The Reformers: A Matt Blake Novel (The Matt Blake legal thriller series Book 2) (7 page)

“I just got off the phone with my guy, Professor Max Moon, the forensics maven. I emailed him the video of Georgi’s guy at the mall in New York. Get this—fucking get this. The video of Georgi’s guy and the video of our guy were both taken with the same video camera,
the same camera
, a Nikon P510. Two locations, in two separate states, and both videos were taken with the same camera. Not an iPad or iPhone, but a professional video camera.”

“That’s not a coincidence,” I said, “that’s evidence—for the defense.”

Chapter 14

Bill O’Reilly, the wildly popular political talk show host of
The O’Reilly Factor
, went over his notes preparing for his next guest. O’Reilly often tells people that nobody throws him a pitch he can’t hit, but the thought of talking to his next guest gave him a knot in his stomach. He was upset because he didn’t like to lose his temper on the air, which he would do on occasion. And the next guy up always got O’Reilly’s temper on edge.

“Ladies and gentlemen, our next guest is Ibrahim Youseff, the Imam of a mosque in Los Angeles, and a spokesperson for the syndicated TV show,
Islam Today
. Good evening Mr. Youseff, and thank you for joining us on
The Factor
. As I always say, you’re a stand-up guy for coming on our show.”

O’Reilly hated to say this, because the last thing he believed was that Youseff was a “stand-up guy.” He’s a lying polemicist, thought O’Reilly. But his producer convinced him to try to “make nice” because Ibrahim Youseff always bumped up the show’s already high ratings.

“Mr. Youseff, you’re aware of the recent bombings of the two shopping malls, one in Chicago and one right nearby on Long Island, where I live. Both of the gentlemen accused of those bombings have Muslim names, and from what we can see so far, the evidence against them can only be described as overwhelming. The death count in those two atrocities is shocking, with a combined total of almost 400 people. What say you, sir, do you have any thoughts on the matter?”

“Why do you drag me in front of your viewers just because a man with a Muslim name has been accused of a crime? Can you answer that for me?”

One of the many things O’Reilly loathed about this guy is his insistence on asking the host questions.

“Mr.Youseff, I should remind our viewers that you called the show and requested to come on. Nobody is dragging you before our audience.”

“You can tell your people whatever lies they want to hear, but I am telling your people that you dragged me here. As usual, you are not telling the truth.”

I’m a lot bigger than this guy, O’Reilly pondered, and have a much longer reach. I bet I can knock him out with one punch to the jaw. He cleared his throat and forced a tight smile, more like a grimace.

“Well, maybe somebody impersonating you called our show yesterday and requested to be invited. But I’d like to address a more substantive matter, sir, your opinion of these bombings.”

“Have you seen any group, Mr. O’Reilly, that has come forward to accept responsibility for these terrible crimes? And I remind you that as these crimes were committed, atrocities against Muslims have been perpetrated by America and its Zionist friends. You talk about crimes committed
by
Muslims. What about the crimes committed
against
Muslims?”

I could have written this dirtbag’s script for him, thought O’Reilly. It’s the same thing every time he comes on the show.  

“So, Mr. Youseff, you have no opinion about the bombings?”

“I have already given you my opinion. Were you not listening to me? It is my opinion that the infidel is simply using unfortunate events to besmirch the great religion of Islam. Islam is a religion of peace. It is inconceivable that you only focus on violence by a tiny group of people to drag our name into your gutter.”

O’Reilly mused that it was time to have a serious chat with his producer. Can the ratings bump be so high to justify this nonsense?

“Well, you’re a stand-up guy for joining us, Mr. Youseff,” O’Reilly lied to the camera. I wish you a good evening.”

***

Ibrahim Youseff, along with his bodyguard, Ali Hassan, walked to a waiting car. The two men climbed into the back seat, and Youseff told the driver to take them to a mosque in New Jersey.

Hassan looked at Youseff and laughed. “Once again you have confounded the fool O’Reilly. It amazes me that he keeps booking you for his show.”

