Crown's Law (36 page)

She answered, “I have no idea what my
schedule will be. I’d better keep it with me.”

“The way I see it, you’re either going to the
airport . . . or you’re staying over. Either way, call me. I’ll
take you to the airport, or back to the beach.”

Bo thought a moment. She would be wise to
take her bag with her and sever all ties with Sam Crown. But if she
left her bag in his car, it would guarantee that she would see him
at least one more time.

“Well, against my better judgment. Are you
sure you won’t be tied up on a case?”

“I’ll make sure I’m not. I have a lot of
office work, so I’ll be a few blocks away. If you want, I’ll take
you to lunch.”

“Can’t promise that. I don’t know what I’m
walking into here. I’ll call if I can break loose.”

He jumped out of the car and went around and
opened the door for her. She got out and faced him.

“Don’t you dare kiss me in front of this
office! I’ll see you later, one way or another.”

“Have a nice day! Cut it short if you can,”
he smiled.

“See ya.”

He jumped back in his car and watched her
disappear into the building. Unknown to Sam, while she was there,
Bo planned to order a complete background report on him. She needed
to know more about who he was.

***

Sam locked his car in his storage garage and
walked down to the office. Pearl was at her desk typing on her
computer when he entered.

“Oh, there you are! You’re late!” she said as
he strolled over to her desk.

“So, now you’re my timekeeper? I had things
to do,” he smiled.

“I’ll bet! What did you do with that pretty
FBI lady?”

“Took her to the beach with me. What did you
think?” he said, doing a Groucho Marx imitation.

“At gun point? Don’t tell me she went
voluntarily? What was your bait?” asked Pearl, a look of disgust on
her face.

“Becky. And some clues. Anything new on
the
Dynology
tapes, by the
way?” he asked as he poured himself a coffee.

“Bad news there. I didn’t have a chance to
listen to the new ones on Friday. I checked this morning. There
haven’t been any transmissions since Thursday afternoon. They must
have found the bugs. I’ve never known one of those model X-16s to
fail. Especially, not two at the same time.”

“Shit! I was hoping to get some more info
about that Bobby D’Orr guy. Something that could tell me who he
really is. I can’t even tail him. I have no idea what he looks
like, or where he lives. By the way, I gave Agent Trout the Becky
test folder, but I never mentioned our illegal bugs—or D’Orr. I
didn’t want Becky and I to go to jail right now. I told her you
didn’t know anything about the test either, so you’re clear if the
fit hits the shan. We need to think of a way to clue the FBI in
somehow. They need to get court-approved surveillance on that
place. Our evidence is useless.”

“Maybe Becky’s report will help do that,”
said Pearl.

“I suggested that, but who knows what
they’ll really do? Any luck tracking down a list of employees
at
Dynology
? I need something
to sink my teeth into. I want that D’Orr asshole!”

“No luck so far. I have the L.A. office
hackers trying, too. So far, nothing,” replied Pearl.

“OK, thanks for staying on top of it. I think
I’ll go listen to Thursday’s tapes for awhile. Maybe I’ll hear
something new this time.”

At 1:30 P.M., Bo called Sam on his cell phone
and told him that lunch was out. They were on a conference call to
D.C. with her boss—a planning session—and had brought in
sandwiches.

“The good news is I’ll be through here around
4 o’clock. I turned the pirates over to Fenster and the U.S.
Attorney. We may have to be deposed later—Becky, too—but not right
now,” Bo said.

“Did the bastards talk? Say what it was all
about?” asked Sam.

“Not a peep. High-powered lawyers showed up.
Told them to say nothing, and that’s what they did. There’ll be a
bail hearing, and I have the feeling that no matter how high it is,
they’ll raise it—then disappear. Something’s fishy here.”

“I agree. Too bad you can’t hold them without
bail. OK. Not much I can do about that, unless Carl will give me
ten minutes alone with them,” laughed Sam.

“No chance of that, Sam!” chuckled Bo. “I’ll
call you as soon as I’m through here.”

“That’s great! Do those guys know you’re
shacking up with me?”

“Don’t be so crass! No. They know I was with
you on the boat and I told them I met with you and Becky about the
equations, but I told them I was staying with a friend. All they
have is my satellite phone number for contact.”

