A Young Law Student Learn English through story level 5

chapter one

three bodies

the man who was waiting on the shore

looked like a farmer

he wore the right kind of clothes and

his van which was parked on the dirt

road above the beach was suitably

covered in mud

it was midnight on the first monday in

october

and for the next 30 minutes he had to

wait there

he stared out to sea

he was alone as he knew he would be

it was planned that way

this beach was always empty at this time

of night

no cars drove along the dirt road

the clouds were low and thick

it would be difficult to see the boat

until it was close

that was planned as well

after he had waited 20 minutes he heard

the sound of a quiet engine from the

water

and then saw a black rubber boat low in

the water approached the shore

the engine stopped when the boat was

about 30 feet from the shore

the farmer looked around

there were no people

no cars

he carefully put a cigarette in his

mouth and started to smoke it

a man’s voice came from the boat on the

water

what kind of cigarette is that

lucky strike

the farmer answered

satisfied the man in the boat asked

look

sam

replied the farmer

the man in the boat was carmel

not sam and luke knew it

luke had often heard of carmel

but he was not sure that they had met

before

carmel had many names and many faces and

he spoke several languages

he was the most famous and most feared

killer in the world

he was the best

at first twenty years ago he had killed

four political reasons

but now he was kill anyone anywhere if

the money was right

luke was excited

carmel was going to be working in

america

he wondered who was going to die

whoever it was the killing would be

quick and clean and there would be no

clues

at dawn the stolen van stopped at a

hotel in georgetown part of washington

dc the political capital of the united

states of america

carmel got out of the van without a word

to luke

they had not spoken throughout the

journey and luke had been careful not to

look at carmel

he didn’t want to die

he didn’t want carmel to think he could

recognize him

the room in the hotel was ready of

course

the curtains were tightly closed

the car keys were on the table

the gun was in a briefcase next to the

bed

had received three million dollars

already for this job

he would phone his bank in three hours

to ask whether the next four million had

arrived

while he waited he practiced his english

in front of the mirror

the job would be over by midnight

tonight so another three million would

reach his bank by midday tomorrow

by then

he would be in paris

it was satisfactory

he allowed himself a short sleep

the supreme court is the highest court

in the usa

it consists of nine judges who hear only

the most difficult cases in the country

those cases which might actually

threaten the constitution

judges are appointed to the supreme

court by the government

so a republican government will try to

get republican judges appointed and a

democratic government will try to get

democrats appointed

judges become members of the supreme

court for life

they can retire if they want but if not

the job ends only with death

judge rosenberg was so old that he found

it hard to stay awake sometimes even

during trials

he was a liberal and proud of it

he defended the indians the homosexuals

the poor the blacks the mexicans and the

puerto ricans

some people loved him for it

but more people hated him

throughout the summer there have been

the usual number of messages threatening

death to the judges of the supreme court

and as usual rosenberg had received more

than the others

the fbi had to behave as if the judges

really were in danger

although they were threatened year after

year and it was very rare for anything

to happen

when it did

it was usually a single madman whose

daughter had died in a road accident or

something

the political groups made a lot of noise

but it was easier for them to bomb

buildings than people

and especially people who were as well

guarded as the supreme court judges

rosenberg refused to have fbi guards in

his own home

he had lived to be 91 and was not afraid

of death

judge jensen had different reasons for

not wanting guards in his house

he wanted to be able to come and go as

he pleased

both of them allowed the guards to wait

outside in cars or on foot

but they could enter the house only when

they had permission

a little after ten at night when the

house was dark and still

the door to a bedroom cupboard opened

and carmel came quietly out

he was dressed in running clothes

he had shaved off his beard and colored

his hair blonde

silently he went down the stairs

he knew there were two fbi men in a car

that was parked on the road outside the

front of the house

he knew there was another guard ferguson

walking around the house outside

rosenberg and his male nurse were asleep

in the downstairs bedroom

outside the door

carmel fitted a silencer onto his gun

he stepped inside

put the gun to the head of the nurse and

fired three times

the hands and legs jumped

but the eyes stayed closed and there was

no sound

carmel quickly reached across to the

grey old head of judge rosenberg and

shot three bullets into it

he watched the two bodies for a full

minute

and then went out to the kitchen

he opened the back door

waited until ferguson appeared in the

back garden and then called his name

he knew that the nurse often invited

ferguson in for a cup of coffee and

something to eat

ferguson obediently came into the

kitchen

carmel fired three bullets into the back

of his head and he fell loudly onto the

table

carmel left the gun there and went out

of the back door

as soon as he reached the road at the

back of the house he began running

he was just another american out for his

nightly run

in the dark of the mont rose theater

glenn jensen sat by himself

and watched the men on the big screen in

the front of the theater

he was dressed in ordinary clothes

clothes that no one would remember

and wore dark glasses too

nobody would know that he had been here

he came to this homosexual film theater

once or twice a week

and not even his fbi guards knew about

it

it was easy to get out of the house

there were several apartments in the

building and the two fbi men could watch

only one entrance at a time

all he had to do was change his clothes

and drive away in a friend’s car

he liked the montrose

because the films went on all night and

there was never a crowd

tonight there were only two old men

sitting together in the middle of the

theater and holding hands

jensen watched their backs

and wondered if he would be like them in

20 years

at 44 he was the youngest of the supreme

court judges

he was not a favorite of either the

republicans all the democrats

but had been a safe appointment for the

republican president four years ago

he was not particularly liberal

accepting cases involving homosexuals

and those where industry threatened the

environment

he usually tried to judge his cases

according to their rights and wrongs

rather than any political opinions

a fourth person entered the theater

where jensen and the two old men were

now enjoying a film in which several

young men were in bed together

he wore tight jeans a black shirt an

earring dark glasses and a moustache

carmel the homosexual

he smiled when he saw jensen there

the information they had given him was

good

at 12 20 the old men left the theater

arm-in-arm

jensen did not look at them

he was too busy watching the film

carmel moved like a cat to a seat behind

jensen

he pulled some rope from around his

waist and wrapped the ends round his

hands

he suddenly put the rope around the

front of jensen’s neck and pulled

backwards and downwards

jensen’s neck broke over the back of his

seat

just to make sure

carmel twisted the rope until it bit

deeply into jensen’s neck and held it

there for two minutes

an hour later he was waiting at dulles

airport for his flight to paris

chapter 2

political planning

the phone woke the president at 4 30 in

the morning

he listened to the voice for a minute

and then jumped out of bed

eight minutes later he was in the office

fletcher cole his chief of staff was

waiting for him

what the hell happened

the president asked

cole walked up and down in front of the

president’s desk

we don’t know much

he said

they are both dead

two fbi men found rosenberg at one am

his nurse and guard were also dead

three bullets each

very clean very professional

while the fbi were at rosenberg’s house

they heard that the police had found

jensen’s body in a homosexual club

voyles called me

and i called you

he’ll be here in a minute

rosenberg is dead

the president said

yes

at last

rosenberg and the republican government

had not been friends

i suggest you go on tv in two or three

hours time and tell the country about it

all

mabry is already working on your speech

we don’t want to leave it until later

because we want to be the first to tell

them

the press already have the news

i didn’t know he was a homosexual

there’s no doubt about it now

this is the perfect crisis

we didn’t cause it we didn’t do anything

wrong

the country will be shocked and they’ll

turn to you

you’re going to be more popular than

ever

and next year you’ll be elected again

for another four years

it’s

great

and i can get two new men into the

supreme court

exactly that’s the best bit they’ll be

your men and they’ll be there forever

you’ll have a first list of names by

tomorrow

are there any suspects

not yet

the president smiled

voyles’s fbi men were supposed to

protect the judges weren’t they

good

i want you to link that information to

the press

maybe we can get rid of boils too

when voyles arrived a moment later

the president and coal tried to look

worried

voyles told them that there were no

suspects yet

and the president asked for a list by

five o’clock that evening

they agreed that the killings must be

connected

voyals denied that his men had been

careless

rosenberg and jensen are dead because

they refuse to let us guard them

properly

he said

we’re guarding the other seven and

they’re still alive

at the moment

the president said

and looked at coal

they almost smiled

they could easily make voyals look

stupid and inefficient over this

business

voyles knew it too

he was going to have to be careful

the president or rather cole

who told the president what to think

wanted his head

and the press would eat him alive

back in his office he ordered a full

enquiry into the murders

derby shaw woke up a little before dawn

after 15 months of law school at tulane

university in new orleans

her mind refused to rest for more than

six hours

the work had not been so hard at her

first university in phoenix arizona

where she had specialized in

environmental science

then she decided to become a lawyer and

to defend the environment in the courts

the price was hard work and more hard

work

there were some rewards however

she turned over in the bed to look at

the man sleeping next to her

thomas callahan was one of the most

popular teachers in the university

he was 45 years old but seemed a lot

younger

he drank a lot wore jeans

drove a porsche lived in the french

quarter

and managed to make even constitutional

law interesting

he was also good in bed

and for the first time in his life he

had stayed with one woman for more than

a few weeks

darby and he had been together now for

several months

she smiled

and wondered what her fellow students

would think

only her very best friends knew the

secret

she turned the tv on and suddenly there

was the president

she listened for a minute and then shook

thomas awake

thomas

wake up

listen to this

she turned the sound up louder

callahan sat up and said at the screen

still half asleep

he understood what the president was

saying though

rosenberg

murdered

he said

darby knew that rosenberg was his hero

jensen too

she said

the president finished his speech and

derby switched the tv off

no suspects according to the president

callahan said

i can think of at least 20 groups who

wanted rosenberg dead

dobby said

starting with the ku klux klan

yeah but why those two judges

okay

lots of people wanted rosenberg dead

but why jensen why not mcdowell or yount

they’re both more liberal than jensen

maybe they both just got killed on the

same night by chance

darby suggested without believing it

no

i don’t think so said callahan

these are the first supreme court judges

ever to be murdered

and then two in one night

there must be some connection between

the murders

but you know the worst thing

that full president will be able to fill

their places

that means that eight out of the nine

will be republicans

we won’t be able to recognize the

constitution in ten years

this is awful

perhaps that’s why they were killed

thomas

someone or some group wants a different

supreme court

filled with republicans

but why jensen

he was appointed by a republican

i don’t know

but there must be some connection

maybe there’s a clue in the cases the

supreme court was due to hear this year

the library will have that information

i think i’ll spend some time on this

today

chapter 3

no clues

denton royals put eric east in charge of

the case

on thursday east reported back to voyles

with a list of their top suspects

there were a number of political groups

especially the underground army

the ku klux klan and the white defenders

but also some individuals who were rich

enough to afford the kind of

professional killer who had obviously

done this job

there was nelson muncie

who had lost his daughter in a sex

killing in florida

the police had caught the man who was

black but thanks to rosenberg the man

