Stackhouse paused, cleared his throat, and pulled out a single sheet of paper from his pocket. “I have yet another warrant for your arrest, but I better read it, since I’ve never personally served such a warrant.” He cleared his throat again. “Interpol arrest warrant: IP10067892431. Benjamin G. Corey of Five-ninety-one Edgewood Road, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA. Interpol requests the arrest and extradition from the USA to Japan of the above named individual, pursuant to treaty arrangements between the two countries to stand trial for first-degree murder on or about February twenty-eighth, 2010, in the Prefecture of Kyoto, Japan.”
“What?” Ben demanded. “I never—”
“Hold up!” Stackhouse ordered. “Don’t say anything until I Mirandize you.”
“I found the missing lab books,” one of the FBI agents said, coming in through the connecting door from Jacqueline’s office and presenting them to Stackhouse.
“That’s great, George,” Stackhouse said, seeing the two blue books and recognizing George by his voice. “The Japanese government will be pleased. But let me finish up here reading the Miranda rights. If you want to do something else useful, call the other two teams and make sure their raids have gone down as planned.”
Stackhouse cleared his throat again. He’d taken out a three-by-five card, on which he’d written the Miranda rights, to be sure he got them right.
“I already know my Miranda rights,” Ben groused. He was incensed that the Japanese government would charge him with a crime that he’d gone out of his way to try to prevent.
“I still have to read them,” Stackhouse insisted, and he proceeded to do so, as did Tony with Carl.
After Ben and Carl had been handcuffed, George came back into Ben’s office. “Both the other raids went flawlessly,” he said. “All the principals have been arrested, and a ton of evidence has been collected.”
“Perfect,” Stackhouse said. “Let’s get on with collecting all the evidence in this office. Remember! We’re to get everything: every computer, storage device, fax machine, and cell phone. Plus every document, letter, or memorandum. Let’s do it!”
APRIL 18, 2010
SUNDAY, 1:45 p.m.
NEW YORK CITY
Here he comes,” Laurie said, spotting Lou Soldano walking north on Columbus Avenue. Laurie, Jack, and JJ were sitting at an outside table at one of their favorite haunts, Espresso Et. Al., which was located just south of the Museum of Natural History. Actually, only Laurie and Jack were sitting, because JJ was, at the moment, sleeping in his reclined stroller. Thanks to the café’s location on the east side of the avenue, it was catching all the sunshine available on a beautiful, warm spring day.
Laurie scraped back her metal chair and waved her hands above her head to get Lou’s attention. Lou waved back and adjusted his trajectory so as not to have to wade through the long line at the café’s main entrance. Instead, he simply stepped over the low chain stretched between potted plants that defined the café’s outdoor terrace.
After a quick hug with Laurie and a high five with Jack, Lou sat down in the chair saved for him. He looked like he’d just gotten out of bed, with his hair brushed haphazardly and his eyelids still heavy with sleep. He had, however, taken the time to shave, and there was still a bit of shaving cream clinging to his right earlobe.
“Thanks for coming to see us,” Laurie said.
“Thanks for inviting me,” Lou said. “I’m glad you got me out. It’s such a beautiful day. It would have been a shame to have wasted it vegetating on my couch, which is probably what I would have done had you not called. So tell me, what’s this good news you have to share? Is it what I’m hoping it is?”
“That I don’t know.” Laurie laughed. “Anyway, I’m going back to OCME!”
“Terrific!” Lou said sincerely. He raised his hand and high-fived Laurie. “I was hoping that was what you’d say. Visiting OCME is just not the same if the only person I get to see is boring old Jack. Congratulations! When is it going to happen?”
“A week from tomorrow,” Laurie said. “The chief has been so good about it, I can’t tell you.”
“He’s not being good, he’s being smart,” Lou responded.
“Hear, hear!” Jack said, raising his wineglass for a toast. Then, remembering that Lou was “wineless,” he sat up in his chair, looking for their waitress.
“I couldn’t be happier for you,” Lou said, leaning over toward Laurie. “Of course, that’s at least partially a selfish response. I’ve been missing you at OCME since your maternity leave started. But beyond being selfish, I think it is the best decision for you and JJ. You are so good at being a forensic pathologist, and you seem to get a lot of secondary gain out of it. I thought you’d go back, but to be truthful, I thought it would take more time for you to realize you could and still be a great mom. If you don’t mind me asking, can you tell me what made you decide so quickly?”
“It certainly wasn’t one thing, but rather a host of things. First of all, there was the tragedy of Leticia’s death, which I don’t want to be entirely in vain. Maybe that sounds a bit strange, but not to me. She died because she was taking care of JJ so I could go back to work. Somehow I think I owe it to her memory to do it.”
“That doesn’t sound strange to me at all.”
“I also recognized that kidnapping JJ to get me off a case was a one-in-a-million phenomenon. It’s not going to happen again. But the most important realization is that there are people out there who are absolutely superb nannies and love being nannies, and have made it a true goal of being the best nannies they can be. For me to be comfortable working, I need someone who truly wants to be with JJ full-time and who is also willing to be my partner so I can remain as involved as possible. Do you know what I mean?”
“I do,” Lou said. “You need someone who will be as good a mom and as attentive to JJ as you would be if you weren’t going to have a career as well as be a mom. If push comes to shove, JJ’s needs trump any career ambitions—”
Jack interrupted Lou, having gotten the attention of the waitress. “We’re having a Vermentino. Do you want to try it, or do you want something else? We’re also having Caesar salads with chicken. What do you say?”
“Whatever,” Lou said with a wave. He was a meatloaf-and-gravy sort of guy, except when he was with Jack and Laurie. Besides, at the moment, he was more interested in the conversation with Laurie than what kind of wine and food he wanted. “I suppose the fact that you are coming back so quickly means you have already found someone whom you believe fits the bill?”
“I believe I have,” Laurie admitted. “I put out a feeler about a week ago to all my friends, particularly my college friends, and found an Irish woman who had been the nanny for a woman I knew in college whose two children are now teenagers. My friend had actually been trying to find a placement for the nanny, since she’d been so loved she’d practically become part of the family. When I met the woman, I knew she was perfect from the very first words out of her mouth. And she’s willing to live in. I mean, being a nanny is her life’s mission.”
“All right! Let’s try that toast again!” Jack said when the waitress brought Lou’s glass of Vermentino. Jack held up his own glass of wine, and the others followed suit. “To Laurie’s return to OCME; to JJ’s resilience, since he’s been acting entirely normal; and to Leticia’s memory and scholarship fund!”
The three friends clicked glasses and then took healthy swallows of their wine.
“What’s this about a scholarship fund?” Lou asked after putting down his wineglass.
“We tried to think of something to honor Leticia’s memory,” Jack said. “A neighborhood college-scholarship fund was what we came up with. Laurie has been in contact with Columbia University, and they seem to like the idea as a nice addition to their efforts of neighborhood outreach. Laurie and I have already started the funding by setting up a yearly stipend and inviting others to do the same. Plus, we’ve also started planning various neighborhood fund-raisers. We think it will be good for the community.”