BA Hammer Mary Ch. 05

When she arrived in the interview room, I smiled at her.

"Liz, this is Percy Blackstone. He is your attorney. He has some good news for you."

"Miss Besson, I have filed the papers to have you released. If you have seen the morning papers, you already know why. We have a confession that you were framed. I will be able to get your conviction thrown out, and then we will see who we can sue."

Liz put her head down on the table and began crying. She cried in public for the first time in ten years. When she finally stopped, I looked at her. "Liz, the reason you never saw Mary was that she had been threatened by the FBI agent with national security if she had any contact with you."

"Do you know how to find her now?"

I smiled. "I'm pretty sure I can. You see, she's my wife, and she is the reason I began looking into your case."

We left her in her happiness and went back to the city.

Things moved fast after that. Somehow, the "grey ghost' suddenly appeared on the internet, available to everyone. Cynthia Morris' lawsuit was heading for a quick settlement. Computerized Defenses was headed for a quick collapse and a judge froze everything until the case was settled. Wilma Morris looked to get most of what they had, as well as the patent. Even though the program was now public, she would still have the government contract for the next several years that would pay her handsomely until it expired.

Liz was free within a week. Mary and I picked her up at the prison with her brother. I happened to have an apartment next to us that was available. Mary insisted that she take it from us for as long as she wanted it. Mary asked her producer friend, Willie, and Ester to help her find Liz a job in the industry. They promised to find her something she would like.

One last thing, I went to the police station to find Ed.

"Well, you blew up the world, didn't you? This going to be a mess for us." Ed wasn't happy.

"No, it won't. The blame is going to fall on the FBI and an overly zealous agent. You can tell Baker not to worry about it. I probably would have done the same thing in his shoes."

Baker overheard me talking to Ed and came walking into his office. "Don't go doing me any favors. I don't need your approval, Hammer."

"I know. We'll just leave it at, we don't like each other much, and call it a day." Baker looked at me for a second and stuck out his hand. I shook it, he grunted, and left.

"What do you know? That is as close to an admission as you will ever get out of Baker." Ed laughed and I left.

The following Wednesday night was Mary's opening night In Chicago. I had gotten tickets for anybody who asked. Liz and her brother were there, Brick was there (but he had his regular tickets). Even Cynthia Morris and her mother were there. Mary did perfectly. The reviews were wonderful. They said this showed that "Chicago" was in safe hands and could go on for years to come.

Over the next several weeks, Mary and Liz were able to restore their friendship. I was very happy to see Mary happy.

I was very happy with the progress of my career. I was making important connections and adding valuable sources. Having Zorro owe me was a big one, and there are no better attorneys than Brick and Cynthia to have in my corner.

Mary would be busy for the foreseeable future, but I was sure something would come along.