Authors: Michele Martinez
Notorious
Michele Martinez
Â
For Jack and Will,
who make my life beautiful
The man Melanie Vargas was talking to would die violentlyâ¦
The world erupted in fire and blood. Melanie's head hitâ¦
Everybody needed to interview Melanieâthe FBI, the NYPD, the DEAâ¦
When on the benchâwhich was the only place Melanie hadâ¦
Good work in there,” Susan said as they made theirâ¦
When Atari Briggs walked through the door accompanied by hisâ¦
I can't believe you didn't back me up in there,”â¦
Melanie Vargas had been born and raised in the Bushwickâ¦
The morning dawned too bright and sunny for Melanie's mood.
Poe & Diamond, PC, had an unusual location for a criminalâ¦
In the vestibule outside Diamond's office, weak winter light filteredâ¦
Melanie reported to Mark Sonschein as soon as she gotâ¦
The Drayton Hotel in Soho was a favorite hideout ofâ¦
The afternoon was waning, the condolence calls were done, andâ¦
Shekeya Jenkins wheeled the cart into the windowless conference room,â¦
Melanie was in the middle of a heart-to-heart with Agentâ¦
Melanie opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, theâ¦
Saturday dawned with an iron-gray sky threatening snow and littleâ¦
Melanie wasn't the only government employee who worked weekends forâ¦
It was Sunday, and Melanie had witnesses lined up allâ¦
For a place so far removed from the state ofâ¦
Her boxes weren't yet unpacked or her diplomas hung toâ¦
Melanie and Papo were sitting in her office literally waitingâ¦
The separation order wasn't due to take effect until theâ¦
Melanie had enough to do on the trial that sheâ¦
Monday morning, Melanie arrived at her desk refreshed and readyâ¦
Following the money was never easy, especially when the partiesâ¦
Melanie arrived early for the status conference, before the marshalsâ¦
Susan caught Melanie's eye and motioned sticking her finger downâ¦
Had Lester Poe lied when he'd said that Atari Briggsâ¦
Melanie had to stop herself from gasping as Philippe Poeâ¦
He reached out and grabbed both her arms, hard. Melanieâ¦
Jennifer Lamont had a meeting scheduled with Evan Diamond atâ¦
Melanie was so tired that she could barely see, andâ¦
On the plane to Vegas, Melanie was trapped in theâ¦
When you're a New Yorker, you think you've seen itâ¦
Melanie and Papo had an hour to kill before theirâ¦
Jennifer Lamont lived way the hell out in Carroll Gardens,â¦
The hotel casino where Melanie and Papo were meeting theâ¦
By six A.M. the next day, Melanie and Papo wereâ¦
For a long time, despite the clear air and theâ¦
Melanie dropped to the floor and reached for the radio,â¦
That evening, Melanie was sitting alone at a bar inâ¦
Atari Briggs was in his suite in the Drayton Hotelâ¦
At five-thirty the following afternoon, a bitter March wind wasâ¦
Melanie and Susan were seasoned enough prosecutors to understand thatâ¦
Steve had Maya until the next morning, and Melanie dreadedâ¦
Jennifer Lamont was sitting in a hotel bar sipping aâ¦
As she arrived at her office the next morning, Melanieâ¦
Melanie was still mulling the news Bob Adelman had givenâ¦
The law library in the U.S. Attorney's Office felt likeâ¦
The recording Tommy Yee had made at the hotel theâ¦
After seeing the photograph of Diamond's driver, Jennifer seemed toâ¦
The weather had turned yet again, and it felt likeâ¦
With Jennifer saying she was doing all right, and Diamondâifââ¦
Jennifer Lamont was curled up in the corner of theâ¦
The midtown restaurant had recently received a third star fromâ¦
It was just beginning to get dark when Melanie exitedâ¦
The meet, which was held in a warehouse in Greenpointâ¦
Diamond would normally valet-park the Mercedes and give the attendantâ¦
Melanie reached out and pushed the doorbell. The man, whoâ¦
The nearest emergency room was at Long Island College Hospitalâ¦
Mark intended to wait for Jennifer Lamont to be releasedâ¦
T
he man Melanie Vargas
was talking to would die violently in a matter of minutes. But in the here and now, he was so very alive as they debated the handling of a case that she couldn't have imagined it.
“You need to ask the judge to put off the trial,” Lester Poe insisted. “The request has to come from the prosecution. If I ask, we might as well call a press conference right now and tell the world my client's ready to snitch.”
They stood in the grand plaza outside the federal courthouse in New York City. It was an eighty-degree afternoon in March, and the unseasonable heat blazing down from the bright white sky added to Melanie's anxiety. She was a young prosecutor, respected in courthouse circles but unknown outside of them. Lester Poe was the most famous criminal lawyer in America and had been for thirty years. With his trademark shoulder-length white hair and craggy, handsome features, he was highly recognizable. Several people walking by had already turned to stare. Melanie didn't like talking about such a dangerous subject out in the open like this.
“Let's keep our voices down,” she warned.
Lester was enough on edge himself to accede to her suggestion, taking papers from his briefcase with studied nonchalance, as if he was consulting with her about them. The mere fact that they were seen talking shouldn't arouse any suspicions. They were adversaries on a celebrated case, scheduled for trial in little more than a week's time. Nevertheless, it paid to be careful.
