J. Jance - Web of Evil

"I didn't," Ali said. "At least not on purpose. You may be right, Roseanne. It's possible my phone is being tapped, just like you said yours was."

There was a long pause as Ali's news sank in. "What are we going to do then?" Roseanne asked finally.

"Dave Holman, that friend I told you about, the cop from Arizona, is on his way here right now," Ali told her. "Once he arrives, we'll figure out what to do."

Again, Roseanne attempted to rise to her feet. "I already told you I don't want to talk to any cops. I've got to get out of here. Now."

More time had passed than Ali realized. Now only two tables in that section of the restaurant were still occupied, but the people seated there seemed to be taking an inordinate interest in the ongoing drama between Ali and Roseanne.

"Sit," Ali hissed. "With Tracy out in the parking lot, leaving is exactly the wrong thing to do right now. He'll nail you the moment you step outside."

"What should I do then? Sit here and wait for him to come inside after me?"

"I don't know," Ali replied. "Be quiet and let me think."

Shaking her head, a trembling Roseanne slid back into her chair. Clearly the woman was petrified, and Ali didn't blame her. They needed a device that would take Roseanne out of harm's way without exposing her to whatever danger awaited her in the parking lot. Slowly a plan began to take shape in Ali's head. If Ali could somehow conceal Roseanne inside the restaurant while at the same time convincing Tracy that she had slipped away amp;

Before Ali could finish formulating a strategy, Carrie appeared, holding an armload of menus and leading Dave Holman directly to their corner table. Ali was thrilled to see him. Roseanne was not. As Dave took a seat, Roseanne shrank away from him, putting as much distance as possible between his chair and hers. Before the hostess could walk away again, Ali caught Carrie's arm.

"I guess you know we're having a bit of a problem here," she said. "That there are dangerous people actively looking for Roseanne?"

Carrie nodded. "She told me."

"One of them appears to be waiting for her outside in the parking lot."

"Oh, no!" Carrie exclaimed. "Should I call the cops?"

"Not just yet," Ali said. "But what about this? Would it be possible for you to hustle Roseanne into the kitchen and pass her off as part of the help long enough for us to decoy the bad guy away from here?"

Dave looked as though he was about to say something. Then he didn't.

Carrie seemed to consider. "That wouldn't be too hard," she answered. "I could put her in with the guy who washes dishes. He wouldn't mind having some extra help. I'll clear it with the kitchen. Let me know if you need anything else."

Carrie went away again, leaving Ali to make the introductions. Still huddled against the wall, Roseanne refused Dave's proffered handshake.

"Tracy's still out in the parking lot?" Ali asked.

Dave nodded. "Yup."

"Is he alone?"

"As far as I could tell."

Ali felt a surge of irritation with Dave. He was being uncommonly uncommunicative. She had expected him to arrive with some concrete ideas for solving their problem. Since he seemed to be fresh out of game plans, Ali continued to formulate her own.

"Do you have your cell phone with you?" Ali asked him.

"Yes. Of course."

"I'm going to call you on it," Ali said. "And I'm going to use my cell phone to do it. Since whoever may be listening in on my calls doesn't know we know about them, hopefully they'll take whatever I say as the gospel."

Roseanne let out a small moan. "But what about me?" she asked.

"What about you?" Ali returned. "You go to the kitchen and wash dishes like Carrie said until Dave or I come back to get you, but you need to know one thing, Roseanne. Dave and I aren't helping you out of the goodness of our hearts. This isn't a free ride."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure from what you said earlier that you'd like me to believe you're a mostly innocent bystander in all this," Ali returned. "If that were true, though, you wouldn't be so afraid of going to jail yourself. You claim to be a drug user and nothing more, but I'm guessing that by the time the cops finish investigating this case they'll be able to charge you with plenty, including conspiracy to distribute drugs if nothing else." Ali turned to Dave. "That's a felony, right?"

Dave nodded. "Yes, it is," he agreed.

"So," Ali continued, "your best bet for dodging jail time is for you to cooperate now. If Dave and I can manage to get you out of this alive, I want you to promise that you'll go to that attorney I told you about. Let Victor Angeleri see what kind of deal he can make for you in exchange for your testimonyyour voluntary testimonyabout the people at the Pink Swan and everything that goes on there, including your suspicions about who was really responsible for Paul's death."

"What if I say no?" Roseanne asked.

"That's easy," Ali returned. "Dave and I leave now, and you can deal with Tracy and whatever's supposed to happen to you all on your own."

"You wouldn't do that, would you?" Roseanne pleaded. "You couldn't just leave me alone like that."

"Oh, couldn't I?" Ali said, reaching for her purse. "Watch me."

"No," Roseanne said, capitulating. "Please don't leave. I'll do whatever you say."

"Fine," Ali said. "Go to the kitchen. Stay there until you hear from us. Either Dave or I will come get you, or else we'll let you know that it's safe to go with whoever we send."

"All right," Roseanne agreed reluctantly. She stood up and headed for the swinging doors that led back to the kitchen. Ali glanced around. By then the customers at the other nearby tables had all left. Carrie had made sure that theirs was the only occupied table in that section of the restaurant.

A waitressa different one this timecame over and took Dave's order.

"All right," Ali said once the waitress left. "Here's my plan. I'll call you and say that I met Roseanne here because she wanted me to buy some of her jewelry but that she slipped away while I was in the restroom. With any kind of luck whoever's listening in on my phone will believe she's gotten away from them, too. Then, later on, we'll be able to smuggle her out of here and get her to Victor."

Ali was talking to Dave but he didn't appear to be paying attention. He seemed to be focused on some distant part of the restaurant.

"Hello!" Ali said. "Are you even listening to me?"

Turning to follow his gaze, Ali saw two men standing talking to Carrie, who was listening carefully and nodding. Eventually they began making their way across the dining room. One was a tall, rangy black man Ali had never seen before. The other she recognized at onceDetective Montgomery Taylor with the Riverside Sheriff's Department Homicide Division, one of the two detectives who had interviewed Ali in the aftermath of Paul's death.

"Oh, no," Ali whispered under her breath. "What's he doing here? Don't tell me they're coming after me again."

The men walked directly to Ali and Dave's table. Without waiting for an invitation, they seated themselves. The man Ali didn't know nodded cordially in Dave's direction. The two of them shook hands.

"Good to see you, bro," the man said. "Where is Roseanne Maxwell?"

"In the kitchen," Dave responded. "Hiding out as a dishwasher. Are the takedown teams all in place?"

The stranger nodded. "Pretty much," he said. "We're just waiting for the restaurant to clear out some and for a couple more of my men to arrive on the scene."

"Roseanne's in the kitchen?" Detective Taylor asked. "I'll go make sure we don't lose her." With that, he got up and headed for the kitchen.

Feeling lost, Ali watched the detective's retreating figure. "What takedown teams?" she asked. "Who are these guys? What are they doing here? What's going on?"