Surrept (22 page)

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Back at the law firm, Matthew leaves the break room and heads down the hall with his coffee as Reggie comes in the double glass doors in the reception area. Matt waves him down the hall. Reggie follows his attorney into his office.

Matt sees that his client is walking in a funny way. "What happened to you?"

Reggie opens his coat and raises his shirt revealing the bandages he self applied. "We got to talk, Mr. C. Last night I was the moving duck at the shooting gallery, but they didn't win this stuffed dog."

"Were you in the hospital? What happened, man?" Matt closes his office door and motions for his client to sit.

"I ain't been to any hospital. It was in and out, just a flesh wound. I lost part of my ear, though. Feels like I got into it with Mike Tyson." Reggie had not realized that he had smashed his ear with the weights. It happened when he dropped the bar and rolled to avoid being shot and killed by Adriana Pucci.

Matt sits down, sips his coffee, and realizes he has not offered any to Reggie, "You want coffee or juice?"

"No man, thanks, had mine already, I'm cool."

Matt asks again, "So what happened? Tell me from the beginning and don't leave anything out." Matt sets his coffee down and pushes over a pile of files and Adriana's photo slides out onto his desk. His client's eyes lock on Matt's desk.

Reggie jumps up and reaches for the photocopy to be sure it is her. Reggie is enraged, and Matt sees the pistol, now exposed in his belt as he jumps up. "What's going on here, Mr. C.? Why you got pictures of that bitch on your desk?"

Matt's eyes are as big as plates as his ominously large client moves forward with lighting speed. Matt raises his hands, "Whoa, Reggie, take it easy, buddy. What the hell are you talking about?"

Reggie holds up the photo, "Her man, that Italian Bitch. She's the one that tried to kill my ass last night." Reggie throws the photocopy back on Matt's desk and stares at him awaiting an answer.

Matt Cohen is surprised and stunned by his client's claim as he picks up the photo.

"This woman tried to kill you last night? Are you sure this woman shot you?"

Reggie lowers his voice and takes a deep breath. "Damn right, I'm sure. We been partners for two years. Her name is Adriana Pucci. That bitch is as fine as wine, and as dangerous as a pit bull in a bunny farm. Why you have her picture, Mr. C.?"

The attorney says, "She is the focus of a private investigation I'm doing for another client."

"Private investigation. I can tell you more than your ass could ever find out. She's why I'm here today, that chick tried to lay me out last night."

Matt regains focus. "Reggie, sit down. I need to think a minute. You said you and she where partners? Partners in what exactly?"

Reggie eases himself into the chair. He has aggravated his wound. "Partners in what do you think? She is the one that I get my H from Mr. C., don't you get it? We have been doing it like that for two and a half years as partners."

Matthew is still trying to get his mind around this. "Why did she try to kill you if you are partners, and where did this happen? Were there any witnesses?"

"Man, you ask questions three at a time. First of all, do you know where she is at, right now?"

He realizes that his client's intent and his motivation validate his claim that this woman tried to kill him. "No, but Reggie, you have to tell me everything you know about this woman. Why did she try to kill you?"

Reggie looks at Matt and decides to throw it out there and see if he can get more insight as to why he is investigating her. "We met the other night because she was checking to see if I had received my next shipment of H, and I told her she was crazy for sending it because I just got busted. But she didn't seem to know anything about it. So when she found out, she got scared and told me to get rid of the shit fast. Then she walked out of the restaurant, telling me she would be in touch. Then a day later, last night, she got in touch all right."

Again, Matt is blown away by this enlightenment from Reggie and digs deeper. "Where exactly did the shooting happen, and were there any witnesses?"

Reggie answers his attorney, "There is this apartment complex over on Quebec Way near Hampden Avenue, down the street from my crib. I use the gym in the clubhouse there every other night. I used to date this chick that lived there, and she gave me the card to the clubhouse door. So I was working on the bench when I hear this lady scream who is running on the treadmill behind me. I look up, and there is this person wearing a running outfit, and a scary mask over her head with a ball cap on. It was like see-through or something. She was wearing gloves, pointing a small automatic at my ass. Then I dropped the bar as I rolled out, and was hit in the ear first, then in the side. She emptied the gun. Man, rounds were flying everywhere, and then I heard the door slam and knew she was gone."

Matt leans forward. "How did you know that it was her, if the shooter was wearing a mask?"

"I saw her neck and her hair as she moved to shoot me, and that thing she had over head wasn't tight, it was just kind hanging, and believe me, it was her. I could smell her fine ass."

"What do you mean you could smell her?"

"This chick is intoxicating enough all on her own, but she wears this perfume I have never smelled anywhere else in my life. As I left, I could smell her all the way out of the door. It was Adriana for sure. I'd testify before God to it."

Matt believes him, but wants to verify. "We will talk about that later, but you are one hundred percent sure that it was her?"

"I am not going to say it again. Mr. C. Adriana Pucci tried to take my ass out last night. It was her, for sure."

"What about the lady who screamed, was she hit? Was she the only one in the clubhouse with you?"

"No man, she wasn't hit. She was screaming like a nut. I have seen her there before though, she lives in that complex. There was an old dude who's always there too, and a fat chick, about thirty with blonde hair."

"Reggie, excuse me a minute. I'm going to cancel my other appointments for today, this needs all of my attention." Matt gets up and opens the door. "Just hang out here for a couple of minutes."

Matt walks down the hall putting all this together in his head. He approaches the receptionist and asks her to call his two appointments and reschedule for another day. He asks her to bring coffee and water to his office. He walks into the meeting room and dials Dana's cell phone.

