The Tenth Justice - Brad Meltzer [71]
“When did you talk about that?” Ober asked. “I don’t remember that.”
“Last night,” Ben said. “You were down here talking to Eric.”
“How come you didn’t invite me?”
“I just said—you were with Eric,” Ben explained. “Sorry.”
“About Eric—” Ober began.
“Ober, I know it upsets you, but I really don’t want to talk about it,” Ben said. “It’s a dead issue, so drop it already.”
“Do you think Rick believed that you were interested?” Nathan asked.
“Absolutely. He said if I’m linked to Eric, I’m screwed. So if I don’t take the money, I’d be a fool.”
Nathan paused for a moment. “You would be.”
“I know,” Ben said. Pushing himself away from the table, Ben walked toward the kitchen. “The only other thing that freaked me out was how much information he had on me. He knew everything. He knew about Eric and the Marshals Office. He even mentioned something about my meeting with my firm,” Ben said as he picked up the phone.
“Who’re you calling?” Nathan asked suspiciously.
“Lisa,” Ben said. “I want to tell her what happened.” Noticing the odd look on both Nathan’s and Ober’s faces, Ben asked, “Why? What’s wrong?”
Nathan was silent.
“He thinks Lisa might be leaking information to Rick,” Ober explained.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ben said, hanging up the phone. Coming back into the dining room, he asked, “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“It’s definitely possible,” Nathan said. “How else do you explain how Rick knew about everything?”
“It’s not that hard to figure out,” Ben reasoned. “He knows Eric’s name, so he probably saw his story in the paper.”
“And how did he know about our entire plan?”
“He might’ve seen you guys across the street.”
“That’s what I said,” Ober said.
“But what about the rest? What about the marshals? And your firm? And the mikes?” Nathan asked. “C’mon, Ben, don’t be blind to this.”
“I’m not being blind,” Ben insisted. “Trust me, I’ve been thinking about this since the beginning. I just don’t think it’s Lisa, though. She’d never do that to me.”
“You barely know her,” Nathan said. “You have no idea what she would and wouldn’t do.”
“She’s a good friend,” Ben said. “I guarantee she wouldn’t do that. Besides, just because Rick is unbelievably resourceful doesn’t mean that one of my close friends is responsible.”
“Eric’s been your close friend for two decades and he had no problem selling you out. How can you say Lisa wouldn’t do the same?”
“Because Lisa’s a better person than Eric is. I know she seems like a loudmouth to you guys, but she has integrity. Trust me, she’d never do it.”
“Ben, now you’re being stupid,” Nathan said, rising from his seat. “If you think she wouldn’t sell you out, you’re wrong. Everyone has their price, and she’s no exception. If you started thinking with your real head, you’d see how right I am.”
“No. No way,” Ben insisted, shaking his head. “If Lisa was leaking information, Rick would be better informed than he was. He knew about things that have gone on, but he only knew about them in a general sense. He really didn’t have any details.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“Yes, I do,” Ben said. “I dangled our red herring and he snapped it up.”
“He fell for the security clearance?” Nathan asked.
“Hook, line, and sinker.”
“That’s interesting,” Nathan said.
“What security clearance?” Ober asked, confused. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Last night, we were talking strategy,” Ben explained, “so Nathan and I said that I should say something happened when it really didn’t. If Rick said he knew about it, we’d know to what extent he was bluffing his way through some of this crap. So I told him that the Marshals Office knocked down my security clearance, which they didn’t. And Rick said he knew about it.”
“Great move,” Ober said, impressed.
“It definitely was,” Ben said. “But I still want to know how Rick had even the little information he had.”
“I think he has us bugged,” Ober said.
“I still think it could be Lisa,” Nathan said.
“I don’t want to hear about it,” Ben said, walking up to his room. “I have way too much to worry about, and I don’t want to have