The Tenth Justice - Brad Meltzer [117]
“Hello, Justice Hol—”
“Lisa, it’s me.”
“What the hell happened to you?”
“I’m sorry. I just had to get out of there. I felt sick to my stomach.”
“What the hell did you need my I.D. for?”
“I thought the marshals were going to put a lock on mine so I couldn’t leave the building. That’s how they got me last time.”
“So now I’m stuck here?”
“No,” Ben said, checking over his shoulder. “You can still use mine. If the marshals lock you in, it means they know about Grinnell. If not, I’ll know they’re clueless.”
“But that doesn’t answer my question. If they lock me in, how am I supposed to get out of here?”
“Just walk to the main exit and tell them you can’t find your I.D. They’ll look you up manually and you’ll get out. Meanwhile, have you figured out who Rick bought the property from?”
“I went through the list we printed out last week and there was only one name missing. Addison and Company replaced a company called the Micron Group.”
“And the Micron Group is?”
“I ran a Lexis search on them and it came up blank. All I could find was that they were a limited partnership chartered in Delaware about five years ago. The original incorporation papers were registered to a Murray Feinman, but when I looked up Feinman, the only story on him was his obituary. He died late last year at the age of eighty-four. Micron was probably created solely to make predeath investments, and I have no idea who runs it now.”
“And you couldn’t find anything else?”
“What the hell else do you want? I mean, all I have to work with is Lexis, which means I’m limited to periodicals and public records. I was impressed I found as much as I did.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just freaking out,” Ben explained as a small crowd of guided tourists walked past him. He waited until the last of the group was gone before he said another word. “Do you think we can find Rick by looking at Addison and Company?”
“I don’t know. I looked up the name, and it’s not incorporated anywhere. My bet is he’s either incorporated in another country or Addison and Company is a subsidiary of a company that we don’t know the name of. Obviously, Rick used the Addison part just to piss you off.”
“I think it was more than that. Shining a light on me means that no one will be looking for him.”
“That may be true. So what are you going to do now?”
“I’m going to wait here until you get off work. That way I’ll know if the marshals are after me.”
“You’re going to wait there for two hours?”
“Screw two hours. Just leave now. Hollis doesn’t care. The Grinnell decision is fine—send it to Nancy. Besides that, we have nothing else to do.”
“So I guess we don’t have about fifty cert petitions to go through?”
“C’mon, Lisa, it’s Friday. Just leave.”
“Fine, fine,” she said. “Tell me where you are.”
“I’m at the pay phone on the corner of Maryland and D.”
“You got it. I’ll see you in ten minutes.”
When Lisa arrived on the corner, she was concerned when she couldn’t find Ben. Looking around, she saw a few dozen people fighting their way through the recently shoveled sidewalks, none of them resembling him. Spotting the pay phone on the corner, she approached it and was surprised to see a sheet of paper sandwiched between the receiver and its cradle. She picked up the phone and removed the paper, which contained a note written in Ben’s handwriting: “Hail the black and beige taxi across the street.”
Lisa crumpled up the paper and looked over her shoulder, wondering if she was being followed. Crossing the street, she saw the black and beige taxi. “Taxi!” she yelled. When the driver nodded back, she opened the back door and got inside. Before she could say a word, the car headed down Maryland Avenue. “Excuse me, but do you know where we’re going?” Lisa asked.
“So was there a problem?” Ben asked as he popped his head up from the front passenger seat.
Lisa jumped back in her seat. “Holy crap, you scared the hell out of me!” she yelled. “Why the hell were you hiding on the floor?