While Justice Sleeps(97)
Dropping the letters, that left one p.m. and four p.m., as she’d assumed he meant in the afternoon. But knowing when meant nothing if she didn’t know where she was going. Where the other scion of justice is known but not seen. Where the hell was that?
Avery turned off the water and left the bathroom. When she returned to her seat on the sofa, Jared, beside her, tapped instructions into his computer, then dialed his cell phone. “Check your phones. Let me know if you have a signal.”
No one did. At Avery’s look, he explained. “I’m jamming all signals. Depending on their equipment, they may still be able to view us, but no audio. We’ve got maybe five minutes or they’ll know it’s not natural interference. Ling, try to look disgusted.” He slid the pizza box toward Avery. “What did your friend want?”
“It was Ani. I’m supposed to meet him in the square in two days. But I don’t know where that is.” She repeated his instructions.
“You figured out the time from that gibberish?” Noah asked incredulously.
“I like chess. Apparently, works great for cryptic clues.”
“Before the jammer fails, any other reports?”
Avery reached for her bag and laid Justice Wynn’s letter on the table. She unfolded the sheets and pointed to a single sentence, her eyes meeting Ling’s. “We have to get ahead of this. Next week is the end of term, and then my time is up.” She jabbed her finger at the page. “Ling, this line here. Do you know what it means?”
“About smallpox. It sounds vaguely familiar. I think it’s a reference from the eighteenth century,” Ling explained thoughtfully, quietly. “During the outbreaks in Europe, physicians learned of a practice in China, Turkey, and Africa to transfer active cultures from smallpox wounds to healthy children to inoculate them. The doctors initially rejected the idea as insane, but once the Prince and Princess of Wales allowed their own children to be treated, it moved into greater favor.”
“But what does that have to do with the judge?” Jared demanded in a low rumble of exasperation. “I’ve already been diagnosed with Boursin’s. There’s nothing he could have done to inoculate me against his genes.”
“Except guarantee that the research necessary to protect you continues,” Avery corrected. Disappointed, she rubbed at the small of her back where a new knot of tension had formed. “I’m running out of clues.”
Noah asked the next question, aware their signal block would disappear soon: “What is the Court going to do if you don’t solve this?”
“Deadlock,” Avery responded wearily. Discarding the last of her ethics about keeping Court secrets secret, she explained, “Rumor has it that Roseborough, Hodgson, Gardner, and Lawrence-Hardy are already in favor of permitting the merger. But Lindenbaum, Newell, and Estrada are ideologues. They staunchly oppose interfering with the power of the executive to make decisions about national security. Seth Bringman is an isolationist—he sees the decision as a referendum on the resilience of the American marketplace. An Indian firm will be the surviving company, which rubs him the wrong way. If there’s a tie, the merger will be blocked. Any research they’ve produced will probably vanish with them.”
Jared slammed his fist against the coffee table, and the pizza carton jumped. “He’s nearly gotten you killed twice, when he had to know you couldn’t help him. You can’t save him, and if this evil experiment is true, I don’t want you to save me.”
“There’s some kind of massive cover-up going on here, Jared. We know that,” Avery blurted, her stomach clutching. “Your father knew about Hygeia and their experiments. Telling the truth meant the end of the merger because he’d have to recuse himself, especially if what he’d figured out was proven to be true. But attempted genocide would not only scuttle the merger but probably destroy both companies. No cure for you. Although, with the Court in limbo, he apparently believes there are moves left. Sacrificing both bishops wasn’t the endgame. It set up Lasker to trap Bauer into making futile attempts to escape the inevitable.”
“This isn’t a chess game, Avery. And either way, he’s wrong,” Jared shot back. “A possible cure is not as important as your life.”
Avery shifted to the edge of her seat now, her jaw set tight. “I would do this, but I don’t know how he expects it to happen. How in the world am I supposed to manipulate the Supreme Court? I have no standing to push for new oral arguments, and I don’t have enough real evidence to create a good press witch hunt that doesn’t rebound on me.” Her voice was heavy with emotion. “Everything I touch disappears, and I can’t make this kind of accusation without proof!”
She sprang to her feet and snatched open the door, only to find an agent standing guard. “I need some air right now.”
“You’re to remain in the apartment.”
“I’m going out for a walk,” she declared, shoving past him.
The agent caught her arm, and, smartly, shifted as her fist came around in an automatic swing for his nose. He captured her hand and forced it to her side. “Ms. Keene, no one is allowed outside the apartment until morning. Agent Lee’s orders.”
Avery struggled in his grip, as Jared, Noah, and Ling rushed to the doorway. “Let her go!” Ling insisted.