Lowell left the FBI headquarters and entered the limo. This was no time to take a stroll uptown unguarded. He looked at his watch. It was almost five o’clock. There wasn’t much he could do with this case until he heard from Jensen.
“Andy, I want to pick up Melinda. Let me call her and see where she is.”
He dialed.
“Hi Dad.”
“I’m heading uptown,” said Lowell. “Are you free for dinner? I need to go over a few things with you.”
“I’m in my office. I couldn’t get out of here before six. Why don’t I meet you at the townhouse?”
“I just won’t feel right until this embezzlement thing is behind us.” He retied his ponytail. “I think I’ll just drive around for a while and we’ll pick you up in an hour. How’s that?”
“Okay, Dad. If it makes you feel better.”
“It will. I won’t relax until they’ve caught McFarley.”
Lowell hung up. “Andy, you heard?”
“You wanna take a drive until we get Melinda. Gotcha, Boss.” Andy pushed a button on the steering wheel and the glass opaque partition between the front seat and the rest of the limo came up. Lowell looked out the window at Manhattan at rush hour, crowded, overwhelming. He shook his head and twisted the knobs on his console. The windows darkened and suddenly the coast of Southern California appeared to be zipping by. He enjoyed the illusion, and why not? It was better than a movie. You were more involved. Your life went on within the car but the world outside was changed. He opened the little refrigerator and took out a Spatan beer and a chilled mug. He poured the beer and sat back enjoying the passing view. When the limo appeared to pass Vivian Younger’s house, he tipped his beer in a toast.
***
They picked up Melinda at six. She came down the steps from her office building and approached the car. “Hi Andy.” She gave him a peck on the cheek as Andy held the door for her. She got into the limo and kissed her dad.
“How was your day?” asked Lowell.
“Oh, you know, just the usual lawyer stuff. How was yours?”
“I saw the FBI agent in charge of the embezzlement case.”
Melinda smiled. “I noticed you don’t refer to it as the marshmallow case any longer.”
“No,” he replied. “Sarah’s made that impossible.”
“So what did the Feds have to say?”
“Well, I had to dance around with them.”
“Proving astrology once again,” said Melinda knowingly.
Lowell nodded. “Yes, I had to play that game. I read the agent’s wife’s birth chart and convinced him.”
“No doubt,” said his daughter with pride.
“Special Agent Jensen is going to do as I asked and get a forensic examiner to look over the books of the bank.”
“What do you think they’ll find?”
“I’m afraid they may discover a paperless trail that leads to an offshore bank.”
He laughed.
“Dad?”
“I also met a Special Agent Andersen. I was just wondering if all FBI guys are special agents. Don’t they have any regular agents?”
Andy drove them to the townhouse. When Melinda opened the front door Lowell’s four-legged house guest welcomed her with a big wet kiss on the face.
Karen was behind him. “Luigi, stop that,” she shouted. “I’m sorry, Melinda. He’s just such a big baby he has to make friends with everyone.”
Melinda wiped her face. “That’s okay, I grew up with dogs. I’m used to being slobbered on.”
Lowell came in behind Melinda. Luigi came up to him and pushed his head into Lowell’s thigh. Lowell leaned over and gave him a good scratch behind the ears. “Let’s sit in the living room.”
Julia came out of the kitchen. “Hello Mr…David.”
Lowell smiled. “Good evening, Julia.”
“Dinner will be ready in about forty-five minutes. Do you need anything?”
Lowell shook his head. “No, you relax. We’ll help ourselves to drinks.”
Julia looked at Karen and Luigi. “He hasn’t eaten yet. I’ve still got to make a salad. But bring him into the kitchen in a few minutes and I’ll feed him.” She turned back to the kitchen.
The three went into the living room and sat.
“Melinda, I want you to be ready to coordinate with me on the Williamson case. He’s preparing for the operation on his twins. I expect to hear from him in a day or so, and I need to be prepared.”
Lowell noticed that Karen was looking rather unhappy.
“Try not to worry,” he said. “If Williamson had anything to do with your uncle’s death it’ll come out.”
Karen bent down to rub Luigi’s belly. His legs stuck up in the air. His head lay on the carpet, the tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth, a picture of total joy. “And if we don’t learn the truth by the time the operation is completed, then what? You’re not going to continue to investigate his death, are you?”
“Probably not,” Lowell admitted.
“So then what could I do? I can’t stay here much longer. Maybe I’ve got another day or two, but then I’ve got to get back to L.A. and my job.”
Lowell nodded understandingly. “I’ll do what I can.”
Karen sighed. “I know you will. But I need closure on this, and I just won’t rest until I know what happened to Uncle Mickey and why. He was like a father to me after my real dad died, and he never let me down. I don’t want to let him down now.”
Melinda looked over at her father’s stoic face, showing little emotion. But for a slight twitch in his left eye one might have thought Karen’s words had no effect. Melinda knew different. She knew this case was bringing up all sorts of emotional issues for Lowell. And she worried a bit about how it might ultimately affect him.
Lowell stretched out his legs. “Karen, there’s a lot going on here that doesn’t make sense. I hope that as we unravel this web of deceit, your uncle’s thread will unwind as well. I’ve found that once the truth begins to spill out it’s most difficult to stop it. I think we’ll know what happened to him by the time this has all played out.”
Karen stood up abruptly. Her sudden motion disturbed Luigi who got up too and watched carefully as Karen began pacing. “I can’t stand feeling impotent. There’s got to be something I can do. I can’t just sit around waiting for you to solve this. That’s just not my style.”
“I don’t know what else you can do,” said Lowell.
“I don’t know either, but I’m not sitting on my butt waiting. There’s a few more leads I’m going to follow. Let’s see where they take me.”
“I understand your frustration. Just please be careful.”
Karen grunted loudly. “I’ll keep my eyes open. But remember, David, I may be short, but I’m still a cop. And I can take care of myself.”
“Yes, I know you can.” Lowell glanced briefly at Melinda, catching her eye. Karen noticed.
“Stop worrying. I’m not a screwball. Just an aggravated, pissed off niece.” She winked at Lowell. “Who happens to carry a gun.” She headed for the kitchen. “Come on, Luigi, it’s supper time.”