67 case of lies

:because - i don't know why ."
"i'll talk to chenney ." they ta;lked about her security sysem .
bob wited for her in the truck , petting hitchcock .
"did you walk him ?" she asked through the window .
"yeah . he took a good long whiz . must've smelled the explosive .he was heading for the beach ."
"tell me you didn't go there !"
"i stay by the truck . the beach was roped off . they're still cleaning up /"
she slammed the door and got in ," whew ! it's evil out there !"
she unclipped her keys and they dropped onto the floor .
while se felt around for hem , bob said ." you don't have to worry anymore , mom . this car's safer today than most days ."
finding them , she reached toward the back seat to give lowed us here , it's like , if yu accidentally spill yur soda on some kid , of course he turnes out to be the meanest psycho kid in school , and waits for you after schol , geyts you back much worse . know what  imeant ?"
"what did the police say to you ?"'
"what's he look like ? i told them ."
"bob , do you remember ? was the man in the parking lot wearing a ski masdk ? or a floppy hat ?"
bob shrgged . he was a way away ."
"maybe bob -" bob had his arms around hitchcock's damp . furry neck , his eyes closed , his cheek pressed against the dog's ear . hair pressed flat to his head , ears stading out . bob looked a bit like a dog himmself as he communed with hitchcock . nina caught herself thinking . if anything ever happens to that dog - and she knew she was really thinking about bob . a sharp pain lanced through her right eye .

66 casee of lies

" a floppy hat . i=uncool people wear thenm to golf in . you knjow ? i chaseed him off " she eyes the plates she was holding . the food ws getting cold .
" thanks ." nina said . she pulled a bill out of her wallet and out it in the girl 's free hand .
"oh . one anotrher thng ." the girl said , tucking the morney into a pocket ." he wlkedd funny ."
" how funny ? how did he walk ?"
""crooked , like the o ld guy on the old the real mccoys show . rremember ? well , that was pretty exaggerated , the way he walked . this guy was bowlegged . or maybe he just has a bad foot ?"
out in the lot the wind whipped through the trees . she spent some time with the cops . she told  them about the ski mask in the hanna case , and the floppy hat , and the bad leg . the officer did not seem impressed ." ski mask on the road , no imformation as to his wlak . then floppt hat . bad leg . different individual , probably ." he said ." too bad you didn't see the guy in the road take a few steps ."
"look , this was an attempted murder ."
"more likely , ma'am , an atttempt to frighten you . there wasn't enogh explosive to kill you inside the passsenger compartment . on the other hand , any explosive at all is terrifically dangeerous around a gas tank . you were luky ."
"please give your reports to ser geant cheney . it may be a link to the hanna case .
"i will ."
" who else would try to blow  us up ? i don't have any enemies like that ."
"how would this  amn even know you were in the case ?and if he knew , why would he wanty to kill you ?"

65 case of lies

"we 'll try to save him .ma;am ."
was that supposed to make her feel better , she wondeed , succumbing to an anxious gush of tears . bob . glitter -eyed but too old to cry , patted her on the back .
a bomb squad showed upp in a while van . for another hour . they scurried back and forth betteen the parking lot and van . "what's going on ?" she asked everyone she saw who who looked offical ." what about our dog ?" she imagined him inside . confused by the strangers invading their terrtory , banging against the window , and altghought she tried to  stop such thoughts .she imagined him dad , in pieces flung all over the parking lot .
in every scenario she had ever seen on TV  , the car blew up . in this scenariio , the police prodded spectators to move back , back  . back . everyone moved . they all heard the bass boom as the bomb detonated hundreds of yartrds away on a beach by lake tahoe . well away from the parking lot .
they were informed that their vehicle was now ." good  o go ."
bob walked up to their car and stuck hids hand through an open window so that he could touch hitchcock ." i guess we won't be doing any more rooster taails , mom ."
back in the restaurant the newly returned , excited patrons plied her with questions , but nina didn't know what to say , so she beelined back to their table and tracked down their server . " you saw what happpened . was anyone around here - watching us or anything ?"
"there was a guy . he checked out your table after you left . i thought he might be hoping you ran out without your purse or somethinhg ." the girl , no more than seventeen , held a steaming platter with at least four plates full of food in one hand .
"what did he look like ?"

"about forty . denim jacket , work bots , dripping ."
"was he wearing a ski mask ?"

" what are you doing ? don't do that ." nina kept the panic out of her voice with an effort .

"looking ."
she swallowed , watching hitchcock hurl himself against  the window ." anything ?" she asked when she could satnd the suspense no longer .
"well ," bob said ," yea ." he wriggled out from under the car , grabbed her by the arm , and pulled her farther away .
"what's the matter ?"
"come on ! i hate to tell you , but it's bad ."
"a tracker ?" she asked ."GPS  or somethng ?"
"worse !"
"what do you mean ?"
"mom , i think it's an explosive . call the cops . mom . you tay right here .i'll get hitchcock out ...."
"no ! no ! stay  away  from it !" this time nina did the pulling , and it took some lengthy  argument and anguished begging to stop bob rom riskinhg his life to save his pet.
oce she felt she could trust bob to stay awAy from the bronco , she called the police , all the time watching hitchcock ' liquid eyes , frightened for him and his big wet tongue , oblivious . just waiting to get withh people he loved , he copntinued to assault the windows.nina and bob walked out of his line of sight so that he would stop .
within minutes several police cars arrived . six officers carefully evacuated the restaurant , filing people out by one , keeping them as far aay as possible from the p[arking lot . people from the restaurant , unable to leave without cars , were joined by  a crowd of neighborhood people . everybody stood bug eyed behind yellow caution tape , rubbernecking , but still unable to see much .
"our dog ," nina said to policewoman ." our dog ! "

63 case of lies

bob jumped up and walked cautiously around thetruck with her . the air plugs had been opened on all four of their plump . balding snow tires .
bob twistted the caps back on . the tires lookewd soft but drivable . hitchcock leaped against the window ..
"well , at least he didn't gt in the car and steal our crummy radio ." nina said . there was plenty of open asphalt around them .
he seemed to gone .
"hitchcock would've had to kill him ."
nina didn't want to disturb bob any further . she said ." let's get poor hitchcock out and calm him down , then go back inside and eat . this guy;s not coming back , man , some people don't know how to take a little accident with good grace . can you believe he would foolow us just to pull a nasty trick like this ...." she took out her keys and began to stick one into the driver's side lock , but bob's hand swooped out to stop her .
"mom , wait a second . i have a bad feeling ."
the paranoid professional self kicked in immediately . she clipped her keys to her bag and stepped back ." what's the matter . bob ?"
"maybe those caps - you never know . maybe he wanted to distract us ." bob apparently found that an adequate explanation .
"from what, exactly ?"
but he had finished explaining  ." just wait , okay ? step away a long way from the vihicle ." he said it playfully ,  but she sensed he was trying to protect her in own way .
 she stepped back ,  frowing nervous and unhappy , black clounds lie  the ones overhead clumpewd  in her mind .
methodiccally , oving with  the practiced ease of an experienced gulf warrior , or at least like a kid who had played quite a few video combat games in his day , bob slunk around the car examining each inch of the exterior , then shimmied under neath .

62 case of lies

when they reached the highway that circles lake tahoe , the rain stopped . it was almost six o'clock and wouldn't be dark for sopme time yet ," what shall we have for supper ?"
"pancakes ."
"that's so inappropriate for dinner ."
"you could have a burger , you don't have to eat pancakes .
we're almosy at zephyr cove . are you puling in or not ?"
"okay , okay ."
the pancake house , an old wooden structure in the trees not far from the yellow beach , housed a motley collection of drenched tourist . their tabl;e . ust under a tall window , offerd a good westward view as another cloundburst flitted across the lake , they sipped ice water , watcjhng as sheets of rain fell here and there in the distance and eveing slipped across the world . the mountains ringing the lake were only a shade or of darker blue against sky above and water below .
"uh -oh . red alert .ook who's here ." bob said .ointing toward the window with his menu .
"who ?"
"i think maybe it's that guy in the wooods you soaked ."
"where ?" she felt a clutching in her chest .
oh , yes . there was a fingure a long aay , in the parking lot . near a beat up wihote SUV .
"hey , that 's our bronco ! nina cried , sliding off the wooden bench .
"wait for me !" bob took the lea as they ran out the front door .now , even across the loot ,they could heatr hitchcock . pasrt malamute , mostly mutt . he seldom barked , but he was barkiking now , loundly and continuously . the man had disappeared .
they walked around the bronco , trying the doors- locked as they had left them .
"mom! biob yellled . nina ran around and saw bob crouched on the the ground b the right rear tire , holding something .he held it out and nina saw yhat it was an air valve cap .

