Hacker For Hire (Ted Higuera Series Book 2)

by Wallace, Pendelton

  “Don’t talk to anyone about this.” Jennifer watched the traffic signal turn to “walk.” “You don’t tell your mama about this without me there. Understand?” She stepped off the curb and started to walk away.

  She stopped in the intersection and turned to Ted. “Well?”

  “Yeah, I got it.”

  Ted and Catrina stood and watched Jennifer walk up the street in silence.

  “I don’t like it,” Ted finally said to Catrina. “This is all too gray for me.” Ted took off running as he saw an MT66 coming down Fourth.

  Chapter 26

  Capitol Hill is one of the most eclectic neighborhoods in a city of eclectic neighborhoods. Ted always felt like he was in the cantina scene from Star Wars when he walked down Broadway. Tattooed, pierced kids with green hair and red high-top sneakers were the norm. Street people blended in with cross-dressers and regular citizens. Same sex couples strolled hand in hand. Nothing he saw on The Hill surprised him.

  The Deluxe Bar and Grill sat at the north end of the Broadway district. Chris waited for him at a table next to the glassed in fireplace. The fire gave a warm glow to the dark dining room. A large wooden bar dominated the room, complete with a red-haired Irish barman. The flagrantly gay, middle-aged waiter dropped off the menus.

  “Our soup today is chicken vegetable. You’ll love it, honey.” He winked at Ted.

  “Damn, I hate it when people think I’m gay.” Ted glared at the menu.

  “Don’t worry about it, bro.” Chris picked up his bottle of Guinness. “Dwayne’d like everyone to be gay.”

  “Yeah, I’m more worried about what they’re gonna think in the state prison at Walla Walla. That’s a dangerous place to be gay.”

  Chris took a drag on his Guinness. “Don’t sweat it. You’re not going to Walla Walla. I’ve done some research on Anthony Petrocelli. He’s an ambitious son of a bitch, but he isn’t that good.”

  Chris stopped while Dwayne returned to the table. Ted ordered a Henry’s Private Reserve.

  “Petrocelli is an ambitious hack.” Chris looked around the room and kept his voice low. “He wants to be District Attorney. Dad says that he’s gearing up to run against the incumbent next year. He’s positioning himself as a real ‘law and order’ type of guy, a man of the people. He wants to paint our current DA as a liberal criminal lover.”

  “That doesn’t sound too good for Teddy.”

  “Dad says that he couldn’t litigate himself out of a paper bag. This guy’s lost more cases than the Mariners lose ball games.”

  They sat in silence for a minute while Ted ruminated on his misfortune. How was he going to explain this to his family?

  Chris finally broke the silence. “What was jail like?”

  “You don’t ever want to know.” Ted recounted his jailhouse experience.

  “I guess if you hang around with criminals, eventually you’re going to end up in jail.” Chris picked up the menu again.

  “Hey, dude, Cat’s not a criminal. At least, I don’t think she’s a criminal.” Ted stopped and thought a moment. “I think she’s on the up and up. She may bend the law a little, but she’s doin’ it for a good cause. She really cares about people. She’s tryin’ ta help.”

  Dwayne returned with Ted’s Henry’s and they ordered. Chris went for a peppered-bacon Tillamook cheeseburger and Ted opted for the pork chop with chipotle glaze.

  “So, can you trust her, bro?” Chris polished off his beer and raised the bottle to get the bartender’s attention.

  “I think so.”

  “She got you into this mess.”

  “Yeah, but she knows her way around. She’s got this really good lawyer.”

  “Jennifer Trask. I did a little research on her too. She’s a street fighter. She’ll do anything for her clients, but she does mostly divorce and custody cases. I don’t think she handles many criminal cases.”

  Ted studied the worried look on his friend’s face.

  “Here’s the good news.” Chris started up again. “When she does take a criminal case, she usually wins. She handled a murder case a couple of years ago. A woman was accused of killing her husband. Trask used the battered woman defense and she won.”

  “So, did you talk to your dad? Can he help me?”

  The food arrived. Chris dug into his burger with gusto.

