Irrefutable Evidence (10 page)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sasha
found one of the innumerable, inexplicable nooks that were scattered throughout the pre-war building
—
a small bump out, just five or six feet, set off from the hallway near Charlotte
’
s office. She leaned against the smooth, marble wall and pulled out her phone to dial the Maravaches
’
telephone number.

“
Hello?
”
Tamsin answered almost immediately.

“
Hi. It
’
s Sasha. Do you have a minute?
”

“
Sure. How
’
d the deposition go? Should I put you on speaker so Pete can hear, too? He
’
s right here.
”

“
That
’
d be great.
”
She waited until she heard Pete
’
s greeting then continued,
“
Hi, Pete. I can give you two all the details about the deposition later, but right now I have a quick question for you. The corporate representative
—“

“
Laura Yim? The woman who denied our claim?
”
Tamsin interjected.

“
That
’
s the one. She didn
’
t say anything new or surprising about your claim, but it became clear to her as she testified that Mid-Atlantic has been caught up in some criminal activity. Again, not with regard to your claim, but it involves her department.
”

There was a silence on the phone while Tamsin and Pete digested that information.

“
They
’
re criminals?
”
Pete asked in a hushed tone.

“
Well, maybe. Some of them appear to be.
”

“
Okay. What does that mean to us?
”
Tamsin asked.

“
I
’
m not sure. It may not change anything. But Ms. Yim decided to take the information to the authorities, so there
’
s a chance Mid-Atlantic might reconsider fighting your coverage case if they have to focus on defending a criminal prosecution. Please understand, though, I can
’
t promise that will happen. But I want to ask your permission to help Ms. Yim through the reporting process. Technically, that could be viewed as a conflict of interest, so if you don
’
t want me to, I
’
ll tell her she
’
s on her own.
”
She waited. She suspected she wouldn
’
t have to wait long, and she was correct.

“
Of course you can help her,
”
Tamsin said in a tone that suggested she was offended Sasha had even asked.

“
Even if helping her would
hurt
our case, you would still have to help her. It
’
s the right thing to do,
”
Pete said.

Well the Disciplinary Board would take a different view,
Sasha thought. But she simply said,
“
I knew you two would understand. Thank you. I really do have to run, though
—
she
’
s in talking to the assistant U.S. attorney right now.
”

“
Oh, okay sure. But, really quickly, we have news, too,
”
Tamsin said.

Sasha thought she detected a smile in Tamsin
’
s voice.
“
Oh?
”

“
Yes, the community micro-lender Will put us in touch with came through! We got a grant and a loan to get back up and running in a temporary space. We
’
ll be roasting again next week!
”

“
That
’
s fantastic!
”

“
Thanks. We
’
re pretty stoked. Will said to tell you this is your Christmas present from him
—
he
’
s getting you unfettered access to our coffee. We
’
ll drop off a bag out of the first batch,
”
Pete promised.

“
You
’
re the best. I
’
ll see you next week then, right?
”

“
Probably Christmas Eve. Will you be in the office that day?
”

“
Oh, yeah. Don
’t tell Connelly.
”

She hung up as their laughter pealed in her ear and raced back to Charlotte
’
s office. She breezed by the receptionist with a wave and returned to the inner office.

Yim was nodding politely as Charlotte described the holiday light display at the Phipps Conservatory.

“
It
’
s stunning,
”
Sasha agreed as she rejoined them on the couch.
“
We stopped in one night last week. But I don
’
t think Ms. Yim plans to stick around to take in the sights.
”

“
Actually,
”
Charlotte said,
“
I think she might want to consider it.
”

Yim threw Sasha a curious look. She shrugged. She had no idea what Charlotte was suggesting.

“
And why would she do that?”
Sasha asked.

“
Before we get to that, may I assume your clients agreed to your continued participation in this discussion?
”
Charlotte asked.

