“What did Osterman say?” Eric asked.
“He was a typical jackass. He gave me a big lecture about the aims and ideals of the Court and how they could never be compromised. I really wanted to reach over and mess up his pathetic comb-over. I don’t know why they brought me to see him. Hollis had already fired me.”
“You should’ve grabbed the comb-over,” Eric said. “What’s the worst thing he could’ve done? Fired you again?”
“I guess,” Ben said, distracted.
“One last question?” Eric said, unable to shake his reporter’s instincts. “How did Burke convince Rick that he was Claremont?”
“After Grinnell, Lisa and I knew that Rick was going to try to get his money back. So we isolated all the cases on the Court’s docket that he could potentially make money on.”
“How many cases were there?” Eric asked, intrigued.
“There were only four involving major dollars.”
“So how’d Burke find Rick?”
“He didn’t,” Ben said. “Rick picks his own partners, so we had to figure out a way to make Rick find Burke. We staked out-”
“You staked out?” Eric asked.
“Actually, the marshals did all of the legwork, but Lisa came up with the idea,” Ben explained. “The Marshals Office watched the top executives at all four corporations-”
“But there are hundreds of executives at each one,” Eric pointed out.
“Not when you’re only looking at the ones with criminal records,” Ben said. “We figured that if Rick was going to look at a hundred executives and pick one, he’d probably go for the one who was most likely to break the law.”
“So they watched every executive until Rick made his move?” Eric asked.
“Better,” Ben said. “The marshals replaced every executive until Rick made his move. Burke stood in for Richard Claremont, American Steel’s executive vice president of marketing, who was previously convicted of tax evasion.”
“How many executives did they replace?”
“They couldn’t afford to do everyone,” Ben explained. “Especially if they wanted to keep it quiet. So we picked the twenty most likely candidates and we waited.”
“Wasn’t the real Claremont’s life disrupted?”
“All they did was take over his phone line. The real Claremont didn’t even change offices. The only difference was that his calls were routed to Burke. If it was a real client, he passed the call back to Claremont. If it was Rick, he kept it.”
“And you weren’t sure any of this was going on?” Eric asked.
“We didn’t know a thing,” Ben said, distracted by the throbbing pain that ran down his arm. “Lisa and I gave DeRosa the plan and the list of corporate suspects, but we never knew if it was implemented. I didn’t know how it played out until the car ride over here.”
“Unreal,” Eric said, leaning back on the couch. Noticing the vacant look on Ben’s face, he asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m just feeling a little out of it. Between the pain and the medication…”
“You look like hell. Maybe you should get some sleep.”
“I feel like hell,” Ben said, rising from the couch.
“Cheer up. You had a huge victory today.”
Ben slowly made his way to the stairs. “Doesn’t feel like it.”
Eric pulled his notepad from his back pocket. “Ben, can I ask you one last favor? I don’t mean to be inconsiderate or obnoxious, but would you care if I wrote the story on this?” He looked at his watch and added, “I can probably make page one if I hurry.”
“Eric, go fuck yourself,” Ben said, climbing the stairs. “And you can quote me on that.”
Epilogue
TWO WEEKS LATER, ON SATURDAY NIGHT, BEN walked into Lisa’s building. “Nice to see you,” the doorman said enthusiastically.
“You, too,” Ben said, trying not to make eye contact.
“Nice job with that whole thing,” the doorman added. “You’ve become quite the celebrity.”
“Thanks,” Ben said, stepping inside a waiting elevator. Getting out at the fourth floor, Ben went down the hallway to Lisa’s apartment and rang her doorbell.
“Who is it?” Lisa asked, peeking through the eyehole.
“It’s me,” Ben said.
“Wait a minute. Aren’t you that guy I saw on the news? That genius legal clerk who redeemed himself by catching the criminal mastermind?”
“Just open the door,” Ben pleaded.
When Lisa opened the door, Ben saw that most of the cuts on Lisa’s face and hands had fully healed. All that remained were a few thin, pink scars in the places where the glass cut deepest.
“Nice to see you,” she said. As Lisa leaned in to give Ben a kiss, she was surprised when he turned his cheek. “That’s what I get? A peck on the cheek?”
Ben walked inside and sat on Lisa’s couch. “Please don’t start,” he begged.
“What’s wrong?” Lisa asked.
“Nathan’s definitely moving out. He found an apartment, and he’s leaving this week.”
Lisa pulled out her desk chair and sat down. “I don’t know why you’re surprised. He said he was moving out when he got back from Boston.”
“I know,” Ben said, “but I thought he’d get past it. I figured-”
“You figured what?” Lisa interrupted. “That he’d forget about the fact that Ober’s dead? That he’d forgive you for almost getting him killed? That he’d eventually look back and laugh about the whole thing? This was a big deal, Ben. It’s been all over the news for the past two weeks. It’s not something that just goes away.”
“But I can still be upset when he leaves. He’s one of my closest friends, and he won’t talk to me.”
“You should be upset,” Lisa said. “But you should also give him some space. If you’re that close, he may eventually come around.”
“I don’t know,” Ben said. “I really think I’ve lost him.”
“That’s the problem with competitive friendships-they shatter at the slightest impact.”
“I don’t think this impact was slight. This was more like a freight train running over us.”
“Either way, it’s going to take a long time to put back together,” Lisa said. “How is Eric reacting? Is he taking sides?”
“He could care less,” Ben said. “You’ve seen what’s happened to him. He’s in his glory. As far as his boss is concerned, he broke this story wide open.”
“Are you still mad he used your quotes?”
“I’m not thrilled he quoted our private conversation, but what am I going to do? Besides, if it wasn’t for the slant Eric put on the original story, I don’t know if everything would’ve worked out as well. He’s the one who first called me the King of the Court.”
“King of the Court,” Lisa repeated, shuddering. “Is that the stupidest thing you ever heard?”
“It makes me sound noble and honorable,” Ben said, sticking his chest out.
“It makes you sound like an overhyped basketball star.”
“Make fun if you want, but that corny title has served me well. The media loves it.”
“Whatever you say, Your Lordship.”
Smiling, Ben asked, “How’s everything at the Court?”
“It’s fine,” Lisa said. “Same as yesterday. The new clerk sucks. He’s about as exciting as sawdust.”
“He can’t be that bad.”
“Trust me, he’s that bad. I brought him a sesame-seed bagel from the cafeteria last week, and he said he couldn’t eat it because he has a gap in his back teeth. He said the seeds would get caught.”
“I don’t believe it,” Ben said. “And you didn’t kick his ass right there?”
“I’m serious,” Lisa said. “You try and spend the day with someone who’s allergic to cheese. The guy’s a loser.”