  “I think you better stick with Jennifer.” Chris popped a French fry in his mouth. “Dad can’t help you. It’d be a conflict of interest.”

  Ted took an unenthusiastic bite of mashed sweet potatoes.

  “Dad says that there are rumors about Jennifer. She bats for the other team. He thinks Jennifer and Cat might have a thing going on.”

  “Shit, that’s all I need. They’re emotionally involved. How’s all of this gonna help me?” Ted played with his pork chop.

  “Amigo, that’s good news. Jennifer will do a good job. She’s like a mama bear. She’ll fight to protect her cubs.”

  Ted’s Blackberry vibrated on his belt. A text message. He grabbed it, the screen said, “Lks like U finally grew some balls. CU @ Ruby’s -10 am.” The sender was Justin McCormack.

  ****

  Ten in the morning was about when Ted began to function. He was anything but a morning person.

  Ruby’s, not far off of Pioneer Square, was an old-time coffeehouse. With a giant copper espresso machine and a tiny stage, Ted could picture beatniks reading unintelligible poetry to the beat of bongo drums here once upon a time. The Twenty-First Century brought a whole new clientele.

  Why are all the women dressed in black? Ted watched black dresses, black suits, black skirts, black sweaters, black coats, black handbags and black shoes parade back and forth through the coffee shop. I guess they think it makes them look slimmer. He didn’t pick out a single set of brightly colored clothes.

  “Well, my man.” Justin blew in the door like a hurricane. “It looks like you’ve got yourself in a shit-load of trouble.” He raised a finger at the waitress and motioned towards Ted’s table. She nodded and brought an oversized cup of black coffee.

  “Mornin’, Justin.” Ted still didn’t understand why Justin wanted to see him.

  “So, how’s life working for Seattle’s stupidest PI?”

  “Cat’s not that bad. Her heart’s in the right place. She wants to do good.”

  Justin unbuttoned his heavy wool coat and sat back in his chair. “She’s not going to be doing much of that from the Women’s State Pen in Gig Harbor. If you’re going to bend the law, you have to be smart about it.”

  “Is that why you wanted to see me?” Ted felt the bitterness in his voice. “I’ve got my own problems.”

  “I like you, Higuera. You’ve got some talent, some potential,” Justin said. “You could go someplace in this business, if you can manage to stay out of prison.”

  Ted sipped his coffee and just stared at his old boss.

  “I had a little trouble with the law myself when I was young. I learned how to handle these things. If you’re smart, you can run circles around these dullards.”

  “What’s smart?” Could Justin have a way out?

  “Smart is playing ball with me. I have friends in low places. I can get you out of this.”

  “How? What can you do?”

  “I know Anthony Petrocelli. I’ve made a sizable donation to his campaign fund. He owes me. I think I can get him to see things my way.”

  “Why are you doing this? What’s in it for you?”

  “It’s a win-win. You’ve learned a few things out there in the real world. You come back to work for me. I get Petrocelli to lay off you. I get a promising employee back, you owe me big-time, He gets Cat Flaherty, he owes me bigger-time. We all live happily ever after.”

  “Why would Petrocelli owe you?” Ted sipped the last drip of coffee from his cup.

  “Because you’re going to turn State’s evidence. You testify in court, say what he wants you to say, and the charges against you get dropped. You’re just a small fish in this g
ame. He has a hard on for your boss. He’d sell his soul to put her away.”

  “He got to you didn’t he?” Ted glared at his old boss.

  Justin just sat back and returned Ted’s stare.

  Ted felt the heat crawl up his face. “I don’t get it. Why does he hate Cat so much?”

  “Two reasons. First of all, Flaherty and her dike lawyer beat Petrocelli in a sexual harassment suit. It was the biggest settlement the City ever made. A black mark on his record that he needs to erase. Secondly, the cops hate her. She’s showing them up all the time. She always takes the wife’s side in abuse cases. He needs the SPD’s backing to get elected. If he puts Flaherty away, they’ll have to endorse him.”

  “This is nuts.” Ted stood. “This isn’t about justice. It’s not about breaking the law. It’s about pure ambition. They don’t care about what’s right or wrong. The only care about themselves.”

