Page 69 of Pro Bono

“Let’s act on what we know,” she said. “Which, by the way, is all good.”

“You’re right,” he said.

She got up from the bed and went into the bathroom, and he walked to the closest suite, where he had taken to keeping some of his clothes.He showered, shaved, dressed, and then went downstairs, where Vesper had begun to make their breakfast. She said, “Martha called. She said you weren’t answering, and so she said she’d leave a message on your voicemail.”

He found the message and tapped his finger on it. “Charlie, the last of the answers to our inquiries to the state abandoned assets offices came in. The ones who have Rickenger money are California, Arizona, Nevada, and New York. Arizona, Nevada, and New York are accepting California’s determination that the marriage was valid and in effect the day he died. The weird thing is that there were other claimants, and they’re named Rickenger.”

Vesper said, “That is weird. I mean, the man was a thief, right? Aren’t there legal implications to trying to claim money that’s stolen?”

Charlie said, “I hope so. But it’s possible that in practice the only punishment for making a false claim is not having the claim validated. It would be hard for the state to prove that any claimant except my mother knew the money had been stolen.”

When they had finished their breakfast, Charlie went to the guest room upstairs, unplugged the number three burner cell phone, and pressed the number one icon. The phone rang and then Minkeagan’s voice said, “Number One.”

“Hi, it’s me. Daniel Rickenger left money that was confiscated by the states of California, Arizona, Nevada, and New York. No other states. If I remember correctly, we didn’t know about New York or Nevada, so he must have left the paperwork in safe deposit boxes in those places. That’s good news. By now the states confiscated everything he had deposited. The money should come through. It’s pretty much a sure thing now that they’ve accepted the marriage.”

“Is this just a progress report or do you want something?”

“I want something.”

“What is it?”

“We just found out that my mother is coming into town on a flight from Maine to LAX on Thursday. We also found out that there were some claims to the abandoned money made by people named Rickenger.”

“You want us to watch your mother. Why should we?”

“Because on the day we made our deal, you agreed to help as needed. My mother is that jerk’s heir. In other words, she’s the beneficiary, but hasn’t inherited yet. If something were to happen to her before she does, I’m not sure of the legal consequences, but it would at least add years to the payout process for you.”

“What do you want us to do?”

“I don’t need you to watch my mother all the time. Just be aware of roughly what she’s doing. Check her surroundings to be sure nobody is stalking her. I’ll be doing the same.”

“All right. We’ll do it.”

On Thursday afternoon when he was at the airport picking up his mother, Charlie spotted Minkeagan and Copes in different places. Copes was in a car in the short-term parking structure across from the American Airlines terminal. Minkeagan was sitting in the coffee shop that arriving passengers passed on their way to the baggage claim.

Linda Warren didn’t appear to notice either man. She was too interested in talking with Charlie and Vesper, who had come to pick her up at the airport and take her to Vesper’s house to spend the first few nights while she waited for her tenants, Glen and Vivian, to clear out of the Warren family home.

The next night Linda invited Vivian and Glen out to dinner to congratulate them on their new job in England. Part of her motive was her extensive experience of moving from place to place. She knew that by the time a person was this close to moving, groceries were intentionally depleted to nearly nothing, and she wanted to be sure they were well fed.

Within the next few days Linda had begun to reconnect with friends she had seldom seen in recent years. Three of them got together almost immediately and nominated her for membership in their country club. Groups of this sort were something Linda had never joined during her years in Los Angeles, but in some of her other places she had found joining anything was an easy way to meet people, so she kept it in mind.

Part of her time she spent with Vesper. They went for daily walks and took each other to lunch. Vesper drove Linda to visit local places that Linda had missed, or that had changed so radically that they were largely new. Charlie and Vesper had been spending almost every night at Vesper’s house, and after Linda arrived, it was every night.

The day came when the tenants had gone, the cleaning crew that Linda had hired were finished, and it was time to go to the Warren house. The house had been so vacuumed, waxed, polished, and dusted, its windows so thoroughly cleaned, that it seemed to admit more light than ever before. Charlie watched his mother’s eyes and her mouth as she walked from room to room. She looked very alert and attentive, but not unhappy.

When they had been everywhere, she stopped in the middle of the living room. Charlie waited while she gazed at the ceiling.

He said, “Well?”

She said, “She wants a baby.”

“Vesper?” he said. “Are you sure?”

“She told me she ‘loves children.’ But you have to start by loving one. You’ve never seemed to me to have any interest in that. You never seemed to me to want to hold on to any of the women you date very long either, but this time you seem more amenable to it. You’re both in your midthirties. If you don’t want a baby, you should tell her. If you do, it’s beginning to be time.”

“Thank you for telling me.”

“It’s part of the basic service package, and I haven’t done much mothering for a long time.”

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