“
You may.
”

“
In that case, I
’
d like to make the following proposal: It
’
s Friday. So rather than returning to New Jersey this afternoon, Ms. Yim can stay here this weekend and enjoy the city
’
s seasonal offerings on the Department
’
s dime. She
’
ll give me a full statement and I
’
ll provide her with a temporary security detail while we get the logistics worked out to cover her when she returns to her job in Jersey City on Monday. We
’
ll have all the pieces in place to protect her going forward.
”

Sasha caught Yim
’
s eye and held her gaze for a long moment.
“
It
’
s your call, Laura.
”

Yim chewed on her lower lip for a few long seconds, peeling off a bit a dry skin with her front teeth. Then she nodded stiffly.
“
Okay. Sure. I didn
’
t have any weekend plans.
”

“
Fantastic. I can get you a ticket to
“
The Nutcracker
”
at the Benedum Center this evening, if you
’
re interested. I
’
m on the board of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre,
”
Charlotte said with a broad smile.

Yim seemed excited by the prospect.

Before she could reply, Sasha jumped in to keep the conversation focused on Yim
’
s proffer of evidence rather than the Sugar Plum Fairy.
“
Great. Let
’
s get this papered and let Ms. Yim tell you her story,
”
she said firmly.

“
Certainly,
”
Charlotte agreed, all business again.

“
Walk her through it, Laura,
”
Sasha prompted.

Yim wet her lips and took moment to gather her thoughts. Then she launched into the story. She led them through it methodically, almost scientifically, connecting every dot, drawing every logical inference, and refuting the notion that the high rate of approved fire claims could be a coincidence. She spoke for a long time, nearly twenty minutes, without interruption.

Charlotte started out scribbling furious notes. About three minutes in, she put down her pen and just listened. When Yim finished and leaned back in her chair, Charlotte reached for her pearl necklace and twisted it absently.
“
Wow. Okay.
”
She glanced at Sasha.
“
This is a pretty big deal.
”

“
Right.
”
Sasha agreed.

“
A really big deal,
”
Charlotte corrected herself.

Sasha recognized the gleam in her old classmate
’
s eye. It was the look of an attorney looking at a juicy case. Connelly had once said it bore a frightening resemblance to a caged tiger eyeing a raw steak.

“
Are we done?
”
Yim asked, her voice hoarse.
“
I
’
d like to check back into my hotel if the room
’
s still available and call my parents.
”

“
No,
”
Sasha and Charlotte said in unison.

Yim looked up, wide-eyed, at the sharpness in their voices.

“
You first,
”
Sasha said to the prosecutor.

“
Please don
’
t contact anyone back home. I know it
’
ll be tough, but it
’
s really safer if you don
’
t,
”
Charlotte said, her voice gentle as velvet but serious.

“
And on the same note,
”
Sasha added,
“
Find a different hotel. Don
’
t go back to wherever you stayed last night.
”

“
But
—“

“
Mid-Atlantic
’
s travel department booked your room, right?
”
Sasha asked.

“
Yes?
”
Yim still wasn
’
t connecting the dots.

“
Laura, we don
’
t know how far this goes at your office, how many people might be implicated. You need to disappear from the face of the earth for a few days.
”

Yim blanched. Sasha looked at Charlotte as if to say
‘
you
’
re the organized crime guru, handle this.
’

Charlotte smiled broadly.
“
Sasha, why don
’
t you go ahead and get on with your day? My office will take it from here
—
we
’
ll find Ms. Yim accommodations and get her an excellent seat at tonight
’
s performance.
”

“
Are you okay with me leaving?
”
Sasha asked Yim.

“
Yes?
”
Yim said in a voice that sounded anything but sure.

“
I
’
ll walk you out,
”
Charlotte said. She stood and piloted Sasha to the door.

They walked through the reception area and out into the deserted hall. Charlotte pressed the elevator call button.

“
Oh, I
’
ll take the stairs,
”
Sasha told her.

“
Old habits die hard, huh?
”

“
Something like that. Take care of her, Charlotte. She
’
s starting to realize how much danger she
’
s in.
”

Charlotte fixed her clear blue eyes on Sasha
’
s face and said grimly,
“
My goal is to make sure she never has an inkling just how much danger she
’
s in. It
’
s a lot. Much more than either of you can imagine.
”