had walked free

there was clinton lane whose son was a

homosexual who had died of aids

the problem with all these suspects

however was that the killings were so

professional and clean

that there were no clues except for the

gun and the rope

there were not even any clues about how

the killer had entered rosenberg’s house

still

voyles and he agreed to have between

five and twenty men investigate each

suspect or group of suspects

in the law library and on the computers

of chilean university

derby shaw was gathering pages and pages

of information

what was the connection between

rosenberg and jensen

she could see reasons for killing one or

the other

but not both together

but there had to be a single reason

thomas callahan slept late and alone

darby had been too busy to see him since

wednesday

now it was friday morning

he made some coffee and as he drank it

watched the busy french quarter through

his window

what was it he had to do

oh yes

phone gavin

on monday he was going to washington for

a conference about constitutional law

he and his old friend gavin verheek were

going to meet and get drunk together on

monday evening

gavin had been a friend ever since law

school

he and callan were the only two in their

year who refused to go into private

practice and get rich

while callahan had become a teacher

the heek had joined the fbi as a legal

adviser

when the heat came on the phone he said

thomas how are you

it’s 10 30. i’m not dressed i’m sitting

here in the french quarter drinking

coffee and watching the world outside

what are you doing

well

here it’s 11 30 and i haven’t left the

office since they found the bodies on

wednesday morning

it makes me sick gavin

the president will get two nazis onto

the supreme court

i suppose you’ve already seen the list

i bet your office is already checking

that they’ve lived good clean lives

go on gavin

tell me who’s on the list

i won’t tell anyone else

no chance

i’ll only tell you this

your name is not on the list

i’m so disappointed

how’s the girl

which one

come on thomas

the girl

she’s beautiful and brilliant and gentle

oh

and rich

she has red hair and the longest legs

you’ve ever seen

wow

what’s her name

darby shaw

but i haven’t seen her for a couple of

days

she’s trying to solve the murders all by

herself

why don’t you tell me who did it and

then i can tell her and she’ll come back

to me

don’t you read the papers

we have no suspects not one

at least i tried

are we going to meet on monday

i hope so boyles wants us to work day

and night until the computers tell us

who did it

i’ll expect a full report on monday

gavin

not just the gossip

why don’t you bring darby

how old is she

19

24 and she’s not invited

i’ll see you on monday at 7 pm in the

usual restaurant okay

okay

see you

darby’s inquiries have brought her to

the court in lafayette

of all the supreme court cases due to be

heard in the next few months

there was one that could explain the

killings

she needed to see the court’s files on

the case

when the clerk brought them to her table

however

her heart sank

there were lots of files each inches

thick

the case was seven years old

only one person was involved but he had

hidden behind 38 different businesses

which had used no fewer than 15 law

firms over the last seven years

she pulled her chair into the table

and began to work

chapter four

ideas and information

the meeting east and royals have with

cole and the president did not go well

not only could they not report any

progress but they had to admit that

investigations like this could take many

months

then cole handed boyles a list of eight

possible members of the supreme court

two of whom would fill the places left

empty by rosenberg and jensen

we wanna report on these people in 10

days voyles

he said

and make sure the press doesn’t get to

hear about them

you know we can’t promise that

boyle said

we can’t guarantee no leaks as soon as

we start to dig around these people

someone will realize what’s going on

the fbi can’t guarantee secrecy

cole said

you better keep this out of the papers

boyles

listen cole

he shouted

why don’t you investigate these people

yourself

don’t start telling me what to do

the president tried to make peace

all we’re saying is do your best boyles

he said

these people are young and they’re good

republicans

they’ll be given the constitution shaped

long after i’m dead

so it’s important to me that the two who

become members of the supreme court are

clean

so that they can stay there forever

so no drugs no unusual sexual habits

nothing like that

okay

yes mr president

but we cannot guarantee total secrecy

i understand

just try your best

yes sir

callahan went around to derby’s

apartment with a pizza and a bottle of

wine

he hadn’t seen her for four days

he rang on her doorbell

who is it she called through the door

thomas callahan he said do you remember

me

the door opened and callahan stepped in

are we still friends

he asked and gave her a kiss

of course

i’ve just been busy

so what did the great detective find

she was opening the bottle of wine and

didn’t answer straight away

she poured wine into two glasses and

they went and sat together on the sofa

she put her legs up onto him and he

stroked them

he repeated the question

nothing really

i was following a path and it took me

somewhere

i even typed it up as a brief

but i don’t think it’s worth anything

what

you’ve been running around playing

detective for four days and refusing to

see me and now you’re just going to

throw it away

it’s over there on the table if you want

to see it

she said

i don’t want to see it now

he said

we have more important things to do

i’m going to be away in washington for a

few days remember

i’ll read your brief and then we’ll talk

about it

but not till we’ve been to bed

okay

she pulled him towards her and they

kissed long and hard

there was a cleaner in the white house

whom everyone called sarge

he was old very black and had white hair

he wore dark glasses all the time

and everyone thought that he was half

blind

in fact

sarge could see very well

he could see round corners

he had been working in the white house

for 30 years now cleaning and listening

cleaning

and seeing

he knew which doors stayed open and

which walls were thin no one ever

noticed him

his son cleve was a policeman

this is how it worked

cleve would contact grey grantham of the

washington post and arrange a meeting

sarge and grantham would meet

no one knew how grantham got his

political information

but it was always good and always

correct

sarge never talked to anyone except

grantham

and he didn’t tell even him everything

he found out

this time they met at glenda’s

a little cafe on 14th street

sarge was able to tell grantham two of

the people on the list of possible

supreme court judges

chapter five

an implausible theory

had drunk too much the night before with

callahan as he had known he would

what had he said

had he given away any secrets

he remembered explaining that the

connection between rosenberg and jensen

was not political

the connection was so obvious that for

several days no one in the fbi had seen

it

they were killed because the killer

could get to them it was as simple as

that

they weren’t guarded as well as the

others

of course this still didn’t answer the

question why someone wanted two supreme

court judges dead

he remembered that they spent most of

the evening talking about their student

days together in washington

and about women

callahan had given him a copy of the

brief his girlfriend

what was her name

darby had written about the death of the

two judges

callahan had said it was an interesting

theory

she didn’t believe it

nor did he

but it was worth reading

the heek pulled the brief out of his

briefcase now and started to read it

it was better written than most briefs

and he enjoyed it

the theory was implausible but no one

else had thought of it

it was worth considering

he would show it to eric east

the phone went four times

the answering machine came on but the

caller left no message

the phone went again

and the same thing happened again

the third time grantham climbed out of

bed and answered the phone

it was still dark

yes

is that gray grantham

of the washington post

it is

who’s calling

i can’t give you my name

okay why are you calling

i saw your story yesterday about the

white house

and the possible next two supreme court

judges

good

but why are you calling me so early in

the morning

i’m sorry

i’m in a pay phone

i’m on my way to work

i can’t call from home or the office

what kind of office i’m a lawyer

great

washington was home to half a million

lawyers

private or government

i’d rather not say

okay anyway why did you call

a hesitation

i may know something about rosenberg and

jensen

grantham sat up straight

what exactly

are you recording this

no

should i

i don’t know mr grantham

i’d prefer it if you didn’t record this

okay

whatever you want

i’m listening

can you trace this call

i could

but you’re at a pay phone

what difference would it make

you’re right

i’m just frightened

you see

i think i know who killed them

now grantham was standing

that’s valuable information

it could get me killed

do you think they’re following me who

don’t worry tell me your name

you can call me garcia

that’s not your real name is it

of course not but it’s the best i can do

okay garcia

talk to me

i’m not certain you understand

but i think i accidentally saw something

at the office that i was not supposed to

see

do you have a copy of it

maybe

do you want to talk or not

i don’t know

what will you do if i tell you something

first try to find out whether it’s true

we won’t print the names of the killers

of two supreme court judges in a hurry

believe me

there was a very long silence

garcia

are you still there

yes

i need to think about this

i might call you later

okay if that’s what you want

sorry i woke you up

the phone went dead

grantham pushed seven numbers on his

phone

waited and then pushed six more

another weight and then four more

the small screen on his phone showed him

a row of numbers

he wrote them down on a piece of paper

the pay phone was on 15th street

east and k.o lewis voyles’s second in

command met with coal alone because the

president was out of washington

they had two bits of information for him

first they told him that cameras at the

airport in paris had recorded the

arrival from dulles of the killer carmel

cole thought about this for a minute

what if camille was involved in the

killings

what does it mean

it means we’ll never find him

lewis replied

nine countries around the world have

failed to find him for the last twenty

years

it means that he was paid a lot of money

by someone or some people here to do the

killings

so we know or we think that kamal did

the killings but it doesn’t really help

us does it

no

you’re right

okay

what else have you got for me

louis looked at east

there is no real progress to report

except

except what

well

there’s this theory which has appeared

in the last 24 hours

a law student in new orleans wrote it up

as a brief

we call it the pelican brief

here’s a copy of it

boyle’s liked it but he was afraid it

could hurt the president

how

read it

you’ll see

this time garcia called grantham during

office hours

he didn’t tell him anything new

he was still frightened and uncertain

they agreed that he would call again at

lunchtime the next day

the call came from a pay phone on

pennsylvania avenue

later when the president returned

cole told him about the brief

the theory is implausible

he said

the voyles likes it

he probably doesn’t believe the theory

any more than anyone else

but we’ve made him look bad over these

killings so far

and he wants revenge

he’s going to investigate this new

suspect

if the press get to hear about the

investigation that could be bad for you

we better do something about it

is the suspect someone we know

yes

cole explained what was in the brief

did we get a lot of money from him

millions one way or another

said cole

but the president preferred not to know

the various ways in which money came in

especially when they weren’t always

perfectly legal

chapter six

hunted

thomas was drinking too much over dinner

she didn’t like it

and she told him so

he wanted to prove that she was wrong

so he drank even more

they had an argument

after dinner outside the restaurant he

pulled the keys to his porsche out of

his pocket

thomas no

you’re too drunk to drive

give me the keys

he held onto the keys and set off in the

direction of the car park

he couldn’t walk straight and his foot

kept slipping off the pavement into the

road

she followed him but stayed somewhere

behind

she was too angry and just wanted to get

back to her apartment alone

he shouted something over his shoulder

about how he could drive better when he

was drunk

she stood with her arms crossed on the

other side of the car park and watched

him put the key into the lock

it took him three or four attempts

then he was inside and she lost sight of

him between two other cars

she heard him start the engine though

the explosion knocked her to the ground

she lay there for a moment and then

jumped to her feet

the porsche was a ball of fire

derby ran towards it screaming his name

bits of the car were still falling all

around her and the heat stopped her 30

feet away

she screamed with her hands over her

mouth

a second explosion tore through the car

and pushed her back

she fell and her head hit the side of a

parked car hard

everything went blank for a minute

then there were people everywhere and

voices shouting

whose car is it

call 911.

