James Grippando - Last Call

Rene glanced at the board, then back at Jack. She seemed to understand his inner struggle. And thankfully she seemed willing to at least try to work within his constraints and limitations as Theo's friend – and lawyer – even if she didn't have a full grasp of what was going on. Jack wondered if Andie would have done the same.

"Have you talked this out with Theo?" she asked.

"Yeah, yesterday at lunch."

"Did you tell him what's on your mind?" Yup.

"Did he answer all your questions?"

"He always does."

"Do you believe what he told you?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

Jack was taken aback. Women always seemed to ask that one additional question that guys never asked – the one that goes to the core of the relationship. "Because he's my best friend," he said.

"Best friends can still lie to each other."

"They shouldn't." said Jack.

"No. They shouldn't."

Jack suddenly felt as if this conversation was no longer just about him and Theo.

Rene took his hand. "Are we best friends?"

Jack lowered his eyes. "I don't know. Are we?"

"Have you ever lied to me?"

"No."

She smiled, and with a light touch, she lifted his chin until their eyes met. "You just did."

"Huh?"

"Everybody lies, Jack."

"Have you lied to me?"

"Does a pygmy hippo shit in the great Ta'i Reserve?"

Jack couldn't help giving up a little laughter. Then he turned more serious. "So Saturday night, when you said the reason you never stay longer than a few days at a time when you come to visit me…

"Definitely not a lie," she said, squeezing his hand. "That was the truth."

She kissed him, and Jack held her tight. The smell of her hair was right in his face, and he gave himself enough time to commit it to long-term memory. "I'm gonna miss you," he whispered.

She pulled away and slung her carry-on over her shoulder. "I'll see you. Soon. I'll call you when I get to Abidjan. I promise." She gave him another quick kiss on the lips and then headed toward security. Jack watched from afar as she presented her ticket andpassport to security. She turned and flashed one last smile, then disappeared into the maze of international check-in.

Jack tried to catch sight of the back of her head one more time – maybe she'd turn and wave – but he couldn't follow her in the crowd. He stayed put for a few minutes anyway just watching the endless stream of travelers headed for points unknown. He was sad to see Rene go. He wondered if that was because of his feelings for her – or if he simply dreaded what was next on the agenda.

It was time to meet with Agent Andie Henning.

The meeting was inside Theo's office at Sparky's Tavern. Jack didn't like the venue, but the idea was Andie's. She got her way – with one notable exception.

"Theo isn't coming," said Jack as he closed the office door.

She wheeled and gave him a look of complete surprise – more like Andie the might-have-been girlfriend than the poker-faced Agent Henning.

"What do you mean he's not coming?" she said.

With a conciliatory wave of the hand, Jack offered her a seat on the couch. She didn't take it. Jack crossed the room and braced himself against the front edge of Theo's desk, half sitting and half standing, his arms folded. The entire room had been swept free of the usual clutter – no papers atop the desk, no Post-its on the computer screen, no receipts and records scattered across the floor and furnishings. Even the wall calendar was gone. Theo had followed Jack's cleanup order to the letter: leave nothing for the wandering eye of the FBI.

Jack said, "Don't read anything into this from a personal or investigative standpoint. He's merely following the advice of his lawyer."

"You and I had a deal," she said.

"And we still do, if you remain willing to share the 'something of interest' that required us to meet in Theo's office."

"You were supposed to let me talk to Theo."

"I can answer your questions."

"That's changing the deal."

"That's the only one on the table"

"You're being a pain in the ass."

"Some things change," he said with a shrug, "and some things stay the same."

She smiled a little, as if to confirm that she had the energy to butt heads all day long, and he smiled back. Jack had a lot of time and effort invested in Rene, but for a quick moment, a part of him could imagine the fun in sparring with Andie about everything from unreasonable search and seizure to who would end up on top at night.

Her smile faded, and she put on her business face. "Where was Theo on Sunday morning between midnight and three a.m.?"

"He was working at his bar until the cops came looking for Isaac Reems. I told him to go somewhere. He ended up at his girlfriend's and spent the night at her place."

"Would that be Katrina?"

"Trina. She stopped going by Katrina when the hurricane hit."

Again, Andie showed surprise, but it wasn't about the name change. "They're still together?"

Jack wasn't sure how to take it, but her tone almost seemed to ask, How the heck did Theo and Trina outlast us? "Yeah, still together."

"Doing well, I hope."

"Doing just fine." Jack didn't bother with the tale of the Prince Albert.

"Can anyone confirm that he was with Trina that night?"

"Trina can."

She rolled her eyes. "Other than her, wiseguy."

"No, but let me save you a lot of time. Theo didn't kill Isaac Reems."

"I'm not saying he did. I'm not even here on a homicide investigation. Not my jurisdiction."

"It sounds like you're making it your jurisdiction."

"I'm just trying to find out who on the outside was able to get the guards on the inside to look the other way long enough for Isaac Reems to bust out of the TGK correctional facility."

"I hope you find out. But I'd really like to know why you're looking here."

"Because Theo and Isaac were fellow juvenile delinquents back in the 'hood. Because the first place he went when he busted out of prison was Theo's bar. Because the last time Reems was seen alive he was less than four miles from Sparky's Tavern. Because he was found shot on the same street that the Grove Lords used to cruise as teenagers."

"Based on that, you think Theo helped Reems escape from prison?"

"I know Theo, and I have a really hard time believing that he would do something so stupid. But I have to do my job. And there's one other thing in the mix."

"I can't wait to hear it."

"Theo's phone line was tapped."

Lawyer's instinct kicked in: Confront devastating news with righteous indignation . "You tapped his telephone?" he said in an angry voice.

I didn't say I did."

"I meant law enforcement."

"Ah, the 'royal you.'"

"The 'totalitarian you.'"

"Hold your horses," she said. "It's not what you think."

Jack hoped not. His deal with the state attorney was no searches of the premises, no taps on Theo's telephone. Things were going to get very sticky if the FBI knew about Reems's phone messages to Theo. Be cool, Swyteck . "What are you trying to tell me?"

"There was never an official wiretap of any of Theo's phone lines."

"I'm not sure I'm following this."

"One of the agencies – not me, mind you – sought a warrant, but things don't always move fast on weekends. By the time it was issued and the tech people started acting, it was early Sunday morning. They stopped as soon as they detected an existing power drain on the line."

"Are you saying that Theo's line was already tapped?"

She nodded. But it still wasn't clear to Jack if law enforcement had picked up Reems's messages to Theo. "Do you mean his home or his office?" he said.

"The plan was to tap both. The power drain was on his home line."