Page 76 of Pro Bono

May and Rose were up early, sitting on the deck drinking coffee as dawn broke. May said, “I really had hopes that Peter would do the trick. I thought that she’d spend a few minutes near him and the rest would be like automatic pilot. He could string her along a little until she inherited Danny’s bank accounts, with everything legal and simple, with her stupid son or one of his lawyer friends doing the work. Peter may not want to play the game anymore, but he still knows the moves. He’s still got the charisma and he’s in great shape, and he’s so calm and reassuring everybody trusts him. I figured he could get her to invest in a joint project, maybe some land up here or anything else she likes, with him as managing partner.”

“Well, she didn’t go weak in the knees,” Rose said. “She’s been burned before.”

“That’s what gave me the most hope,” May said. “The ones who have been taken are the easiest ones to take again. All you need is fresh bait.”

“Well, it’s not going to happen,” Rose said. “Want to give up, or go with a second plan?”

“I don’t give up. I think we have to go with the risky option. She hasn’t got Danny’s money yet. If she dies and the money shows up in her bank account, then we have a few days writing checks on it and using her cards until the last minute. I’ve got a few addresses where we can have merchandise sent, and a few contacts with companies that can accept payments and move the money through a chain of other companies in under one second, when it all dissolves into the air in another country. I’m sure you still have some too.”

“Of course,” Rose said. “They take a percentage, but losing a percentage is better than losing it all.”

“Let’s get some of these people notified today, before we start the clock running.”

“I’ll make some calls this morning to set up what I can. You’d better do it too. We have no idea how big Danny’s stash is, and it’s got to go fast.”

May said, “I already started a few hours ago. Manaus is three hours ahead of us, and London is eight.”

At noon, Charlie and Vesper’s plane landed in Reno, and they walked through the long accordion tunnel into the airport. Charlie reached into his carry-on bag and turned on his two phones as they walked. The burner phone rang right away. He saw that the number of his caller was two. “Hello?”

“Hi, Charlie.” Warren recognized the voice of Minkeagan.

“Hi. What’s up?”

“We lost track of your mother.”

“Don’t worry. We know where she is. Where are you?”

“We’re outside the club where she goes for her workouts. Usually about this time she comes out of the gym, swims a while, and then eats lunch with her best buddies. She’s a no-show, and so are they.”

“She sent me an email last night. She’s with the two friends at a lake in the Sierras. Vesper and I flew up this morning, so you don’t have to worry about her for a while. I’ll call you if I need you again.”

“Look, Charlie. I’m feeling a little uncomfortable about this. We’re all waiting for some big money to arrive for her, and we know other people have applied for it too. Anybody who’s trying to claim this particular guy’s bank accounts knows that the front runner has got to be the guy’s widow.”

“What’s wrong? Don’t I seem worried enough about her?”

“I don’t know,” Minkeagan said. “Just don’t lose our numbers.”

“Thanks,” Charlie said. “I’ll keep this dedicated phone with me. I’ll also call you when I know anything new about the decision on the money.”

Charlie and Vesper rented a car and checked in at the Peppermill, partly because it was near the airport and easy to find. He kept checking his phone while they were eating lunch in one of the hotel’s restaurants. He saw the way Vesper was watching him and slipped it into his pocket. “I’m just checking for updates.”

“I understand,” she said. “You could tell her we’re here and available if she needs us.”

“She would be insulted.”

“She would act insulted. She would be touched. And maybe pleasantly amused at us, and if she is, who cares? You’re one of the toughest people I’ve ever met. You can take all the teasing she can come up with.”

“I’ll let her know we’re here.” He smiled. “Of course, I’ll lie to her about why we came.” He typed in her number on his phone and then typed in a text message. Then he put the phone in his pocket. “Thanks. I actually feel less anxious. She can laugh at me all she wants.”

“That’s the right attitude,” Vesper said.

They finished their lunch and went up to their room. Charlie called Martha. “Hi. It’ s me,” he said. “We’re in Reno. Anything going on that I should know about?” He put the phone on speaker and set it down on the side table by the bed.

“Not you personally, but as Vesper’s attorney, yes. The last of her money came in from Founding Fathers. It tops off the balance, so I believe that’s the end of her case.”

Vesper said, “Thanks, Martha.”

“Thanks, Martha,” Warren said. “If you don’t have to be there, feel free to reroute the calls to the service and take the rest of the day.”

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