“Good. You want to stay up here so we can
have some time alone?”

“That’s very tempting, but if you don’t mind,
I’d like to go back to the beach. I should talk to Becky about her
note. Not that I know what to say.”

“You’ll think of something. Becky will be
happy just to see you. So the beach it is. Call me.”

***

Sam hadn’t told Pearl about his visit to
Danny or the weekend attack on the boat. No use bothering her with
it. Violence tended to panic her. About 3 o’clock it hit him hard:
The bugs had stopped transmitting on Thursday night and they got
attacked on Saturday. Was there a connection? How could there be?
When they found the bugs, they would go review their security
tapes. Would the tapes show Becky planting the bugs? Becky had used
her real name, so it wouldn’t be hard to find out where she
lived—and who else lived with her.

Or would they suspect the FBI? Who knew
Bo was in town? Were the attackers after Bo? Becky? Him? The people
at
Dynology
could surmise
that whoever planted the bugs had heard too much—including the fact
that Bobby D’Orr had killed Jackson.

Shit!
he
thought.
I’ve put Becky in real danger if
that’s what’s going on! How do I find out? Should I warn Bo? Maybe
I should track down that Chase guy. Squeeze him hard. I have to put
a stop to whatever is happening. Hmm.

Monday, June 4, 2001

Santa Ana, CA

At 3:40, Bo called and said she’d be
out in front of the FBI building in about 10 minutes. Sam said he’d
be there. He still hadn’t decided what to tell her—if anything. He
decided to wait until he had more proof that the attack at sea
and
Dynology
were
related.

He picked her up, then pointed the Camaro
toward the I-5 freeway. As soon as they were out of sight of the
FBI building, she leaned toward him and said, “Now you may kiss
me!”

He did. He put his right hand on her knee and
she covered it with her hands. She leaned into the plush leather
seat and closed her eyes, a wan smile on her lips. She was getting
too used to this.

***

By 4:45, Bo’s bag was back in her room. The
bed had fresh linens and the room was spotless. The dress was
gone.

Nikki must have been
here
, she thought.

She donned her bathing suit and coverup and
met Sam on the now familiar deck. Becky wasn’t home yet.

“Poor kid has had a long day,” said Bo as she
lit up and blew smoke skyward.

“She’s very conscientious about her work,”
replied Sam. “Ready for a drink? It’s nearly 5 o’clock if you’re a
clock watcher.”

“Sure. Make it a white wine for now.”

“Comin’ up.”

Bo sat on a bar stool and watched Sam prepare
himself a scotch and water and a glass of wine for her.

“I suppose you can’t tell me what went on in
your planning meeting,” said Sam as he put her glass in front of
her.

“No can do. Not even if you were still a cop.
Everything is locked down tight,” she said, though she wished she
could discuss it with him.

“No prob. Just curious. Let’s move to the
lounges and get comfortable. Unless you’d rather take a dip.”

“Let’s relax a minute and have our drinks.
Maybe Becky can swim with us when she gets home,” replied Bo.

When they were settled in a pair of lounges,
Sam ventured, “Who knew you were coming to town, Bo? You know, last
Friday.”

“Why?”

“Just humor me, please.”

She glanced sharply at him, then said, “My
boss and some of the support people in D.C. The L.A. SAC. Fenster
didn’t know I was coming though.”

“Hmm. I just keep wondering who the target
was on Saturday.”

“Probably no one. Maybe the boat. Just a
random act of criminal activity. We were in the wrong place at the
wrong time.”

“You’re probably right. Ahh! I hear Becky’s
bug! She’ll be surprised—and happy—to see you!”

They heard the garage door go down, the
kitchen door slam.

“Hey, Sam! I saw your car. Where are you?”
they heard Becky call from inside the house.

“Out on the deck,” he yelled back.

She appeared at the slider, opened the
screen, and stepped out on the deck. She was dressed in a Hunter
Green suit with a short skirt, heels. Bo thought she looked very
professional. Then Becky spotted Bo.

“Shit! You’re here, Bo! I was hoping you
would be!”

She went over to the lounges, bent down, and
kissed each of them on the cheek. “Let me get out of these freakin’
pantyhose and I’ll join you!”

She got to the door, stopped, looked over her
shoulder.