61 case of lies

' you  did it by accifnt .  you're  getting absentmined ."
at fourteeemn .  he thought  the  worst of her ." not so . why would i  do such a thing ?
' shew pulled onto the wet road .
" why  would i ?"
shew had no answere for that .
 " hey , do a rooster tail in the floooded part  of the  road there ."
"i don't  think so ." but the water was so tempting . pushiong hard on the accelerator , getting up to forty . she angled through a foot of water and enjoyed spritzing the fit trees along the road .
bob laughed heartily . then he said  ," uh -oh . a guuy was standing in th ftrees right there . i think we got him ." nina slowed
"too  late now ," bob said ." anyways  , he was already wet ."we'd better go back and apologize ."  nina ssaiod ." o9r he'll go home and kick his car . bad karma  will vibrate through thee universe."
'let 's not and say we did ," bob said  . he  llooked funny ."
"funny ?"
"i  think he  was wear ing a ski mask . like in a slasher movie . it was hard to see ."
"it's raising ."
" that's really going to  keep the rain off . a kniot ski mask ."
nina thiought . but you wouldn't call 911  because of it . the   shooter in the  hanna case   had worn a ski mask .
don't think . she tol;d  herself  . it's just a guy  in the road .
but what was  a man doing  in thre  road in that downpour , in a  ski mask ?
" i say  keep going . if you want to get ounished , i can always spray you with the hose when we gwet home ." bob said .
 lookin in her rearvieew   mirror . nina  could see no sign of  anyone  . the rain  came down like the sky really was   falling , one of those  autumn  cloudbursts  that come from  nowhere  and  leave just abruptly  . the wipers had  a hard  time maintaining visibility  
they  had lost  him ." okay , let's go ."

60n cae of lies

"see you monday ,: sandy said ."
"so what i'm thinking is , when some of big checks come in , yo'll get your raise retroactive to today ." nina said .
sandy shaded her eyes and looked east toward the mountains .
"okay ?"
" iwas just yhinking i better get home right away . clounds risin ' up from the coast . might storm . joe's getting lazy . he needs to make sure the animala make it into the barn ."
late in the afternoon , just as nina , bob , and their dog . hitchcock , reach the far side of sponer . lake , the cliounds did boil up and blow , offering them the choice to run for twenty minutes thropugh the downpour or seek shelte .they decided to run for it . bob recklessly crashing along the trail with clutter of roots and pine cones . hitchcock at his heels , ruuning with his nose to the ground , nona picking her way behind ,the brim of  hrer baseball cap pulled low . they jumped into the bronco , laughing wildly , hitcjcock making a mess in the back seat .
nina turned the key in the ignition , and stopped laging "our truck appears to be dead ," she said , rain pounded on the roof , and she shivered and reached back for her emergency sweatshirt .
bob scratched his head and leaned over ." t's in gear . it won't start in second gear , y'know mom ."
"of course i know . did you put it in second for some reason ?" she moved into park , started up , shifted  to drive , and turned on the wipers , bob found some paper towels in the glove compartment and dried his face . hitchcock poked his fuury head between them and bob carefully wiped the dog's face too . saying "that 's it , blame me ."
"well , i didn't do it ."

59 casse of lies

when some of the recievables come in ."
"i shopuld know . i cook the books ."
"i'm sorry ."
"no problem ," sandy said . she shut down the macintosh and pushed her chair back , her earings faintly tinkling ," of course , you could give me a raiseeffective today and make a back payment when the checks come in ."
"good suggestion .i'll think about it . well , got to get going ."nina said .
"me , too ."
"what are you up to onthe this beautiful saturday afternoon ?"
nina asked as she packed up her briefcase .
" job interview ." sandy said . she checked her watch , her face serene .
"what ?"
"michael stamp's office . his secretary quit to have twins .
very inconsiderate of her , he said . i hear the pay is goosd ."
nina snapped the briefcase shut ."very funny  . astop kidding around , sandy . you  gave me a bad shock for a minute there ."
"i never kid ." sandy said . she wiped a speck of dust off the telepone with her finger . nina stard at the competent brown hand , the varnished fingernails , the silver ring with its three turquoises . sandy bent down and blew on the phone reciever , inspected it critically , seemed satisfied . she picked up her tote .
nina said ." hang on . i'll walk out with you ." she locked the door and they walked at sandy's dignified pace down the hall to the exterior door of the starlake building , nina deep in thought . the hell of it was , sandy didn't kid , not much anyway .

58 case of lies

sandy nodded ." i know you will , willis " as quietly as the breeze floating through the pines outside the window , she added ," i hope you realize your dad and i ate pround of you ."
wish sat up straight and firmed his jaw . he and sandy looked away from each other .
"  the court hearing on the motion to dismiss the lawsuit is set for tuesday ." nina announced .
"say  no more ." wish announced .
" say no  more ," nina said , getting up .
"how 's the old brown van working these days ?" it had been paul's before he passed it on to wish and bought himself a mustang . it had been paul'swhen she mw=et him , and danced  with him , and fell in love with him .
"perfectly , as long as you fill the tank every five minutes ."
"well , good luck , wish ."
"thank boss ," wish said , donnong his sunglasses ." i'll check in on monday ."
nina and sandy worked through the morning , finally , nina said " enouigh , i have to pick up bob ."
sandy squared up her file pile , sking ," what's he doing this fall ? besides high school ?"
"well , he startewd ausiness . he wants to make some money ."
"what 's he doing , yard work ?"
"no," nina said ." he colects hazardous waste all around tahoe paradise and takes it to the dump. he has a partner , talor nordholm , his f5riend at at school ."
"hazardous waste ?"
" paint , mostly ."
"and how does he get it to the ump ? he's only fourteen , right ?"
"talor 's father takes them inhis pickup . but i hink the neighbors are driving hard bargains . they asked the boy  to take washing machines , car parts all kinds of stuff that's hard to dispoase of , and they want to pay later ."
"i'll have a talk with bob next time he comes in the office about getting paid and what's legal ."
"great . uh , speakiong of pay . i can't give you you that raise for a couple more months .

57 case of lies

, or anybody else he might be inclined to unload on ."
"ezxcellent ," wish said ." it's so useful , working for attorneys . you people know rules nobody else knows"
"keeps you out of trouble ," sandy said .
the comment made them all smile . wish had had his share of trouble , they all had .
flipping through some papers , giving him a home address , sandy said ," maybe he talked to the motel clerk . the meredith individual ."
"see what you can find out ," nina agreed ." also ,these three young people - the witnesses - they were outside , evidently on their way back to their rooms. that means they had just returned from somewhere . this is harder .wish , but if you can get decent descriptions from the clerk , you should check the casinos . it was too late for theaters and restaurants , after midnight ."
"but if they were kickin' it at certain eating establisments earlier , someone mght remember them . because , who do you talk to at the casino ? there are a dozen of them , with all kinds of staff , and they're all on privacy patrol ." wish said .
nina nodded . this made sense ." they had to eat somewhere , and the shoopter 's description so we can find him ."
"child's play ." sandy said ." for an individual of your vast potential ."
"that is correct ." wish saiod ." i hope ." he swiveled to eyeball his mother ." are you teasing ?"
"far be it ."
"because if you are , now's not a good time . a woman died . i intend to help nina find out how it happened ."
appearing chastened for the first time nina had ever  witnessed .

56 case of lies

"he entered the parking lot of the ac high ." nina said ." and probably salippewd on the massk then . the motel cerk was instant messageing her boy friend in thailand from te cybercafe  next door , so nobody saw hi\m ."
"except the three invididuals he proceeded to rob ,  who gave fake ID  to the motel to start with , and split in a hurry  . i recommened we start with the witnesses ."
"be my guest ," nina said ." book 'em m dano ."
"if the poklice couldn't find them . where do we start ?" sandy askeddd .
"first , we contact the authorities , try sergant fred chenny  of  the south lke tqahoe p9olice ." nina told them ." he's worked with paul ."
the nasme hunfg  like a cloud  in the air  for a moment . then  dissipatedd , sandy l.liked  paul , too , and while  she was no dioubt pround of herr  son , nia knnew she missed him .
wish wrote the name  down ," and reconnoiter the premises . "
" you meann the ace high ?" sandy saslked .
 " that's it , mom . the premises , the crime  scene , where the shootihng occured . i'll interview   the clerk , meridith ass asswarroj ."
' go for it ," niona  said  , pleased at his careful  attempt to pronnounce thje unfamiliar name ." then i've got something  special for you ."
"ofh  ?" wish said  ." what's thjat ?"
" i thinkk  the moel pwner , james bova , kmows something  about  the witnesswes ," nina said ," but he's represented by   counsel . now , i can't talk with hihm directly ."
"does that mean  i shouldn't ?" wish asked .
 "no ethical rule forbids  you fromm talking to his wife or his drinking buddy .

55 case of lies

he was an old friend and paul's assitant . wish had w orked down in motery with paul for a few months but decided he missed the mountains and his family toomuch , so he had come home to roost and start his own business . wish didn't have paul's experience , but he was tireless and devioted . paul, the mas ter , had trained him well .
they sat down at the conference table , paul's absence as active a pltergeist in the room . but lovers break up . and they don't often work together afterward , and nina had high hopes for wish , she knew how important he considered the work , and how excvited he was .
.
"mom already gave me the files ." wish said . sand nodded " i have some ideas ."
"go ahead ."  nina said .
:point one ,the obvious thing , we find out who shot sarah hanna two years ago , locat the invidividual , and collect evidence against him . but at the mooment , we don't have a description . we don't have anything on this invividual . our client dodesn't seem to remember a thing abut him ."
"except that he was masked ."
"right , even though this all happpened in october , he wore the good old ski mask . except at tahooe it doesn't look totally crazy , even in early falll . people just think he's some skidoggy who rents helicopters to take him to the top of job's peak or some other ten thousand footer so he can keep skiing through spring and maybe even into summer ."
"the shooting happened after midnight ." sandy reminded him . sitting across the table from himm , she took computer notesa just in cae something important was said ." it can get cold any time of the year ."
"my oint is that anyone seeing this indsividual on the street wouldn't automaticxally call 911 , nt up here in the mountains .":wish said .

