David Baldacci - The Sixth Man

“Yes, I think that was why he was killed.”

Michelle leaned against the wall and stared moodily out the window.

Sean said, “Okay, what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking how long do we have before they target us?”

“You want to quit and hop on a plane back to Virginia?”

She looked at him. “Do you?”

“I thought I was clear on the point. I’m going to find out who killed him.”

“Then I thought I was clear, too. We’re a team. Where you go, I go.”

“You don’t think I can take care of myself?”

“No, but I can take care of you better.”

CHAPTER

9

SEAN WAS OUTSIDE taking a walk along the rocky coast when his cell phone buzzed a bit after two o’clock. Megan Riley sounded young, green, and stunned. His hopes sank. There was no way the young woman would be able to handle this.

“I can’t believe that Mr. Bergin is dead,” she said. He could envision her eyes filling with tears. A perfectly normal reaction under the circumstances, but he didn’t need normal right now, he needed extraordinary.

“I know. It’s a shock to all of us.” As he spoke he watched Michelle make her way over from a rickety pier with an equally rickety fishing boat tied up to it. She reached him and sat down on a huge boulder that served as riprap to keep the ocean at bay.

“Who would do such a thing?” asked Megan.

“Well, we’re working on that right now. Hilary mentioned that you had worked on the Roy case for Ted?”

She sniffled. “I did a little research for him that he asked me to do.”

“Did he ever talk to you about his theories of the case? What defense he was planning, steps he’d taken, conversations he’d had with Edgar Roy?”

It would have been a one-way conversation, obviously.

“He did go into some of that with me. I guess I was a sounding board for him. And I talked to him yesterday.”

“What time?”

“Around six.”

“What did he want?”

“Just checking on some cases I was handling.”

“Did he talk to you about Edgar Roy?”

“He said he was going to meet with him. In fact, I think he was on the way there. In a car, I mean.”

“Nothing else?” asked Sean.

“I called him back about nine o’clock.”

“Why?”

“To go over a court hearing I had the next day. I needed his advice.”

“Okay, Megan, this is really important. Did he mention that he had seen Edgar Roy last night?”

“No, he didn’t talk about that.”

“Did he mention to you where he might have been going late last night? I mean other than to meet with Michelle and me?”

Her voice sounded frightened. “No, he didn’t say anything about it. I didn’t even know he was meeting with you. I just assumed he was in for the night.”

“Nothing at all, you’re sure?” Sean persisted. “Just some comment he let slip?”

“There was nothing. Most of the conversation was about the court hearings I had the next day. He didn’t say anything about Edgar Roy and I didn’t ask.”

“Why not?”

“Because if Mr. Bergin had wanted to discuss the case he would have. I’ve only been working for him a short while. I wasn’t comfortable just injecting myself into a case I wasn’t really working on. He was always very particular about client confidences.”

Sean said, “Okay, let’s get down to specifics. Do you know whether you’re on the papers filed with the court?”

“As a matter of fact I am. Mr. Bergin said it was always good to have another attorney on the papers. Just in case something happened.”

“Well, unfortunately, he was prophetic. Look, we’ll need to talk to you about what Ted’s theories and strategies were. And anything else that might be connected to Roy.”

“Have you talked to Edgar Roy?”

“We’ve seen him. Talking is somewhat problematic. Can you fly up here?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve got some cases I’m working on and—”

“Megan, this is really important.”

He heard her take a long breath. “Of course. I know it is. I… I can get continuances. And bring work with me. The legal community down here knows and respects Mr. Bergin. They’ll understand.”

“I’m sure they will. And can you bring with you whatever files Ted had on the case?”

“Absolutely.”

Sean checked his watch. “You can catch a seven o’clock evening flight to Portland from Dulles. Think you can make that?”

“I think so, yes. I can get things organized here and then drive really fast.”

“I’ll make the reservations and e-mail you the details. We’ll pick you up at the airport in Portland.”

“Mr. King?”

“Just make it Sean.”

“Sean, um, should I be scared?”

Sean looked over at Michelle before answering. “We’ll stick to you like glue.”

“I guess that means yes.”

“It’s never a bad thing to be scared, Megan.”

“I’ll see you in Portland,” she said in a shaky voice.

Sean clicked off and filled Michelle in on his conversation with the young lawyer.

Michelle nodded. “So she had two conversations with the guy and Roy never came up. Obviously Bergin was playing this really close to the vest. Maybe he realized there was some danger involved here and wanted to keep Riley out of it.”

“That actually sounds like Ted. Chivalrous to the last.”

Michelle said, “So what do you think about Riley?”

“I think it’ll be a miracle if she’s actually on the plane.”

“If she weren’t scared that would be telling, too. In a bad way.”

“I know. I’m sure she’s smart and a good lawyer, or else Ted wouldn’t have brought her on. But this is a hell of a situation to throw a baby attorney into.”

“Well, we just need any info she has and what she can tell us about Bergin’s discussions about the case. I don’t think anyone really expects her to step into the man’s shoes and try this sucker.”

“Problem is, if another counsel comes in we’ll find ourselves off the case.”

“Not if we work hard now and make ourselves invaluable to said counsel.” Michelle’s expression changed. “Who was paying Bergin’s bill? If Edgar Roy can’t even talk, someone else had to hire Bergin.”

“That’s a good question. It should be in the files.”

“Did Roy have money?”

“Well, he had the farm and he had a government job.”

“But probably not rolling in cash.”

“Probably not.”

They walked back toward the inn.

The breeze off the water was chilly, and Michelle dug her hands into her jacket. “So until we leave to get Megan in Portland, what’s on the agenda?”

“How about a ride over to Gray’s Lodge?”

“To Bergin’s room? You know Agent Murdock will have that locked down tight.”

“But we might run into our friend Eric Dobkin of the Maine State Police.”

“You really think he’ll be our inside guy on this?”

“Never hurts to ask. And if I’m reading Murdock right, he’s probably pissed off the entire Maine constabulary by now.”

“We still don’t know if Bergin met with Roy yesterday.”

“And we also don’t know where he was headed last night.”

“It would be great to get a list of all his phone calls and e-mails.”

“Wouldn’t it?” agreed Sean.

“But Murdock has all that.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“All we can do is try.”

“Crossing the FBI? Not a smart career move,” she said.

“Finesse is the key.”

“Finesse is not my strong suit.”