“All he cares about are his ratings. When I’m on the show the ratings soar.”

“That’s because you tell the truth, sir.”

The car pulled up to the mosque in Linden, New Jersey. The bodyguard told the driver to pull around back, a deserted area with few lights.

“Why are we driving to the rear?” asked Youseff.

“We can’t be too careful with your safety, sir.”

As Youseff stepped out of the car, Hassan pointed a 45-caliber pistol at the back of his head and fired once, killing him instantly.

Chapter 15

Dee and I are early risers, but the
Yamani
case was starting to interfere with our sleep.

At 5:15 a.m. we sat in the kitchen as I read
The
New York Times
, a habit I had picked up in New York. She gave me a shoulder rub as I read.

“I’ll give you a half-hour to cut that out.”

Nobody gives a shoulder rub like Diana Blake.

“We need to take a few days off, honey,” she said. “This crap is starting to interfere with our lives too much. We’re not doing anybody a favor if we burn ourselves out. Today’s Saturday. Why don’t we play a game of catch and then take a long drive? How about the Michigan Dunes? We haven’t been there in a while. Hey, I’m talking to you.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I said as I read a front page article about another shopping mall bombing, this one in San Francisco.

“Holy shit,” I said, “you’ve got to listen to this.”

Another Mall Bombing — San Francisco is the Latest Target

By Adam Jenkins for
The New York Times

“The third shopping mall bombing in a month occurred yesterday afternoon in the Mission District of San Francisco. At least 100 people were killed and another 75 injured. Pieces of a satchel, which was later found to have contained the bomb, were gathered at the scene. Someone sent a video of a man standing next to the package to the police anonymously. A police department spokesman, who asked not to be identified because of the ongoing investigation, told
The
New York Times
that the man’s thumbprint was found on the bomb detonator, which was lying on a counter. The investigators were also able to obtain a DNA sample. The suspect, Mustafa Almeth, a 26 year-old bookstore employee, is in custody. His lawyer, Jerome Blackwell, stated that his client has been mistakenly identified.”

“Oh my God,” Dee said. “I cannot believe this. A thumbprint, a video, and DNA. Is there a bombing franchise out there?”

“I need to call Georgina. I’ll put her on speaker.”

“Earl Lonergan,” the voice announced.

“Hi judge, Matt and Diana Blake here. We just met with your charming wife yesterday.”

“She told me all about it. I can’t tell you two how happy I am that the nice couple I married three years ago are out of the Witness Protection Program. I only knew you as Matt and Diana for security purposes. I’ll get Georgi.”

“Hi Matt, hi Diana. What are you two doing up so early on a Saturday morning? It’s seven o’clock here so it’s six in Chicago.”

“Georgi, have you read this morning’s
Times
?”

“Not yet, but I have it right here.”

“Look at page one, left side above the fold.”

Georgina took a couple of minutes to read the article.

“Holy shit, this is starting to sound familiar. Another detonator left out in the wide open, another thumbprint, and another video. It almost seems like it’s the same screenwriter. I wonder if the accused writes books.”

Diana was ahead of the both of us. She opened the amazon.com site on her iPad and searched for Mustafa Almeth.

“A guy named Mustafa Almeth from San Francisco has written three novels,” Diana said. “Here are the titles:
Islam in the Shadows
,
The End of Days Cult
, and
The Endless War of Religion
, We can’t positively ID the guy yet, but I know we’re all making the same deductions. Another novelist who’s critical of Islam and who writes under his own name. I feel like I’m living in a novel myself.”

“I think Jerome Blackwell, Esq. has just joined our team although he doesn’t know it yet,” I said. “I’ll try to get in touch with him in a couple of hours. I hope he works on Saturdays.”

***

At 9 a.m. Pacific time, 11 a.m. Chicago time, I called the number of Jerome Blackwell. The Internet makes it easy as hell to track down a lawyer’s phone number. According to the entry on law.com, he’s a solo practitioner and specializes in criminal law.