54 case of lies

   chapter 5
saturday , an indian summer day : nina wore hiking shorts and a tank top to the office , with a light sweater in derence to the changeable season . at least she could pretend she wasn't working , and , indeed , she would be shopping at ccosco at the foot of spooner pass that afternoon . with any luck , she and bob could also take a quick hike around spooner lake late in the afternoon to take in what rewmained of any fall foliage .
sandy had already come in and brought along nina's new investigation . wish whitefeather , sandy 's son , stepped forward shyly . waiting for his hug .
"i heard youu needed a real pro ." he smiled , white teeth a bright contrast to the brown of his skin , at six- four , a hundred sixty punds , wish was all smile and big nose . he had gone back to his old ponytail and familiar denim shirt , but he had passed through the difficult late teen years and now , entering his twenties , his face had toughened and his body , once so gangly , had knitted itself together . he had finally finished his crimmnal - justice program and , only a month earlier , recieved his licence to work as a private investigator in california .

52-53 case of lies

"take it easy ."
"no problem ! meanwhile , you lie peacefully in bed with a - woman three thoiusand miles away . i'd better call the coops ."
"don't do that ! look , wqe've kept things controlled all this time . you say you're safe , and you might still be wrong about who he was ."
"i recognized him ! elliot said . he heard a pounding on the bathroom door and some spanish expletives ." what should i do ?"
"go hiome to seattle . hurry , can you manage that ?""okay ."
"call us then and we;ll talk , and just to be sure , you might check the underside of the car before you leave ."
"oh , hell ," ellliot said , and he couldn't control the tremor in his voice ." "i shouldn't have come back . it was foolish , wasn't it ?"
raj always the diplomat , cautious with elliot 's moods , said nothjing .
"i'll check under the car ." elliot said ." i definitely will ."
be carefull , call us the minute you get home ."
thye witer followed him to the door , locking it pointedly  behind him . it was only after the lights went out in the building and the dark closed in that elliot realized the two rear tires on the rental had been slashed .
frantic , examining the woods at the edge of the parking lot for a lurking figure , he pounded on the restaurant door , but nobody answereed .
elloit started to ounch in 911 , but before he could send the call , the waiter and a buddy walked around the corner into the parking lot ,talking loundly . elliot rushed over to them , wallet in parking lot , talking loundly , elliiot rushed over to them , walletin hand . it cost a hundred bucks to get back to the hotel , buthe gotto ride in an old trans am . the whole way , elliot watched out the bcxk window , but nobody seemed to follow,
once in his room , he bolted his door and left a message on the rental car company 'sw tape . he culd tyake a shuttle to the air port . lrt them deal wih their vandalized car .
it's him , he kept thinking . he's letting me know . he wants me to shut up and go home .
fingers shakingg , he called downstairs for the shuttle number .

50 case of lies

he's here ," he said fast into the phone ." the guy who robbed us at tahoe . the shooter . he followed me from casino ."
"ellliott ? do you know it'
s three in the morning ? what 's the matter ?" came the sleepy voice with its accent that took the r way inside the mouth .
"you are probably aware that most of what happens on a daily basis follows qa pattern , a predictable one ," he said ." today 's unique . the ski -mask guy has found me ."
"hang on a minute ."he heard a male sigh in the background . all the way from boston . raj , next pillow over . then silke got back on ." i have turned on the light ," she said ." if this is one of your persecution delusions . i will never talk to you again ."
"i'm giving you faxts , nothing more , i made a few bucks and i got hungry so i stopped at this restaurant ...."
"are you playing blackjack again ? 9i thought we agreed ...."
"just a hand or two ."
"just wait a minute , bac k up . elliot  , where are you exactly ? vegas ? atlantic city ?"
"tahoe ."
silewnce on the other end of the line while she digested the information and passed it along to raj ; well he had wanted to shock her ealier , and now he had gotten his wish .
"have you lost your mind ?"
"it
's been two years . i wanted to findout whether it was all over ." it's been two yers . i wanted to find out whether it was all over . it's been bothering me .
" i don't know what to say to  you , elliot . you promised yopu'd stay awayu from there ."\
"yes , and that's not the only remarkable thing happing . i ran into carleen earlier ."
"carleen ?" silke sounded copnfused ." she was withg the robber ?"no , no !  she was playing cards . i left her at casino and drove to another part of twon .i'm coming out of this  restaurant and some dude in a hat has got his hand on my wheel cover and he's bending down , he stands up and seess me and leaves . it's him ."
"did he say anything ?"
"no ,"
"you got a good lookt at him ?"
"it was dark . he wore a baseball cap this time .but it's him .
ski mask ."
"you sy he followed you ."
"i'm at zephgyr cover  in a tract where the locals live . it's midnight . there's nobody  around but me and the people who work at the restaurant , and i come out to find this guy examining my car ."
silke said ." remember how in junior year you thought a a police siren was following you all the time and you had to stop driving ...?"
"i'm not imaggin9ing this ."
" how can you be sure you  recognized him ?"
elliot hesitated ." i still couldn't tell you what his face looks likew . but his right foot turns outward about eighteen degrees ."
"oh , no ." she covered the phone and he heard muttering on the other end .
raj got on the phone ." hello , old man . has he gone ?"
"he let .i'm safe , think . the car's right in front of the restaurant front door ."
"was it unlocked ?"
"no , and the alarm was on . you think he was trying to steal it ?"
"maybe he saw you win . maybe he wanted to steal your money . he robs people . you know that ."
"he'd know my cash wasd on me . damn , raj . could it bea coincidence ? do you think he remembered me ? maybe he planned to hide in the back seat and attack me ...."

49 case of lies

she kew what that men  , and she was still intrested no matter what she said .
but he'd found reaons to chase her away  . as usual .
he'd never felt so lonely .when he came outside , he saw a guy in a black lether jacket and baseball  cap nbending down , looking at  the half bald thirteen inch wheels of the rental car with  a flashlight . when the dude saw him . he gave  elliott a hard stare  . then he turned and left . leuisurely , as if he knew  relliot wouldn't question him or followi
it was  getting to be a mantra .
at  a strip mall along the forested road he saw  a mexican restaurant with red and yellow and green peper lights strung around the front  , fuck it , i'm hungry , he thought .
inside . he amost thought better of it . except for the cooks and the waiter , who scowled at him , the place was empty . when te waiter threw down  elliott 's beer in fron of him , elliottt said , " if you want to close up , just sa so and i'll leave ."
the waiter didn't answer ; e just  walked away and stood behind the vcounter , ignoring elliot . fingering thge wad of cash in his pocket , elliot drank his beer , his notebook nestled reassuiringly in his pocket , and he thought of getting it out to review some fingures , but he didn't . pretty soon greasy chiles rellenos arrived on a plate with room temperature rice and refried beans . elliotr ate until he thought he'd explode .
when he came outside , he saw a guy in a black lether jacket and baseball  cap nbending down , looking at  the half bald thirteen inch wheels of the rental car with  a flashlight . when the dude saw him . he gave  elliott a hard stare  . then he turned and left . leuisurely , as if he knew  relliot wouldn't question him or followi him . the way he moved as h     walked off into the night scarred elloitt .
 it couldn't be !  he stepped back into the shelter   of  the ressdtaurant and held on to the door , breathing hard .
 so someone had been watching while he and carleen wrangled .
 " we're closed , " the waiter said .
 " just - one second . i have to use the head ." he wasn't ready to go out there yet  . locking himself into the btroom , eliott  pulled out his cell phone and called silke .

48 case of lies

the valet exchanged a sympatheric male glace with elliott . "you 're very direct ." it's admiraable , in fact , how you state your mind ," elliott said .
" fuck you ! i hate you ."
elliott said ," i'm getting close to a proof ." he couldn't help himself . he patted his chest , where he kept the notebook ." you don't have anybody else to tell , so you tell
"god ! same old crap ! " she made a guttural sound in her throat .
 ." you don't have anybody else to tell , so you tell me !  screw you , robot , you big loser ." her eyes filled with bright anry tears.
elliott left carleen standing behind the car with her fists clenched at her sides . he pulled into the neon boulevard with its miles of traffic .
she had got to him , talking that way about him  and silke . he had never mooned after silke , in fact , he hadn't known that carleen knew how much he ....
what now ? elliiott , who did not have to go to the airport yet , got off the main drag and drove down a dark winding road until he came to some subdivision where the streets were empty
it was self castigation time . he couldn't talk reasonably for five minutes with carleen , after four yars at college and many successful blackjack  trips together . the craziest thing was that she had tried to pick him uop , or something .
he was too lame to even drive her back to her room , a girl he knew and once loved . well , okay , he made love to her , not the same asloving her but almost . he hadn't loved her , be honestr .
actually , he'd never made love to her either , now that he was telling himself the truth , but he could have , she would have let him . she had wanted him . she had  been interested in his theories and
she had been willing to listen . he'd even seen the glint inher eye when he said just now that he'd almost finished the proof .

