A Conspiracy to Commit...

After giving it some thought, I knew that I should call Josh and Steven and give them a heads up. I called Steven first. Like the good trained watchdog she was, Rita passed my call right through to Steven. I told him about Phil's call and that there was a possibility that he might stop in to see me sometime after lunch.

Steven thanked me for the heads-up. My next call was to Josh, leaving him a message at his desk in the precinct. Not to leave him out of the loop, I gave Felix a call. He was at the county records office doing some background checking on Phil Bogan and his wife. His gut instincts told him that Phil was a cunning guy who would try to hide his actions by using empty shell companies.

Felix and I chatted for about ten minutes. He reminded me of the spy camera in the briefcase, and how to use it effectively. Just as I was hanging up, there was a knock on my office door. It was Chad Phillips, the head of security for the corporate building.

"Mr. Chase told me to come by to add this voice-transmitter bug in your office. This bug will pick up all conversations in this room and transmit them to a remote recording location. You don't have anything to do with it. It's all automatic and I will be responsible for its operation."

Chad was very direct and professional. He asked me to leave the room so that I wouldn't know the location of the device. He said that my eyes might just subconsciously move to where the device was located and tip off anyone else in the office. It took him less than ten minutes to complete his task.

As he was leaving, he asked me if there was anything else he could do for me. I laughed and said I needed a pastrami sandwich. He just smiled and walked off. Fifteen minutes later as I was still scrolling through my emails and other company notices, a young lady walked into my office with a pastrami sandwich and bottled water. Good old Chad. I thanked the lady and she left.

Josh returned my call about 1:00. He told me that Carol was still holed up in the Elmwood house. There were no incoming or outgoing calls. Les was safely locked away in jail and he had made his one phone call last night. Nevada authorities were notified and they would be here to pick up the suspect and return him to Las Vegas before the end of the week.

I told him about the call from Phil this morning. No comment from him, but I knew he was thinking about the possibilities. We said goodbye and hung up.

Everything that we had put in place was still there and going along according to our plan. The wild card, Phil Bogan, also seemed to be starting his next move. Could I be that good of an actor if Phil came around this afternoon?

By nature, I'm not a cunning and deceitful person. Even when I had to do some 'head chopping' at different locations, it was never spiteful or vengeful. I tried to respect the individuals and give them as much dignity as was possible. But, the actions of this person would put those humane qualities of mine to the test. Beating the shit out of Phil occurred to me more than once. I kept telling myself to concentrate on the 'war and not just this battle'.

My mind was out in space somewhere when the ringing of the phone brought me back to planet earth. The call was from Jack, the psychiatrist. He was anxious to find out what had transpired since our meeting in his office.

With him asking questions as I gave him a detailed download of the evening phone call and the subsequent face-to-face meeting with Carol, the conversation lasted almost forty minutes. It was obvious that this marital crisis and the underlying covert activity had gotten Jack excited. I imagined that most of his research subjects were more 'normal' and without all the intrigue of this situation.

Our phone call ended with him requesting that I keep in touch with him and that he would be willing to give me any professional advice I might require. 'A shrink for free', I thought to myself as a broad smile came across my face.

The day was not going to go the way I had planned, catching up on my work backlog. The phone call interruptions and the additional fodder for my brain to play with kept me from focusing as intently as I normally do on my assignments.

There was a knock on my door. I looked at the desk clock: 3:17. I shouted out to the person to come in. The door opened and in walked Phil Bogan. He was smiling as he entered, wearing an expensive Italian custom-made suit. He was dressed to impress me.

"Hey, do you have a few minutes to chat, Barry?" Phil had an air of superiority about him as he walked in and closed the door behind him. He moved over to the chair in front of my desk and sat down.

"Sure, now would be a good time for me to take a break and clear my head a bit. I hate coming back to the office from the field. Just catching up on the backlog takes a whole day." I said as I gathered some papers from my desk.

"I'll read this at home tonight." Then I turned to put the papers in my briefcase, which was lying on the credenza behind my desk. The spy camera was pointed directly at Phil. As I dropped the papers into the briefcase, I clicked on the electronic device.