“You're right,” Lester said in a low tone. “You may want Atari locked up, but other people want him dead.”
Atari Briggs, Lester's client, was named for the video games his gangsta daddy had loved to play, and their magic had rubbed off on him. He'd worked every heroin spot in East New York and rained down murder and mayhem on his enemies, then retired at twenty and turned his street cred to gold in the recording studio. On the same day that Atari's sixth CD went triple platinum, DEA arrested him for a murder he'd ordered ten years earlier.
“What's your client got to tell me that's worth killing him over?” Melanie asked. “Does he plan to finger somebody else for the murder he's charged with?”
“If all I had for you was a lousy drug murder, honey, I wouldn't keep you from your tuna fish sandwich.”
She smiled. “You take a pretty bleak view of my lunch situation.”
“I know what the government pays you,” he said, smiling back. “What I'm about to give you, you can take to the bank. My client can give up Gamal Abdullah.”
“The terrorist?”
“Call him what you will, but we're not talking about some lowlife in a suicide vest. Abdullah's a major player internationally.”
“I know exactly who he is. That's why I find it hard to believe that a rap artist has the goods on him. This isn't a ploy to throw me off my trial prep, is it, Lester?”
He looked genuinely hurt. “Darling, would I scam you?”
“You're smart enough to try, anyway.”
“Maybe with somebody else, but never with you.”
Lester's eyes lingered on her face. They were stormy gray under dark brows, and he was famous for mesmerizing juries with them.
“Okay, I'll bite,” she said, all business. “What does your client want to tell me?”
“About six months ago, Gamal Abdullah used Atari's yacht to meet with some of the biggest drug kingpins in the United States.”
“Meet about what?”
“A major supply agreement. Afghan heroin, to be exact, to the tune of a hundred million bucks a week, with the proceeds going straight back to Taliban-associated warlords in Afghanistan.”
“Your client witnessed this meeting?”
“Not only witnessed, he filmed it. His boat has a state-of-the-art surveillance system. I haven't seen the DVD yet, but from what I understand, it's enough to persuade any jury. You'll get Abdullah dead to rights, along with just about every other major player in domestic narcotics in the whole damn country.”
“Where's this DVD now?”
“In a safe place. We can get it for you, but in order to avoid arousing suspicion, that may take time.”
“And I'm supposed to ask for the delay in the meantime, with no proof?”
“You don't trust me enough to do that?”
“You, I trust, but your client? Uh-uh.”
“Maybe a showing of good faith would help. How about if I give you a significant lead for free, no strings attached? You can check it out and see if I'm being truthful. If you're satisfied, ask for the delay by the end of the week.”
“All right.”
“Here it is, then, straight from my client's mouth an hour ago. Gamal Abdullah moves in and out of Western Europe using various
aliases. The current one is Sebastien Calais. As of a few days ago, he was in Spain, first in Madrid, then in a town in the south called Ronda, traveling under that name.”
“That's it?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, got it. I'll have it checked out right away.”
“And, Melanie, secrecy is key here.”
“I understand.”
“No, you don't; you can't possibly understand the full implications,” he said, his voice urgent. “I don't want to alarm you, but some very dangerous people would go to great lengths to prevent this cooperation from happening. And beyond that, I don't trust the phone lines in my office. I think they're bugged. That may sound crazy to somebody your age, but I was bugged in the sixties, in the South, when I was doing civil rights work. I know the signs.”
“Lester, are you serious? What are you doing about it?”
“I'm taking care of it. I have a company coming in to sweep. The bug may have to do with something separate and apart from the Briggs case, but in any event, the point is, you and I
cannot
discuss this over the phone.”
Lester was watching the park across the street as he spoke, his expression anxious.
“I promise,” she said. On an impulse, she reached out and squeezed his hand. “Please, be careful.”
He turned his gray eyes back on her. “That's very sweet. You know, I can think of something that would make me feel better.”
She laughed. “Don't start.”
“Why not? We had a great time when I took you out last summer, didn't we?”
“That was business. You were trying to recruit me. But now we're adversaries on a case. Seeing each other socially isn'tâwell, it's not a good idea.”
“When the case is over, then. I'll take you to Daniel, get us a great table. We'll order the tasting menu and a bottle of Margaux.”
Lester was a lot older than Melanie, but that didn't make him any less madly attractive. Her real problem with dating was that she was still hung up on the last guy. She had to get over Dan O'Reilly sooner or later. Why not sooner?
“When the case is over. It's a date,” she said.
They said their good-byes, and Lester dashed across the street toward his silver Maserati. As she started back to the courthouse, Melanie noticed a man in a dark jacket walking his dog. The dog was sniffing a parking meter, but the man's eyes were on Lester, blazing with such intensity that it caught her attention. Melanie stopped to watch him.
Lester was at the door of his car now, pulling keys from the pocket of his charcoal-gray suit. As he lifted the key toward the lock, the man with the dog held up his cell phone and pointed it at the Maserati. Melanie had seen enough Homeland Security training videos to recognize the gesture for what it was. The hair on the back of her neck stood up.
“Hey!” she yelled, but the man didn't look up. He was focused on his phone, checking which button to push.
“Lester!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “Get away from the car! Get away from the car!”
She ran toward him, screaming, and the force of the blast knocked her back off her feet.