was there anyone in it

she was repeating the name thomas

someone put a cold cloth on her head

she heard the sound of the police and

firemen coming

and then there were red and blue lights

everywhere

a black man was bending over her

are you alright miss

he asked

thomas

she said

where’s thomas

miss

who’s thomas

asked the man

was he in that car

she nodded and then closed her eyes

she could hear men shouting in the

distance

they were all over by the burning car

she sat up and was sick between her legs

then she felt better

she got up and walked away

she knew who the bomb had been for

her

and she knew why

she had to hide they were hunting her

were they behind her even now

she wandered deep into the french

quarter

found a cheap hotel and paid for a room

with her card

as soon as she was in the room she

locked the door and curled up on the bed

with all the lights on

mrs fahey answered the bedside phone

it’s for you gavin

she called into the bathroom where he

was shaving

he came and took the phone from her

hello

he said angrily

who could be calling this early in the

morning

this is darby shaw

do you know the name

yes

we share a friend

did you read the little theory i wrote

yes the pelican brief as we call it

and who is

we

the heek sat up straight

she was not calling for a friendly chat

why are you calling darby

i need some answers mr vege

i’m frightened to death

it’s

gavin okay

okay gavin

where’s the brief

why

what’s wrong

i’ll tell you in a minute just tell me

what you did with the brief

well i read it and then i passed it on

to someone else who passed it on to

dentonvoyels who liked it

has anyone outside the fbi seen it

i can’t answer that

then i won’t tell you what’s happened to

thomas

all right yes it’s been outside the fbi

but i don’t know exactly where

and i don’t know how many people read it

he’s dead gavin

he was murdered last night

someone put a bomb in the car

i was lucky

gavin was shocked

where are you

are you safe

new orleans

who knows if i’m safe

they must be after me too

it was me they really wanted

i’ll have some men come and get you

darby you can’t stay on the streets

then i’ll catch a plane and i’ll be

there by midday i don’t think so

thomas is dead because he talked to you

why should i want to talk to you

give me your number at work

i may call you later

okay

but darby just tell me

did he feel any pain

there were tears in her voice

no

it was very quick

then she put the phone down

she could let herself cry now

because there wouldn’t be time later

crying could get her killed

chapter 7

keep moving

it was nearly time for the president’s

daily meeting with royals

by now he was tired of the whole

business

he just wanted to get his men into the

supreme court

cole was telling him something but he

wasn’t really listening

voyles and cole hated each other so much

now that coal had to leave the office

whenever voyles came

they had nearly fought last time

it didn’t matter to cole whether he was

in or out of the office

there were enough hidden microphones and

cameras for him to listen and watch any

conversation there

the president felt better knowing that

cole was at least watching

he greeted royals warmly at the door and

led him over to the sofa for a friendly

chat

voyles was not impressed

dunton

the president said

i want to apologize for cole’s behavior

last time

he can be stupid can’t he

boyle said

knowing that cole was listening

yes

he’s very clever and works amazingly

hard

but he goes too far sometimes

anyway that’s all behind us now

i want you to tell me all about this

pelican brief

how seriously are you taking it

voyles tried not to smile

this was great

he had managed to get colin the

president worried

we are investigating all suspects mr

president

he replied

we have 14 men on this one

i don’t have to tell you denton

the president continued

how much damage this theory could do if

the press heard about it

we won’t tell the press mr president

i know

all i’m saying is that i want you to

pull back from this one

the theory is crazy anyway

and i could really get hurt

do you understand what i’m saying

are you asking me not to investigate a

suspect mr president

i’m just saying that you must have

better things to do with your men

the press is watching this investigation

closely

you know how they are

they don’t like me at all

so why don’t you leave this one alone

and chase the real suspects

is that what you’re asking me to do

i’m not asking you denton

i’m telling you to leave it alone for a

couple of weeks

if you need to go back to it later of

course you must but i’m still the boss

around here

remember

gavin stayed near voyles’s office until

the secretary let him in

he couldn’t believe it when boyles and

lewis told him that they were no longer

investigating the pelican theory

my best friend is dead because of that

brief

he said

he was killed by a car bomb

someone is worried about the brief don’t

you think

the brief has already been very valuable

to us gavin

lewis said

yeah it let you play some games with the

white house

gavin said bitterly

but there’s a girl out there running for

her life

what am i going to tell her

darby made sure she could not be

followed in the crowds in the shopping

district

she bought some new clothes and hid her

hair under a hat

she went into the sheraton hotel and

found a row of pay phones

first she called mrs chen who lived in

the apartment next to hers

no

she had not seen anything yes

there had been a knock at her door early

this morning

then she called gavin

where are you

he asked

let me explain something

for now i’m not going to tell you or

anyone else where i am clear

yes but don’t go home

i’m not a fool

they’ve already been there

what did mr boyle say

i haven’t been able to see him

you’ve been at the office for four hours

gavin

i expected you to do better

be patient darby

patience will get me killed i’ve got to

keep moving

she saw a face

he walked among the tourists at the

hotel’s front desk

he was trying to look as though he

belonged here but his eyes were

searching

the face was long and thin and he wore

round glasses

he was a little over six feet tall

gavin listen to me

she said

i have to go

i can see a man i’ve seen before about

an hour ago

okay

take care darby and call me again soon

i’ll try

chapter eight

photos and phone calls

the photographer’s name was croft

he was parked on pennsylvania avenue in

grantham’s volvo because it had a phone

the pay phone was easy to see

about 50 yards in front of the car

with his powerful camera he could almost

read the names in the phone book

a large woman was using the phone at the

moment

at 12 20 the woman put the phone down

and walked away

from nowhere a young man in a suit

appeared and walked over to the phone

croft felt sure that this was the man

he picked up his camera

and looked through it

the man was pushing numbers on the phone

and looked nervous

he kept looking this way in that

croft took a couple of pictures

the phone in the car went three times

croft didn’t pick it up

it was grantham at the office

signaling that this was their man

croft used a whole film on the first

camera

when the man had finished talking on the

phone

he walked straight towards the volvo

along the pavement

beautiful

croft took several more pictures with a

second camera and stopped well before

the man could possibly see inside the

car

an easy job

grantham got plenty of excellent

pictures from croft

garcia didn’t look spanish despite the

name he had chosen he looked like

thousands of other young lawyers up and

down the country

from garcia he got nothing

it didn’t matter

he let him talk about his wife and child

and how frightened he was

one day and one day soon

garcia would give him the information

whatever it was

from sarge

he got a copy of a white house document

naming carmel as the probable killer of

rosenberg and jensen

this was good

there was little in the office files

about carmel

and only two pictures which looked like

two different people

but he wrote it up into a story and they

decided to use both pictures in the

story on the front page the next day

the phone was going

after 24 hours on the run she drank a

bottle of wine the night before and

fallen asleep on her bed in the marriott

hotel

but first she had cut off her long red

hair and colored it black

they would be expecting blonde

they would also be expecting her to run

away

so despite her fears she stayed in new

orleans

they would be watching all the police

stations so she had stayed away from

them

the phone was still going

she picked it up and heard

darby

this is gavin

now she was awake

how did you find me

we are the fbi

we have our ways

wait let me think

of course

you can trace me when i use my cards to

pay for things

how stupid of me

but if you can find me they can find me

too

they could be outside the door now

stay in small hotels then

and pay with cash

now

listen

i’m coming to new orleans

it’s thomas’s funeral tomorrow

i think we should meet tonight

you have to trust me darby

what did boyle say

gavin hesitated

we’re taking no action at this time

that’s lawyer talk gavin

what does it mean

i don’t want to talk on the phone

that’s why we have to meet

no

tell me why voyles is doing nothing

about this

i’m not sure why

honestly

what do you think gavin

do you think thomas was killed because

of the brief

yes

thanks

if thomas was murdered because of the

brief then we know who killed him

and if we know who killed thomas

then we know who killed rosenberg and

jensen

am i right

probably

that’s good enough

probably means yes when a lawyer says it

but the fbi is still doing nothing about

my suspect

calm down darby

let’s meet tonight and talk about this

i could save your life

she carefully put the receiver of the

phone under the pillow

she threw her things into a bag and left

the room

she walked up two floors to the 17th

then took the lift down to the tenth

then she walked down the stairs to the

ground

floor she hid in the women’s room for

half an hour

and then left the hotel

onto main street in the french quarter

she found an empty cafe with a phone at

the back

she called vehic

where will you stay tonight

she asked him

at the hilton

i’ll call late tonight or early in the

morning

can you get the washington post down

there

you should read it today

i can’t wait

i’ll speak to you later

she bought a post and read it at another

cafe

if the report was right it fitted in

with her theory

the local paper had a picture of thomas

on the second page with a long story

about the explosion

the police were looking for a white

female whom several witnesses had seen

there at the time

she looked slowly at the photo of thomas

he was so handsome

tears filled her eyes

alice stark darby’s best friend

