Free Conspiracy by Allan Topol

and began outlining her oral argument. When she was almost finished, the telephone rang. It was Doris. "He just got back from lunch."
    Less than a minute later Taylor was in Harrison's office. "Well?" she asked nervously.
    He pulled the plastic cigarette out of his mouth. "Bottom line," he said sounding sympathetic, "is that there is an investigation under way on Senator Boyd."
    She was seething. "That's absurd and unfair."
    "Well, that may be, but it's being handled by an assistant U.S. attorney by the name of C. J. Cady. I can't help you there. I don't know Cady."
    "I do. We've gone head-to-head twice in environmental criminal cases."
    "And?"
    "I think I finally have a good break. We got along. I always found him to be professional, decent, and fair. Not a zealot like some of those guys." She had once kidded Cady about being too polite and preppy for the current legal world inhabited by sharks, but she was aware that he could be as tough as he had to be. She also knew that beneath that good-looking face, friendly smile, and wavy brown hair was a sharp legal mind and a determination to get at the truth. Knowing her enemy would be an advantage.
    "Doerr wouldn't tell me anything about the substance or status of the investigation."
    "Why not?"
    "He swore up and down that he has no idea."
    "Oh, c'mon."
    "Actually, I believe him, but it doesn't matter for our purposes. We still have Cady to deal with."
    "We? I'm delighted that you want to join me in the engine room of the Titanic."
    "That's what friends are for. Anyhow, maybe we can still head this thing off."
    "Who do you think's doing this to the senator and why?"
    "That's a harder question. The obvious choice is Hugh McDermott and the Republican crowd. Hugh has some lovely fellows working for him, like that psychopath Pug Thompson." Harrison shrugged his shoulders. "On the other hand, you've got Boyd advocating your nuclear-power approach. Those people will do anything, as you and I know." He paused. "And God only knows what other groups you've managed to alienate."
    "The answer is plenty of them, including most of the special-interest groups in this town. The antiabortion crowd, the gun lobby, and the radical right, to name only a few. We knew that we'd make lots of enemies by presenting a program to take the government away from special interests and return it to the people. We were prepared to—"
    "That's my point. There's no way to determine who's behind it at this time." He stopped to think for a minute. "Have you told Boyd what Cooper reported to you yesterday?"
    "Not yet. The senator's in the Midwest. I didn't want to do it by phone."
    "My advice is that you get to Boyd ASAP. Repeat to him what Cooper said and make him tell you everything that might be a problem from his Napa days. You're better off knowing what you're dealing with right now before it's public."
    "I'm going to be with the senator Saturday in St. Michaels. I'll talk to him then."
    "It's a mistake to wait two days. These things move fast when they start rolling."
    She considered his advice. "Let me think about it. I want to do it the right way so I don't upset the senator and destroy the momentum he has going in the campaign."
    Harrison shrugged. "That's your call. Now I'm going to tell you something you won't like to hear."
    Taylor looked at him apprehensively. "What's that?"
    "How well did you know Boyd when he was back in Napa?"
    "Not well. We met once. He was a witness for the wine producers when I was with the state in an electric power proceeding."
    "Did you ever hear of anything that might be a problem?"
    She shook her head.
    "Any business problems before he went into politics?"
    "Nothing I've ever heard about, and I traveled with him extensively in Napa during each of his campaigns after I joined his staff."
    "You like the senator a lot. Don't you?"
    Taylor's face reddened. "We're not having an affair, if that's what you mean."
    "Actually, it wasn't. All I'm saying is that if you like the man