47 case of lies

" so ," she said .
elliot thought she was pissed off but still hopintg . she really did want to go with him . he'd never understood carleen , and he really din't
 have the energy to sstart ow . he was weaary of her ," so ."
"still obsessed with predicting the primes ?" carleen said ." still addicted to dream of greatness ? got anywhere yet ?"
" got to go , places ," the neon or echo , or whatever the hitttle blue car was , had rolled up . finally ! a chunky . red faced valet got out and gave elliot his keys .
elliot handed him a few bucks .
"i could use a ride back to my hotel ."  aarleen said behind him .
" sorry . in a rush . i'm going straight to the airport  in reno ."
he opened the car door and climb inside .
 for a minute she didn't move , absorbing the insult . then she got up and stood by his open door and said ." that wasn't a pass , that was just me neding a ride  somewhere ."
"next time ,"  ." he said . he ried to pull the door closed  , but she held on to it , eyes flashing .
" silke would never have dumped raj for you . the way you nooned around after her was disgusting , a reaal turn off  . i don't care how  brilliant you think you are . you suck .
"i need to go , carleen ." he pulled again . she jerked the door cack so that it was oen . the valet , arm crossed , watched , wearring a slight smile .
"i have a boyfriend now , several boyfriewnds , and maybe this will surprise you  , roboot , but i don't give a shit about you anymore ."
he disliked the nickname . he hadn't heard it in so long , he  had almost forgotten it ."
"i wasn't hitting you ." she repeated ." is that clear ? is it ?"

46 case of lies

" i was curious . since i was coming here for the gambling i checked the tribune archives and found out they haven't caught the guy . is that what you're checking ?"
"yes , and the case that got filed afterward . by the husband . why do you care ? you weren't even there . you quit taking trips with us months before ."
\"oh , i care , wakefield . if you all got in trouble , do you think i would n't have been dragged in ? MIT  would have found a way to  expel all of us . it would have been very public , and i wouldn't have gotten a good job . and if it cmes out now , how we paid our tuition , all that , it will cause me trouble ."
"relax , carleen , you weren't a witness . you've graduated . the publicity might not hurt you at all
"i thought you all agreed to stay out of it ! it's too dangerous !" =he looked really upset . carleen always had an opion on eveything .
"it 's bothering me that they still can't the shooter ,"
elliot said .
"no , you can't be that supid ," carleen said ." you can't be thinking of going to the police after all the timeafter all this time !"
he retreated into himself and said nothing . it wasd none of her business , but she knew all about it . the only way he knew how to deal withh her incessant questioning was to be silent . unfortunately , that made . carleen furious every time .
it had been bad luck , running into her . all thought of picking her up . geting laid - okay , that had been in his mind - fled . where the helll was his car ?"
"well ?"
"let's talk about something else ."
"yeah , calm down ." she put her hand on his arm , but that wasn't working either , he could feel the crackle of her edgy energy even better that way . she licked her lips again .

45 case of lies

she untucked the silk blouse she had been wearing and slouched down on thew bench ."" hy , elliot . forget i said  that . you know i'm not talking about your father ."
she had her own family problems , a brother with trpubles of his own . but eliot didn't want to ask about her problems righ now .
" so where yopu working , ellliot ?"
"here , tonight ."
" you were supposed to become  a professor , but you stillo make your living counting  cards at blackjack ?"
:it pays the rent ," elliot said .
"how does your father like  that ?"
"he doesn't know ."
"i never took you for  the outlaw type ," carleen said ."i'm still in good old boston .i'm making big bucks ." she shifted a little and he felt her small breat brush his arm .
 pathetic , the fact that they were two hungry twenty -somethigs indesperate need of human  contac , the fact that he didn't like her butr wanted  to kiss her . hew sat on the bench , unable to decide what to do  , she seemed to wat to stay with him , though he wasn't sure , she was so nervous , loooking around like casino security might come outside for them .
' you arre actuually alone , aren't you ?" he said .
she wet  her lips ad ssaid " yes ' . but elliot thought maybe she was lying  . ten - she was willing to walk oput on jher dte ?'
but - nw   that he was calmer - he didn't want carleen eto join his  lonely party / he was reacting to her just as he always had she put his teeeth on edge .
 " i never tought . i'd see you here ." she said  ." not after trhe erobbery  and all . i tougyht you and silke and raj decided -"  " they don't know  i'm here  . i'm doing some checking ."

44 case of lies

"ah , but it was kind of fun , wasn't it . carleen ? like old times . so what was all that about flying to korea ?"
"i don't know . i just felt like saying it . god .it's cold tonight .wakefield , really , are you nuts ? what are you doing here ? are you her with silke and ....."
"i'm alone ."
"she stayed on the east coast after graduation , didn't she ?"
he shrugged ." don't lnow " best not to feet her gossip about silkje .
"don't know ? yeah , right . she still with raj?"
"challenge question ." dr. braun used to come up with these quizze on a regular basis . she would recognize the allusion."" 9is the square roof of two still one point fur one tweo and change ?"
"i thought so. so what esle ?"
"i wait for my car ."
she shook her head impatiently ." not until we talk ." she looked away , toward a white haired man in an aloha hirt who was climing into a limo , but elliot still felt the force of her nervousness and interest pouring over him like sticky goo . he looked at her , at her streaky hair and the triple piercing in her ears and the discontented expression , and thought , she keeps comming back to gamble just like me .
"i went back to seatttle after graduation ." he said .
"still living withg your father , i bet ."
"and?"
"is he sytill driving you into mad ambition ?"
"not at all . he's infirm . he needs me ." elliiot was well aware that he was miminzing his fater's influece , but then , what did you say about your father to a giurl must hate ypu at a times and who knows things yui wished she didn't know?"
"i guess he probably does , you can't just dump ypour family the way you can dump a lover , you're locked up into playing  along with heir psycho needs for life , are'nt you ?"

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carleen followed him . sitting on a bench alogside the driveway . leaning against the wall , his eyes  half -closed . he was waiting for his car .
"so , wakefiel , what's up ? you following me "
"you don't want to be seen talking to me here ."
" you're the one who sat down by me ."
"i mean because of the cameras ."
"screw them ," she said ," any damage is done . i should have jumped up and left when you sat down ."
"why didn't you ?"
"maybe i foolishly imagined you would have more sense than to sit down beside me . or come to tahoe at all ." she took off her useless glasses and tucked them into a shirt pocket ." you spot two security men who were following me when i left ?"
"why didn't your fience frrom the sports book take care of them ? i'm sure he's a muscle bound freak , just the way you like them ."
she laughed ." why are you jealous at thought ?"
"yeah , sure . i hate imaginary rivals . is he frome korea , too ?"
they had a running disagreement about carleen's disguises . she liked them conspicuous . like the nadty tricoolored hair she wore tonoght sticking up like a kid's paper crown , thinking that she was less likely to get made if shew went bol;d . and she couldn't keep her mouth shut . she chattedup the dealers , compounding lies until nobody could keep tracxk of the latest story .
" why'd you  bet so big ? if you hadn't put up such a massive bet , we could have made the same money in three or four hands without anybody noticing . we could still be playing .
""you bet twice what i did ."
"well , hey , i had to , didn't i , after you spoiled any chance for anonymity . she was going to shuffle up for sure asfter you bet . thepit made us so fast after that ."

42 case f lies

. the dealer flipped over her hole card . another six . now she was showing a total of twelve and she had to hit again .
the dealer turned over a four this time . sixteen . the rules required her hit again , so she flipped herself one more card .
a third six . she'd busted ." too bad we're not playing poker ." said third base from boise ." you'da wiped us out ."
starting with elliot , the dealewr went around the table turning over the hole cards . when she turned up his hole card , she looked surprised ." you got someone watching out for you ." boise said as they all stareded at the three cards adding up to twenty " you hit on a soft eighteen ."
"i had a good feeling ." elliot said . the dealer turned over carleen's two hole cards and they all had a look .she had taken another card on hard seventeens on bi=oth hands , bot those plays were also dead wrong against the dealer's original twelve , according to basic blackjack playing strategy .
but she had won , she had pulled threes on each of her hands . winng both , the dealer pushee over their stacks of chips and the pit boss came over to check out the table and spread some glowers around .
bettween the two of them , elliot and carleen had just won almost ten thousand dolllars on a single bet .the pit boss , a short thin man in a dark suit , moved in to stand next to elliot , hanging in close enough so that elliiot culd smell the cigars on his breath . then the boss motioned to the dealer to shuffle up , wheeled , and walked tapidly back to the podium in the pit where the phone was .
elliot gathered up his chips , passing a couple over to the dealer as a tip ." i'm out ," he said with a smile that hurt his chapped lips . it stretched them so wide . he felt eyes chasing him as he cashed in and hurried out the door .

