Part 20 (1/2)

”Really?” She raised her eyebrows.

”She's my mother!”

”It will be interesting to see Ethel's reaction when you make that argument.”

He hung his head. Interesting wasn't quite the right word. Suicidal was more accurate.

”But I love you,” Marina said, ”so I'll grant you a stay of execution. You can tell her when you're ready. Let's finish the mission first.”

”Thank you. I love you, too.”

The conference room in headquarters was as crowded as Aaron had ever seen it. He, Marina, Ethel, Smythe, Kamal, Ramirez, and Edward occupied most of the chairs. Ethel sat at the head of the table in her formal gray robes which marked her as a commander.

The furnis.h.i.+ngs in the room enhanced the serious tone of the meeting. Bookshelves held the tabella, the official records of the Gray Spear Society. There were hundreds of books bound in real leather. Aaron couldn't read them because they were in Latin, but he enjoyed looking at the pages. The older editions had been copied by hand onto actual parchment using beautiful calligraphy. The newer ones were printed with modern type, but the use of durable parchment continued to the present day. The records were meant to last a thousand years.

”We have some important topics to discuss,” Ethel said. ”We'll start with a report from Dr. Smythe.”

Smythe nodded. ”Thank you. It took us most of the night, but we were able to a.n.a.lyze the powder we found in the envelope. Before I go into the details, I have to mention both Kamal and Ramirez are outstanding scientists. Working closely with them turned out to be an unexpected pleasure. They made me feel much less anxious about joining this team.”

Kamal and Ramirez smiled.

”Here are our results,” Smythe said. ”The poison is a derivative of tetrachloroethane, which is pretty d.a.m.n toxic, but the Eternals tweaked the molecule in a novel way to make it even nastier. This level of sophistication is much more than I'd expect from a creepy death cult. They must have professional biochemists working for them.”

”The more I learn,” Ethel said, ”the more interesting they get. Even if it turns out the Eternals aren't responsible for PRooFS, this investigation is worthwhile.”

”Which reminds me, ma'am. I had a nice, long conversation with Dr. Ramirez about PRooFS. The hypothesis that a poison causes PRooFS isn't as preposterous as I'd thought. We might want to take it seriously.”

Ethel nodded. ”Edward will give the next report.”

Edward cleared his throat and referred to a sheet of paper in his hands. ”I examined the records for all the phone numbers Marina gave me. Each billing account is under a different name, and as far as I can tell, all the names are fake. The Eternals have received plenty of calls over the last five years. I had to sift through over a thousand pages of bills.”

”Did you find anything?” Marina said.

”Some surprising names popped up. Local politicians, businessmen, mobsters, a police captain. The Eternals have all kinds of a.s.sociates, much more than you would expect for a simple cult. I picked one name in particular as the most promising. Dean Wise. He's a criminal defense lawyer who works just a mile from here in Willis Tower. He's infamous for representing the most notorious sc.u.mbags in Chicago, and his success rate is suspiciously high. It's also suspicious how the witnesses in his cases tend to disappear or have an accident before they can testify. Wise communicated with the Eternals many times over the years.”

”He won't want to talk to us,” Marina said. ”I'm sure he knows how to keep his mouth shut.”

”Then pry it open,” Ethel commanded.

”What level of force are you authorizing, ma'am?”

”This guy is the definition of a dirty lawyer. Even though it's technically against the rules, I will allow extreme measures in this case. Just get the information.”

Marina nodded. ”Yes, ma'am.”

”I don't like this,” Smythe said.

Aaron looked over at him. ”Don't like what?”

They were riding an elevator up Willis Tower. Like Aaron, Smythe was dressed as a Chicago police officer with a blue uniform, a vest, and a gun. The disguise was flawless, down to the details of fake identification and matching credit cards.

”Impersonating a cop,” Smythe said. ”Making a false arrest. Kidnapping. That's a lot of felonies in one afternoon.”

They were alone in the elevator and could talk freely.

”Are you worried about getting caught?”

”I don't like breaking the law.”

”Unfortunately,” Aaron said, ”that's part of what we do. We obey a higher law.”

”Good excuse,” Smythe said. ”What happens if we get caught?”

”Ethel will bail us out or arrange an escape. She won't let us stay in jail for more than a night. Just don't tell the police anything. Keep your mouth shut and the Society will protect you. Talk and you're dead meat.”

Smythe grunted.

The elevator doors opened. They followed the signs and entered the Dean Wise Law Office. Dark red panels covered the walls, and the furniture was upholstered with white leather. The receptionist was a perky young blonde in a red dress that revealed too much cleavage. A Beethoven symphony played in the background.

Aaron approached the receptionist. ”Where is Dean Wise?”

”He's in a meeting,” she said.

”I didn't ask what he's doing. Tell me where he is.” He leaned forward. ”Now.”

Her eyes widened. ”Back there.” She pointed to a door.

Aaron and Smythe walked through the office. The staff looked at them curiously but not as much as Aaron had expected. It seemed the people there were used to seeing police officers.

Aaron found Dean Wise in a back conference room with several other men. All of them were white, middle-aged, and sharply dressed. Their suits were cut in a distinctly Italian style.

”Dean Wise?” Aaron said.

The youngest of the men nodded. ”That's me.” He had dense black hair and a neatly trimmed mustache.

”We have to ask you some questions down at the station.”

”What is this about?”

”You'll find out when we get to the station. If you go quietly, we won't have to arrest you.”

”Fine.” Wise shrugged and looked at the other men in the room. ”Gentlemen, we will reconvene at another time. You can make an appointment with my secretary. Tell her I want to see you again as soon as possible.” He looked back at Aaron. ”Which station am I going to?”

”Central District, South State Street.”

”I know it well. Let's go.”