"Ok, now what can I do for you, Phil? Is it a personal favor?" I was now facing him across the desk, smiling, working on my acting skills.

"It's kind of complicated, Barry. But the gist of it is that I want to do you a big favor." Sweet words coming out of the man I now considered lower than a snake.

"Hey, that's great. You can start on this stack of reports right here!" I said smiling as I made a faint motion towards a stack of folders on my desk. Phil gave a short laugh at my attempt at some weak humor.

"Not that kind of favor, Barry. Something much bigger. I want to make you a very rich young man." Straight face. Steady eyes, no twitching as he started his pitch.

'Here it comes!' I thought to myself.

"Wow. Now that's something that I would really be interested in. Lots of money!" 'Keep acting, Barry, keep acting!'

"Money and power, Barry. The American dream. And I know just how to grab it now while we're young." Phil was cutting directly to the chase. No beating around the bush for him. He must have thought that he was too clever to have anyone out ahead of him. Little did he know that he was caught in the spider's web.

"Yeah, right." My voice was somewhat sarcastic as I leaned back in my chair.

"Everybody has a get rich quick scheme running around in their head. Would you like to hear some of mine? Everything from coca plants to diamond mines in Africa."

"Nothing like that at all, Barry. Just a bit of corporate positioning and timing. Very little risk and a very large reward at the end." Phil's voice didn't waver or weaken. He was on a mission and he needed a successful conclusion to that mission.

"Ah, the good old stock market. You have a hot broker who has all the inside tips. I've heard that one a hundred times in the last two months, Phil. I'm not that much of a gambler, sorry." I wasn't sure if I was over-acting now.

"Listen. I'll lay it right out for you. I've been in touch with another corporation that is very interested in a buyout of GeoTex. This corporation is well aware of the negative position of the GeoTex Board of Directors and of Steven Chase's on any sale of this company. So, this other corporation is getting ready to mount a hostile takeover of GeoTex. If that takeover is successful, those of us on the inside who helped the takeover succeed will be generously rewarded." Confident and somewhat arrogant, Phil sat there and just hung himself. There were two devices in the room recording his voice and his face as he revealed the takeover plot out loud.

"Whoa there, Phil. That's company treason that you're proposing. I'm not the kind of guy who would sell his soul just for greed. Maybe you should leave here before we both get past the point where I have to tell this to Mr. Chase." My voice was threatening and direct. I wanted him to think that he had struck out with me and that he had to play his trump card.

"Take it easy, Barry. There's more to this than you might think. Going to Mr. Chase would not be a very wise thing for you to do. Instead of being a hero, I could make it look like this was all your idea. I've left a phony paper trail that leads right to you and implicates you in this whole scheme. There's nothing to tie me to Dassis Corp., it only names you." Finally he named the company. More rope for his noose.

"There's no way that Mr. Chase will believe you, Phil. I have his trust." My voice purposely wavered a little, just to give Phil the hint that I might have some doubts.

"Once Mr. Chase sees the letter written by Frank Brower addressed to you and thanking you for the information you have provided him to aid in the takeover, there's no way that Mr. Chase will believe you." Damn! He was so self-assured with his plan. In addition to having Carol as a pawn in this game, he has in place a frame-up that he feels will give me no other choice but to join him.

"Who the hell is this Frank Brower? Mr. Chase would know that it's a frame up." I shouted back at him. More rope, Phil. Give me more rope, I want to see you dangle from the end of it.

"Frank Brower is a member of the Board of Directors at Dassis. He just happens to be my wife's uncle. We have been working together for over a year now, planning just how to make this take over happen. That day is just around the corner. There's nothing you can do to derail our plans now, Barry. So, my advice to you is to get on board the train and save your own ass.

"Besides, don't forget Carol. Mr. Chase has a known reputation of exiting people from the company who divorce their wives or who have extramarital affairs." The Carol trump card hit the table. Now, I needed to do my best poker face bluff.

"What the hell do you know about Carol?!" I shouted at him as I flushed my face in anger. All Phil did was give me a shit-ass grin. He wasn't shaken by my anger.

