The Tenth Justice - Brad Meltzer [22]
“He’s also a moron,” Nathan added.
“Yeah, but he’s still my friend. And he has a right to know what that letter’s about.”
“How about Eric?” Nathan asked as he dumped the diced onion into a saucepan.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to drag everyone into this. It’s bad enough you two are involved.”
“I appreciate the concern, but I think you should tell Eric. Maybe some of his contacts at the paper can find out something about Rick’s building.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Ben agreed.
“Have you thought about telling Hollis?”
“I can’t,” Ben said, shaking his head. “He’d lose all respect for me. Not to mention having to fire me for violating the Code of Ethics.” As he put out forks and napkins on the table, he added, “I think I may tell Lisa, though.”
“Bad idea,” Nathan said. “Definitely a bad idea. You hardly even know her. What makes you think she won’t turn you in?”
“She wouldn’t,” Ben said. “Lisa’s a great friend. Besides, she has a right to know. She’s spoken to Rick. For her safety alone, I have to tell her.”
“She’s in no danger. You don’t have to say a thing.”
“I do,” Ben said. “It’s the right thing to do. If the situation were reversed, I’d want her to tell me. Besides, with all those flowers Rick sent to the Court, it’s clear that he isn’t just going away. I think he’s trying to tell me that he knows how to reach me—and if that’s the case, I have to warn Lisa.”
“Just be careful,” Nathan said. “I would hate to see it backfire on…Damn!” Nathan missed a clove of the garlic he was chopping and sliced into his finger. “Son of a bitch!” he yelled.
“Are you okay?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Nathan said. He ran his bleeding finger under the faucet. “It’s just a tiny cut.”
“Those’re the ones that hurt the most.”
Just then, Ober and Eric returned. “Home, crap home,” Ober announced as he walked through the door. Heading straight for the kitchen, he looked at Nathan. “Now what was all that secrecy about today? What the hell happened?”
Holding his finger and looking at Ben, Nathan was silent.
“I got into a bit of trouble,” Ben said, trying to be as casual as possible.
“It better be bad,” Ober said. “Writing fake death threats to a senator could get me thrown in jail.”
“You wrote a death threat to a senator?” Eric asked, stealing a slice of red pepper from the cutting board.
“I’ll tell you what happened,” Ben said, “but you have to swear you won’t say a word.” He quickly explained everything that had happened, including his and Nathan’s encounter at Rick’s old building.
“You’re a dead man,” Ober said. “They’re probably plotting your death right now.”
“I told you not to tell him,” Nathan said to Ben.
“Eric, do you think you can find out anything about this building from people at work?” Ben asked.
“I’ll try,” Eric said, not meeting Ben’s eyes.
“What?” Ben asked, noticing Eric’s uneasiness.
“This is no joke,” Eric said, sitting at the kitchen table. “This guy Rick, whoever he is, isn’t some petty scam artist. You can’t just walk up to Charles Maxwell and say, ‘I’ve got a secret.’ Rick’s got to be connected.”
“I’m sure he is,” Ben said. “When we went to his building today, the manager wouldn’t say a single word about him.”
Eric paused for a minute, then said, “I know you may think this a crazy option, but if you want, you can go to the press with this.”
“No way,” Ben said. “If the Court learns I violated the ethics code, they have to fire me, and my career is ruined. And on top of that, I’d look like a fool in front of millions of people.”
“You did get suckered pretty badly,” Ober said as he reached for his own piece of red pepper.
“Thanks,” Ben said. “Thanks for your support.” He looked at Eric. “At this point, I still want to see what we can find out ourselves. My career is in enough jeopardy, and the last thing I want to do is publicize that fact.”
“Whatever you want,” Eric said. “It’s your life.”
When Ben returned to work the next day, he immediately searched for the card from the floral bouquet. Ripping up the tiny note, Ben thought about what to do with the basket. He didn’t want to