Reasonable Doubt (11 page)

Ellery pushed past the anxious tone in Meg’s voice, refusing to be bullied back into the practice. “I’m in the car with my dad. He’s in town for a visit. Not a good time for you to light up my phone with a million messages about cases you want me to work. In fact, it’s never going to be a good time for—”

Meg cut her off. “Didn’t you listen to any of my messages? All hell’s breaking loose. You need to get down here right now and straighten this out. I just had a huge potential client walk out and I’ll probably lose a bunch more by the time they’re done.”

“Slow down. You’re not making any sense. Who’s they? What’s going on?” Ellery pulled into the parking lot for the restaurant and parked the truck.

“Homeland Security agents are here with a search warrant for all the files you’ve worked on, paper, digital—everything. I don’t have the affidavit yet, but based on the questions they’re asking, they may already be at your house. It’s on the news. Now, how about you tell me what’s going on?”

Ellery froze. The phone was still in her hand and Meg was still barking into it, but anxiety kept her from making out any words beyond “search warrant,” “Homeland Security,” and “on the news.” She looked at her dad and he took the phone from her hand and put it on speaker.

“Meg, it’s Gordon Durant. Are the agents still there?”

“Yes. There are ten of them. Complete overkill. They want all files Ellery worked on for the last six years, computer records, everything.”

“And they have a warrant, not just a subpoena?”

“Yes.”

“I need to know which judge issued the warrant. Find out right now, and call me back at this number. Have they talked to any of your employees?”

“They tried, but all of them are well trained. I don’t want to leave them alone, but I’m due at the courthouse for a hearing this morning. I’m going to have to contact the court and get a reset.”

“You do that, but get that judge’s name first and call me back. Okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, Gordon. I’m glad you’re here.”

Ellery watched him hang up the phone, too stunned to process the conversation they’d just had. All she could think about was the possibility that federal agents might be at her house, going through her things for some unfathomable reason. “I need to get home.”

He ignored her comment and reached for the radio, punching it on and tuning it to the local news. The story was breaking news.

“Sources say federal agents are currently searching both the home and offices of a prominent criminal defense attorney, Ellery Durant. We don’t have official confirmation, but a source close to the investigation tells us they are following a lead developed as part of the investigation into the bombing of the arena. We have a reporter on scene and we’ll be back with updates as they develop on this very important story.”

He pressed the other buttons on the radio and found similar stories on other channels. “Doesn’t sound like the press knows anything concrete yet.”

His words brought her back to the present. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She didn’t try to hide the growl in her voice.

“Nothing. It’s just a good thing they aren’t reporting specifics. Gives us time to get ahead of the game. Does the firm still have Lena Hamilton on retainer?”

Ellery shook her head. Her life was being turned upside down and all the great Gordon Durant could think of was how to spin the story. Lena Hamilton was a power player in the public relations field and she commanded high dollar fees to bolster the reputation of their clients when necessary. The very idea she’d need the same kind of treatment was mind-blowing, and she wasn’t prepared to even consider the idea. “We’re going home and we’re going to get to the bottom of this.” She started the truck and reached for the gearshift, but her father placed his hand on hers.

“Honey, I’ve only got your best interests in mind. We don’t have to call Lena, but you’re not going home. If that news report is right, agents are already there and the press is probably lined up out front waiting for a shot of your first reaction to the raid. Let’s get you set up somewhere, and I’ll go to your house and make sure they’re playing by the rules.”

He was right. As much as she wanted to see for herself what was up, absolutely no good could come from her showing up and confronting the agents searching her home. Public protestations of innocence would hardly help when she didn’t have a clue what she was accused of doing. Right now, she needed to be somewhere she could take a breath and think. Someplace quiet and out of sight. “Okay, I’ll get a room at the Melrose. Do you have your laptop with you?”

“It’s in my suitcase. Take the whole thing. It’ll make you look less conspicuous. Once I have a handle on what’s going on, I’ll meet you there.”