"I know everything about Carol, Barry. Right now she is under my control and doing exactly what I want her to do." Again my anger flared out.

"You're not the asshole in that goddamn video she made! You don't have any control over her!" Apparently my acting skills weren't too bad, because Phil just smiled and sat there like a man in complete control of the situation. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. He tossed it on the desk in front of me.

"Go ahead look at them and then tell me if I don't have Carol under my control." The sarcasm in his voice made me want to jump across the desk and pound his face to a pulp. Self control, Barry! My mind was shouting at me as I picked up the envelope and several photos slid out.

They were more pictures of Carol having sex. This time there was a third man in the photo. Phil! The photo showed him fucking Carol from behind while Les had his cock in her mouth. My anger was at the boiling point. But, I pushed it back down.

"Well, I guess this is just more evidence to help my divorce case. I made a decision last night that I would file for divorce today. Tonight after work, I'm meeting with my attorney and will get the necessary paperwork started." I looked hard at him. He had to think that his trump card was bogus.

"For all I care, you can fuck her all you want now." Now was the time for my sweet revenge. I gave him my best 'I got ya' smile and with gusto in my voice, I continued.

"But, I don't think you're going to have any free time to do that anymore."

He started to say something, but if as on cue, the door opened and in walked Mr. Chase, Chad Phillips, Josh and a uniformed policeman. The blood drained from Phil's face. Now, all of a sudden he realized that he was in the middle of his own train wreck.

"It's my turn to fuck you, Phil. I'm going to enjoy my time on the witness stand when I testify at your trial. Then it will be off to Bubbaville for you. I hear the boys in the Big House just love nice fresh corporate meat." Goddamn but revenge is so sweet!

Josh walked up to Phil. "Stand up, Mr. Bogan. You have the right to remain silent..."

*

Chapter 18: Two Villains in Jail

My mind wasn't focused on the men in the room anymore. I was now at that place in my mind where my marriage to Carol would have to be finally considered. All of the intrigue of this mess had now been dealt with and the only remaining item to be resolved was Carol's wanton infidelity. That decision would be mine alone to make. Getting more advice from Jack might be helpful, but in the end I would be the judge and jury in this care. Probably the executioner also.

It took just a minute for Phil to be handcuffed and given the 'perp walk' out of the office building with Josh and the uniformed officer. Steven and Chad were still standing in my office.

Steven had not said a word during the whole episode. He was there as a witness. Nothing he could do or say would have any more impact on Phil than his new bracelets.

"Thanks, Chad. I want you to make several copies of the audiotape and write up a full report for my desk in the morning." Steven was talking directly to Chad. All of a sudden, the thought of the briefcase jumped into my mind.

"Hold on, Chad." I said as I turned to retrieve the briefcase. "Inside here is a hidden camera and a small recording device. You might want to make copies of this also. It's a video of Phil as he sat there incriminating himself." I handed the briefcase to Chad and I saw a look of surprise on Steven's face.

"Damn good thinking, Barry. Where did you get that briefcase anyway?" Steven asked as though he was thoroughly impressed by the additional piece of evidence.

"Felix gave it to me to use. He's quite the electronics geek. He thought it might just become useful if Phil approached me alone. I guess he was right." I said, smiling as if I had just laid down a royal flush.

"Let's go down to my office to get our thoughts together and then we'll go out to dinner at my club. We have a lot to celebrate." Then he stopped short as his mind jumped to my unresolved situation with Carol.

"I'm sorry, Barry. I forgot for a moment about your marital crisis." His voice was very apologetic.

"No problem, Mr. Chase. I still have that situation to work out. But, with this mess out of the way, I can give that issue my full attention."

"First, let's drop the Mr. Chase routine from now on. It's Steven. Ok?"

"Sure...Steven. But, it might just take some getting used to." I smiled back at him.

"Ok. The dinner invitation is still on, if that's ok with you?"

"I would truly like that...Steven. We do have something to really celebrate here."

Good things were happening and I was beginning to feel much more energized.

We walked down the hall to Steven's office. He had his arm around my shoulder. Everyone in the office had witnessed Phil's arrest, but none of them knew the reason for it yet. As we walked past Rita's desk, I looked at her and smiled.