41 case of lies

. but she pushed all of her remaining chips onto the playiong  area , too , thirty seven hundred bucks and change ." i fly back to seoul tommorow ," she said ." this better be good ."
the d4ealer puklled a six after her hole card , elliot checked his own ace in the hole with a seven showing , soft eighteen , a very good hand against ythe dealer's probable sixteen , but he scratched for aanother card , the card count told him the deck was very short onhigh -count cards .
a two . he he pulled a total of twenty6 , a thrill coursed through him .
carleen was showing a tn card . ellioyt bent around to catch a glimpse of her hole card when she turened up the corner to have look , but turned it over so they could all see .
another ten .
"i'll split my tens ." she said , pulling a ward of cash out of her wallet and handing it over , and, and now she was running two hands on the table , they werre still barely under ten thousand in bets for whole table , so the dealewr didn't have to get approval to accept the bet .
the boise couple couldn't believe she was splitting tens , a stupid mistake under basic strategy rules . the dealer laid down a card on each ten , face-down . garden picked up the edge of the new card over one of the tens , then scratched for another . the dealewr flipped her a card and let her hand stay right there , reaqdy to scoop up  the busted hand , but carleen hadn't busted yet .
"it 's such a fun game ," she said , uttering a totally uncharacteristic girlish giggle ." i wish my fiance hadn't gone over to the sport book ."
eliot watched her check the new card over her other ten ,and scratch aain .
standing pat , crleen , wave her hand negligently over the hands .
the rest of them through their paces , and whren theyhad all finished the round ,

40 case of lies

he settle down in hs seat . she didn't own the jiont .
she slapped her chips into neat stacks . okay , then i don't know you , her vbody language said , and you don't know me . he remembered her silent language well , and instantly perceived the virtue in not knowing her . maybe they could play the old game together a few times and make a few bucks .
the shoe was a six decker , and the dealer , a middle -aged woman who wore a lot of gold in her cleavage under the required white shirt , had only run through a couple of hands . giving elliot a sharp look , she exchanged two thousand for him . the black chips felt as sustantial as marbles as he pulled them toward him . he put one dead center on hjis spot on the green felt and and waited for the cards .
he pulled a thirteen and busted whern he hit on it . fine , he was only playing basic strategy right now , warming up , checking out the cards . he played a few more hands , going down three hundred dollars rapidly on his single chip bets .
"you're too hot ," carleen told the dealer .
"our luck turns just like yopur does ," said the dealer , who fielded complaints like this alll night long .carleen waswinning most of the time in spite of her complaining . the other people . the other people at the table , who told everyone they had jud=st arrived on a bus from boise , idaho , each set out a chip at a time playing decently .
a couple of minutes later : no, she's gonna come through for us ," " elliot saiod , including everyone at the  table in hijs optimism .. they were two ful decks into the shoe by now , with enough cards laid down for him to know the deck was ripe . he placed all the chips he had left oto
the table , , seventeen hundred dollars  ' worth , not an outrageous amount at a twenty five dollars  minimum table .
edging her bottom teeth with her finger , carleen fidget unhappy .

39 case of lies

. and the sumptuous look of casino , it attracted exactly the same customers as anywhere else in stateline . the out of townewrs , especially the asians , dressed up . the locals and california weekenders wore the same cloithes as elliot , straight off the sale table at the gap .he looked just like every other techie from silicon valley , getting ready to say adios to his paychecks after a hard week writting code inb a windowless cubicle .
ellitiot circle the blacjack tables , which were almost all full . her liked that , because it kept the pit bossed occupied , they might not notice him . not that he was looking for a killing tonight without silke or raj or carleeen to act a spotter , he only needed a few thousand , nd he still had saturday night coming up .
the minute he he thought of silke he wanted to call her , say . guess where i am ?" just because he knew she should be shocked and angry that he was back at tahoe . he was sill hearsick enogh over her to enjoy any kind of emotional reaction , even the negative ones , but she belonged with raj, working like him on her doctorate , and he had no business bugging her .
he stopped suddenly at a twenty five dollar minimum table where a first base spot lay open . on the next seat , a girl withg red streaks in her hair m, spotty skin , and trendy glasses sat behind sevral stacks of chips .
oh , shit , he thought . carleen , what's she doing here ? how coincidental was that , him thinking about her just a minute ago and her being here ??
well , it shouldn't surprise him . once , they had traveled this route together.
he ought to lwave ; no telling how she would greet him , but drive by perverse curiosity, he slid in beside . she looked up at him . after the first flash of disbelief , her expression turned firmly noncommitedal . only he would know the tense brow-pinching thing she did when she was truly angry . she looked up once more , just glance , full of fire . her eyes said . what the hell are you doing herre , anywhanyway ?

38 case of lies

insideb . people flowed in and out of the main gaming floor . most were exited ' some were drunk . and a few were thieves , elliot was acutely conscious of being alone . kn ock knock , who's there , thelonious  thelonious who ? thelonious boy in town .
at amit  . LIVING IN THE TINY DORM ROOM , EATING AT THE COMMONS every day with the same peple elliott had still always ended up alone . now . living with the same peple . elliott had still always ended up aalone . now , living with his father in the small brick house on vashon island near seatle .he sometimes felt the lonelines might kill him when the MS  got pop . he did it to himself . even now he was wishing he were back on the island , sittin g at his desk and working with his mthematica program on the computer he loved pop , and and pop was his only company . they ate dinner and watched TV  together like an old married couple , and pop didn't have a clue as to how elliott paid the mortgate . they were happy , happy like a pair of trilobities embedded in a layer of shade , safe and stable .
still , even  if he had the misfortune of being a mathematician , he wasn't a priest . he had thought sometimes about paying for sex , since he seemed to be too picky and shy to pick up a regular girl . but hookers , no .  they were phonies . he couldn't stand the fake smiles and arm squeezes , the ,the self-conscious way they went about their business . elliot wanted love ,, not a hustle . and sometimes they could be dangerous , and the danger quotient in his work had already proved high enough .
he took one more look at girls entering the casino . then he rubbed his pocket , where his stake was .
he coudn't help glancing upward as he moved into the gaming area . the eyes in the sky , video and live cams ,were barely visible ibn  ceiling if you knew where to look . in spitethe marble columns and masrles floors of the hotel section

case of lies 37

   chapter  4
ellioti wakefield went to work at caesars casino -hotel on  lake tahoe boulevard at 10:00 .pm  on friday night  , dressed as usual in baggy khaki shorts  and vans  snreakers from his MIT  days . the night  had a flat  , metallic  smell to it ,  the strem of light along both  sides of  the slow-moving line of cars could almost have passed for palaces and pulic buildin in some grand european  metropolis tjhat had miissed  being bombed in world war II .
but stateline wasn't a real city , it was slow robbery in a mountain town dressd up with   lot of liquor and eyeliner , and , and those weren't palaces , they were casinos . novenber had srrived , and it was cold after  dark , as he climed out of the subcompact , handing the keys to a valet  older than he was , a couple of very young hookers sashayed by in black leATHER MINIS . HE WALKED ACROSS THE PORTICO , JAMMED HIS HANDS INTO HIS POCKETS . AND IGNORED THEM .
HE DIDN'T LIKE TAHOE , BUT HE  'd been flying here for years . he entering the imposing glass doors of the casino and the stark air-conditioning caught him .

36 case of lies

in all the ways that count ." she smiled ." he was as broke as me when we tried his case . and we both got rich at the end ."
"he was your client ?"
"yeah , he got ten million and i got five , and we decided what the hay , let's put the whole shebang together ."betty jo put her hand on nina's shoulder and said ," i wouldn't have done it if he wasn't a world class lay . life's short . and you better pay attention to that , sister ."
\nina got into her vihivcle , and betty jo closed the door after her ." jimmy and i look forward to heasring from you ."
nina started up the engine and waved . betty jo had seen it all , engineered every nuance of the evening , this cany , middleaged lady from modesto . driving away with her windows open to the night , loving the way the cool air lifted the hair on her arm like the brush of a hand , nina thought . life's short . she's got that right .

35 case of lies

" heh , heh ."
"he's delighted you lliked it ." bety jo said cheerfully .
"nice to jmeet you . mr bova ."
\bova said said ." i'm sure we can work something out ." the words were basically formulaic . but nina thought he really did want out and that there wasn't any more money . how could dave hanna reacyt to the offer ? nbina followed betty jo 's broad backside outside .
at the bronco , betty jo said ." i forgot to mention one teeny thing . which is a possibility based on complete speculation and not a scintilla of evidence , that jimmy might have a line on one of the witnessess . the tourist kids with the fake ID 'S
 nina stiffened ." what 's that ?"
"he'll be glad to tell you when we settle ."
"you can't do that . you'll be getting my interrogatories tomrrow . and he'd better answere the questions ."
"he doesn't have to provide comple speculation to your client ."
"he'll be in court if he -"
"let's part friends ." betty jo said gaily ." okay ? let's just think on it . we 'll talk again . meantime . i like your style . nina . you're a cool customer."
nina smiled /" okay . we'll talk . i appreciate your straightness . too . i'm with you on the negotiation business . i also prefer to lay what i have on the table ."
"we'll have lunch sometime . i'd like to hear some juice legal gossip ."
"sure . nice havintg you up here . betty jo . the winters must be knocking your socks off after modesto ."
my love bunny keeps me warm ."
"hector - he's retired ?"
oh , yes , he had a bad accident and crushed his larynx and  

34 cae of lies

all i can tell you is , i'm about to make you a last and final offer from the ace highh lodge , and your client has two days to decide whether to accept it , after that , we incur a bunch of expense getting ready for trial , and withdraw the other ."
this practiced sounding speech had a lot of aopopeal , implicit in the offer was an assumption  that the motel would lose its motion to dimiss . if nina heard right , then betty jo was making a concession lawyers weren't supposed to make , in addition to offering an authentic settlement .
"i don't know ow much you're offering yet , but i appreciate your frankness ," she answered .
"jimmy can scarpe together twenty - five thousand . that's absolutely all he can spare and keep going . he feels terrible about what happened at his motel and he's willing to dig deep .
but these fringe places are strung out on the profit end nina . he's not a rich man . we're prepared to show you his income tax returns to reasure you that he's  not hiding money nd that this constitutes a real sacrifice ,  fifty thousand dollars to the bereaved husnand , and you can still go after the killer ."
"i'll tal;k to my ckient ," nina said ." but i can't advise him to take your offer .i'll advise him to request the policy limits , which are going to be quite a bit more ."
"the insurance company won't go for that , you think i haven't tried ? betty jo said .
"maybe losing the motion will convince them ."
"it won't tried ?" bety jo said .
"it won't . they already factored that in . even if a hjury finds the motel negligent . it's only contributory  negligence . tey'll decide that the motel is about ten persent responsible and the killer's responsible for the rest . so even if you get a half million , judgment , we're still only going to have to pay the same old fifty thousand . last and final , nina ."
"i understand ," nina ."
she stood up ." nice to meet you . hector . that is some amazingly delicious tea .