A few minutes later, Ellery pulled into the parking lot at the Melrose hotel. She hopped out of the truck and grabbed her dad’s suitcase while he walked around the truck to climb into the driver’s seat. She lingered for a moment while he adjusted the seat and mirrors, but he seemed more intent on getting where he was going than discussing the matter any further. “Call me as soon as you know something,” she said.

“Count on it.” He pointed at the hotel. “Get a room and stay put. I’ll be in touch.” Seconds later, he was gone.

Ellery watched until the truck was out of sight, then she climbed the steps to the hotel. There wasn’t a wait at the reception desk and she approached the man behind the counter and waited for him to get off the phone.

“Welcome to the Melrose,” he said. “Do you have a reservation?”

She shook her head. “I don’t, but I’m hoping you have something available.”

“You have good timing. We were all booked up for tonight, but I just got off the phone with a cancellation. It’s for the Presidential Suite, though. Will that work for you? If not, I can make a couple of recommendations for nearby accommodations.”

A few years ago, she would’ve thought nothing of dropping the extra cash on an extravagant suite. She’d changed since then, and the luxury and the expense felt out of sync with the rest of the choices she’d made, but right now she needed to feel safe and that meant not trolling around the city looking for a hotel room. “I’ll take it.”

The bellman seemed mystified at her one small suitcase, but he dutifully showed her around the suite. Ellery had been to many community events at this historic hotel, but she’d only stayed overnight a few times and, even then she’d usually booked a regular suite. The Presidential suite had three rooms, including a dining room with a table designed to accommodate eight guests.
Maybe I’ll invite the media and hold my own press conference. Too bad, I don’t have a clue what I’d say since I don’t have any idea what brought this fresh hell down on my head.

Time to remedy that. She opened her dad’s suitcase and pulled out his laptop. She used the hotspot on her cell to log on the Internet, not wanting to take a chance on the hotel’s unsecured WiFi connection. She started with a few simple searches including her name and the names of a few federal agencies as search terms. Her efforts returned over a dozen hits from various news sources, but each one was basically the same story from the AP wire, repeated over and over again, with no more detail than the local radio channels she’d heard in the car.

She glanced at her cell phone, willing her father to call with some information, but she realized he’d barely had time to get to her house, let alone assess what was going on. She had no idea how she was going to endure the wait and was considering ignoring her promise to stay put when the phone rang. She looked at the screen. Meg. She rushed to answer. “What did you find out?”

“Ellery?”

“Yes. What’s going on? Did you find out anything?”

“Is Gordon there?”

“Yes. I mean no. I mean he’s here in town, but he’s not with me right now.” Ellery fumbled for words as she tried to process Meg’s stilted tone. “If there’s something I need to know, just tell me.”

Meg sighed. “I think I should talk to Gordon.”

“Dammit, Meg.” She wished she could make her stop calling her father Gordon. It suggested they had a relationship outside of her. “If you know something, tell me.”

“I don’t, Ellery. I don’t know anything about why you’re in so much trouble. But I do know that if things are as bad as these agents seem to think, then you need a lawyer and anyone who touches this case is tainted. Nothing like an early morning raid to send all our clients packing. I’m going to be the laughing stock of the courthouse tomorrow.”

“You? What about me?”

“What about you? You don’t go to the courthouse anymore, remember? And they may be looking for files with your name on them, but I’m the one who’s left behind to sort it all out. Guilt by association.”

Ellery’s temper flared. “Except I’m not guilty of anything.” Meg’s last words triggered an idea. “Can we dial this down a notch? You may be on to something with the guilt by association. Maybe they’re looking into one of my former clients. Has anything they’ve said given you a clue about the focus of their investigation?”

“They’re pretty tight-lipped. I don’t know that we’re going to get any information until we get the affidavit for the search warrant and it’s probably under seal.”

Ellery sighed. Meg was probably right. In order to get a search warrant, agents would have to swear out an affidavit to a judge stating specific information about why they wanted to search and what exactly they were looking to find. Usually, the affidavit was a roadmap of the case, but in cases like this, where national security might be involved, the affidavit was often placed under seal and only available to the accused when they were officially charged with a crime. In the meantime, she’d have to find another way to figure out what in the hell was going on.

