Mitch sat in the corner of Paulette's, a French restaurant in the middle
of Memphis. At seven o'clock Abby rushed in from the cold and
joined him at his table.
'What's the special event?' she asked. Mitch had said hardly
anything on the phone when he invited her to meet him here. He was
very careful about what he said on the phone these days.
'Do I need a reason to have dinner with my wife?'
'Yes. It's seven o'clock on a Monday night and you're not at the
office. That's very unusual.'
A waiter came to their table and they ordered two white wines. As
the waiter went away Mitch noticed the face of a man at another table
that looked familiar. Before Mitch could think about it the man hid
his face behind a menu.
'What's the matter, Mitch?'
He put his hand on hers and said, 'Abby, we've got to talk.'
'What about?' she asked, worried.
'About something very serious,' he said quietly. 'But we can't talk
here. There's a back door near the washrooms. I want you to go to the
washroom and then leave by the back door. I'll meet you there. I'll
bring your coat. Trust me, please.'
Abby left. Mitch waited until the man with the menu was busy
talking to a waiter and then he followed her. Outside they walked to a
bar and sat down in a dark corner inside.
'What's this all about?' demanded Abby, when they had their
drinks.
'I met an FBI agent today, a man called Tarrance. It's the second
time he's spoken to me.'
'FBI?'
'Yes. With badges and everything.' He told her about the first
meeting with Tarrance and what the partners had said about it.
'What do the FBI want?'
'I don't know, Abby. I'm just eating lunch when someone comes up
and tells me that my phones are bugged, my home is bugged, and
someone at Bendini, Lambert & Locke knows
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everything I do. I don't know what they want, Abby, but they've
chosen me for some reason.'
'Did you tell anyone at the office?'
'No, I haven't told anyone except you. And I don't intend to tell
anyone either.'
Abby drank from her glass of wine. 'Our phones are bugged?'
'According to the FBI.But how do they know?'
'They're not stupid, Mitch. If the FBI told me my phones were
bugged I'd believe them.'
'I don't know who to believe. Locke and Lambert were very
believable when they explained how the firm fights with the tax
people and the FBI. But if the firm did have a rich client whom the
FBI was investigating, why would they choose me, the new man in
the firm, to talk to? What do I know? I've seen no signs of any
criminal acts. All the files I work on are clean.'
'But someone is bugging you.'
'Even the car, Tarrance said.'
'Mitch, this is amazing. Why would a law firm do that?'
'I've no idea. I feel much better now that I've told you. From now
on I'll tell you everything. I didn't tell you sooner because I kept
hoping it would all go away. And there's more to tell you.' He told her
about Eddie Lomax and the five dead lawyers, and how he suspected
that none of their deaths was quite what it seemed to be.
'I feel weak.'
'Abby, we have to be careful. We must continue to live as if we
suspect nothing.'
'This is unreal, Mitch. I can't believe I'm sitting here listening to
you saying all this. Do you expect me to live in a house where
everything's bugged?'
'Do you have a better idea?'
'Yeah. Let's hire this Eddie Lomax to inspect our house.'