“Jerry Blackwell here, can I help you?”

“Mr. Blackwell, my name is Matt Blake. I’m an attorney in Chicago. May I call you Jerry? Also on the line is Georgina Rice, another lawyer. She’s in New York. My wife and partner Diana is also on the line. I’m glad you work on Saturday.”

“I just stopped by the office to check my mail. I’m on my way to play golf. So what’s this about?”

“It’s about your new client, Mr. Mustafa Almeth.”

“You have my undivided attention, Matt. Go ahead.”

I filled him in on the facts of the
Yamani
and
Sidduq
cases. I told him about the detonators, the thumbprints, the DNA, and the videos. I also asked if his client was the author of the books that Dee had researched. He confirmed that his client was the author.

“So, Jerry, we have three literate authors who go around leaving thumbprints on bomb detonators and posing for videos.”

“This is fucking unbelievable,” Jerry Blackwell said. “Coincidences like this don’t just happen. This is not a coincidence. Something is going on. Do you have any idea what this could be about?”

“Jerry,” Diana said on the speaker phone, “I assume you have the video of your client. Please email it to me so we can give it to our forensics guy to compare it to the other two videos.”

“Another thing, Jerry,” I said. “Did your guy have a physical exam within a few days of the bombing?”

“Yes! Someone calling for his employer told him to report to a clinic for a routine annual physical four days before the bombing.”

“So did the other two,” I said. “Do you think that could explain the blood DNA and the thumbprint? We may be a little bit ahead of you, Jerry, but we’re as stumped as you are. We need to meet. Georgi, are you up for a trip to San Francisco?”

Our fraternity of bombing suspects just grew larger.

Chapter 16

“This is Shepard Smith for Fox News ladies and gentlemen. I have a follow-up on yesterday’s bombing at a shopping mall in San Francisco. As
The New York Times
reported this morning, the suspect’s name is Mustafa Almeth. All we know at this point is that he is a bookstore employee, but also writes novels. He’s being held without bail. Jerome Blackwell, his attorney, will join us later in the broadcast.

In an unrelated matter, Fox News has learned that Ibrahim Youseff, the fiery preacher who was the imam of a mosque in Los Angeles, has been found dead behind a mosque in New Jersey. He’s an apparent murder victim, and was discovered this morning with a bullet wound to the back of his head. Based on the time-of-death estimate from the medical examiner, Mr. Youseff was shot less than an hour after he appeared on the Fox broadcast of the
O’Reilly Factor
show last night. We don’t know a lot of details at this point, but we’ll keep our viewers up to date on the latest developments.

In other news…”

***

Dee and I had just gotten off the phone with Jerry Blackwell and Georgi Rice.

“Maybe I’m starting to go crazy, Matt, but do you see any possible connection between our bomber cases and that imam who got whacked?”

“I was about to say ‘how could there be a connection?’ but at this point I don’t know what to think. There’s been a lot in the news recently about bombings in the Muslim world, both here in the States and in Arab countries. Maybe we should start to question our assumptions, not that we really have any assumptions.” 

“You know as well as I know, Matt, that we always have to start with our assumptions. That’s the way a lawyer’s mind works, no?”  

“Well, if not for you, honey, my assumptions about our client Al would have led me down a dark path. You reminded me to think like a lawyer. Al has you to thank for the progress we’ve made.”   

“As soon as I’m done writing that article I’m gonna start to connect some dots,” Dee said.

“Let me know when it’s ready for me to proofread and edit.”

“Hey, Matt, you have enough on your mind. I’ll use an editor at
The Atlantic
.”

“Dee, I want you to drill something into your pretty head. I am never, ever, too busy to work with you. My work is your work and your work is my work. Have I mentioned how much I love you?”

We hugged.

“That’s the first time today, baby. I love you too. Hey, we didn’t sleep well last night. Let’s take a nice nap.”

She held my face in both hands and stared at me with those beautiful blue eyes as she said that.

“A nap? You mean…?”

“Yeah. That’s what I mean.”