The Chaos Kind (John Rain #11)(40)

“Children,” Labee said. “Alondra, I don’t care how they get referred to in statutes, underage girls are children.”

Diaz grimaced. “Bad habit. I don’t say child prostitutes anymore, either. Prostituted children.”

Labee nodded. “What men?”

“He wouldn’t give me that. I got him to say a lot—more than he meant to, I’m sure, because he was scared and trying to please me—but he wouldn’t name names. But I could tell he was worried. I kept pressing him, saying how would they know, and why should they believe him. And he said his lawyer told Hobbs.”

“Uriah Hobbs?” Dox said.

Diaz nodded. “That Hobbs.”

“Well,” Dox said, “that’s not great. I mean, it was bad enough when it was just Rispel and the CIA. But the attorney general runs Justice, and Justice runs the FBI. This is turning into a lot of opposition for our little band of brothers.”

“There’s more,” Diaz said. “Schrader says the videos will be released unless he resets an automated system.”

“Dead-man switch,” Dox said. “Like Larison suspected. Not just the angel of death—smart, too. Did Schrader offer any details? How the system gets reset, or where, or by whom?”

Diaz shook her head. “I tried. All he would say is if I didn’t get him out of jail right away, there would be what he called ‘a shot across the bow.’”

Dox had heard that kind of thing before. “Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?”

Labee looked at him. “That doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”

“Fair enough,” Dox said. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough. Unless the people who took him can get him to reset the system beforehand.”

Diaz looked at Dox. “Who are you? How are you involved in this?”

Dox gave her a quick rundown, doing his best to leave out anything that could be used against him in the proverbial court of law.

When he was done, Diaz said, “I can’t believe this shit goes on.”

“Me neither,” Dox said. “And I’m part of it.”

They were quiet for a moment. Labee said, “But why would Hobbs have believed Schrader’s lawyer? I mean, would they really have conspired to murder an assistant US Attorney, and to break Schrader out of prison, based just on the lawyer’s say-so?”

“No,” Diaz said. “Schrader said the lawyer showed Hobbs excerpts. Proof.”

Dox realized something. “Wait a minute. If the damn lawyer has some kind of highlight reel, anybody who’s trying to roll this thing up by disappearing Schrader is likely to make a run at the lawyer, too. Do we know who or where this person is?”

“Yes,” Diaz said. “Her name is Sharon Hamilton. She’s been in Seattle since Schrader’s arrest. Staying at the Four Seasons.”

“And where’s that?”

“Downtown,” Labee said. “Fifteen-, maybe twenty-minute drive.”

Dox pulled out his burner. “Larison and Manus might be able to get there faster than that. And if we all get there together, it’ll be good to have backup. Alondra, do you know Hamilton’s cellphone number?”

“Yes,” Diaz said. “But . . . shit, it’s on my phone. I left it in the library near the courthouse.”

“Good,” Labee said. “That was the right move.”

Dox’s mind was racing. He was getting a bad feeling about Hamilton. He looked at Diaz. “Can you get it from someone in your office? Or by calling Hamilton’s office?”

“Maybe.”

“Not Meekler,” Labee said. “I don’t want you talking to him right now, or having to answer his questions. We don’t know who’s in on this.”

Dox thought of Kanezaki. “Well, try who you can,” he said. “And even if you can’t manage it, maybe my contact can get the number just from Hamilton’s name, and he can track it for us, too. But let’s get someone over to the hotel first.” He called Larison’s burner.

Larison picked up instantly. “Everything okay?”

“Copacetic. I mean, copacetic’s a relative term this morning, but you know what I mean. You getting along okay with our new friend?”

“We’re fine. Nice to spend time with someone quiet for a change.”

Dox would have laughed, but he was too concerned about Hamilton. “Okay, here’s the deal. I need the two of you to get over to the Seattle Four Seasons pronto.”

“You want us back in Seattle? After the park, I thought the idea was for us to stay out.”

“Hey, we’ve been improvising on everything today, why should we stop now? Anyway, Schrader’s lawyer, Sharon Hamilton, is staying at the hotel. And for reasons I don’t have time to get into right now, I think she’s in danger.”

“Well, what do you want us to do?”

“I’d say for starters kill anything that looks dangerous.” He covered the microphone and said to Diaz, “Kill being a euphemism, of course.”

He put the phone back to his ear. Larison said, “At least this time you’re not asking me to just hit someone with an umbrella.”

“I don’t care how you do it. The main thing is, if we want to figure out where this opposition is ultimately coming from, we need to know what Hamilton knows. That’ll work best if she’s alive and not disappeared by whoever took Schrader. Now head over there double time. I’m doing the same, and I’ll see if K. can confirm a cellphone location, too. If Hamilton’s not at the hotel, I’ll call you back.”