  “Get off your high horse, Higuera.” Justin stood to face Ted. “This is the real world. Our criminal justice system isn’t about justice, it’s about winning. Do you think that Cat Flaherty really gives a shit about you? She’d cut you loose in a heartbeat, if it meant walking free. You better take Petrocelli’s offer before she does.”

  “Fuck you. I know Cat. She’ll never turn on me.”

  ****

  Catrina sat in the darkened living room of her turn-of-the-Twentieth-Century Victorian on Capitol Hill. Flames dancing in the fire place cast ghostly shadows in the room. The Seattle PI sat open and unread in her lap. The reading light on the side table provided the only illumination in the house, aside from the weak glow from the fireplace. An empty glass with a lemon wedge, mint leaves and ice cubes was all that remained of her iced tea.

  She sat back in her overstuffed chair, her short blonde hair dangling over the chair back. “Shit! Shit, shit, shit!” Her voice was barely audible.

  The night was cool and the fire provided more atmosphere than heat. She shuddered and pulled her flannel bathrobe tighter around her.

  Now what? Jennifer was a good lawyer, but they’d been caught dead to rights. That sap Chung at the bank, hadn’t been the pushover that he appeared to be. She and Jeff had impersonated an officer of the law. They had pretexted.

  Pretexted. A fancy new legal term. Pretending to be someone they weren’t in order to get information from a witness. If she still carried a badge, it would be called good police work. Now she was looking at five years.

  Her cell phone vibrated on the table next to her chair. She slowly turned her head to stare at the unwanted interruption. She didn’t want to answer the phone. She didn’t want to talk to anybody. What she really wanted was a drink.

  Her old friend Jack. Her right hand trembled as she felt the glass in her hand. She licked her lips. Her tongue felt swollen. Just one drink. That’s all, only one. She could handle it. She could stop anytime she wanted.

  Yeah, sure. How many times had she told her sponsor that one?

  The phone vibrated again.

  Don’t they get the message? I don’t want to talk.

  She picked up the phone and looked at the incoming number.

  Tom.

  Did he have some news for her? Were they dropping the charges?

  “Tom?”

  “You’re too late.” Tom didn’t even bother with a greeting.

  “Too late for what?”

  “Your suspect. I looked at your DVD. McGinty and I drove over to Millennium Systems this evening. We found him in his office.”

  “Who?” Catrina’s mind slowly came back from that faraway place. The gears began to click. “Metcalf. What happened?”

  “Looks like a heart attack. We found him slumped over his desk.”

  “It can’t be. Tom, that’s too much coincidence. Has the coroner examined him yet?”

  “No. And I don’t expect that he will. With a back log of cases, we have a natural death. I don’t think they’ll waste the time on this one. His housekeeper told us that he has a history of heart trouble.”

  Catrina really needed that drink. “What about surveillance tapes? Did you look at the tapes?”

  There was a pause. “Funny thing. We asked Security for the DVD. They didn’t have it. Said the camera musta malfunctioned.”

  “Don’t you think that’s a little fishy? Why would the security camera inside the chairman of the board’s office malfunction on this one day of all days? Millennium Systems is a world-class technology company. Don’t you think they should be able to keep a security camera working? And what happens if one fails? Don’t you think that guards would be there in a heartbeat to make sure something hasn’t gone wrong? Especially with what’s been going on there?”

  Tom didn’t respond for a long time. He was processing Catrina’s question. Or was he thinking about something else?

  “Cat, what aren’t you telling me? What has been going on there? How are you involved in this investigation? How did you get that DVD?”

  “Uh. . .” Catrina needed to stall for time. “Can you talk to the coroner?”

  “Cat. Stop it. Tell me what’s going on. You’ve been indicted for a felony. You’re facing hard time. You’re up to your ears in a murder, now this. You better come clean with me.”

  Catrina sat silent, holding the phone to her ear.

  “Okay, I’m going to say it," Tom said. "You don’t want to hear it but I’m going to say it anyway. I love you. That’s right. In my own sick, misguided way, I’ve fallen in love with a woman I can’t have. Now this. I’m telling you, Cat, I may love you, but I’m not going to lose my badge for you. ‘Fess up.”