33 case of lies

" the company said no for a ong time . but in the last two days they offered to make pay out ."
"what is the policy limit ?"
"they offered twenty five thousand , and we'll dropp our claim for attorney 's fee s ."
"i see ," nina said .
hector brought over another bottle of beer for his wife . she gave him a pat . she had not touched the first beer after the initial toast .her mug now stood on the coffee ytable like warnings to nina not to relax too much ," it's all standard stuff ," betty jo said to nina .
"standard ? one , you won't tell me their limit , and two , the offer's a pittance ," ah , she loved this tea . what in the world was in it to creat an effect so relaxing yet sop exciting ? she felt a sneaky sympathy for betty jo , who was doing her damnedest to settle the case for a miserly amount of money , and who would not succeed  unless she found more . for a moment , she wondered if hector would go for as to spike her tea somehow .
no . it was just wonderedful tea .
betty jo looked at jimmy bova , now sitting beside her on the sofa . e shrugged . then he turned his yellow eyes toward nina . they now held nothing personal .
"jimmy 's just getting by . but he can put a little in too , from his personal account , now , let me explain something about the way i practice law . i really think the way the men do it , with all the dicking - excuse me , i mean dickering , around , and the heehawing and trying to score points , is a waste of energy . what i do is this , i make my last and final offer the first time around . and i stick to it , it never goes up . because i've already out out everything i can.
"a good attrney on the other side , she's going to appreciate efficient that is . it takes a little trust to work . i know i don't got my reputation established  up here in the mountains .

31 case of lies

. " congratulations ."
"i always thought i would hit a big one . thirty years was a long time to wait , though . anyway , hector and i fell in love and got married and decided to spend our best yers someplace beautifu . so we came here . you married /?
"no ."
"divorced ?"
"divorced and windowed ." nina felt rather than saw bova absorbing the informatiion . he cruised over , close to her chair . shifted on his feet , and leaned in .
" and still so young ," he said .
she couldn't believe it . he was flirting with her . and his wasn't the first time since she had eturned to tahoe she had been hit  on in ridiculous circumstances . could it be some kind of single female pheromone she put out now that  she as no longer with paul ?
if so , she didn't mind too much , because she liked male attention , always had , laately , maybe , she had started to wonder if  she had come to rely on it a little too much .  that didn't meanj she trustexd bova . she drew away from him , attempting to use body language to send him an unmistakable friendly nonverbal signal to get lost . businesslike , aloof , and polite : she went for that effect . and it worked . bova stepped away and resumed his examjination of the objects in  the room as if nothhing had happened ,niona picked a few grapes from a bowl on the immaculate glass coffee table and ate them , giving herself a moment to slip back into lawyer mode ." shall we talk about the hana casse ? i'm afraid i'll have to get back soon ."
betty jo said ." i know you're busy . yet you came to see me right away and didn't  out us off . i like that ."
"i consider this situation urgent . you're fighting to have david hanna 's case thrown out and i can't let you do that ."
"in a nutg shell , yes , in a nutshell . here jimmy and i thught  . we were in the home stretch

32 case of lies

. and then you galloped up fropm behnd . your responsive papers are good , and tthat worries me .nderstand , jimmy didn't do anything wrong  . you can't put up an electrified  fence around a motel with a guard gate tpo prevent robberies , especially right around the corner  from a casino district . you could just as well have sued the coops for not showing up and preventing the inciodent ."
"you don't need me to tell you the law . " nina said ," so i know i don't have to remind you that places of pulic accommodation have duties to their customers that are ompletely diffirent from the duties of the police ."
"jimmy 's a nice guy ." bety jo contuinued to talk as if bova wetre,n't there , earss cocked to take in evey word ." the motel's  all he's 's got ."
nina took  a long sip of tea ." no offense , but mr. hasnna lost everything he held dear when he lost his wife ."
"he's only suing  me because he can't fid the guy who killed his wife ," bova interruped ." i'm sorry about that woman . i heard she was pregnant . is thgat true ?"
nina nodded , watching  him touch the smooth brown skin on his forehead .
"it's a shame , you think i don't wish evry day this hadn't happened ? but i'm not responsible ."
"you have a proposal ? nina said  , on firm ground with him at last . " do you want to settle this case and have peace of mind ?
because i'm sure betty jo has told you , we can do that . we can settle with you and keep looking for killer ."
"we can come up with something ." betty jo said before he could respond ," but i'm afraid your client won't want to take  what's on offer , because er're the only money around , and he thinks we should pay for everything ."
"surely the motel's liability insurance covers this situation nina said .

30 cae o=f lies

"sandy doesn't take kindly to being corrected ," nina said when she recovered herself .
"well ,i'm sure she's a fine legal secretary in spite of that big honking moputh of hers ," betty jo said , sitting down again on thre couch ," and she's observant . i do have a big ass , which hector considers a mojor asset , don't you . hector ?"
studying betty jo there on the couch ,talking it all in - the invitation , the fire , the down home way of talking , the drinks , the lityle old husband , the alert eyes - nina suddenly realized what  this foolishness  was all about , betty jo wanted nina unguarded . she wanted her friendlt=y , she wanted nina to underestimate her enemy . a little joke at her own expense was far vcheaper in the long run than a big settlement . legal stragegy , country style .
"now , i also hear that you recently came back to taho and set up again , that right ?betty jo  was saying .
"i tried something el;se oyut for a few months , but i'm back for good now ."
"gad to hear it . the more women we gt up here , the less cussin ' and fightn ' there'll be in court ." a chihuahua skidded into thre room , followed by a large gray cat . they both jumped into betty jo's ;lap . her strong hand settled the  the suddenen squabble as they vied for position .
nina said ,"how about you ?"
"oh , i was living in ther same little place i'd had for thirdty years down there in the central valley , doing a little divorce work here and some personal injury there . and what should pop up one fine morning but i a great  big injury case with a deep pocketers insurer . i had to litigate it . by the start of trial i was in hock to my kids , my friends , plus the ddevil . three weks we went to court every day , me palpitating and my poor old client on this last legs . then the jury came in and gave us fifteen million buck she laughed ." you believe it ? like winning at loto .impossible odds .

29 case of lies

. "happy practicing law at tahoe ?" nina asked her .
"oh , yeah . love it ."
\bova , roving the room as if searching for a comfortable landing site , made no arttempt to enter thje conversation . walking over to the fireplace , he picked up a poker , which he used to make a perfect pyramid of the burning logs . then he turned to look at her , and nina felt a shilver in spite of the warmth from the fire .she had been a little startled by how attractive betty jo's client was . he did not resemble the mean spirited innkeeper of her imagination . his amber eyes glowd in the dimly lit room like the fire  behnd him .
betty jo launched into a sotry about meeting sandy at the grocery store ." she walked by me and i noticed one of the buttons on her blouse had popped . it happens to us big gals , so i kind of whisperted as i passed ," look down in front . your button ." so she looked down  and she fix it . our carts passed and she never said a word . then at the checkout she came up behind me and she whispered ," look behind you . your butt."
and at that , illustrating for them , betty jo turned her back on them , bent oover , rooled her neck so  that  she could see herr backside , and jiggled it .
when nobody said anythng , she jiggled again , she was not to be denied .
nina and bova , equally astonished at this display ,  looked at other and broke out laughing .

28 case of lies

.  they all drank . nina took a sniff , then a taste . the tea tasted delicate , perfumed with flowers and something like popcorn quite a change from the supermarmarket stuff she was used to drinking ." what is this ? it's great /."
"is that the stuff from chana we got last year , dolll ?
hector nodded his hoarty head . he was very old , in his eighties . nina decided .
"shoot , i forget the name . hector . what's it called ?"
he examined an ornately decorated canister and answered her .
"right ." betty jo said , nodding ." how 'd i forget that ?"
nina , who had not understood him , sipped some more . wanting to know but not enough to ask again .
"oh , here's jimmy."betty jo got up to greet a man who had entered the room . she took hinm by the hand and brought him in for a hug , then led him toward nina ," jimmy bova , nina reilly ."
boya shook nina's hand .
i'm the owner of the asce high ." he said ." you know - the motel ." bova wore a red sweater , which clung like silk to his well-defined upper body . he had fleshy lips , a long roman nose , the kind thast drops straight from the forehead , and unusal , light colored eyes set off nicely by the even tan a tanning boothg provides . he looked like a man who who took his exercise inside a gym , wearing really nin=ce sweats , rather than the typical tahoe man , who got it outside at ythe woodchopping block .
"glad to meet you ," nina said ." i didn't know you'd be here ."
betty jo had sprung a surprise , inviting her client along .bova smiled . it was a warn smile , and nina gave him one back ,always ready to give the benefit of a doubt . if he hadn't been on the opposite side , she might not have described him to herself quite  so harshly . he actualy hads a dash of sylvester stallone when  he smiled .
"i hope ypu don't mind ," betty jo said innocently . i always reckon people should talk , get to know each other .didn't find mr. hanna was ready to join us , though . her's hell to talk to . i'm glad you're in the case . nina ."
nina set her cup down and decided to pay along with betty jo . they were all friends here , with no sticky clients like nina's around tp mess the place up ." your house is superb . spanish style isn't common up  here ."
"hector and i couldn't resist when we saw it . we're from modesto , only been up here a couple of years ."