got the key to the apartment from mrs

chen and let herself in

she had been there plenty of times

before and everything looked alright

nothing was out of place

the whole apartment was tidy

the kitchen smelled of stale food

it was dark when she got there but darby

had told her not to switch on the lights

and certainly not to open the curtains

she used a torch to see her way around

she sat down at the computer and turned

it on

she looked for the files derby had

mentioned

but they weren’t there

by the light of the torch she looked in

the boxes of diskettes

they were empty

alice returned the key to mrs chen and

walked half a mile to where she had left

her car

she met derby as arranged in the

restaurant and she told her what she had

discovered

darby did not seem surprised

and refused to answer alice’s questions

the heek was

angry she had said she would call him

now it was midnight and she still hadn’t

called

he could save her life if she could

he had to do something

he decided to visit a few student bars

to find out if anyone knew her and had

seen her recently

he got back to his room at three in the

morning

there were no messages

she hadn’t called

was she still alive

chapter 9

searching for derby

another phone call from garcia

the man still wouldn’t talk

why was he calling him before dawn on a

saturday

they’d had the same conversation every

time

that he had to think about the safety of

his wife and child

that he had seen something in his office

but there was never anything new

grantham had just gone back to sleep

when the phone went again

hello

it was not garcia this time

it was a female voice

is this great grantham of the washington

post

he must get an unlisted telephone number

it is

and who are you

are you still in the story about

rosenberg and jensen

yes

have you heard of the pelican brief

the pelican brief

no

what is it

it contains a theory about who killed

the judges it was given to the fbi last

monday by a man called thomas callahan

suddenly on wednesday callahan is killed

by a car bomb

how do you know all this

i wrote the brief

he was wide awake now listening hard

where are you

new orleans

are you in danger

i think so

but i’m okay for now

i’ll call you again soon

see if you can find out anything about

the brief

she came early to thomas’s funeral

and she would stay late

she found an empty room on the third

floor of a student building that looked

out over the university church

she sat with her face to the window and

saw his parents and brother arrive

students and staff came in twos and

threes

she pressed a handkerchief to her eyes

then she saw him

it was the thin faced man with glasses

he was wearing a coat and tie

he walked towards the church looking

carefully in every direction

first they kill him

then they come to his funeral

ten minutes later he came back out of

the church

he looked sad as if thomas had been a

friend

he put a cigarette in his mouth and

walked past some parked cars and behind

the church

two minutes later another man got out of

one of the cars and followed him

the two of them reappeared after a

minute walking together now

then thin face disappeared down the

street while the other man who was short

returned to his car and waited for the

funeral service to finish

the cubans lowered the small rubber boat

into the water from their ship

they heard the sound of the little

engine as the man went west through the

darkness towards the coast

he would never use a commercial airline

again

the photographs in paris were

embarrassing for a professional like

himself

and his client was not pleased

now he was going to have to do two jobs

in a single month which he had never

done before

but this one would be easy

just a young woman

in the hotel room in new orleans he

spoke on the phone to a man calling

himself mr sneller

tell me about her

he said

there are two photos in the briefcase

kamel opened the case and took out the

photos

i’ve got them she’s beautiful

it will almost be a pity to kill her

yes

but all that red hair is gone

we found some hair on the floor of a

hotel room she’s colored it black

is she now

we don’t know

she has stopped using her cards to pay

for things

she took out a lot of money from her

bank and since then she has disappeared

we think she’s still in new orleans

though

someone was in her apartment last night

we just missed them

the bomb failed

we don’t expect you to fail

gavin was

tired he had spent two nights searching

the bars

and he was too old for these late nights

when the phone went he was still asleep

gavin

darby is that you

yes

why haven’t you called before

that doesn’t matter now

you should know that they’re here in new

orleans

i’ve seen two of them

a thin-faced man and a short man

they were at the funeral service

yesterday

where were you

watching

how long will you be in town

until we meet

when will that be

i don’t know yet

i’ll call again soon the phone went dead

gavin picked it up and threw it across

his hotel room

chapter 10

another body

the first thing she did when she woke up

on sunday morning was listen

was the door opening

was the floor outside making a noise

when she was sure she was safe

she thought about

thomas she remembered their times

together

she remembered how he loved her

it was a surprise for him

the first time he had really been in

love

and she loved him too

after a few minutes of thinking about

thomas

she thought about them

she had to think like them too to stay

alive

where would they be today

where could she go

was it time to move hotels again

yes

did they know that she was now a blonde

she felt hungry

she had hardly eaten for days

this hotel didn’t do breakfast on

sundays so she had to go out

she left by the back door through the

kitchen

he saw her when she reached burgundy

street

the hair was different but she couldn’t

change her long legs

he started to follow her

carmel was practicing his english when

the phone went

it was snella

she’s here

he said

one of our men saw her this morning

he chased her but she noticed him and

lost him in the football crowds

carmel said

so how am i supposed to find her

if your man can’t tell me where she’s

staying

it might not matter sneller said

there’s an fbi lawyer in town

the fool has been visiting bars and

asking questions about her spreading his

name around

he’s asked anyone who knows her to

contact him at his hotel the hilton

my men will continue trying to find the

girl and you can stay close to him

he’s in room 1909

he was callaghan’s best friend

she might call him

gavin was lying on his bed watching tv

it was eleven at night

he would wait until twelve and then try

to sleep

he had decided to go home tomorrow if

she didn’t call

he couldn’t find her

it wasn’t his fault

even taxi drivers got lost in this city

when the phone went he switched the tv

off and picked it up

it’s me gavin she said

you’re alive

he said

yes

but i was followed today

it was the short man

did he follow you from somewhere

no

he just happened to see me in the

streets

listen darby

i can’t wait here anymore i’ve got a job

to go back to

i want to leave new orleans tomorrow and

i want you to come with me

i’ll have three men guarding you and

you’ll be safe you can tell us all you

know

and then the fbi will finish the job

dobby thought for a minute

all right

behind your hotel there’s a shopping

area called riverwalk

i know it

good

find a shop called frenchman’s bend and

be there at the back of the shop at

midday tomorrow

i don’t know what you look like so wear

a black shirt and carry a newspaper

this is silly

no it’s not

i’ve had to learn fast how to stay alive

believe me this is the way to do it

okay

you’re the boss

that’s right

only you and i will leave the city

i don’t want anyone else knowing about

this do you understand

all right

how tall are you

about five feet 10 inches and how much

do you weigh

about 100 kilos

i usually lie about it

i’m going to start doing some exercise

i’ll see you tomorrow gavin

i hope so

he put the phone down and smiled

great

at last

he said out loud

he went into the bathroom for a shower

when he came out

the room was dark

dark

but he had left the light on hadn’t he

he started to walk over to the light

switch

the first blow caught him in the throat

he fell to his knees which made the

second blow easy

it landed like a rock on the back of his

neck

and gavin was dead

carmel switched on a light

he lifted up the body and put it on the

bed

he turned the sound on the television up

loud

opened his bag and took out a cheap gun

he held it to the right side of gavin’s

head and fired

then he carefully put the gun in gavin’s

right hand and curled the fingers around

it

it wouldn’t take a doctor very long to

find out how gavin had really died

but carmel didn’t need very long

by the evening of the next day he would

be out of the country

he opened up the receiver of the

telephone and took out the little

microphone

he pulled the recorder out from under

the bed

finally he checked that the cupboard

where he had waited was clean

then he left the room

no one had seen him enter

and no one saw him leave

cd 2

chapter 11

river walk

grantham couldn’t find out anything

about the brief

even sarge hadn’t heard of it

when derby’s call came through to his

office on monday morning he had nothing

to tell her

it doesn’t matter

i’ll tell you everything soon i think

i don’t want to die without telling the

world what i know

they’re following me here in new orleans

who

the same people who killed rosenberg and

jensen

if you read the report about callaghan’s

death

you know about the white female the

police want to talk to

that’s me

my name is darby shaw

thomas callahan was my teacher and my

lover

i wrote the brief

gave it to him

he passed it on to the fbi who took it

to the white house

and you know what happened next

are you recording this

i’m writing it down

grantham said

i’m going to leave new orleans i’ll call

you from somewhere else tomorrow

can you get a copy of the list of people

who gave large amounts of money to help

the president get elected

easy it’s public information

i’ll have it by the time you call

do you have a copy of the brief

no

but i remember it all

and you know who’s doing the killing

yes and as soon as i tell you

your life will be in danger too

tell me now

not so fast

i’ll call you tomorrow

after the phone conversation grantham

went in to see his boss smith keane

he explained the situation to him

keane was excited but said

even if she tells us what’s in the brief

we can’t print the story

we’ll need an independent witness

i’m working on it

grantham said

and told him about garcia

this is going to be big

king said

this is going to put the post right back

up at the top

she arrived on riverwalk at 11.

