"Just one comment, Ms. Allegretti!" "One question, Ms Allegretti? "Picture, Vicki, how about a picture?" "Nice bust, Allegretti!"
Vicki put her head down and called "No comment" to the reporters mobbing her. The reception desk was fully staffed behind its bulletproof glass, and both receptionists buzzed her in with matching grins and a thumbs-up. Beyond the door, AUSAs, ATF agents, secretaries, and paralegals were going back and forth in the halls, and they all congratulated Vicki on the fly. She acknowledged so many snippets of "Sweet!" "Great work!" and "Go get 'em!" that she felt like a celebrity.
AUSAs in jeans and sweaters worked in their boxy offices off the hall, but heads popped up from their desks and smiled at her when she passed, and a group of senior AUSAs stood talking near her office, their heads turning as one when she walked by. "Way to go, Vicki!" called one of the nicest, Marilyn Durham, and an AUSA next to her, Martin Frank, called out, "Allegretti, sweet!" A third, Janie Something, hollered, "'Bout time, sleepyhead!"
"Thanks!" Vicki called out and ducked into the office's formal conference room. She opened the door, and everyone who was anyone was in mid-meeting. It was a large, modern room with a panel of windows on two sides, and the noonday sun streamed cold onto Strauss, presiding at the head of the table, then Bale, Dan, and the office's public relations flack, ATF chief Saxon, a top tier of FBI and ATF agents, the commissioner of the Philadelphia police and two of his white-shirted deputies, and the deputy mayor. The room smelled pleasantly of aftershave, and they all sat with fresh coffee around the glistening table, each with a black three-ring binder bearing the gold DOJ emblem.
"Good morning, Vick!" Bale chirped up, too classy to give her in public the grief he'd given her on the phone.
"Sorry I'm late," Vick called out, avoiding Dan's eye.
"S'all right, you deserve the extra rest!"
Strauss nodded. "Sure do, young lady! It's been a long trip since that tragic night, but it's all over now." There followed nods and smiles all around, even from Saxon.
"Vicki," Bale continued, "we just got started and we'd like to give everybody an overview, so we're all on the same page." He pointed to an empty chair at the table. "Why don't you grab a coffee and take your seat, so we can get this party started." Everybody smiled. "By the way, before I forget, at noon tomorrow you'll meet with Special Agent Barbara Pizer on Kalahut, that new case. It should take all day." Bale turned to Saxon. "Barbara's a very experienced agent, right, John?"
"One of our best," Saxon answered. He'd lost some weight, and Vicki felt happy for her new friend.
"So, Vick, you'll be multitasking for a while, working the new case and prepping for the grand jury, but you can handle it."
"Thanks," Vicki said, bypassing the coffee and taking her seat in the sun. She felt a wave of guilt that Bale had had to call her to come in. She had hated to leave Reheema to finish the canvassing alone, lending her the Cabrio and her cell phone, but Vicki could see now that she had to be at this meeting. Even though she was one of only three women in the room, and undoubtedly the youngest of all, Vicki felt for the first time as if she belonged here. She had finally become an Assistant United States Attorney. Now all she had to do was figure out how to be in two places at once.
After the meeting, she felt recharged and went to her office and worked all afternoon, preparing scripts for the grand jury in Morty's case. The first script she prepared was for herself, painstakingly setting out each question she should be asked and the answer she'd give, so she'd be able to give a smooth presentation, devoid of emotion. It didn't mean preparing it wasn't emotional, because it required her to relive that night. AUSAs and other staff bustled up and down the halls, but she managed to tune them out and focus on the task at hand.
As the afternoon wore on, she found herself thinking about Reheema. Vicki had called her cell but there was no answer, and her voicemail picked up, so she'd left a message, asking her to call back. She'd told Reheema her voicemail code so she'd be able to retrieve her messages.
When it started to get dark and Reheema still hadn't called back, she began to feel anxious. Was Reheema in danger? Why hadn't she called? Had she found out something? How long did it take to canvass Jackson's street, anyway? Twilight turned to nighttime, and Vicki worried through the pizza the office had ordered. She'd come back to her desk and called her cell again, but voicemail had picked up. By nine o'clock at night, she understood completely why her parents acted like jerks when they were worried about her.
I want a corgi.
"Snack time!" came a voice from the door. It was Dan, grinning, with a large brown bag in his hands, and the office filled instantly with a delicious aroma.
"What's in there?" Vicki asked, and he came in and kicked the door closed with the back of his Adidas.
"Room service from Joe's Peking Duck, just for my baby. That's right, I am a great boyfriend." Dan set the bag down and raised his arms. "Reward me, woman."
"Yay!" Vicki rose and gave him a warm hug, which he returned, then found her lips with a very good kiss. "Wow. Taking a chance in the office, aren't you?"
"Just one more." Dan kissed her again, and she felt like his girlfriend again. They broke the embrace, and he started digging in the take-out bag, hauling out the white containers with funny red dragons, one after the other. "Here we have your favorite entree, chicken curry, and cold sesame noodles for an appetizer."
"Yum. Where's yours?"
"I ate with Strauss and Bale and them, at Joe's Peking Duck."
"The big boys." Vicki felt mildly hurt. "You didn't invite me?"
"Aw, babe, it was sort of a spontaneous, late-night thing." Dan winced. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Vicki let it go. She didn't want to prove his point that they couldn't have a relationship at work, even if they couldn't. "I'm just worried about Reheema."
"Reheema? Fill me in, and I promise not to get mad." Dan took a seat opposite her desk and leaned back in the chair the way he always did, while Vicki fished in her desk drawer and found a pair of disposable chopsticks, then sat down with her chicken dish and dug in.
"First, did you talk to Strauss about the hired killer and the Bethaves?"
"Yes, I did, and he said he'd talk to him after the meeting today. You saw, the commissioner himself was there." Dan smiled. "Good things are gonna happen now. You'll see."
"Great. Thanks." The chicken tasted wonderful, hot and spicy, and Vicki cheered, momentarily. "Well, Reheema and I kept our side of the bargain today, but I'm worried about her."
"Why?"
"I think she could be in danger. That maybe her being framed and her mother's murder are related, and that whoever went to kill her mother was supposed to kill her, too."
"What?" Dan's eyes went a bewildered blue. "Why would anybody want Reheema dead?"
"I don't know, but then again, I don't know why they'd want her mother dead, either, and that happened." Vicki set down her chicken curry. "She wondered if it is someone at the office, since the only people who knew she was getting released from the FDC were us."
"That's crazy. You guys are going crazy." Dan rose, and Vicki bore down.
"You promised not to get mad."
"I'm not mad, I'm frustrated. You can't believe that. That someone from here is plotting against Reheema?" Dan shook his head. "It's like I told you, people like Reheema, they have a different view of the world, coming from a different experience. I don't have to tell you that blacks and whites view the justice system differently, do I?"