27 case of lies

. and she had let dark eyebrow grow in thick . she looked a little like judge milne ,in fact .
"let's  go inside ." they passed through a tall entry with saltillo tiles undrfoot and a lot of pplants into a high ceilinged living room with a flagstone fireplace next to a bar at the far end .
a little old man stood behind the bar , pouring from a bottle of volka ." heh ," he said .
"that's hecytor , mu husband . he doesn't talk too well these days , but he loves company . what would you like to drink ? here , set down ."
nina chose aeather chair near the fire ," tea ?"
"tea ?" hector growled almost incoherently , obviously peeved .
"tea ," nina saidfirmly .he mea
he took s flowered teapot from below the bar and licked the lever of a spigot over the sink . steaming water filled the pot . he  measured quantities of tea from a silver tin , dunked a big silver tea ball into the pot , and set a timer . he saisd something nina couldn't catch .
"four minutes ," betty jo translated .
they chatted while they waited and nina looked around . picture windows , french doors , whitewashed beams , a lot of expensive furniture . precisely four minutes later , hector removed the tea ball , poure liquid into a mug for nina , and shuffled over to  her .
"thanks ." close up , she saw he wore a silk ascot . his teeth were blindingly white and perfectly regular . the tea sloshed dangerously as he handed it to her ,\
"heh ." back behind the bar he behan sippping something of his own . betty jo sat on the long white leather couch opposite nina's chair , picked up a beer  mug from the noguchi coffee table ,andsaid ," salud !"
"heh!"
"salud ."

26 cae of lies

the cove was invivisible , but she could see from her high seat the untouched meadows and forests  below , a couple of hikers toietd up up the trail .
fifteen minutes later she came to the north shore , the water suddently close and sparkling on her left , down a hundred feet  of steady sloping granite and dirt to the nude beaches , could see a few plumes of smoke on the distant west shore - prescribed burning even this late in the year . the mountains over there were a deeper blue frosted with white from early snofall .
she was alone on the road , sand harbor's shallow , bright water  just ahead , swingingg the wheel , she continued around the curve past the old ponderosa ranch and took a right at country club drive , the street name that told her , in several ways , that she entered incline village .
 the bronco labored up the mountain , just off mount rose highgway she came to champagne way and turned down the long , winding street , marvelingh at the chateaus with their milegossip said that a very well known singer , songwritter , and record producer had a home here . the neigjbors didn't exactly look poverty striken , either .
at the end of the street she arrived at a large stucco hacienda with a green tile roof surrounded by walls with fir- tree borders . the house was built on a promontory of the mountain . nina slowd down to take in the view , but then betty jo ouckett appeared in the flagged driveway and the bronco plowed toard her .
betty jo practically dragged nina out of her seat ."i've been wanting to mee you ," she said , a tall , rugged , gray hairy   woman in her fifties , her jeans and white shirt encased a rangy body .her face , sawed into a hundred lines and angles , exhibited everysecond of weart,

25 case of lies

. no tree . progress had leveled trees , crime  scence and favorite haunts with the same dispassion .
at prize's , with its house sized treasure chest logo looming overhead , she saw that sammy hagar's cabo wabop cantina had sr=tarted up , caesars , the class act of the ditrict , had the reno ohilharmnic playing  caremina burana , but for the regulars , DJ jazzy jeff was spinging CD S at club nero . X - an erotic adventure would be getting playful on friday night at harveys , tall , forest green harrah's looked down its nose across the boulevard from humble bill's , which didn't monkey with erotica , magic , or expensive music acts , but got right to the point ,its neon marquee simply promised "loose slots ."
she hit another light at the end of the row , near the lakeside inn , thge locals' casino , the last casino before the roest creptback in , to her left now was kahle drive , where the casino workers lived in mobile homes and cotages facing an undeveloped meadow . a young woman with long bleached hair , a leopard print blouse , and jeans walked her big , wild looking mastiff , fitting symbols of the transition from civilization back to the wooded muntains .
the forest closed in , olive and brown , the sky blindingly clear and the lake on her left filtering its blue grays now and then through the firs . with air so dry and at an altitude of over six thousand feet , everything was high focus , almost too clear .
offcave rock , a white cabin cruisewr trailed dark blue waterlines . the lake looked as enormous as an inland sea . sometimes waterlines appeared by themselves out there , sinuos ridges that had given rise to the tahoe tessie legend .
just after the carson city turnoff ,the road wound up high above the lake and the bronoco passed an unmarked gated trail tothe left . nina knew from dsandy that this led down to skunk harbor , where  the washoe indians had been granted an exclusive right  to camp , hunt , and fish .

24 case of lies

.24  rush hour does not exactly  exist on the twenty five mile stretch between the south and north shores of  lake tahoe . traffice may be  slowly by gawkers by people pulling over to park at the nude beaches , by the  construction projects thatt last all summer . but the population forr aa real traffic jam isn't there .
just barely over te neveda state line , extending for a few blocks along high way 50 on the suth shore , the gaming industry reigned suprreme ," gaming " had  a much nicer ring than  "  gambling " gaming implied ingenuity , and nina did admit poker and  blackjack to a  realm  where gambling could ascend into skil . most people played the slots , though , and everyone knew that slots were  the main source of casino revenue .
the casino  distict 's face lift was almost  complete , down to a new gondola gliding up  the slopes of heavynly ski resort . old cecil's liquors with  its narrow  asles and products piled to the  ceiling had been  replaced by the new  cecil's , twicw as expensive ,  a neon sign adverting its new location , too brightly lit , too  neatly stocked .
cecil's also had new , twenty first first century neighbors ; a book store , a stabucks . the village center - brand new , built with a  heavy hand from fieldstone - held a hotel and expensive  shops . on her left , the unregenerate  orginals , the T- shirt shops and tchotchke vendors , stuck it our behind shabby storefronts , still fielding plentyof customers . raley's supermerket  had been gussied up into chatlet style . as she passed that coner ,  nina searched for the lone tree in the parking lot , which had once figured in a murder case she had handled .

23 case of lies

        chapter 3
two days later , just after five . nina drove north on the neveda side of  the road that  that circled lake tahoe .
her response attorney betty jo pucketty  was nothin if not decisive . she had callled nina within an hour of the faxed service to her office and invited nina to have a drink her at her home in inclune village , on the north shore .
in all her time practiceing law at tahoe , nina had never been invited to the home of another lawyer , a talk like this would ordinarily occur in a paneled office where computers clicked and whirred just outside the door .the reasoon , she had long ago decided , was that she was  one of the few  women lawyers in twon . men could meet after work , but a meeting with a woman lawyer caused gossip and trouble at home .
she hoped ms , pucketty would be reasonable . maybe she'seven a congenial person , a new friend . nina snorted at herself  as she waited at the stateline light . a new friend ! the woman was a lawyer on the other side of a case  . for pete's sake !
at least she'd enloy the forty five minute drive .

22 caseof lies

. " we go looking ."
"good ."
"we get started , at least ."
"shall i call paul ?"
"he 's tied up ."
"you'll need an investigator , and he 's the best ."
but for many reasons , nina did not want paul van wagoner . involved . she did not wish to see his confident face , his flirty manner , his sexual vibratic . she was over him , at least for the moment , someday , paul could reenter  her life  neutered into a professional associate . until then , he needed to stay filed in the great memory file .
she said with emphasis ," do not call paul ."
"okay , okay , i heard  about another good investigator who mioght be avaible ."
"good . see  what you can do ." nina trotted down the hall and climbed into her old bronco five minutes until court . she bumped off the curb into the street .
there's an advantage to small town law , she would make it to cort right on time .

21 cae of lies

. there may have been other incidents - this kind of crime occurs in custers  . maybe the motel should have been in  notice ,"
" the clients 's unreliable ."
"yes , but his reliable ."
"yes , but his relatives seem to have him in line , i think some money might help him , sandy . rehab , grief counseling . whatever . i trusty chelsi n to steer hinm right ."
 where do you wanmt to start ?"
"lt's get the policxe reportds and check to see if there were similar crimes reporrted in the eara over the past  ten years . file a notice that i'm in as hanna's at6torney and send a copy of the notice to betty jo puckett , she represents the ace high lodge ."
" betty jo puckett ?"
" you know her ?"
"i met her . she hs a problem in the tact depasrtment ."
nina smiled , saying ," report anyhing else you hear ."
"before you go , what else do you need ?"
"get the file made up . i'll get going on drafting the response  top the motiion to didmiss after  court . therwe is a long time of precedents regasrding innkeeper liability for inadequate security , sandy , remember connie francis ?"
"the singer ? nineten sixties ." lipstick on your collasrt ." that wasn't even her biggest hit .but even  now it strikes a chord with me ." sandy 's husband , joe , and she had broken up for many yeaers and only recently remarried .
"she won an early motel - security case . the damages award was in the seven fingures . i don't think it was in california , though . the trail took place in the mid seventies . see if ypu can locate thre case on lexis ."
"she was robbed ?"
"she was raped . while staying in a hotel room . it was brutal .
i think  it almost eneded her career ."
neither woman spoke for a moment . nina was thjinking that people don't get violent like that , they may carry on , but they are changed forever . finally sandy said , her voice tight ." so some turkey fired off a wild one during a sticup and killed a pregnant third grace teacher . do we go looking for him , or just nick the motel ?"

