“So, let me wash up and we’ll go to the Pie House.”
“That’s fine, George.” Ben scratched his stubbled face. “I was kinda hoping to talk in a little bit more privacy.”
“We’ll take a back booth.” George was already on his way to the bathroom.
When he left, Lilly shook her head. “He really likes you, you know. He’s just a gruff guy.”
“I know your dad. We’re all friends here.” The doorbell rang, and a moment later Ezra Rael came in with an armful of games. He spotted Ben. “Are Haley and Griff here?”
“At the movies.”
“Oh.” The kid stood there, rooted to his spot. Lilly relieved him of the materials. “Wanna cookie, Ez?”
“Sure.”
George came out a moment later. He looked at his daughter. “You didn’t tell me he was coming over.”
The boy blushed. Lilly said, “Yes, I did. You just don’t hear me when I talk.”
“I can’t leave you two here alone—”
“Daddy, stop it.”
“Your mom will kill me.”
“We can talk here, George. There are perfectly good cookies if you need a sugar fix.”
The old man shook his head. “We’ll bring the pie home.” He glared at his daughter. “Won’t take more than a half hour.” His eyes went to Ezra. “You behave yourself.”
“Daddy!”
Ben pulled his arm. “C’mon, George. The quicker we go, the quicker we come home.”
“You drive,” he told Ben.
“You sure?”
“You can’t drive?”
“Of course I can drive. I drove here.”
“Then drive to the Pie House,” George said. “You know where it is?”
“Yes, George, I’ve lived here my entire life.” Ben took out his car keys. “See you two later.”
“No funny business,” George reiterated.
George was a big man and he had to push the passenger seat all the way back to get comfortable. After Ben pulled out of the driveway and drove a hundred feet down the road, the old man said, “My house is bugged.”
“Huh?” Ben turned to him, and then faced the road. “Did I just hear right?”
“Maybe my garage and car too, although I can’t swear to that. You can’t tell anyone.”
“Sure . . . no, of course not.” Ben was trying to think of a way to keep the conversation going. “Is it the government?”
“I sure hope so. Better them than Iran or China or Russia, but even if it was a hostile entity, they wouldn’t find out anything. June and I don’t sit around talking trade secrets. I suspect the bugging is homegrown and that’s fine. Good old Uncle Sam can listen in on me. We work with very sensitive material and I guess after Wen Ho Lee and some of the other major snafus at the lab, they’re attempting to be a little more mindful of what’s going on. June and I have got nothing to hide, but you look like you have something on your mind. Maybe one day you’ll want a government job, and if you’re on crack or something, it’s none of their business.”
“I’m not on crack.” Ben turned right, heading for the Pie House. He was flabbergasted. “How did you find out your house is bugged?”
“About two years ago, the dishwasher conked out. We rarely use it and the one time we wanted to use it after a party, we were surprised it didn’t work. June called a repairman and made an appointment for two days later. Then an hour later someone shows up.”
“An hour later?”
“Yeah, says he was in the neighborhood and just decided to kill two birds with one stone. That kind of service is unheard of for River Remez, right? Everything takes days. No one is in a hurry. Anyway, this guy pulls the dishwasher out and fixes it, and about a half hour later we got a working dishwasher. Fine and dandy except two days later another repairman shows up at the time that June made the original appointment. June tells him they already sent someone out two days ago. The repairman says no one was sent out. June tells him to call his office. Besides, look at the dishwasher. It works. The guy decides to check it out and it does work. But then he looks a little further. He starts pulling out a wire, then another one, then another. Finally, June tells him not to mess with it . . . sticks all the wires back behind the dishwasher . . . and we left it at that. We went out for dinner the next night, and she told me about it. She’s working on some top-secret projects, so she put two and two together.”
“God, that’s weird.” Ben pulled into the Pie House and they both got out. George zipped up his jacket and, walking at a clipped pace, entered the establishment. He said, “Pick a pie.”
“Apple?”
“How about chocolate cream?”
“That’s fine.”
“We’ll get both.”
“George, I’m not even hungry.”
“Give it to your mother. You want some coffee? Sure you do.” The man bought two pies and two coffees. He also bought two individual pieces of coconut cream pie. They sat in the car with the motor running, and ate pie with plastic forks and drank coffee from paper cups. George stuffed a wad of whipped cream into his mouth. “What’s on your mind, Ben?”
“I need your help.”
“You want a recommendation for Caltech?”
“What? No. I’m staying here for college.”
“Big mistake.”
“That’s not what I want to talk about. It’s about my sister’s case.” Slowly and in detail, Ben went over everything he had learned and his conclusions about who the killer might be. George stared out the windshield while Ben talked, as if the old man was watching TV, and ate pie, licking his fingers and smacking his lips. When Ben was done, George wiped his lips with a napkin. “Let’s go home.”
Ben started up the car and waited for George to speak. He didn’t have to wait very long.
“Give me the date again.”
“For Ellen’s abduction or for all the murders?”
“Start with Ellen.” After Ben gave him the date, George said, “You ever been inside the complex, Ben?”
“Just the standard tours.”
“If you were to come visit me at my office—if they’d let you in—security would put a cassette around your neck and take it back when you leave. Every action inside the hub is recorded or monitored or both: audio, video, my computer, phone calls, e-mails. You can’t make a move without someone noticing it. If you’re asking me to look up who visited around the time your sister was abducted, I’m going to have to think up something that doesn’t get my ass fired, or worse, land me in jail.”
“Both of those options are out,” Ben said.
“On the other hand, if what you’re telling me has any merit, I’ll be happy to land my ass in jail to expose someone so evil, especially if it prevents something bad from happening in the future.” He turned to Ben. “It’d be helpful if you had something other than your hunch for me to go on.”
“I wish I had more, but I don’t.” Silence. “George, I don’t want you to do anything that gets you in trouble. I want to make that clear.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I suppose I just want you to keep your eyes and ears open, especially around the upcoming vernal equinox.”
George said. “I’ll keep my eyes and ears open. Now here’s something I want you to do for me.”