Final judgment

SEVENTY-NINE

Kelly’s eyes widened. “What do you know about that?” “I know that Sylvia McBride uses her call center as a front for phony IDs. I know that she supplied IDs to her husband, Wayne, so he could become Al Webb and to her step-nephew, Tommy Corcoran, who became Charles Rockley. Johnny Keegan was her nephew. All he needed was a resume. I know that the FBI’s files on the family are off-limits on the grounds of national security. The rest is just a matter of connecting the dots.”

“One thing the terrorists learned from nine-eleven was to be patient,” Kelly said. “They want to set up sleeper cells in this country. That takes more than fake IDs; it takes complete covers-job histories, residential histories, family histories. More than that, they need people to front for them whose names and skin color don’t match a Homeland Security risk profile. Sylvia and Webb were running a nice little ID scam. They hooked up with a Saudi Arabian charity and took the operation international.”

“Why did you drag Fish into all of this?” Mason asked.

“We needed him to set up the bank robbery.”

“Why not just give Sylvia and her husband the money?” Blues asked.

“I told you that Webb wasn’t happy to have Brewer and me as his partners. Webb’s overseas partners were even less happy. They demanded proof that we really had changed teams. We couldn’t blow up a building for them and we don’t kill people. Then Fish fell into our laps when Rockley was murdered. His connection to Webb was too good an opportunity to pass up. Our charity sponsors liked the bank robbery.”

“Who leaked Rockley’s ID to Rachel Firestone?” Mason asked.

“The initial leak came from outside the Bureau, but Brewer confirmed it. He figured it was coming out soon enough anyway. I chewed his ass out if that makes any difference.”

“Not much. Who took Blues’s picture outside Rockley’s apartment?” Mason asked.

“Johnny Keegan. When Rockley disappeared, Webb sent Johnny to look for him. He took Blues’s picture with a camera phone and e-mailed it to Webb. We were monitoring Webb’s e-mail. That added to the pressure on Fish to work with us because it made him look guilty.”

“Fish didn’t kill Rockley; Webb did. So why would Webb send Johnny to look for Rockley?” Mason asked.

“Webb didn’t kill him or Johnny. Like I told you, Webb didn’t trust many people, but he trusted those boys because they were family and he needed them for his operation. Plus, Brewer and I can alibi him for both murders.”

“How do I know you’re not covering up for Webb in the name of national security?” Mason asked.

“You’re just going to have to trust me. In any case, the robbery did the trick. Webb is taking us to meet his contact.”

“I’m glad everything worked out so well for you. Too bad I can’t say the same thing for Fish,” Mason said.

“Fish had a heart attack. That wasn’t our fault. He should have stayed home.”

“That’s an easy out,” Mason said. “All you cared about was your investigation. If someone gets hurt or dies, you toss that off as collateral damage.”

“You should know, Counselor. You’re pretty good at that yourself. You’re the one who dragged Lila into this case. Webb caught her on his computer. It didn’t take much to get her to tell him she was doing a favor for you.”

Mason felt a flash of heat in his face. Kelly was right about Lila. He could add her to the list with Vanessa Carter. He was about to pay his debt to Judge Carter and would have to find a way to make it up to Lila.

Kelly’s cell phone rang. She looked at the screen, ignoring the call.

“Brewer?” Mason asked.

“Yeah. We don’t have much time.” Kelly stood up. “Get up and hit me,” she said, pointing to her chin.

Mason stood, his arms at his side. “I’m not going to hit you.”

“Look, if you don’t hit me, Brewer and Webb aren’t going to believe that you escaped without my help. You’re right about one thing. This investigation is more important than me or you or any other collateral damage. I’m going underground and tracing this ID network as far as it goes. I can’t take the chance that my case falls apart because you don’t have the stomach to hit a woman.”

“Get out of my way,” Blues said, pushing Mason to the side and dropping Kelly with a hard left hand. “You people talk so much it makes my head hurt.”

Mason helped Kelly onto the sofa, cupping her chin in his hand until her eyes focused. The right side of her face was red and swelling fast. There was a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth. He wiped it with his sleeve. She draped her arm over his shoulder and pulled him close.

“I want you to know something,” she whispered.

“I know. It could have been Brewer instead of you.”

“Not what I mean,” she managed. “That night in Fiori’s office, I found some of the tapes. Brewer was in another room. I took them with me to listen to later. You were on the tapes talking to Fiori about Blues and Judge Carter. There was also a call from Fiori to the judge.”

Mason stared at her, unable to move. “It was you?” he finally said. “You were the blackmailer. Was that another chip you tossed onto the table for Webb?”

She shook her head and sat up, rubbing her jaw. “I wouldn’t do that to you. I burnt the tape after I listened to it.”

Mason heard voices for the second time that night. This time it was Vanessa Carter telling him that they had a problem, followed by Fish reminding him that the mark never feels the hook until it’s in too deep. Fish had warned him, but the hook was in too deep for Mason to understand.

“Why did you do that?”

“Blues was innocent. The judge was already compromised. It didn’t matter and I didn’t want you to end up as collateral damage.”

“Why tell me about it now?”

“I saw the look on your face when I told you about Brewer’s tape. Besides, this way you’ll know that I’m not as bad as they will say I am. Now get out of here.”