Couples
Chapter 67
After spending two hours carefully inspecting every inch of the loft, Bart Wygard seeks out Rick. As usual, the writer has his laptop across his thighs in his favorite chair, close enough to the corral to keep eyes and ears on Lily. "You've already hardened the place, Rick. I can't see much else to do except upgrading your sensors. In the last few years, they've gotten more discriminating and less prone to false alarms. And I can post people downstairs and either outside or inside the loft, wherever you want them."
"How about both?" Rick inquires, putting his computer aside and rising from his seat.
"I can do that." Bart agrees, "but the threat is focused on Kate, isn't it? With Dana and Alexis practically joined at the hip, I hope there isn't any chance of this spilling over to the kids."
"As far as we know, Kate's the only target," Rick responds. "Otherwise, we'd have to worry about Lily too. We believe that Kushman and Flatt want to shut down Kate's investigation. We also have reason to suspect they've already made one unsuccessful attempt. But as far as we can tell, the goal is to keep the matter under wraps. Aiming an assault at family would only expose Kushman and Flatt to more scrutiny."
"I understand, and you're probably right," Bart replies, "but still, I plan to keep tabs on Dana, which will no doubt include keeping tabs on Alexis as well."
"I'm not about to fight you on that," Rick declares. "The more safety for everyone, the better."
Bart nods. "All right, then. We agree. And by the way, I've caught a few glimpses of the wedding gown my wife is working on for Alexis. I'm not much of a judge of such things. Most of the fashion I see when I have gigs guarding celebrities on the red carpet confuses me. I think many of those ladies would look better in something more traditional. These days, the men too. But to my eyes, your daughter's choice of dress is lovely. Alexis is going to be a beautiful bride."
"Alexis would be a beautiful bride in sweatpants and a hoodie," Rick asserts, "but I appreciate the sneak peek. I wish she and Dana would wait a few years to tie the knot, but I believe they'll be great together."
Bart slaps Rick on the back. "With you there, Buddy, all the way."
Kate stares in frustration at her Kushman hits on Google. The entries all read like ads. No doubt he hires someone to make sure that everything on the opening pages of a search is flattering. Needing a less commercial place to look, she brings up a database of court documents. Now she's getting somewhere. Kushman is all over them. So is Flatt. And Roan pops up on filings for both. Bingo! He's the tie between them and possibly the key to everything. She's starting to feel better about all the hassle it took her to get Merdebutte his shoes.
Roan's mentions in the court records go back at least a decade, and he wasn't always working for Kushman or Flatt. He was counsel on cases for the Cardano family. Kate's not sure if working for Kushman and Flatt is moving up in the world or just working for less flagrant criminals. She studies some matters Roan handled. A number of them were suits against Cardano family businesses in waste management and construction. That gives her a solid clue toward Roan's mode of thinking. Since waste didn't work out, is he going to go after her in a way connected to the building trades?
She should probably try to stay away from any structures going up or under renovation. Unfortunately, in Manhattan, that's almost impossible. Scaffolding clings like ivy to buildings all over the concrete island. But she can stay in the precinct and have the boys bring anyone she has to question to her. Working on her home-turf is always an advantage anyway. That won't get her Roan, but she can start with victims of some of the more recent accidents he litigated – at least the ones who are still alive.
Taking a different tack than Kate, Rick uses a digital subscription that is essentially an updated version of a clipping service. He can search for Roan by name in anything that's appeared in major and many minor newspapers and magazines. As far as Rick can tell, Roan never sought the limelight or showed up at a press conference. He did, however, pop up in articles and columns by journalists who penned legal stories that didn't make the front pages. Roan was exclusively on what Rick views as the wrong side, trying to defend builders and contractors from injury suits.
Checking the complainants' names, Rick notes that many of them had previously accused the defendants in the suits involving various sorts of malfeasance. And then somehow a wall collapsed on them, or a stack of two by fours rained on their heads. Two families even brought wrongful death suits when loved ones were "accidentally" caught in quick-drying cement.
Rick can picture a chapter in a Nikki Heat book. Nikki is lured to a meeting at a construction site by the promise of evidence against a murderer. Her source knocks her into a hole prepared as a foundation, just as a cement truck begins to fill it. Supported by the Roach, Rook pulls her out just in time, and she and Roach capture her would-be killer, who spills the beans on her quarry.
The scenario is acceptable for a book, even if visualizing it makes Rick's teeth chatter. But in real life, Rick wants Kate nowhere near a cement mixer, plummeting steel girders, or any other potential end to her existence. He starts attempting to contact former victims, ostensibly to interview them as background for a book. But he's hoping they'll lead him to whomever Kushman, Flatt, and/or Roan will use to carry out any plans against Kate. He's praying he can work fast enough.
On a rare weekday off, Lanie examines the contents of her closet. Some of her wardrobe resides in Lorne's walk-in, but it's primarily clothing she'd grab to wear to the lab before changing into her scrubs. She also has a couple of dresses there for when they go out, but they have a lot more fun staying in.
Lanie has no idea what she should wear to the gathering on Saturday night. Typically, an engagement party would be a dress-up affair. But except at a sci-fi convention, who dresses up to watch a lightsaber battle? And even then, it's in Star Wars costumes. Also, according to Rick, they'll be stuffing down corned beef and pastrami, not filet mignon. That's not exactly a formal dinner. She should talk to Kate. Her friend has attended more than enough of Rick's weird events.
Conferring with Kate aside, dropping in on the 12th Precinct in the morning can be the best kind of respite. Lanie can stop by Jamba Juice on the way, and Rick arranged for the break room to have fresh pastries delivered every day. With luck, she might get a bear claw. A cruller or maple bar wouldn't be bad either.
Lanie has to tap Kate on the shoulder to get her attention. "What's got you glued to your computer, girlfriend? New case?"
"Old case with new angles," Kate explains. "Maybe you can help. If someone is hurt or killed on a construction site, how would you tell if it was accidental or deliberate?"
Lanie drops into the well-worn seat Rick often occupies. "Wow, you're not hitting me with an easy one, are you? That's the kind of thing that keeps M.E.s up at night. Actually, Lorne and I have talked about it. We didn't reach any conclusions that would hold up in court, but I can tell you what we came up with."
Kate leans toward Lanie's side of her desk. "Please."