A beep signaled she had another call coming in. She asked Meg to hold and switched over to find her dad on the line. “Where are you? What have you found out?”

“I’m at your house. They want to take your computers and the warrant allows it, but I think if I give them access, they’ll copy the hard drives instead.”

Ellery’s gut clenched at the invasion of her privacy, but she knew she didn’t really have a choice. At least if she kept her computer, she could have the hard drives copied as well to make sure she knew exactly what the feds were getting. She read off her passwords and then said, “Have you gotten any more information?”

“Not much, but they think you were a valuable resource to the group that bombed the arena. What exactly that means, I don’t know yet. I’m working on it. Frankly, I think they don’t really know anything and they are just fishing for evidence.”

“There’s nothing for them to find. I don’t have a clue what they’re thinking.”

A few seconds of silence passed and he said, “I called Lena. I want you to see her today.”

“I told you not to call her. Besides, I don’t have time to meet with her today. I have a show tonight, remember?”

“I know you did, but I don’t think you understand the scope of this. You’re going to need an entire team in place to handle the fallout, and Lena’s just one piece. I’ll finish up here and then meet you at your hotel and we can make a plan.”

Ellery tried to ignore the hint of excitement in his tone and gave him her room number. She switched back to the other line, but Meg had either hung up or been disconnected. Either way, she was alone and it didn’t matter what her father said about an entire team, she was going to have to figure this out for herself.

*

Sarah burst through the double doors and practically ran down the hall. She’d been trapped in court for the last three hours, watching a young assistant US attorney haggle with a seasoned criminal defense lawyer. Liz was the agent assigned to this case, but Mason had sent her instead because he needed Liz on another project. As promised, she hadn’t had to actually do anything, since the hearing was primarily about evidentiary issues, but the AUSA had wanted someone on hand just in case. Worse than realizing she’d never get back the last few hours of her life, Sarah dreaded ever having to work with this particular AUSA since she was in completely over her head and she wasn’t smart enough to know it.

As she walked to her car, she switched her phone back on, relieved to be reconnected with the outside world. She had three missed calls and one voice message, all from Danny. She didn’t bother checking the message, instead punching Danny’s number. When she answered, Sarah said, “You must really miss me to call that many times. Aren’t we supposed to see each other tonight?”

“Haven’t you heard?”

“Heard what?”

“And here I thought you federal agents were on top of everything. Or are you playing dumb because you can’t talk about it?”

Sarah unlocked the ’Vette and slid inside. “I give up. I have no clue what you’re talking about. Care to share?”

“Ellery Durant? Search warrants? Terrorism? Stop me when something rings a bell.”

The joy at hearing Ellery’s name went dark at the word terrorism. And search warrants? Sarah gripped the phone tightly. “Okay, I know nothing, but you obviously do. Spill.”

“Sorry, pal, I thought you would know, but I guess that’s silly. It’s not like all you feds work at the same place.”

“Uh, Danny, get to it.”

“Sorry. HSI executed a search warrant at Ellery’s old firm this morning and her house. Rumor has it she has ties to the group that was responsible for the bombing.”

“No way.” Sarah hit her free hand against the steering wheel. “No fucking way.”

“Hey, don’t yell at me. I’m just telling you what’s on the news. HSI is also searching some charity’s headquarters, WHI, Welcome Home Institute or something like that.”

“International. Welcome Home International.” Sarah spoke the words as if in a trance. She simply couldn’t believe all of this was going down right now.

Danny’s voice switched to a softer tone. “Is everything okay? Did you really not know about this?”

Sarah switched the phone to Bluetooth and started her car. She needed to get somewhere, do something to stave off the strong feeling of helplessness she felt. The office was the obvious first place to start, but something cautioned her against it. She found it difficult to believe HSI would have suddenly developed information on who exactly was responsible for the bombing and Trip wouldn’t have clued her in. What she needed was a computer where she could find out exactly what was going on. “I’ve been in court all morning. Didn’t have a clue. Hey, can I call you back later? I have to run down some information.”