she sat in a restaurant and nervously

drank a coffee while watching the people

pass

she didn’t see thin face or shorty or

anyone else she recognized

at 11 45 she got up and walked towards

frenchman’s bend

if he wasn’t there by 12 15 she would

leave

but he was there

wearing the black shirt and carrying a

newspaper

he looked nervous too

she liked that

at exactly 12 o’clock he walked into the

shop and went to the back

she came up behind him and said

gavin

he had practiced gavin’s voice for hours

but wasn’t sure he had it exactly right

he turned around quickly and said

torby

then he pretended to cough

she wouldn’t expect the same voice from

someone with a cold

let’s get out of here

he said

follow me

she said

darby took his hand and led him out of

the shop and towards the river

have you seen them

he asked

no but they’re around somewhere

where are we going

just come with me

you’re walking too fast darby

it will look strange to people

let me make a phone call

i can have men here in 10 minutes and

there will be safe

he was pleased with himself

he sounded just right

no

she said

but she slowed down

they joined the queue for the riverboat

bioqueen

the boat will take us to wherever parked

a car

she explained

then we get out of here fast

carmel was uncomfortable

he was wearing a great many underclothes

so that he would look as fat as verheek

but he could wait an hour until they

were out of the city

and then

the man with the gun pushed his way

through the queue

he had killed before but never in such a

public place

the queue was moving but he was getting

through it

the man and the woman were just about to

step onto the boat when he reached them

he pulled the gun out of his pocket

held it to the man’s head and fired

he disappeared through the crowd

gavin was falling to the ground

darby screamed and moved back in horror

he’s got a gun

a woman shouted and pointed at gavin who

was on his hands and knees with a small

gun in his right hand

blood poured from his nose and chin and

formed a small pool under his face

his head was hanging down until it

nearly touched the ground

he was speaking some words in a language

derby didn’t recognize

he’s egyptian

someone in the crowd said

he fell forward dropping the gun into

the water

and died in a widening pool of blood

darby walked away as the crowd moved

forwards to see the dead man

and two policemen started to push their

way through

she left river walk after dark

she had bought new clothes and wore a

new coat as well

she waved to taxi

how much to take me to baton rouge

she asked

that’s a long way

the driver said you should go by bus or

train

how much

she asked again

150 dollars the man said after a

moment’s thought

here’s two hundred she said

get me there fast

thomas had talked to her about his

friend gavin the heek

she knew he wasn’t an egyptian

chapter 12

darby explains

voyel sent east down to new orleans to

learn the truth about the heek’s death

lewis brought the news to his office

denton

when are we going to start taking this

pelican brief seriously

he asked

people keep dying because of it

we’d better investigate it

it must be matisse

i know

boyle said

we’ll send down a team of men

but i don’t want the fool in the white

house or cold to hear that we’re

investigating it

i want to surprise them

when the president told me to leave the

brief alone

i was carrying a small recorder in my

pocket

i’ve got every word loud and clear

if we find that the brief is accurate

the press will love us

and we can let them know that the

president told us not to investigate it

that’ll be the end of him and coal

lewis said happily

i know

he’ll have no chance in the election

next year

we’ve got him

they smiled at each other

but what about matisse

lewis said

if he hadn’t killed all those people we

wouldn’t have thought the brief was

right

he must be crazy

there are rumors that he is

boyle’s replied

i’ve spoken to the cia

they had men in new orleans

they don’t know where matisse is

he’s probably not in this country

he owns houses all over the world

we’ll need their help to get him

they were following the girl too but

they lost her in chicago airport

she could be anywhere by now

she could be dead

lewis said matisse’s men are following

her as well

grantham traced two old photographs of

her

one from her high school one from her

first university

he pinned them up beside his desk

she was beautiful

she called him as she had promised

he had read about the killing of a

lawyer in new orleans and she told him

the true story

she also told him about the other

killing which had not appeared in the

newspapers

then she said

can you come to new york tomorrow

grantham

of course

it’ll only take a few hours

but please

call me gray

he looked at the photographs of her

i’ll ring tomorrow morning to tell you

where to meet me

and tomorrow

i’ll tell you who killed rosenberg and

jensen

do you know who did it

i know who paid for the killings

i know his name

i know his business and his politics

and you’ll tell me tomorrow

if i’m still alive

a pause

perhaps we should talk immediately

he said

they met in her room in the samaritz

hotel in new york

they chatted for a while getting to know

each other

it was the first normal conversation

derby had had for a week and it was a

great pleasure

they sent out for some food and after

they had eaten he switched on a recorder

and she told him a story

for centuries the mississippi river has

been carrying mud down to the sea

where the river meets the sea

marshes have spread out over an enormous

area

these marshes are the home for a great

many rare and unusual animals birds

reptiles and fish

then oil was discovered there in 1930

the oil companies began to destroy the

marshes

where the river mud had been creating

new land

now the sea was able to wash the land

away

since the discovery of oil tens of

thousands of acres of louisiana

marshland is gone

every 14 minutes another acre disappears

underwater

in 1979 an oil company owned by victor

matisse found a very rich oil field

worth thousands of millions of dollars

matisse wanted it all

he knew that others would buy the

surrounding land if they heard there was

a major oil field there

so he pretended that nothing had

happened

he stopped work there and waited

solely and patiently

as the years passed he bought the

surrounding land

he created new companies

lots of them so that no one would know

that he was the buyer

at last he was ready to begin drilling

then

a small environmental group called green

rescue made a legal request to the

courts to stop the drilling

the request was unexpected

because for so long louisiana had

profited from the oil companies

the court in lafayette agreed that all

drilling should stop until the case was

settled

matisse knew that this could take years

he was dangerously angry

he spent weeks with his lawyers making

plans

but every move they made was disallowed

by the courts

people were sympathetic to green

rescue’s case

a lot of wildlife was at risk

the marshland where matisse wanted to

drill was home to a great many rare and

beautiful seabirds including brown

pelicans

there were very few of these pelicans

left

when people thought about the case

they thought about the pelicans

at last the case came to trial

green rescue lost

and that was not surprising

matisse had spent millions of dollars

and had the best lawyers in the country

but the judge still forbade the drilling

to start

the pelican was a protected bird under

louisiana law

and green rescue weren’t finished yet

they would take the case all the way to

the supreme court

how long would it take to reach the

supreme court

gray asked

between three and five years

by then rosenberg would be dead anyway

yes

but it might be a democratic president

who was choosing the judge to take his

place

matisse couldn’t take that chance and

jensen was always soft on environmental

cases

matisse needed two republican judges in

there

both of whom were supporters of big

business

can you prove that all the companies

involved in buying the land in louisiana

are owned by matisse

it’s in the brief

and i’ve written it all out for you

and then there’s the photograph

tell me

seven years ago

before the president was elected

he was in new orleans getting money for

the republicans

although matisse stays out of the public

eye

he was there that day

and some clever photographer got a

picture of him shaking hands with the

president

both of them are smiling

and they look like old friends

it’s beautiful

i can easily find a copy of that

this whole thing is beautiful

it’s the biggest story since watergate

maybe even bigger

gray turned off the recorder and sat

back in his chair

they were silent for a short while

then he asked

do you think matisse himself chose

rosenberg and jensen

no

i’m sure he had advice from a lawyer

he’s got lawyers all over the country

gray set up again

does he have any in washington

yes

there are two firms there who do some

work for him

brim stearns and kidlow is one of them

the other is wyden blazevich a very old

republican firm

but why are you interested

grey quickly told her about garcia

maybe he works at one of those two firms

he said

that would make you much easier to find

him

they were both tired

she asked him to sleep on the sofa in

her room that night so that she could

get a good night’s sleep for the first

time for days

he agreed

she was so beautiful that he would do

anything to be close to her

he would even sleep on a five-foot sofa

chapter 13

washington

darby worked in the library all morning

and ran grantham at midday

she had been reading lists of the

members of both of the washington law

firms that worked for matisse

there was no one called garcia on either

list of course

there were four spanish names among the

190 lawyers who worked for brim sterns

and kidlow

but none among the 412 who worked for

white and blazevich

she ran grey with this information from

a pay phone in a cafe on sixth avenue

as she turned to leave she saw the short

man who had been looking for her in new

orleans

he was here

in new york

walking the

streets he didn’t look inside the cafe

however

for the moment she was safe but it was