  Tears flowed from her eyes. Damn. She hated to go all girly now. She needed to be strong, but she couldn’t even catch her breath enough to answer.

  “I . . . have a source . . . Inside MS . . .”

  Chapter 27

  It was after two in the morning, but neither Ted nor Gina had any thoughts about going to bed. They sat, huddled on the couch in Ted’s studio, looking out the sliding glass door towards Lake Union. Oscar had long since fallen asleep in Ted’s lap.

  It had been ten, fifteen minutes since either of them had said a word.

  Ted had a glass of merlot in one hand and mindlessly scratched Oscar’s ears with the other. Gina leaned on Ted’s shoulder and stared up into his face. He was so good looking. She wanted to start the conversation again, but felt an invisible barrier around Ted.

  It had all been said. If Jennifer Trask failed, Ted was going to jail. Gina pleaded with Ted to cooperate with the DA. He could take Justin’s deal and go back to his job at YTS.

  Ted wouldn’t listen. His misguided sense of loyalty to Catrina was going to cost him five years of his life.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid. Couldn’t he see that? What did this Flaherty woman have that was worth five years?

  Gina had broken her strongest rule for him. For the first time since her divorce, She’d put a man before her children. She got a babysitter and hustled over to Ted’s place to be with him. What was next? A tearful courthouse scene? She could see herself, clinging to her handsome hero while the bailiff pulled him away. She’d say something stupid like “I’ll wait for you,” like some idiot starlet in an old-time B-movie.

  She knew better than this. They had no future. Why was she wasting her time?

  Her thoughts were interrupted by Ted’s Blackberry. He picked up the phone and looked at the number.

  “Si, Papa. ¿Porque está arriba tan tarde?”

  She hated being on the listening side of a conversation with his parents. She only heard half of the conversation and most of the time he spoke in Spanish and she couldn’t understand a word.

  “Si, es la verdad. I called Mama earlier this evening.”

  At least he was answering in English now. There was a long pause.

  “I can’t, Papa. My bail says I can’t leave the state.”

  Another pause.

  “No conozco. I don’t really know. It all depends on whether or not we beat this ra
p.”

  Gina heard his father yelling on the other end of the phone.

  “Lo siento. I know I sound like a criminal. I meant it depends on whether or not we get cleared of the charges. Catrina is doing really important work. She helps people. I want to help her . . . but . . . she doesn’t always follow the law. She does what she needs to do to help her clients, even if it means breaking the law a little.”

  This time Gina heard an explosion on the other end of the phone. She might as well have been in the same room with them. She didn’t understand a word Papa was saying, but she couldn’t help but get the meaning.

  “Listen, Papa. It’s late. I need to get some sleep. Can we talk about this later?”

  Papa’s tone of voice softened, even if his volume didn’t drop.

  “Okay, I’ll think about it. Let me call you back tomorrow. Digas a mama, ‘te adoro,’ adiós.”

  Ted hung up the phone.

  Gina brushed back the lock of Ted’s hair that always seemed to be falling in his eyes. “That didn’t sound good.”

  “Oh, you know Papa. He just got home from work and he’s pissed. He never thought any of his kids would be in trouble with the law, especially his favorite.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He wants me to come home. He wants me to go to work with him in his restaurant. He says that at least that’s good, honest work. He’s never trusted that what I do is quite honest. To Papa, honor and loyalty are everything. He’s been bugging me for weeks, now he’s not asking. He’s telling.”

  “But you can’t leave. That would be jumping bail.”

  “That’s what I told him. He still wants me to come home when this is all cleared up.” Ted sat silent for a minute. “Maybe I’ll have to. After I finish my prison sentence, I won’t be able to get a job in computer security anymore. His restaurant may be the only option I have when I get out.”

  “Ted, look at me.” Gina took Ted’s chin in her hand. “You can’t think that way. You are not going to prison. We already have two strikes on us. I won’t let you go away. If we have any chance together, you can’t leave me.” She pulled his face closer to her.