“We’re not supposed to-”
“It’s my phone,” Ben said. “It’s just under my wife’s name. If it makes it easier for you, I’d be happy to talk to a supervisor.”
“It should be fine. Let me just make a note of that, and then I’ll need the address.”
After giving the operator Ober’s work address, Ben said, “Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.”
Late that afternoon, Ben stared intently at his computer screen.
“Y’know, you’ll probably go blind if you keep staring like that,” Lisa said.
“I should be so lucky.”
“Stop worrying. You keyed in every name on the ownership papers. If someone sells, you’ll see it change.”
“We’ll never see it,” Ben said, turning away from his computer. “You saw those documents. Grinnell is owned primarily by four limited partnerships, which are owned by eight more limited partnerships, which are owned by sixteen S corporations…”
“We pulled out every name we could find. And if we couldn’t find them, what do you think the chances are that Rick could find them?”
Ben shot Lisa his you-must-be-joking look.
“Okay,” Lisa said, “so Rick could probably find anything. But that doesn’t mean we’re not on the right track.”
“It’s not that I don’t think we’re on the right track,” Ben said. “I just feel like this is a very passive plan. We’re just sitting here and waiting.”
“Well, that’s all we can do now. If you’re so anxious, why don’t you start looking through the Harvard and Michigan yearbooks?”
“What are you talking about?” Ben asked. “They haven’t arrived yet.”
“Yes, they have. I told you earlier that there were two boxes in reception for you.”
“You never said that,” Ben said, rising from his seat.
“I definitely did. When I got back from getting the ownership documents, I told you there were two boxes waiting for you. You were probably too caught up in your computer screen.”
Ben walked to the closet and pulled out his coat. “Rather than bring the yearbooks home to Nathan, I think I’m going to leave them here. I’ll go through them tomorrow.”
“Where are you going now?” Lisa asked, noticing that it wasn’t even five o’clock yet.
“I want to speak to Ober before Nathan gets home. Can you cover for me in case Hollis calls?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
When Ben arrived home, the hum of silence revealed that the house was empty. Taking off his coat and throwing it on the sofa, Ben checked the kitchen, peeked into the first-floor bathroom, and opened the door to the basement. “Is anybody here?” he called out. When he got upstairs, he peeked into Eric’s and Ober’s rooms, as well as his own. After looking in the second-floor bathroom and every hall closet, Ben opened the door to Nathan’s room. Without turning on the lights, he slid open Nathan’s closet and poked his head inside. Convinced that he was alone, Ben then approached Nathan’s desk, focusing on the small stack of papers arranged in a neat pile. Not making a sound, Ben flipped through the pile. Grocery list, things-to-do list, birthday list, movies-to-rent list. Nothing of consequence. After returning the papers to their original position, Ben held his breath and cautiously pulled open the center desk drawer. Picking up the organizer that kept all the pens, pencils, and erasers in place, Ben slowly and methodically searched for anything that might lead to Rick’s whereabouts. After closing the drawer, Ben picked up the address book on Nathan’s nightstand. Reading each entry, he struggled to account for every name in the book.
“What the hell are you doing with my address book?”
Startled, Ben dropped the book and looked up, surprised to see Ober laughing in the doorway. “Don’t do that!” Ben yelled, picking up the book and returning it to its place.
“You should’ve seen your face. You were-”
“Is anyone with you?” Ben asked, rushing out of Nathan’s room.
“No. Why? What’s wrong?”
“Listen, I’m going to tell you something, but you have to swear you’ll never say a word.”
“I swear,” Ober said, pulling off his tie.
“I’m not joking,” Ben warned. “Not a word to anyone. Not Nathan, not your parents…”
“I swear,” Ober repeated as they walked down the stairs toward the living room. “Just tell me.”
After explaining the entire story to his roommate, Ben said, “So tell me: What do you think?”
“I can’t believe what you’re saying.” Ober’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “You expect me to believe that Nathan is in on this whole thing?”
“What else am I supposed to believe?”
“No way,” Ober slumped into a chair at the kitchen table. “Now you’re crazy. I mean, if you said Eric, I’d understand. In fact, last week I saw him in your room going through your garbage.”
“Did you ask him what he was doing?”
“He said someone took his classifieds section, so he wanted to see if it was you.”
“Well, it wasn’t,” Ben said. “You should’ve sent him to Nathan-he’s the untrustworthy one around here.”
“There’s no way in hell Nathan would do that,” Ober insisted. “I don’t believe it for a second.”
“Well, I do,” Ben said. “And at this point, that’s all that really matters. Lisa and I are trying to find-”
“How can you suddenly trust Lisa with everything?” Ober interrupted. “I mean, you always say I’m dense, but you must be a moron to tell her stuff again.”
“Listen, I don’t trust her for a second,” Ben said, walking over to the sink. He turned on the water and splashed some on his face. “As soon as she left the office, I started investigating her as well.”
“Then why tell her anything at all?”
“It’s simple. First, she can’t do me any real harm. Second, and I know you’ll never understand this, but she helps me think better.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I really can’t explain it, but when I brainstorm with her, I wind up with my best ideas.”
“Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but this isn’t just some Supreme Court decision you two are working on. This is your life, buddy-boy.”
“It is?” Ben said sarcastically. “And here I thought it was just a big ol’ game of Parcheesi. Dang.”
“I think you’re way off in space with this one,” Ober said, shaking his head.
“Fine. I’ll take your advice into consideration. Now, are you going to help me or not?”
“I’m surprised you trust me. I mean, I may be in on it, too.”
“No offense, but I thought about it.”
“Thanks,” Ober said. “I really appreciate the vote of confidence.”
“Listen, don’t get offended. I’m telling you, aren’t I?”
“I just don’t understand why you’re telling me.”
“Because I need you to do me a favor,” Ben said. “I had all of Lisa’s phone bills sent to your address at work. It was the only address I could think of that Nathan, Rick, and Lisa don’t have access to. When you get the bills, will you let me know so I can go through them?”
“Of course,” Ober said. “One last question, though: If the house is bugged, why are you still telling me all this?”
“There’s nothing Rick’s heard that he can use against me,” Ben explained. “Lisa’s bills are already on their way, and if Nathan’s on his side, he already knows-” Ben heard a key in the lock of the front door and fell silent. “Don’t say a single word,” he warned, whispering over his shoulder as Ober followed him into the living room. “You promised.”
When the door opened, Nathan walked into the room. “My friend, you are going to be thrilled with me,” he said to Ben as he hung his jacket in the closet. He put his briefcase on the coffee table and sat down next to Ober. “Thanks to yours truly, you are now going to pass the marshal’s ever-alarming lie detector test.”