"I'll bet they cook a great steak at your club, Steven." I think that he caught on to my statement as more than just a question about steaks. He just smiled.

"The best steaks in town." He closed the door and we chatted about the whole situation and the coming events. There would be formal charges brought against Dassis Corp. and Frank Brower. The fallout of all of this subversion would rattle both companies.

As I was getting ready to leave my office and go to dinner with Steven, my cell phone rang. It was Josh.

"Hey there, big guy. I didn't have a chance to congratulate you on your stunning performance this afternoon. You played that just perfect. Asshole Phil did not know what hit him when we walked in. Right now he's in with the D.A. and I think he'll roll over on all of the other people involved in this plot. By the way, you do know that industrial espionage falls under our department here. This bust will be a big gold star for me." I could tell that Josh felt good about cracking this case for two reasons. Now he was about to address the second issue. Carol.

"What do you want to do about Carol? She's hanging out there all alone and probably doesn't have a clue about the things that have gone down in the last couple of days." There was genuine concern in his voice.

"I'm not sure just yet, Josh. I knew that we would eventually get to this place and now that I'm here, there still is no complete answer. I think I need to talk to Dr. Lee some more." My voice had a strong hint of angst in it. How was I going to deal with my unfaithful wife?

"Well, how about this, good buddy. Let me go over to the Elmwood house and confront Carol with all the police evidence that I have on Les and Phil. That revelation will probably hit her like a ton of bricks. It may shock her back into reality. Regardless, I could tell her to leave that house and return home. Then you can decide what to do from there." He paused to see if I had any comments.

"I know that you won't try anything violent with her, Barry. Maybe just give her a safe place to stay even if you do decide that divorce is the only answer."

"That sounds like a good way to move this thing off of dead center. I'd appreciate it if you would do that for me. I think if I went over there with the news that her lover was a con man under arrest, she might find a way to tag me for that also." Pause. "But, if she doesn't believe you, or if she still thinks he will come back for her, then good riddance to her."

Some resolve was coming into my mind. Maybe give her another chance, but if she doesn't take it, then we're really through.

I told Josh that I was having dinner with Steven tonight and that I probably would be home late. If Carol was there, she and I could try and sort things out. Who knows? Maybe tonight almost everything would have a solution.

*

Chapter 19: Carol gets the News

Josh drove over to the Elmwood house with a briefcase full of photos and documents. When Carol answered the door, her face was full of shock.

"Josh! What are you doing here?" She said in surprise.

"I need to talk to you, Carol. As a friend not as a police officer. May I come in?" Carol stood there for a second and wasn't sure what to do. Then she stepped aside and told Josh to come in.

"Did Barry tell you to come over here, Josh?" Carol said as she now knew that Barry had gotten his cousin involved in their marital crisis.

"No, Carol. It was my idea. There are a lot of things that you need to be made aware of about this whole situation. If you will give me a few minutes, I'm sure that you will find them interesting at least." Josh said in his formal police office's voice.

"You're not here as a marriage counselor are you, Josh?"

"Oh, hell no! That's the last thing that I ever want to be. I couldn't even keep my own marriage together beyond the first year." Josh said as he sat down by the kitchen table. "I'm here just to give you some information that I know you are totally unaware of, it just might be useful to you."

"Can I get you something to drink?" Carol asked, more out of politness than a social offering.

"Just a glass of water will do for me." Josh replied. Carol got the cold water out of the refridge and handed it to Josh. Then Carol sat down at the table across from Josh. She was wearing only a bathrobe. He guessed that there weren't any clothes on underneath.

"Ok, I'll listen. But, if I think you are lying or trying to get me to leave here, I'll have to ask you to leave. Understood?" Carol was very wary of the whole scene.

"Let me start at the beginning." Josh said as he sat back and took a sip of water.

"First of all, Barry did not come back from Boise on Friday night. He came back on Monday night. That's when he saw the video. He was so confused that he almost called you at the number you gave him. Instead, he called me first and I came over for us to talk. After reading your note and seeing the video, we both agreed that something strange was going on here." Carol interrupted.