time to leave new york

two hours later she was at newark

airport

when this was all over if she was still

alive

where could she go

she thought of the thousands of islands

in the caribbean

no one could find her there

she no longer wanted to practice law

all she wanted to do was reach her 25th

birthday and maybe her 30th too

croft spent a week waiting outside the

offices of brimstones and kidlow

there were plenty of lawyers who looked

as young as garcia and they all dressed

similarly in dark suits

but there was no garcia

he was sure of it

some of the people employed by the white

house didn’t work at the white house

some were so secret that their offices

were elsewhere and very few people knew

of their existence

matthew barr was one of these shadowy

people

he was riding in the back of the car

with coal

coal was silent while barr read the

pelican brief

when he had finished barr said

i’d love to know how much of this is

true

so away

co said

what did the president say about it

he agreed that the theory was

implausible

so he asked voyles not to investigate it

really

and what if it’s true

then the president has got problems

me too

they rode in silence for a while and

watched the traffic then cole said

we need to know if the brief is true

if people are dying it’s true

why else did callahan and braheed die

there was no other reason

and cole knew it

i want you to do something

find the girl

no

go to matisse and talk to him

it won’t be easy

he isn’t exactly listed in the phone

book

you can do it you’ve done more difficult

things for us in the past

you’ve done worse for us too

and you think victor will trust me and

tell me his secrets

why not

you’re not a policeman

you can help him

you can tell him that the press will

have the story soon and so it would be a

good idea for him to disappear

then it’ll trust you

what if it’s true

what will you do next

the first thing will be for the

president to appoint two nature lovers

to the supreme court

that will show people that we really

care for the environment

then

at the same time

he will get the fbi to start an official

investigation into victor matisse

barr was smiling with admiration

what about the photograph

he asked

easy

at seven years old

we say that in those days matisse was a

good citizen

not a madman as he is now

anyway by sunday i’ll tell you where he

is

i’ve got a man working on it be ready to

leave

darby called gray at 9 30 the next

morning at his office

i’m here

she said

where are you going from

gray asked

i’m staying at the tabard inn

i saw an old friend in new york and

decided it was time to leave

i hope i didn’t bring any of them with

me

i bought two plane tickets with my card

for them to follow

but i paid cash for the one i really

used

even then i changed planes four times

if they follow me here they must be

magicians

if i see any of them here

i think i’ll just surrender

when do we meet

meet me in the restaurant here at nine

tonight but gray

don’t use your own car

hire another one

and be ready to stay away from your home

and office for a few days

i’ve booked you a room at the marbury

hotel

surely the office is safe darby

i’m not in the mood to argue

if you’re going to be difficult gray

i’ll simply disappear

i’m sure i’ll live longer out of the

country anyway

i’ve got to go now

you’d be careful

the marbury was close to where his boss

smith keane lived and there were some

things they had to talk about

the next morning he rang keem from his

room and they arranged to meet outside

the front of the hotel in 15 minutes

while they drove around in keane’s car

they discussed various ways in which

they could use the information they had

they agreed that finding garcia was the

key to the whole story

without garcia they had little more than

rumor and an unlikely theory

they hoped that garcia’s information

really was as important as they were

guessing it was

she had told him to stay off the streets

and to eat in his room

after kean had left him near his hotel

he bought a sandwich and a cup of coffee

and returned to his room

an asian cleaning woman was working

outside his room

did you forget something sir

she asked

gray looked at her

what do you mean

you just left your room sir and now

you’re back

i left two hours ago

no sir a man left your room 10 minutes

ago

she hesitated and looked at his face

closely

but now i see that it was another man

sir

he walked quickly to the stairs and ran

all the way down to the ground floor

what was in his room

nothing important

just some clothes

nothing about darby

her phone number at the tabardin was in

his pocket

he had to find her

and quick

chapter 14

curtis d morgan

darby spent the day in the georgetown

law library reading and taking notes

about the members of the washington law

firms that matisse used

it was boring work and her mind often

wandered

she thought a lot about thomas

matthew barr went to new orleans where

he met a lawyer who told him to fly to a

certain hotel in fort lauderdale florida

he wouldn’t tell barr what was going to

happen there

but when barr arrived he found a room

waiting for him

a note at the front desk of the hotel

said he would receive a phone call in

the early morning

he called fletcher cole at home at 10

and told him the news

she stepped on the note when she opened

her door

it said

darby

i’m in the garden

it’s urgent

gray

she locked the door went downstairs

through the restaurant and out into the

garden

she found him sitting at a small table

half hidden behind a wall

why are you here

she demanded in a whisper

he told her what had happened and what

he’d done for the rest of the day

he had spent it riding around the city

in a dozen different taxis waiting for

dark

then he came to the tabard

he was certain that no one had followed

him

she listened

she watched the restaurant in the

entrance to the garden and heard every

word

i have no idea how anyone could find my

room

he said

did you tell anyone your room number

he thought for a second

only smith keen

but he didn’t have time to tell anyone

else

where were you when you told him

in his car

she shook her head slowly

i told you not to tell anyone didn’t i

you think this is all a game it’s not

gray it’s real

this isn’t just a great newspaper story

which is going to make grey grantham

famous and win him prizes

i’ve seen people die

god knows how many times i’ve been close

to death myself

these people are dangerous

and they’re professionals

they know about you and the washington

post

they’ve probably been listening to you

since you wrote the first story about

this matter

they’ll have microphones hidden in your

apartment your car

and your office

it looks as though they’ve got

microphones in king’s car as well

do you understand what i’m saying

last night at dinner we tried to pretend

we were two normal people getting to

know each other

but that wasn’t real

this is real

she was right of course

he felt like a school child in front of

an angry teacher

you can stay here tonight

she said

and tomorrow

i’ll find you another small hotel

after breakfast the next morning she got

on the phone

she rang the georgetown law school and

pretended to be from white and blazovich

she said that their computers were not

working

and that for the sake of her records she

needed to know which students had worked

for white and blazovich last summer

waited

with her hand over the mouthpiece of the

phone and looked at grey

the secretary from the law school came

back on the phone

seven of them

darby said

thank you

she wrote down their names

and do you have their addresses please

we need them for our records

she wrote down this information too

that was brilliant

grace said when she had finished

now all we need to do is find as many of

these students as we can

show them your photograph of garcia and

hope that one of them recognizes him and

can tell us his real name

why couldn’t we just wait outside the

firm’s building until he came out and

then follow him

that’s what croft was doing at brim

stearns and kitlow

too risky

it seems likely the white and blasovich

were involved in some way in the

killings

there are people who know my face

and we know they’re looking for you too

what if they’re guarding white and

blessed

they would see us

and then we’d be dead

they hired a car and began to try to

find the seven students

grey found two of them at home and darby

spoke to another as he was leaving a

class at the school

none of them recognized garcia

they met at 10 45 and compared notes

at 11

students were leaving their classes and

she found another of the seven students

but he too knew

nothing a fifth was working in the

library

she didn’t like answering derby’s

questions but she admitted that she

didn’t know garcia

only two left

edward linney and judith wilson

wilson was expected back at her

apartment at one o’clock

so gray spent the rest of the morning

trying to find linny

but he was not at home

and no one at the school seemed to know

where he was

they hadn’t seen him for several weeks

they drove together to judith wilson’s

apartment

she wasn’t there at one

so they waited

she arrived an hour later

gray jumped out of the car ran up to her

and caught her at her front door

he showed her the photograph

and darby saw her shake her head

lenny had better be good

he said as he got back into the car

but where is he

i hope we find him today

she said

because tomorrow

i leave the country if we don’t

back at the law school one of his fellow

students at last told them where he was

in a private hospital

he was well on the way to becoming an

alcoholic

and his parents had ordered him to spend

some time there the nurse at the front

desk of the hospital told grey that mr

linney was in room 22 but refused to let

him see him

gray asked to see the manager

and while the nurse was fetching him

gray whispered to derby

room 22

she left the waiting room and boldly

walked to his room

she knocked and went in

the young man looked surprised to see

her

i’m sarah jacobs she said i work for the

washington post

may i ask you a question

yes

but how did you get in

i just walked in

you worked at wyden blasovich last

summer didn’t you

do you recognize this man

