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I pull out my phone and punch in Jerome’s number. He skips the greeting and goes straight to, “What the hell is going on, Cole?”
“I don’t know enough to answer that with any level of confidence or accuracy, but I need to know one thing from you. You also know how I feel about talking on the phone.”
“What do I do?”
“Stay where you are until I tell you otherwise,” I instruct. “They’re going to try to pit her against you or trade her for you. I need to know where you stand.”
“Am I going to admit to something I didn’t do because my daughter made another one of her fucked up mistakes?” he asks. “No. I will not.”
“Can she hurt you?”
“I’ve done nothing illegal ever in my entire life. You know this, and it hasn’t changed. Feel free to work whatever angle you want with confidence, and yes, I’ll send you a check for billable hours.”
“I’ll handle it,” I assure him.
He hesitates a full beat. “She’s my daughter. We don’t always agree on things, but I don’t want her to go to jail.”
In other words, don’t bury her to save him. “Understood. I’ll be in touch.”
I disconnect and text Tara the room number and a time for the meeting. She replies back almost instantly: See you then. With that meeting set, I cross the room, and walk down the hall toward the dining area. I manage to enter the separate room just in time to find Lori standing with Adam, who is showing her how to work the camera and judging from the look on Adam’s face, he has discovered how good she smells. Bastard, who better be glad I get it, she does smell good, and she’s hard not to notice, but that doesn’t mean I expect him to keep noticing. He looks up, and I arch a brow that gets the message across. He laughs and holds up his hands, taking an exaggerated step away from Lori. “We’re ready for the diva when you are,” he says.
Lori looks up at me, her intelligent green eyes narrowing as if she knows something just happened, but she isn’t sure what. I glance at my watch. “It’s nine now. I’ve set Tara’s arrival for ten, because if I don’t eat before I deal with her, I might refuse to represent her before we even get to the police station, which won’t serve her father well.” I walk to the phone on the credenza by the wall and pick up the handset. “What do you want, Lori?”
“Coffee. And I don’t know—croissants? That’s easy, right?”
“Is there a reason Jerome needs counsel?” Adam asks, ignoring our conversation about food.
“Not at present, but he just hired me to make sure that doesn’t change.”
“Room service,” a woman says into my ear.
“Croissants. Lots of them. Coffee for two. Cream.” I glance at Lori remembering her order on the plane. “Lots of Splenda.” She smiles, and I add, “Bacon. Random pastries. All as soon as possible with a good tip attached if soon is soon enough.”
“Yes, sir. Anything else?”
“That will do it.” I hang up and answer Adam’s question. “Jerome Knight says that if they try to use his daughter against him, they will fail. There is nothing dirty to find and he won’t lie to protect her.” I look at Lori. “There’s tension between the two of them, which means we need a good handle on where that’s leading before we walk into the police station later today.”
“Where is her mother in all of this?” Lori asks. “Is she a problem?”
“She hates Jerome,” I say, impressed with the question many wouldn’t ask, which would be a mistake. “A money dispute in the divorce, but she’s been out of his life too long to be a problem.”
Adam chimes in then. “Royce has his brother back in New York City working on this, and let me tell you, Blake is one of the best of the best at electronic tracking and hacking. If there’s something to be found, he’ll find it and fast. For my part, I’m done here, and I’m headed downstairs to clear your rooms. I’ll let you know if I find any devices.”
“Don’t you need our keys?” I ask.
This time Adam arches a brow at me. “Would it make you feel better if I said I did?”
“It would me,” Lori says. “If you can get into our rooms on your own, anyone can get in. How do we know new bugs won’t be put in the room once you leave?”
“You don’t,” Adam says. “Not unless you hire us to make sure they don’t.”
This is exactly why I didn’t want Lori to stay. “We’re going to leave tonight if we can,” I say. “If that changes, I’ll let you know.”
Adam gives me a two-finger wave. “Later, man.” He exits the room and I stand there a few beats, then follow. I catch him before he turns the corner. “Adam.”
He turns to face me. “What’s up?”
“I will double the Walker fee if your team gets me something on this detective to shut this down before tomorrow at noon.”
