home, be home, be home.”
As the phone rang, Ben thought about everything he wanted to tell Lisa: how scared he was about Rick’s new letters; how apprehensive he was about lying to his friends; how nervous he was for their safety; how anxious he was to talk to someone he could trust. But when the answering machine picked up, Ben knew Lisa wasn’t home. He was alone.
His eyes rapidly scanning the customers in the restaurant, Ben hung up the phone. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the phone number from DeRosa’s note. Maybe I should call, he thought, and picked up the receiver. No, nothing terrible has happened yet. The plan should still work. He hung up the phone. For all I know, Rick will do everything else as expected. Agitated, but ever-cautious, Ben stepped away from the phone and walked back to the counter. But if anything else goes wrong, I’m pounding that panic button.
Chapter 17
“I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE,” BEN SAID. Staring into the mirror in the office closet, he picked at a deep shaving cut on his chin. “Why hasn’t he called?”
“It’s only been a week,” Lisa said.
“The longest week of my life,” Ben said as the cut started bleeding. “You’d think by now he’d tell us what he wants.”
“Maybe he’s trying to wear you down.”
“He’s obviously trying to wear me down. The longer he waits, the crazier I get. Typical Rick mindgame.”
“I’m not surprised Rick hasn’t called-I’m more surprised you haven’t heard from DeRosa.”
“Don’t even start me on that. The guy promises to keep me informed, and then he doesn’t send a single message. For all I know, the marshals aren’t even out there.”
“Do you feel like you’re being watched?”
“Not at all. Which means they’re either extremely good, or they lied to me.”
“You better get moving,” Lisa said, looking at her watch. “You’re going to miss your first free lunch.”
“They’re lucky it’s free.”
“Don’t give me that,” Lisa said. “You’re about to go to lunch with the Chief Justice of the United States. Don’t pretend you’re not excited.”
“No, you’re right,” Ben said. “I’m very excited. I mean, who wouldn’t want to spend an hour having their intellect crushed?”
“Don’t pay attention to what his clerks say. Their backbones are so weak, they barely stand erect.”
“Well, I’ll have you know, I stand very erect,” Ben said proudly, sticking out his chest. “Super-erect.”
“You’re a one-man erection,” Lisa said as Ben walked to the door. He paused when his phone rang and looked at Lisa. “Let it ring,” she said. “Go enjoy lunch.” When she saw him turn around and head for the phone, she added, “Relax. It’s not him.”
“Hello. Justice Hollis’s chambers,” Ben said as he picked up the receiver.
“Hi, Ben,” Rick said. “How’s everything in the big house?”
Closing his eyes, Ben said, “Tell me what you want.”
“What I want?” Rick asked. “Who says I want anything? I called to say hello.”