Decency (32 page)
“Sure.”
Christian piped up, “I’ll come with you,” and they left for the front desk.
Kelly dialed her cell phone.
“Kelly, this must be you on my cell phone at this time of day.”
“Jannie, hey, we have some work to do. I really need your help.”
“Of course.”
“Please come down to the J.W. Marriott, conference room 107. Bring my laptop and pocket tape recorder. Borrow the firm’s video camera and, of course, bring your cell phone. I also need Fitzgerald’s and Cochran’s home and work phone numbers and addresses. They are in one of the Pierce files, the service of process file, I think. Also, anything else you might need if you’re here for a while. Do you have commitments tonight?”
“No, but I’ll need to get a babysitter…which is no problem.”
“Okay. I’ll be here when you get here.”
“Kelly, should I clock out?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Be there in a jiffy.”
Bonnie came back in alone.
“I left Christian with the hotel people to get the stuff we ordered. What’s the deal with what you would explain later?”
“Bonnie, I’m leaving the firm.”
“No. That’s awful.”
“They just didn’t think they could be affiliated with this case.”
“No guts.”
“Don’t be too quick to judge. They have all had some hard times and don’t want to risk going back there, not even a little bit.”
“Everybody has hard times.”
“Anyway, you’re still an employee of the firm. I won’t ask you to leave because your goals may require you to stay. But you are welcome to come work with me. And, at least for tonight I really need you for several things.”
“If you are not at that firm there isn’t any goal of mine they can fulfill. I’m with you.”
“Thanks. I won’t hold you to it if you change your mind.”
Christian came in with a porter in tow pushing a four wheeled cart with a computer, copier, printer and fax machine on it.
“Okay, Christian if you would set up the equipment, my secretary will be here shortly to take your affidavit. Just tell her the whole story in your own words. Everything about Samantha Pierce, including the decrypting you did today. You’ll be signing it ‘John Doe,’ for now, so don’t worry too much about the agency taking action. We’ll be using the affidavit in a motion we will be filing with the court. We will ask the court to keep your identity secret, even from the government. So please put all the details you can into the affidavit. We’ll go over it very carefully when the draft is done. Got it?”
“Sure.”
“Questions?”
“Not one.”
“Okay. Bonnie, we’ll need to go out to the Richardsons’ to talk with them. As soon as we’re done there, I’ll need you to come back here and write a motion for a protective order barring disclosure of witness identity concerning Christian and both Richardsons, of course without naming them in the motion.”
“I like that idea. Do we file it
in camera
?”
“No. I want to be able to get copies out to NSA, Main Justice, and Senator Charboneaux.”
“That could run us pretty late.”
“I know. Do you have commitments tonight?”
“No, I was just going to do some reading.” She exchanged glances with Christian.
“I’ll be back here to help as soon as I can. I think we have to file the motion in the morning on an emergency basis so we can hope to get a hearing as soon as possible. I want NSA and Mr. Fitzgerald to know we’re on to him. Presumably he’ll run for it. Whatever he does, it will happen pretty fast after the hearing or whenever the word gets to him.”
With a knock at the door, Jannie stuck her head in.
“Are we saddled up?”
“With you here, we are. Jannie, this is Christian Mason. Christian this is my secretary.”
“Jannie, I’ve explained to Christian we need an affidavit from him. He is to tell you what’s to be included in his own words. I need you to structure and format it properly. It will be a John Doe. It’s probably going to be long. Bonnie and I are going to another witness’s home and will be back later. Call me with any questions. Okay.”
“Sounds good. Do I use the laptop?”
“No, we have some rented equipment. I need the laptop, the tape recorder, the video camera, and the phone numbers.”
“Here you go.”
Kelly and Bonnie grappled with the equipment and headed out the door
“Okay. Good luck, everybody.”
Once they were in the car, Kelly said, “Let’s get started on the motion, it’ll go quicker if we both work it. I’ll suggest the paragraphs and you enter them on the laptop. We’ll also need a short notice to the clerk changing my address from the firm to my home address.”
“Sure.”
They worked on the motion for a protective order nearly all the way to the Richardsons’.
“Okay, we’re about five blocks away. Give them a call and hand the phone to me when it rings.”
When they answered Kelly said, “Theresa, this is Kelly Hawkins. Remember me from the Ramada Inn?”
“Sure.”
“I’m in my car with Bonnie Cummings. We know you had a bad scare and we are coming to help. We are close by and will be at your door soon, okay?”
“Well, my husband won’t be home for a few minutes yet.”
“That’s okay. We’ll wait in the car until he gets there if you want us to. But don’t hang up the phone. Please, we’ll stay on the line with you, okay?”
“Okay.”
“We’re just now pulling into your driveway. Can you see us?”