she showed him the photograph

yes he’s

what’s his name

i can’t remember he works in the oil and

gas department

darby held her breath

lenny closed his eyes and thought

morgan yes that’s it his surname is

morgan

but i can’t remember his first name

what’s this all about

i’ll tell you later

darby said

and left

gray was waiting for her back in the car

she didn’t say anything but immediately

looked at the notes she had taken in the

law library

there he was

garcia is curtis d morgan

she said

let’s go

chapter 15

two appointments

after five hours at sea in the small

fast boat

every bone in matthew barr’s body was

aching and he was wet and cold

his only companion had been a man called

larry who was extremely tall and looked

very strong

larry had met him in fort lauderdale and

had not said a word to him since then

they landed in a country barr believed

was the bahamas

a car took them to a small airfield

where a lead jet was waiting

the flight took about 45 minutes

another car took them to a large house

bar had no idea where they were

bar was met by a man who called himself

emile

who led him round the outside of the

house to a sun room

i’m afraid you must take off your shoes

emil said with a polite smile

and be careful not to step on the towels

inside bar saw that towels were lying on

the floor of the sun room making paths

around the room

a door on the other side of the room

opened

and victor matisse came in

bar stared

matisse was an extraordinary

sight

he was extremely thin and had long grey

hair and a beard

he wore only a pair of black sports

shorts

his toenails were yellow and very long

he looked completely crazy

sit over there

he said

pointing at a chair

don’t step on the towels

when barr was seated matisse asked

what do you want

he was staring out of a window

the president sent me

bar began

he did not

fletcher cole sent you

all right

we need to know whether the pelican

brief is true

have you read it

have you

yes

does mr cole believe it to be true

i don’t know

he’s very worried

that’s why i’m here mr matisse

you have to know

what if it is true

then we have problems

matisse turned away from the window

looked at bar and said

do you know what i think

i think coal is the problem

he let too many people see the brief

barr could not believe what he was

hearing

the man who had ordered so many deaths

was blaming someone else for the

situation

is it true mr matisse

that’s all i want to know

behind bar

the door opened without a sound

larry in his socks and avoiding the

towels stepped silently into the room

matisse walked over to the door and said

softly

of course it’s true

he left the sun room and went into the

garden

now what

bar thought

larry put the rope around bar’s neck

and bar did not hear or feel anything

until it was too late

matisse did not want blood on the floor

so larry simply broke his neck

they reached the building where white

and blasivich’s offices were before five

o’clock

she was wearing a dress

and gray said she looked just right

she could tell that he liked the way she

looked and she found to her surprise

that she didn’t make her angry

just a little sad about thomas

she walked up to the secretary at the

desk who said

can i help you

yes

i have an appointment at five o’clock

with curtis morgan

my name is dorothy blythe

the secretary’s mouth fell open and she

said nothing

darby’s heart stopped

is something the matter

can you wait a moment

the secretary said she got up and

disappeared into another room

run

darby’s mind was telling her

run

there’s something wrong here

but before she had time to do anything

the secretary returned with a man

good afternoon

he said

i’m gerald schwab one of the partners of

the firm

you say you have an appointment with

curtis morgan

yes

is there a problem

there’s nothing in his appointment book

well that’s your fault not mine

and what was the meeting about

she felt weak

i don’t see why i have to tell you that

why can’t i see mr morgan

because he’s dead

she was in shock

dad

yes

schwab said

he was mugged in the street

i’m sorry

i can see this has been a shock for you

she decided to act really upset

she didn’t want them to ask any more

questions

she wanted them to think that she was

just a weak young woman

i’m sorry

she said

i think i’d better go

i’ll phone again for another appointment

schwab led her to the lift himself

edwin sneller knew that he and his men

had been wasting their time in new york

the place was just too big

then

at last she moved some money from her

bank in new orleans to grantham’s bank

in washington

stella’s client owned the bank so he

received any information he asked for

that meant that she was in washington

and that she and the reporter were

working together

he had two men with him

and he had asked for more

they had to do the job quickly

but he felt less confident without

carmel

the girl had escaped so far and she

could be hiding anywhere

he would start with the washington post

building

grantham had to come back there sometime

found curtis d morgan’s address in the

suburbs and they drove out together to

the house

mrs morgan’s father however refused to

let them in to see her

gray left his business card so that she

could call him if she wanted to

he told her father that morgan had

spoken to him three times just before he

died

is that the end of garcia

darby asked as they drove away

we’ll see tomorrow he said

how do you feel at the moment

do you feel safe

i’ll be glad to sleep in your room

tonight

just like i did in new york

but i don’t have a sofa here

she said

where would you sleep

she was smiling

and this was a good sign

but then she remembered callahan

i’m not ready gray i’m sorry

she rested her head on his shoulder

while he drove the car

i’m still frightened to death

she said

chapter 16

morgan’s story

beverly morgan called gray at four

o’clock the next morning

my father would be angry with me if he

knew i was calling she said

the reporters were horrible to us after

curtis was killed

but i need to talk to someone

she asked him how he knew her husband

and gray explained about his phone calls

and the murders of rosenberg and jensen

he spoke to her patiently for a long

time until he won her confidence

what do you think he knew

she asked

i have no idea

if he had written something down on

paper where would it be

in our lock box in the bank

but that’s where all his legal papers

were so i’ve already looked in there

i did find another key in his desk

though last saturday

gray held his breath

a key to another lock box

yes

a box at first columbia bank

that’s odd because we’ve never used that

bank

i wasn’t in a hurry to go to the bank

and look in the box because i already

had all his legal papers

maybe it was even something i wouldn’t

want to see

would you like me to look in the box for

you

gray asked

i hoped you would say that

yes please

i’ll come round and get the key now

he and darby drove to the bank the next

morning

mrs morgan had given grey written

permission to open the lock box

so the clerk let them into the strong

room

it didn’t take them long to empty the

box

all it held was a thin envelope

derby opened the envelope when they were

back in the car

inside was a document written by morgan

and properly signed by a legal witness

the document started

since you are reading this i am probably

dead

it was a powerful first sentence

in the document morgan described who he

was and where he worked

he said that he often worked for one of

the firm’s clients who was called victor

matisse

the partner in charge of mr matisse was

f sims wakefield

morgan explained the louisiana case and

how important it was to mr matisse

it was important to white and blazovich

too

since matisse had promised them a share

of the profits from the oil

on or about the 28th of september the

document continued

morgan had been in wakefield’s office

collecting some files

when he returned to his own office

he found that by mistake he had picked

up a note from wakefield’s desk together

with the files

a copy of the note was joined on to

morgan’s document

the note was dated the 28th of september

and was from marty vermano another

partner

it read

sims

tell our client that the court will be

easier on him if rosenberg is retired

the second retirement is a bit unusual

it is jensen

who as you know

has those other problems

the note amazed and frightened morgan

realizing its importance he made a copy

of it and returned the original to the

bottom of the pile of files

ten minutes later wakefield came into

his office looking pale and worried

they found the note under the files and

wakefield asked morgan if he had read it

morgan said no

wakefield looked at him very closely but

seemed satisfied

that night he left the papers on his

desk very tidy

the next morning he could see that

someone had searched his desk

he began to see valmano in wakefield’s

office more than usual

wakefield stopped him working for

matisse

then

rosenberg and jensen were killed

he was sure that matisse had ordered the

killings

he thought that people were following

him

he had decided to hide his copy of the

note together with this document in a

bank

in case he was killed

he was very frightened

that was the end of the document

the thin-faced man watched the car come

fast round the corner and park illegally

outside the post building

the man and the woman jumped out of the

car and ran past him into the building

he had a gun inside his jacket

but it all happened too fast

smith keane and the post’s lawyer

vincent litzky

read through morgan’s document

when they had finished gray said

well gentlemen

there’s your independent witness

can we print darby’s story now

keane and litzky looked at each other

keane left the office for a few minutes

to speak to the newspaper’s

owner when he came back he said

okay great

we do the story

how long will it take you to write it

i already know the shape of it

gray replied

i only have to write the details

it should take me about two hours

it’s eleven o’clock now

king said

try to finish it by three

litsky needs time to read it before we

print

with derby’s help he finished the story

on time

keane and litzky read it and made some