“If that’s OK.”

“Certainly, dear,” said Bo. “We’ve been
waiting for you. Put on a swim suit and we’ll take a dip.”

“Cool, Bo! Be right back!” Becky squealed as
she disappeared into the house and ran up to her room, peeling off
clothes on the way.

***

The three of them rode the waves on body
boards for a half hour, Becky showing Bo some of the tricks of the
trade. At 5:30, Sam advised them that he was going up to the house
to start preparing things for dinner. He told them to stay in the
water and enjoy themselves for as long as they wanted. They
wouldn’t be eating until around 7:00, but he had some prep work to
do.

Becky said, “We’ll catch one more, then I’ll
come up and help you, Sam.”

“Not necessary, kiddo. Enjoy yourself.”

The women headed out to sea again, and Becky
said, “I’ll show you how to get the biggest wave—the ninth
wave.”

“What’s the ninth wave?”

“The ninth wave of a set is always the
largest. Come on, you’ll see.”

They kicked out much further than before, and
Becky showed Bo how to count the waves. While they floated,
counting and waiting, Becky said, “I really like you, Bo.”

“I like you, too, Becky,” she answered, a
little embarrassed at the exchange.

“Do you like Sam?” Becky continued.

Bo didn’t know how to answer that. She wasn’t
sure if Becky knew anything about her sexual shenanigans with Sam
or not. She hardly knew Sam the person yet, but he was growing on
her.

“Of course. But you have to realize that I’ve
only known him a very short time. Men and women take a long time to
build a relationship. They have to know a lot about each
other.”

“Not in the movies. People meet, fall in
love, jump in bed, and live happily ever after. In about two
hours,” giggled Becky.

“Life is not a movie, Beck.”

“Sometimes I wish it were,” murmured Becky.
“Are you coming to my ceremony?”

Bo was caught off guard by the sudden change
of subjects. She was remembering how she felt during the weekend,
as if she were living in a fantasy movie.

“That’s something I wanted to discuss with
you, dear. It’s the main reason I came back down here today.”

“I thought you came down to be with Sam.”

“That too, I guess, but mainly to see you.
There’s nothing I’d rather do than be there to see you receive such
a well-deserved honor, but I just don’t know where I’ll be, or what
my job will require of me,” hedged Bo.

“But it’s a weekend. You shouldn’t have to
work. You could fly in Friday night and either Sam or I could pick
you up. I make my own money now as a TA, so I could buy you an
airline ticket,” pleaded Becky.

Bo was really embarrassed now! The child was
willing to spend her meager salary on a ticket—as if that was the
main stumbling block!

“No, Becky, you’re not to spend your money
like that! If I can arrange to come, I can buy my own ticket.”

“Whatever. Just so you come, Bo. Ahh, here’s
the ninth wave! Race you to shore!”

***

After showering, Bo donned cutoff jeans and a
blue tank top. She went downstairs and found Sam working on some
Australian lobster tails.

“Just about finished,” he said with a smile.
“Potatoes are baking and I’ll do the lobsters in the broiler just
before we eat. You and Becky can throw together a salad.”

“Sounds delish! Isn’t this the dinner you had
planned for Saturday night? The one we never got around to eating?”
she laughed.

“I think so. My mind is blurry.”

From behind them Becky’s voice said, “You
guys didn’t eat Saturday night? Why not?”

Becky entered the kitchen wearing white
shorts and a red T-shirt, her hair still damp from the shower.

Bo and Sam looked at each other.

Just like a friggin’ soap
opera!
thought Sam.
Somebody
always eavesdropping! Now what do I say?

Becky caught the look exchanged between Sam
and Bo, and she didn’t need a high-tech, super-logical brain to
figure out what it meant. Bo was blushing, tongue-tied. Sam had
said nothing yet. Becky smiled and said, “Cool!”

Monday, June 4, 2001

Capistrano Beach, CA

They all ate dinner on the deck, watched
another glorious sunset. Becky never mentioned the exchange in the
kitchen, but both Bo and Sam knew that she knew. It didn’t bother
Sam, but Bo felt as if she had failed Becky somehow. But on the
other hand, Becky had seemed pleased, not upset. Why? And after all
that crap she had fed Becky out in the ocean: “relationships take
time.”