Brad Meltzer - Dead Even

“Fine, then all we need to do is figure out a way to stop the psychopaths from chasing us. How about we both bow out, and then we tell them that if anything happens to us, our lawyer will send out a letter that fingers Rafferty?”

“Jared, you’re missing the big picture. Even if they leave us alone, we can’t let them do the same thing to someone else.”

“So now we have to forward Rafferty’s E-mail to the entire firm?”

“Don’t make fun – you know I’m right.” As she let the logic of her argument sink in, Sara added, “Like it or not, it’s our responsibility.”

Jared nodded his head. “What do you propose?”

“I’m not sure. I want to talk to Conrad tomorrow. He knows his way around this world better than anyone.”

“And what other worlds is he familiar with?”

“Oh, c’mon, Jared, why do you have to bring that up? I swear it was nothing. We kissed and I pulled away. That was it.”

Jared didn’t say a word.

Studying her husband’s reaction, Sara felt awful. Without a doubt, that fleeting kiss would haunt her forever. As she tried to figure out what to say, she realized no apology would ever be enough. But if she expected to move forward, she also realized she had to start somewhere. “Jared, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to-”

“Actually, this is exactly what I need,” she replied. “I really am sorry, honey. I’m so sorry I did this to you. I wish I could take it back. I wish I could just wipe the whole thing from existence. And while I know that’s no excuse, I just hope you know one thing: The worst thing I can do in this world is hurt you. Nothing, absolutely nothing, causes me more pain.”

“So you’re not in love with him?”

“In love wi – Are you nuts? It was a moment in time – a misstep. You’re my whole world, Jared. Nothing means more to me. I trust you with everything.”

“If you trust me so much, why’d you spy on me with your briefcase?”

Sara reached over and tickled the back of his neck. “Baby, I was dead asleep the entire time. I only said that to test your reaction. Obviously, you failed, but I still trust you. And love you.”

With a sly smile, Jared said, “You’re ruthless, y’know that?”

“What can I say? Play with the best, you’re bound to get beat.”

“Sara, I swear I only did it because I was worried about-”

“I don’t care about that,” Sara said, taking Jared’s hand. “Let’s just have our make-up kiss and be done with it.”

“Here?” Jared asked, looking around at the completely deserted Promenade. “In front of all these people?”

“Of course here. It’s our perfect Hollywood moment. The intrepid heroes, the striking landmark, the windblown hair. It’s all in place. All we have to do is-” Interrupting herself, Sara leaned forward, grabbed her husband, and gave him a forceful kiss. For a minute, they stood there, lips locked and arms wrapped around each other. Once again, everything else faded away. When they were done, she asked, “How was that?”

Jared smiled. “It’s good to be home.”

“Couldn’t agree more. So you ready to get out of here?”

“Depends what we’re doing.”

“Well, right now, we’re putting together a puzzle. And the moment the picture is crystal clear, we’re going after the bastards who took it apart in the first place. If Rafferty thinks he’s got problems now, wait until his ass meets my foot.”

“I hope you’re right. Because if Rafferty gets wind of this, he’s not going to hold back – even if you are a DA.”

“That’s ADA to you. Now let’s go home.”

Standing behind a thick patch of overgrown shrubbery and shrouded by the low branches of an oak tree, he silently watched the couple leave the Promenade. He knew this would happen – he’d said it from the beginning. When the pressure got too high, they were going to snap.

He watched them walk up the concrete path toward Clark Street. They were coming directly at him, but in the darkness he wasn’t at all concerned. He didn’t even duck when they got close. He just leaned against the tree, his eyes tracking them as they passed right by him. He was tempted to reach out, but he fought the urge. Holding hands and swinging their arms, Jared and Sara walked with newfound confidence. They knew just about everything now. That is, everything but the fact that their secret wasn’t safe.

“I KNEW IT WAS HIM!” GUFF SAID, RUBBING HIS HANDS on his pants. “Wasn’t I the one who said it? Wasn’t I? I was the only one who said Rafferty was in on this!”

“Fine, fine, you were right,” Conrad said. “Get over yourself.” He turned to Sara, who was sitting on her desk. “What else did Jared tell you?”

“That’s about it,” Sara said. “Rafferty threatened Jared, he’s been involved since the beginning, and if Jared doesn’t win the case, he says he’s going to have me killed.”

“Do you think you can trust him?” Conrad asked.

“Who? Jared? What kind of question is that? He’s my husband.”

“He’s also your opponent. Which means he could be using this to set you up.”

“Sorry, but I think you’ve been smoking too much grassy knoll. This is serious.”

“Hey, don’t make fun of the knoll,” Guff warned. “It’s no joke.”

Ignoring her assistant, Sara said to Conrad, “He even showed me pictures of us kissing. Not a pretty sight.”

“Pictures? Where’d he get pictures?”

“My best guess is-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Guff jumped in. “You guys were kissing? Was there sex going on in this office? Because if there was, I should know about it.”

“It was nothing,” Sara said. “A hapless accident between friends.”

“Tell me about the photos,” Conrad said.

“It looks like they were taken from over there,” Sara said, pointing out her window to two offices across the way. “Both of them belong to other ADAs.”

“Any idea who took them?”

“It had to be Victor,” Sara insisted. “He may be working behind the scenes, but he’s had his hand on the monkey wrench since this started.”

“That may be true,” Conrad said. “But until we can prove it, we don’t have a thing on him. Even if he’s suspicious, he still hasn’t done anything illegal.”

“That’s why I want to start digging. Jared gave me Rafferty’s private number, so I want to run a search on it.”

“I can do that,” Guff said. “I assume you want to see all the calls that’ve been made by that number as well as all the ones that have been made to it?”

“Everything you can get,” Sara said.

Guff looked over to Conrad. “Can I-”

“I’m approving all of it,” Conrad said. “If you have any problems, tell them to call me.”

Sara nodded a thank-you. “Now, here’s what I really need your help with. Jared said Kozlow spent some time in the military. I have this feeling that’s where he met Sunken Cheeks. And since we can’t do anything until we know who he is, I was wondering if we could-”

“Just tell me what you need,” Conrad said. “Names of everyone in his division? Everyone at his base? Photos? Fingerprints?”

“Photos would be best. A name won’t mean much, but I might be able to recognize him if I saw a picture.”

“I’ll have them here as soon as they can get them together. By the time the trial’s over, we’ll know the size of this guy’s pinkie ring.”

“No, no, no,” Sara said. “I need it before the trial starts. If we wait until it’s over, one of us’ll be dead.”

As Conrad and Guff were leaving Sara’s office, Sara said, “Conrad, can I speak to you a second?”

“Uh-oh, lover boy, now you’re in trouble,” Guff teased.