Dana is driving down I-70 from Lookout Mountain and when her phone rings she checks to see who's calling. "Hi Matt, I was just thinking about you. Do you have any news about David?"

"Not yet, Dana, how soon can you get to my office?"

She hears the urgency in his voice. "What's the matter Matt? Are they going to file charges on me?"

He just wants her to get her ass there and quit asking questions. "Nobody is filing anything yet. They have to have some reason to file against you. Just get here as fast you can, please. How long will it take you?"

She does not tell him she was heading there anyway. "I'll be there in less than thirty minutes."

Chapter Twelve

Ahmed has nothing to do and is watching CNN at the market. There are familiar shots that he recognizes of Kabul, Syria, Amman, Jordon, and Baghdad. They are now showing western troop withdrawals and equipment movement in mass exodus from his lands. He is excited to think that he played a part in this history, and he decides that he will record the event somehow when he returns home where he will be safe.

The familiar anchor, who has a short gray beard and always stands for his broadcasts, is speaking.
"White House Press Secretary Mark Castle called a press conference today announcing that Secretary of Defense George Gerald has ordered an immediate fall back of all American military forces in the Middle East, interrupting countless military operations in progress."

"The decision was made as a proposed strategy originally endorsed by Secretary of Defense George Gerald, who cited the need for a more cohesive intelligence approach utilizing the technological advantages developed within the Pentagon's resources. He stated that the lives of our troops being placed at risk as being an unnecessary liability."

"The press secretary denied questions and allegations by the press corps that this decision by the president and the secretary of defense was based on the Al Jezeera video released by the Taliban second-in-command Imam Al Wahiri, demanding a pullout of American forces from the regions of Islam."

"White House Press Secretary Mark Castle stated, ". . . that was ridiculous. The president does not respond to terrorist threats, and that is the standing policy of the United States of America. Calls to the Pentagon and the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have gone unanswered so far."

Ahmed hits the remote and turns the television off. He imagines himself standing before Allah, and receiving his grace and approval for his life's actions and recognition for the deeds he committed in his name.

Dana enters the law offices and sees her reflection in the glass doors. Her hair is a mess from the wind. She pulls it back and wraps a scrunchy around her blonde locks and approaches the receptionist, who recognizes her as she enters.

"Mr. Cohen will be right out to see you, Miss Underwood. I'll let him know you're here."

Matt comes down the hall and directs Dana into a conference room and closes the door.

"Dana, I need to know why exactly you retained me to investigate this girl Adriana Pucci. No bullshit, the full story."

"You rushed me down here to ask me about that?"

He responds in his most serious voice. "Dana, this is very important. Please answer my question."

Dana sits down. "This is embarrassing, but she is David's assistant at his office."

Matt almost falls over as she speaks.

"She is new there, and David is always raving about her work and how much she makes his life so much easier. He talks about how efficient she is. So, the few times I have called she has treated me kind of catty, knowing who I was, and she puts me on hold forever. And when I ask David why am I on hold so long he says, 'What are you talking about? She just told me you were on the line.' So that pissed me off. Then, David's praise of her made me kind of insecure and jealous. So I Googled her, and here is this drop-dead gorgeous cheerleader who is now tending to his every need, ten hours a day, five days a week."

Matt looks at Dana, he is fighting back laughter. "You mean to tell me that this whole background investigation thing was because the green monster reared its ugly head in your mind, and this is the chick you tried to pawn off on me because she made you feel insecure?"

Dana feels really immature and ridiculous, as she answers, "You better not laugh at me, Matt. There was just something about her on the phone that bugged me so much. What is going on? What did you find out?"

"No one will ever believe this one in a million years."

"Tell me what the hell is going on, and you better stop laughing at me Matt or you'll be singing in soprano."

"I'm sorry, Dana. Look, what I'm about to tell you stays in this room. Is that clear? Promise me that."

"I promise. Now what the hell is it?"

"There is a man in my office who is one of my clients, and he is waiting to speak to me regarding this Adriana Pucci. I asked him permission to speak with you about her, and what he has shared with me. He claims that she tried to kill him last night at a gym in an apartment complex. He claims she shot him. Now this guy is one of my clients already, so I believe him, and he knows her very well. They are sort of partners in a joint venture. This girl is no cheerleader type, Dana, and I want you to know what I know."

Matt hands her a file. "I am your attorney as well as his. Look at her file; it has some interesting stuff in it."

Dana reads the file, and looks at her photo. Her blood boils as she hands him back the file and recalls the female FBI agent Davenport asking her if she was sure if David was honest and if she was sure that he had disclosed everything to her. Did David screw her, or is he screwing her all the time, she wonders? She looks at Matt, wondering if he would tell her if he knew.

"Matt, do you think this chick has something to do with David being in trouble?"

He says, "It's a long shot, but at this point it's all we have to start with to find out more."

"More, like what?"

Matt has his hand on his chin thinking hard.

"The man in the other room, my client, he has been charged as a mid-level heroin trafficker, and he claims to have gotten all of his supply from Adriana Pucci. In addition, if that is true, then this chick is one badass, dangerous person we are talking about here. Heroin trafficking, attempted murder, ties to the heroin pipeline from Afghanistan and Iraq. This is no game now, Dana. You must not discuss this with anyone, not even your father. Do you understand me?"

She realizes now why he is acting so differently. "Yes, but why don't we go to the FBI and tell them about this chick. Maybe it has something to do with David?"

He says, "We don't have the luxury of making mistakes like that, or enough evidence yet to help David. They will just take the information and do what they do. Now let me do what I do and be a lawyer. I must get more information before we bring charges, not accusations. If we have those facts, then maybe we can use them to our advantage, get David home and my client a better deal. What do you say, does that sound good?"