changes

derby was watching something out of the

window

when i rewritten the story

gray said when kean and litzky had

finished

i have to make some phone calls

we’ll be back at half past three

keen said

they’re outside

darby said softly when keane and litzky

had left the room

who are

i was watching a man standing on the

corner

he looks innocent enough

he’s just standing there drinking coffee

from a cup

but he’s been there a long time

i saw him earlier as well

and just now

when you were talking

i saw the short man who chased me last

week come up to the coffee drinker

they talked for a minute

and then the short man disappeared again

they’re just waiting for us to leave the

building

chapter 17

time to trust someone

the first phone call was to a friend of

grantham at the fbi

phil

this is great grantham

i’ve got the recorder on

that sounds serious

go on

we’re going to print a story tomorrow

about the rosenberg and jensen killings

we’re going to name victor matisse as

the man behind the killings and also two

of his lawyers here in washington

we’ll connect this story with the

killing of rahik in new orleans

we believe the fbi knew about matisse

early on but refused to investigate the

request of the white house we want to

give you the chance to comment

there is silence

phil

are you there

yes

i think so

any

comment i’m sure we will have a comment

but i’ll have to call you back

okay

i’ll look forward to it

in fact it was voyles himself who called

back about 10 minutes later

he demanded to speak to smith keane

what are you doing smith

he said we’re still investigating

matisse

it’s too early to be sure

what have you got

does the name darby shaw mean anything

to you king asked

yes

we have the pelican brief denton and i’m

sitting here looking at darby shaw

i was afraid she was dead

no she’s not

and she and grey grantham have an

independent witness to support the brief

it’s a big story denton

we need to meet

i’ll come round in 20 minutes

okay

keane put the phone down and smiled

he was amused at the idea of the great f

denton voiles coming round to his office

for a meeting

the next phone call grey made was to

fletch a coal in the white house

coal agreed that matisse had given large

amounts of money towards the president’s

election

but denied that matisse and the

president were close friends

he had to admit that he was familiar

with the pelican brief

when gray asked why there had not been

an immediate investigation of matisse

cole angrily denied that the white house

had tried to slow down such an

investigation

then voyles arrived with k.o lewis

keane took him into his own office and

gave him a copy of the story to read

while grey made the third phone call

he rang white and blazovich and was put

through to marty valmano

for the third time he explained that he

was recording the conversation

mr velmano

gray said

we’re printing a story in the morning

which names your client victor matisse

as the man behind the killings of

rosenberg and jensen

good

said valmano

we’ll take you to court

by the time we’re finished mr matisse

will own the washington post

mr velmano

we have a copy of the pelican brief

have you heard of it

science

we also have a copy of a note you sent

to sims wakefield on the 28th of

september

in the note you suggested that your

client’s position would be a lot better

without rosenberg and jensen on the

supreme court

silence mr velmano

are you there

yes

we wanted to give you the chance to

comment

do you have any comments

you’re going to destroy me

romano said

royals and lewis entered the room with

smith keane

keane introduced them to derby and grey

voyle smiled at derby and said so you’re

the one who started all this

no sir she said i think it was matisse

they sat around a table

royals had a piece of paper

he said i’m going to read you something

this is official

and you can use it in your paper

anything else lewis or i say is

unofficial and you can’t use it

is that clear

keenan grantham said yes

all right

foyle said

he received a copy of the pelican brief

two weeks ago and showed it to the white

house on the same day

it was personally delivered by k.o lewis

to fletcher cole

eric east was also present at the

meeting

we thought it was worth investigation

but nothing happened for six days until

gavin verhique was murdered in new

orleans

the fbi began a full investigation into

victor matisse involving over 400 men

we believe victor matisse to be the main

suspect in the murders of rosenberg

jensen

thomas callahan and verhick and we are

trying to find him

did the white house interfere with your

investigation of matisse grantham asked

this is now unofficial

boyle said

you can’t use it okay

okay

yes

the president asked me not to

investigate matisse

he said it could be embarrassing to the

government

i recorded the conversation

they could hardly believe what they were

hearing

he recorded the president

i will not allow anyone to hear that

recording

boyle’s continued

unless the president denies what i have

just told you

anyway

will you use the official story i’ve

given you

will you put cole’s name there on the

front page along with everyone else

yes i think he belongs there

keane said

good

said

can you give me some early copies of the

newspaper tomorrow morning

i want to take them round to him myself

and watch his face

he’ll take the blame

keane said it will be the end of his

career

but he’ll make the president look

innocent

yes

i think you’re right

said voyles

now

i’d like to speak to miss shaw alone

please if that’s all right with her

okay

she said

but grantham stays

alright

when everyone else had left the room

royals asked

what are you going to do next

first tell me who killed gavin verhique

she said

it was carmel

and carmel was the one who was shot in

the head as you were holding his hand by

the river

who killed him

we think it was someone from the c i a

we know the c i a were investigating

matisse in a small way

in his oil business matisse had

connections with some unfriendly arab

countries

so the cia were already keeping an eye

on him

when they saw a copy of the pelican

brief they sent a few men down to new

orleans to look after you

derby got up and went to the window

it was dark outside now

they didn’t do a very good job then

she said

there are men out there now who have

been following me for a week or more

one of them chased me in new orleans

so i don’t think he’s cia

matisse is so crazy that he’ll go on

trying to kill me even after he goes to

prison

if you catch him

we can help

boyle said we can get you out of the

country

it was time to trust someone

she took a deep breath

all right

she said

i’ll go and make the arrangements

boyle said

alone in the room derby walked into

gray’s arms

it’s going to be all right now

he said holding her it’s over

you’re safe

i’m going alone gray

she said

i’ll call you when i’m ready

chapter 18

away from it all

by 11 pm only four lawyers remained in

the offices of white and blazovic

they were valmano

sims wakefield

gerald schrab

and a retired partner named frank

courts courts finished a phone

conversation with one of victor

matisse’s staff

that was strider

he said

they’re in cairo

in some

hotel matisse won’t talk to us and

of course

he isn’t coming back over here

stryder says he’s behaving very

strangely

they’ve told the boys with the guns to

leave town immediately

the chase is over

so what are we supposed to do

asked wakefield

we’re on our own

said courts

matisse isn’t going to help us

there was silence around the table as

they all looked into the future

then velmano said

grantham only mentioned me and sims

you two may be okay

and i’ve got enough money saved to spend

the rest of my life hiding in europe

it’s all right for you

wakefield said

i can’t hide

i’ve got a wife and six children

i think you should go home and tell your

wife what to expect

therma said

i can’t do that

wakefield said

he got up and left the room

a minute later

they heard the sound of a single gunshot

from his office

after eight days in the sun of the

virgin islands her skin was brown enough

and her hair was returning to its

natural color

she walked miles up and down the beaches

and ate nothing except fish and fruit

she slept a lot the first few days

she looked at her wrist

and then remembered that her watch was

in a bag somewhere

she didn’t need it here

she woke with the sun and went to bed

after dark

but now she was waiting

so she had looked at her wrist

it was almost dark when the taxi stopped

at the end of the small road

he got out

paid the driver and looked at the lights

as the car disappeared back up the road

he had one bag

he could see a light from the house

between the trees at the edge of the

beach and he walked towards it

he didn’t know what to expect

he knew how he felt about her

but did she feel the same

she was waiting at the back of the house

looking out to see

with a drink in her hand

she smiled at him

put down her drink and let him come to

her

they kissed for a long minute

you’re late

she said

this is not the easiest place to find

gray said

even when you have directions

i know

she said

that’s the idea

it’s beautiful though isn’t it

it is

you are too let’s go for a walk

she said

he changed into a pair of shorts and

they walked together on the beach

hand in hand

you left early she said

i got tired of it

i’ve written a story a day since the big

one

and they kept wanting more

i was working 18 hours a day

yesterday i said goodbye

they haven’t seen a paper for days

she said

cole’s finished

the president will be okay

i don’t think he did anything really bad

he’s just stupid

he won’t get reelected though

you read about wakefield

yes

that was in the last paper i saw

they’ve got schwab

they want valmano too but he’s

disappeared

of course matisse is in deep trouble

and thereafter four of his men too

they walked in silence along the beach

she put her arm around his waist and he

pulled her closer

i’ve missed you

she said softly

he breathed deeply but said nothing

how long will you stay

she asked

i don’t know

a couple of weeks

maybe a year

it depends on you

let’s take it a month at a time

okay great

you