But performing acts of pettiness was far from normal, and I was beginning to really like Trista, so it would be nice to make sure she was doing okay.
Since her voicemail was full of noise and hysterics, and her texts were riddled with typos, I opted to call rather than try to figure out her message.
Trista didn’t greet me with a hello. Instead, I got a “You!”
“Trista, are you okay?” I asked.
“No, I am not okay. There are a bunch of FBI agents tearing up my house looking for computer equipment, and they’ve made the kids and me sit in the front parlor while they do it.”
I wasn’t sure what this had to do with me, but I had a feeling it had something to do with Blake. Lucius Malone’s words still rang in my ears: “She’s in league with Blake’s wife.”
“Okay, calm down.” Even as I said the words, I knew better. Never in the history of ever had anyone calmed down just because someone told them to do so.
“Calm down?Calm down?”
“Poor choice of words.” Now my own heart hammered against my rib cage. “Have you called your lawyer?”
“I’ve called every lawyer I know.”
In the background, feet stomped, and men murmured. Doors and cabinets opened and closed.
“Did they give you a copy of the search warrant?”
“Yes. It describes my house, which is unsettling, but not as unsettling as how it sounds like people are taking everything that isn’t nailed down. I don’t understand.Heis the one who took the money.”
“Trista,” I said in my most soothing voice, “it’s probably best to say nothing. Probably even better if we stop talking, because Blake told Lucius that you and I are working against him.”
“What?” She shrieked the question.
“Blake has been backed into a corner, and I’d be willing to bet you that he set all of this in motion as a distraction.”
She groaned. “He’s going to disappear again, isn’t he?”
“Probably, but he has been served. Ma—his cousin has the information the company needs. You sit tight.”
“Hey, don’t touch that!”
A scuffle on the other end of the line. A dog barked. A child began to cry.
“Trista, listen to me. I can’t give you advice, but I’m going to mention, unrelated to anything, that you can google all sorts of wonderful things, from ‘What is the capital of Estonia?’ to ‘What do I do if someone executes a search warrant in my house?’ Some posts might mention, I don’t know, taking pictures of everything after the fact ... things like that.”
“I don’t understand what any of this has to do with me.” Her voice came out as a ragged whisper, which suggested she was close to tears.
“You know, the other day, Malone, Ty Malone, that is, was telling me about his favorite amendment.”
“Oh, what does that matter?” she snapped at the same time I continued.
“He really loves that Fifth Amendment, let me tell you.”
“Ah,” she said, pausing. “That is a great amendment.”
“I mean, I like the right to assemble and the promise of a speedy trial as much as the next gal, but—”
“I gotta go. An agent has asked me if I have any questions.”
She hung up on me. This was just as well because I didn’t want her to remember the fourth amendment about no unreasonable searches or seizures. While a court of law had to have decided that it would be reasonable to search Trista’s house, I had a feeling she wouldn’t agree.
I collapsed on the love seat, and only then did I realizemyapartment was entirely too quiet.
