Brad Meltzer - The First Councel

“That’s not possible! Is there a way to check it?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Just because Judy says he was in the Oval doesn’t mean he was actually there. I mean, when I had my appointment, I stood around for twenty minutes before I finally got called in.”

“I can call the President’s secretary,” Trey suggests. “As the gatekeeper, she records the actual times people go in there.”

“When I walked into the Oval, I remember her making a note.”

“Then that’s our best bet. I’ll check it out.” Wasting no time, Trey reaches for my phone, but just as he’s about to pick it up, it starts to ring.

I check caller ID. Outside Call. I’m betting on Lamb. He said he might have something.

“I should take this,” I say.

“Is there another phone I can call Barbara on?”

“In the anteroom,” I say as I point to the small desk that Pam’s been using. Answering the phone, I add, “This is Michael.”

“Michael, it’s Lawrence.”

I mouth “Lamb” to Trey. He nods and heads for the phone in the anteroom.

“Find anything out?” I ask Lamb.

“I spoke to the FBI,” he begins in his slow, methodical voice. I can practically hear the starch in his French-cuffed shirt. “They still won’t release their list of the last five files… ”

My whole body deflates.

“However,” he continues, “I told them we were having some security concerns in assigning new cases, and that we would therefore appreciate-at minimum-a list of all the people in our office whose files Caroline had in her possession. As we discussed, I think that’s the best way to figure out who she was blackmailing-and who else would therefore want her dead.”

“And were they helpful?”

“They gave me the list.”

“That’s great,” I say, my voice cracking.

“It certainly is,” Lamb replies. Even with a breakthrough, he’s too careful to be excited. “The first two names were exactly what we expected. She had your file and Simon’s.”

“I knew it. I told you he-”

“But it was the third name on the list that caught me by surprise.”

“Third? Who?”

He’s about to answer when I hear the loud touch-tone beeps of someone calling on the line. Looking up, I see Trey punching in a phone number in the anteroom. “Ooops-sorry,” he says as his voice comes through the earpiece on my phone. I look up, astounded. The phone in the anteroom is supposed to be on a separate line.

“Michael, is everything okay?” Lamb asks.

“Yeah. I just leaned on the keypad.” Trying to stay focused, I can’t stop thinking that the phone in the anteroom could’ve been used to listen in on my conversations.

“Back to Caroline’s files,” Lamb begins. “The third name on the list… ”

There’s only one person who uses that phone. A sharp pain rips through the back of my neck. My legs are already numb. Please don’t let it be her.

Lamb voices my fear as succinctly as possible. “The last file… was Pam Cooper’s.”

What’d he say?” Trey asks as I hang up the phone.

“I don’t believe it,” I say, collapsing in my seat.

“What? Tell me.”

“You heard him-we were all on the same line.”

“I meant after I hung up.”

“What else is there to say? Caroline had Pam’s file.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“You think he’s making it up?”

“Maybe he-Did he say what was in it?”

All I can do is shake my head. “FBI wouldn’t give it to him.”

“You really think Pam was being blackmailed by Caroline?”

“Can you think of any other reason why Caroline would need her file?”

“What about if Pam had an ethics question? Didn’t Caroline do those?”

“It doesn’t matter what she did-you saw the phone-Pam’s been listening on my line.”

“Just because you shared a line doesn’t mean-”

“Trey, in all the time we’ve been in this office, Pam’s never once used the phone in the anteroom. Then, as soon as I start sniffing around for Caroline’s killer, she’s on it full time.”

“But if she were listening in, don’t you think you would’ve heard her by now?”

“Not if she hit the mute button. She could pick up and I wouldn’t hear a thing.” Jumping out of my seat, I head for the door. “I bet she even turned off the ringer so I couldn’t hear when someone-”

“It’s off,” Trey whispers, turning away.

“What?”

“I checked it when I hung up. The ringer’s off.”

“This better be good,” Nora says, bursting into my office. She blows past the couch, but my eyes are still on the door.

She doesn’t even have to ask-she knows who I’m looking for. The Service.

“They’re not coming,” she says.

“Are you sure?”

“What do you think?”

“So they-”

“They only follow if I leave the grounds. Otherwise, in here, they leave me… ” Her voice trails off. She notices something behind my desk. The ego wall. Damn. Charging toward it, she goes straight to the photo of me and her dad. It’s the same one I gave to my dad, but this one’s signed.

“What?” I ask.

Studying the photo, she doesn’t answer.

“Nora, can’t you-”

“He must’ve been in a good mood… the signature’s real.”

“I’m thrilled-now can you stop for a second?”

Ignoring the request, she’s too busy checking out the rest of my office. The crazy part is, most people get intimidated when they’re not on their own turf. Nora thrives. “So this is where it all happens, huh? This is where you bust your ass for a signature on a glossy prin-”

“Nora!”

She looks up and grins, enjoying the outburst. “I’m just joshing with you, Michael.”

“Now’s not the time.”

She knows that tone. “Listen, I’m sorry… just tell me what the big deal is. Who’s on fire?”

I quickly relay everything that’s happened with Pam and the files. As always, Nora’s judgment comes quick.

“I told you,” she says, taking a seat on the corner of my desk. “I said it from the start. That’s how it always is in this place. It’s all about competition.”

“It has nothing to do with competition.”

“Oh, so now you’re going to ignore the fact that Caroline’s death meant a huge promotion for Pam?”

“That’s only for the interim. They’ll hire someone new after the election.”

“So you think she was being blackmailed? That she killed Caroline to hide whatever’s in her file?”

I don’t answer.

“And Jill came tumbling after,” Nora says. “And let’s not forget Vaughn’s file. Didn’t Pam promise she was going to pull that for you? Last I checked, you still don’t have it.”

“I don’t need it. Lamb gave me most of it; Vaughn told me the rest.”

“That still doesn’t change the facts. Pam promised it and never delivered.”

“Can you please just drop it?”

She crosses her legs and shakes her head. “So when you accuse her, it’s fine; and when I accuse her, it’s bad? Is that how it-”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I interrupt, raising my voice. For the next few seconds, we sit in awkward silence. I eye the envelope that’s resting on her lap. Finally, I say, “Did you get the information?”

“What do you think?” she asks, dangling it from her fingertips.

I snatch it away and rip it open. Inside is a four-page photocopy from the President’s Oval Office appointment book. When Trey put in a request for the same information, he got nothing but goose-egg. Undeterred, we pulled out the big gun. Ten minutes later, Barbara was more than happy to fulfill Nora’s request.