“Yes, I can.”
“I’m just going to step out of the car so you can identify me.”
“All right, Ms. Hawkins. It’s you. It’s okay to come in. Just come to the front door.”
“Don’t hang up the phone until we’re inside.”
“Okay.”
After Theresa Richardson let them inside, she snatched the door and the deadbolt shut as though battening the house against vampires.
“Theresa, I’m so very sorry about what happened. I don’t yet know who did that to you but I will find out if I can.”
“I just got so scared I didn’t know what to do.”
“You don’t have to worry, now. You will be safe. That’s what I came here to do, make things safe.”
“Please, come in and sit down. It will just be a few minutes before Duncan comes home. He called me from work to tell me he was leaving so I would know when to expect him.”
Kelly got up and went to the Richardsons’ bargain basement all-in-one sound system, turned on the radio function, and turned up the volume on the pre-set station.
Then she huddled with Theresa and murmured into her ear, “We’ll go over this again when he’s here but I want to tell you this now. It is not good for you to be so worried. It’s not good for Gareth or anyone. I have a place for you to stay. No one will know where you are. It should be for a very short time but it’s important for you to be where no one can find you or Gareth. Or threaten you in any way.”
Theresa’s face relaxed, but not entirely.
“I don’t know…if it’s all right with Duncan.”
“Of course.”
“That may be him now.”
“Let’s go outside and meet him. Bring Gareth.”
Kelly went out and waved to Duncan and walked up to his car window.
“Duncan, I’m sorry to surprise you like this but I have some important things to talk with you and Theresa about.”
“Sure.”
Theresa met them at the door of the car.
“Bonnie and I are really pressed for time. The two of us have a lot of work to do yet tonight.”
“What is it you came to talk about?”
“I was just telling Theresa, I want you and her to feel perfectly safe. The case may be ending very soon. Regardless of that, my main concern at the moment is not with the case, but with your safety. You would be welcome to come and stay at my own house but it would be easier on Theresa if we did something else. I would like for you to be my guests at the Marriott Hotel downtown. I’ve made reservations under the name ‘Thompson.’ Staying there, you won’t have to worry about fixing meals or doing laundry for Gareth. The hotel can provide all of that and anything else you need. Do you feel like that would be a good idea?”
Duncan and Theresa looked at one another, then nodded.
Duncan said, “I think it would give Theresa a chance to sleep soundly and relax a little. We’ll do it.”
“Good. I’m going on a few errands. Bonnie will stay and accompany you to the hotel. You should probably pack for a week and we’ll hope you don’t need to stay that long. Okay?”
“Sounds good.”
“After you’ve had dinner, Bonnie and I will call you, Duncan, and arrange a short meeting to talk about some details of the case a little but that can wait for now. Okay folks, enjoy your stay. Try to think of it as mini-vacation. I’ll see all of you later. But I will probably call Duncan on Bonnie’s cell phone in just a few minutes.”
“Are you still going to try and have me testify?”
“To be honest, if it comes to that, yes. But think about this. What are you going to do the rest of your lives? Hide? Whisper? You might resent Theresa because you stay in a job for her and Gareth and think she trapped you there. Theresa, you might feel like he doesn’t appreciate you and resent that. All because you both feel trapped and afraid. This way gives you a chance to avoid being trapped. Hang in there with me, please.”
In the car, Kelly dialed the cell phone for Dr. Cochran’s NSA phone number. No answer.
She then tried Cochran’s home phone.
When he answered she spoke over-quickly, “Hello, Dr. Loughlan,” pronouncing it “Locklan,” “this is Dr. Campbell with the World Wildlife Conservation Society. How are you today?”
“I’m fine, but it’s ‘Cack-ran,’ not ‘Loughlan.’“
“Oh, I must have misread this card. The eyes, you know?”
“Yes, of course.”
“We want to thank you for your prior support, first of all.”
“Uh, act-chully I don’t recall contributing.”
“Well, sometimes the spouse does without the other knowing, right?”
“I’ve been divorced for twelve years.”
“Oh, well…as you may know we are a worldwide society of science and medical professionals, such as yourself, devoted to wildlife conservation.”
“All right.”
“We are calling because we have a campaign to save the Chinese wild ass. Have you heard of the poor creature’s plight?”
“No, I have not. Are you sure you have the right number?”
“Well, let’s see, area code 304…”
“No, this is area code 301.”
“Heavens. I’m sorry to have bothered you Dr. Cochran. However, we would like to send you our brochure. May we?”
“Of course.”
“The address please.”
“15004 Sawgrass, Columbia, Maryland 21057.”
“Excellent, we’ll get that right out to you. It would mean so much if you could help our campaign.”
“I always try to do what I can, Doctor.”
