don’t know where Jason is, and if I were to go away too …”
Her voice trailed off.
Sawyer looked confused for a moment and then it dawned on him what she
was saying. He reached across and gently took one of her hands.
“Sidney, I don’t believe you had anything to do with any of this. I’m
sure as hell not going to arrest you and take you away from your
daughter. Maybe you didn’t tell me the whole story before, but Christ,
you’re only human. I can’t even begin to imagine the pressure you’ve
been under. Please believe me. And trust me.” He let go of her hand
and sat back.
She dabbed at her eyes, managed a brief smile, and composed herself.
She took one last deep breath before taking the plunge. “That was my
husband on the phone the day you came by.” After having said it, she
glanced sharply at Sawyer, as though she were still afraid that he might
pull out his handcuffs. He merely hunched forward, his face a mass of
wrinkles.
“What did he say? Give it to me as precisely as you can.”
“He said that he knew things looked bad, but that he would explain
everything as soon as he saw me. I was so thrilled to know he was
alive, I didn’t ask very many questions. He also called me from the
airport before he got on the plane on the day of the crash.”
Sawyer perked up. “But I didn’t have time to talk to him.”
Sidney steeled herself for another guilt attack as the memory flooded
back to her. Then she recounted to Sawyer Jason’s late nights at the
office and their early morning conversation before he had left for the
airport.
“And he suggested the New Orleans trip?” Sawyer asked.
She nodded. “He said if he didn’t contact me at the hotel that I should
go to Jackson Square and he would get a message to me there.”
“The shoe shine guy, right?”
Sidney nodded again.
Sawyer sighed. “So that was Jason you called from the pay phone?”
“Actually, the message said to call my office number, only Jason
answered. He said not to say anything, that the police were around.
He told me to go home and he would contact me when it was safe to do
so.”
“But he hasn’t as yet?”
She slowly shook her head. “They heard nothing.”
Sawyer chose his words carefully. “You know, Sidney, your loyalty is
admirable, it really is. You’ve lived up to your marriage vows
big-time, because I don’t think even God himself envisioned these kinds
of ‘bad times.””
“But?” She looked at him searchingly.
“But there comes a time when you have to look beyond the devotion,
beyond the feelings you have for someone and consider the cold, hard
facts. I’m not very eloquent, but if your husband did something
wrong–and I’m not saying he did–then you shouldn’t go down with him.
Like you said, you’ve got a little girl who needs you. I’ve got four
kids of my own; I’m not the greatest father in the world, but I can
still relate.”
“So what are you proposing?” Her voice was hushed.
“Cooperation. Nothing more than that. You give me info, I give you
info. Here’s some for you. Call it a good-faith deposit. The stuff in
the newspaper article pretty much sums up what we know. You saw the
video. Your husband met with someone and an exchange took place. Triton
is convinced it was information designed to hurt their chances at
acquiring CyberCom. They also have pretty strong evidence tying Jason
to the bank fraud.”
“I know the evidence seems overwhelming, but I can’t believe any of it.
I really can’t.”
“Well, sometimes the clearest signposts point in the wrong direction.
It’s my job to figure out which way they should be pointing.
I gotta admit I don’t believe your husband is completely clean, but on
the other hand, I don’t think he’s the only one out there.”
“You think he’s working with RTG, don’t you?”
“It’s possible,” Sawyer frankly admitted. “We’re following up that lead
along with all the others. It seems the most straightforward, but then