city.”
“No problem.”
“Complete change of identification, nice little house, the works. This woman needs to stay home and raise her kids for a while, so I’d suggest a monthly allowance in the sum of four thousand dollars, guaranteed for three years. Plus an initial cash outlay of twenty-five thousand. They lost everything in the fire, remember?”
“Of course. These things are easy.” Lewis was so eager, she wished she’d asked for more.
“If, at some point, she wants to return to work, then I’d suggest a nice, cushy government job with no responsibilities, short hours, and a fat salary.”
“We have plenty of those.”
“Should they desire to move at any time, ana 10 any place, they’ll be allowed to do so, at your expense, of course.”
“We do it all the time.”
Trumann was smiling now, though he was trying not to.
“She”U need a car.”
“No problem.”
“Ricky may need extended treatment.”
“We’ll cover it.”
“I want Mark examined by a psychiatrist, though I suspect he’s in better shape than we are.”
“Done.”
“There are a couple of other minor matters, and they’ll be covered in the agreement.”
“What agreement?”
“The agreement I’m having typed as we speak. It’ll be signed by myself, Dianne Sway, Judge Harry Roosevelt, and you, Mr. Lewis, on behalf of Director Voyles.”
“What else is in the agreement?” Lewis asked.
“I want your assurance that you’ll do everything in your power to compel the attendance of Roy Fol-trigg before the Juvenile Court of Shelby County, Tennessee. Judge Roosevelt will want to discuss a few matters with him, and I’m sure Foltrigg will resist. If a subpoena is issued for him, I want it served by you, Mr. Trumann.”
“Gladly,” Trumann said with a nasty smile.
“We’ll do what we can,” Lewis added, a bit confused.
“Good. Go make your phone calls. Get the plane in the air. Call McThune and tell him to pick up Glint Van Hooser and take him to the hospital. Get that
damned bug off her phone, because I need to talk to her.”
“No problem.” They jumped to their feet.
“We’ll meet right here in thirty minutes,”
CLINT HAMMERED AWAY ON HIS ANCIENT ROYAL PORTABLE.
His third cup of coffee shook each time he slapped the return and rattled the kitchen table. He studied his hurried chicken-scratch handwriting on the back of an Esquire, and tried to remember each provision as she’d spouted it over the phone. If he finished it, it would be, without a doubt, the sloppiest legal document ever prepared. He cursed and grabbed the Liquid Paper.
A knock on the door startled him. He ran his fingers through his unkempt and unwashed hair, and walked to the door. “Who is it?”
“FBI.”
Not so loud, he almost said. He could hear the neighbors now, gossiping about him and his predawn arrest. Probably drugs, they would say.
He cracked the door and peeked under the safety chain. Two agents with puffy eyes stood in the darkness. “We were told to come get you,” one said apologetically.
“I need some ID.”
They stuck their badges near the door. “FBI,” the first one said.
Clint opened the door wider, and waved them in. “I’ll be a few more minutes. Have a seat.”
They stood awkwardly in the center of the den as he returned to the table and the typewriter. He pecked slowly. The chicken scratch failed him, and he ad-libbed the rest. The important points were there, he
hoped. She always found something to change in his typing at the office, but this would have to do. He pulled it carefully from the Royal, and placed it in a small briefcase.
“Let’s go,” he said.
AT FIVE-FORTY, TRUMANN RETURNED ALONE TO THE TA-
ble where Reggie waited. He brought two cellular phones. “Thought we might need these,” he said.
“Where’d you get them?” Reggie asked.
“They were delivered to us here.”
“By some of your men?”
“That’s right.”
“Just for fun, how many men do you have right now within a quarter of a mile of this place?”
“I don’t know. Twelve or thirteen. It’s routine, Reggie. They might be needed. We’ll send a few to protect the kid, if you’ll tell me where he is. I assume he’s alone.”
“He’s alone, and he’s fine. Did you talk to Mc-Thune?”
“Yes. They’ve already picked up Glint.”
“That was fast.”
“Well, to be honest, we’ve had men watching his apartment for twenty-four hours now. We simply woke them up, and told them to knock on his door. We found your car, Reggie, but we couldn’t find Glint’s.”
“I’m driving it.”
“That’s what I figured. Pretty slick, but we would’ve found you within twenty-four hours.”
“Don’t be so cocky, Trumann. You’ve been looking for Boyette for eight months.”
“True. How’d