20 cassse of lies

"there isn't a damn thing , i can do to stop them , isthgerre ?"
hanna blurted m" look , lady . i unserstand you need to drum up business. maybe you hope we've got a stash of dough hidden away . i hate to say this ,
"you can fight the motion , the code of civil procedure does require that a suit like yours be dismissed two years after service on the defendant with no action , but it hasn't been quite two y but we don't . bennett up front , and called himself cheap  . i don't want to babkrupt rogetr and chelsi , and i'm broke , like i keep telling you .
"we'll take care of the money , uncle dave ," chelsi said .
"i will need a retainer ." nina said said , thinking of sandy , who would hold her accountable  she came up  with the lowest amount she culd manage ." two thousand , billed against my hours . i also charge a hundred fifty an hour .there may be expense couls mount up fast ."
"done ." chelsi said , whipping out her checkbook . hanna bowed hids head , looked at the rug ."it's not for revenge ." chelsi said ." it's not for money . it's for my aunt . you know ?"
nina nodded . she pushed the button as though sandy hadn't left the door open a crack   and been listening the whole time .
after hanna had signed an agreement and lefft with chelsi . nina adjusted her coat and hung her new briefcase over her shoulder .
"you think we can make money on this ?" sandy said , she reposed like a buddha in her aeron chair , detached n. hands folded calmly on the desk over nina 's notes .
"i do . fast money . that's if we can get past thismotion to dismiss . should have been less of an ambush invitation .

19 case of lies

. she looked up . hanna's cheeks flamed , but his eyes were  sunken into the sockets . he looked like a big , healthy man who had developed some wasting disease  that was ruining him . nina wondered how long he had been drinking way too much ,at least he was sober at eight in the morning , she found it painful to imagine what he'd gone through , how bitter he must feel now .
\she cleared her throat . setting down the motion to dismiss , she said ," your wife seems to have been the classic innocent bystander .
"did you know she was expecting ?"
"yes ./"
he shifted in his chair , lik4e the seat hurt him .
"what do yopu plan to do now ?" nina asked him .
"slink away , i guess ."
"the lodge wants attorneys 's fees ."
"i might get socked with their lawyer fees ?"
"perhaps ."
dave hannna put his hand on hias heart and said ," let me get this straight . they want me to pay them ? how mmuch money are we talking about ?"
"i don't know . i cou;d guess from the amount of work i see here , possiblely several thousand dollars ."
"if i do nothing , what will happen ?"
"you'll probably have to pay fees ."
during a long siolence hanna deliberated about whether to - what ? confide in her ? walk out on her ?
"well ?" he asked finally .
nina raised her eyebrows .
"what do you think ?"
"it isn't hopeless ." nina said .

18 case of lies

. benette had done a workmanlike job laying out the facts in the complaint . the hannas had been celebrating their tenth wedding anniverary by spending the weekend at lake tahoe at the ace high lodge , one block f had provided the south r stateline casinos . they had gone to a show at prize's and walked back , then stepped out to the second floor baclcony of their room .
there , according to the dry legalese of the wrong time , at thirty eight , third grade reacher sarah hanna had been shot once through the heart . she was three  months pregnant .
there were few traces of gunman or other witnesses . the motel clerk . mereridith assawaroj , had heard  the shotsds from an adjioning property . she had missed seeing the killler but.
but had provided the south lake tahoe police with a fair description of the three  motel guest who had been held up  , young people who had packed up and left before the police arrived .
the clerk's descriptions of these three led nowhere . the gun hadn't been left the scene .. the witnesses had paid in cash and the description provided had been inadequate tio find them . nina made a note to find out more about that .
now the ace higjh lodge wanted out of hanna's lawsuit , whiich alleged that its cleerks should have been in the office , that the motel securityu should havre been in the office ,  that the motel security should have been better , and so on and so on , hanna might have had some sort of case on the merits if he had pursued it , but leaving it to languish for so long had exposed him to betty jo puckett's motion to dismiss .
puckett's work looked god . her law was solid, statutory limits restricted the ability of plaintiffs to file a lawsuit and them do nothing , as dave hanna had done .
puckett had apparently advised the motel owner well low for as long as possible and then attack hanna for failure to prosecute . nina hadn't met   the lawyer , but the courtroom grapevine said she had an effective style .

17 case of lies

"basically ."
"i would think carpenters were in big demand around here . i can never get anyone to come out and fix my porch ," nina said .+
"i don't work much lately ." he sighed ." i have problem ."
"problem ?"
he chewed on a thumb , as if the question demanded arduous consideration that was beyond him . scaning the room as if he might locaste a swift escape  route that wouldn't require him to pass sandy , his eyes landed on chelsi .
"uncle daqve's been sick ," chelsi , taking her cue .
"humm ," nina said ."well , i unserstand you were going to bring me the court papers to look at ," she went on neutrally .
" right ." he reached inside his wool shirt  and pull out a battered envelope .  he set it on the desk , the hand revealing a slight tremor . nina looked at him casrefully , noting the thin burst of broken capillaries inhis ruddy cheeks , the tangle of red veins around the edges of his eyes .
he hasn't had the hair of the dog this morning , she thought . and he missed it . no wonder sandy had given her a warning eyebrow . sandy didn't like drinkers .
loon the other hand , waedsn't it a positive sign that he had held off to talk with her ? maybe there was still hope for him .
she opened the envelope and pulled out several legal documents in the wrongfu; death and neligence case of hanna v. ace high lodge and does I-X .
the complaint bruce bennett had drafte was on top , followed by some unserved summonsses .an answer filed by the ace high lodge , and a set of pleadigs filed recently by the lodge's attorney . betty jo pucketty of south lake tahoe . while ninaskimmed through the pleadings ,  dave hanna slumped in his  chair , never taking his eyes off her .
chelsi had displayed a good grasp of her uncle's legal situation . he was about to have his case dismissed on the motion of the ace hiigh lodge , because he had done nothing to bring the matter to triall for almost two years .

16 case of lies

"it's a long drive up fifty to get here . i don't come uo the hill much anymore since it happened . chelsi said this conversation right now  isn't going to copst us anything ?"
"free consultation ," nina said ."we have half an hour and you came a long way so how can help you ?"
hanna  shrugged and said ." that 's the point , i haven't got a fucking clue ."
when nina didn't bridle at hat , he added ," like i said , talk won't bring her back .
"but you're already involved in lawsuit . isn't that right ?"
"i had a lawyer in placeville named bruce benett . two years ago , after sarah died , roger contacted him and had this lawyer file a civil suit against  the motel where  it all happened i . i wasn't sure abiout the whol;e thing , but bennett got us in his office and oh , he talk it up . how much money we were going  to hit them upfor . how they were negligent . they let the bastard onto the property . no video camera and the clerk off somewhere . the lawyer talked us into suing the motel . why , he practiceally had us convinced that motel owner , who by the way wasn't even around that night , did the shooting ."
"sounds like he was trying to put on a very aggressive case on your behalf ."
"i guess ." he shook his head ." i6t never sat right with me , blaming the motel , but roger was so gung ho . we used up some of darah 's life insurance to pay benett . but when the money ran  out he filed a substitution -of atttorney  form and left us flat ."
"i guess that didn't leave you with very high opinion of lawyers . i know bruce , the lawsuit stayed active ?"
he shook his head ." i really don't know where things  stand with it ."
"you couldn't pay . bruce benett , so he quitt ?"

15 case of lies

sandy knew where clients hid their guns and buck knives ; she knew if the rolex was real or faux : a few words to her in the receptiion area revrealed if a new client was resentful , desperate , or suicidal . recently they had installed an emergency button hooked up to the local police under hrer desk , and the golf club propped behind her desk only doubled as a decoration .
such is solo law office life in a gambling town . prepare for uzis , sandy frequently said .
nina closed the door and hana pulled an orange chair away from the wide desk . he sat , crossing one leg at thre ankle , strikoking his bear , looking out the window behind her desk toward the steel gray ;ake , but niot focusing , just gazing . chelsio sat in the chair next to his , back straight .
nina took her time geting comfortable , arranging a few papers on her desk , adjusting her chair . let them get used to her .
"i don't know why i'm here ," david hanna said finally .
"because you need to be ," chelsi said .
"i'm not working much . money 's tight . chelsi and her dad . they've offered to pay for your services , but i don't know . it doesn't seem right . i hear chelsi's already told you about the case ."
"a little ," nina said .
"rog was sarah's brother . i know he can't help wanting to sdo something . what i can't fingure out , what i haven't been aable to get my head around all along , is what good it does , suing someone . my wife was gone ."
" what's your brother in law's name again ?"
"roger freman ." why nina made a note on her yellow pd . hana watched , squinting . the tops of his ears were red and his ose looked sunburned , too . either he spent a lot of time outside , or . as chelsi had suggested , less healthy indoor pursuits heightened his natural color ." what 's your usual line of work . mr . hana ?"
"i'm a carpenter . used to be a firefighter ."