Chapter 19: Claire

I stood at the window and watched as Sean and Patsy O’Connor climbed into Patsy’s Cadillac and drove away. My heart was racing, knowing that what I was about to do could get Sean put in prison for a very long time.

The bugs and the USB stick were in my purse in the desk drawer. All I had to do was plant a bug in Sean’s office, one in Patsy’s office, and one each in the conference and break rooms. And insert the USB stick into a computer for a minute. It all seemed so easy.

So why was I hesitating?

Because I detested the thought of Sean going to prison just because he felt some twisted loyalty to his dad.

Ed would have argued that Sean crossed the line and the reason why didn’t matter. My heart would tell Ed he was wrong, but my head knew he was right.

Sean was a criminal.

He had broken the law.

And I had a job to do.

I sat back down at the desk and opened the drawer to get my purse. I took out the USB stick first along with my burner phone. I had Robbie on speed dial. He was waiting for my call.

“Okay, I’m going to insert the USB stick,” I said. “Do I have to do it from Sean’s computer or just from the one at my desk.”

“Are they all networked together?” Robbie asked. He sounded completely bored. I said yes, Sean said they were all networked. “Okay, then stick the USB in your computer and tell me when the window pops up.”

I watched the door as I stuck the stick into the USB drive on the side of the computer. A little window popped up on the screen. I said, “Okay, give me the code.”

Robbie gave me a sixteen-digit code that I typed in with one finger. The computer thought about it for a moment, then a message box popped up.

“Okay,” I said. “See if you can connect.”

I heard fingers flying across keys for a second. Robbie said, “That’s it. I’m in. I can see all the computers and servers on the network.”

“Good,” I said, glancing at the doorway. One of the Stooges, I wasn’t sure which one, sauntered by the door with a newspaper in his hand, headed toward the washroom. I lowered my voice. “Is that it?”

“Yes, you can remove the stick now,” Robbie said. “Let me know when you have the bugs in place and I’ll activate them.”

“Okay.” I hung up and blew out the breath I’d been holding. I didn’t realize that my hand was shaking and my lip was sweating until I slid the phone back into my purse.

I knew I was shaking because there was no turning back.

Whatever feelings I had for Sean O’Connor no longer mattered. Robbie would spend the next few hours or days sifting through everything on the network. If there was anything incriminating there, he would find it.

I reached into my purse again and took out the plastic container of bugs. I peeled the backing off one and stuck it to the underside of my desk. I peeled the backing off another and carried it into Sean’s office.

I stood behind his desk for a moment, letting my eyes graze across the top. There were stacks of folders and various papers scattered around. I pushed through them for a moment but didn’t see anything that looked out of the ordinary. I knew Sean was too smart to just leave evidence of criminal activity on his desk. I leaned down with one hand to plant the bug under the desk. When I looked up, someone was standing in the doorway.

“Hey, there’s no toilet paper in the men’s room,” the Stooge that had passed my door a minute earlier said. He still had the newspaper in one hand and was holding onto his belt with the other. He was short and fat, probably in his sixties. He had a face that you probably would not have wanted to meet in an alley thirty years ago. Now he just looked like a dumpy old man who needed to take a shit.

“I’m sorry, is that my job?” I asked. I started straightening the folders on Sean’s desk as if I had every right to be there.

“Is what your job?” he asked, his forehead wrinkling.

“Keeping the washroom stocked with toilet paper?”

He gave me a look of utter confusion. “Fuck, I dunno. Boozie just always took care of it.”

“Do you know where the toilet paper is stored?” I asked.

The look of confusion deepened. “Um, no.”

“Okay,” I said, breezing around the desk with a big smile on my face. The smile made his frown melt like an ice cream cone in the sun. “Let’s see if we can’t find it together.”

He worked up a smile for me and said, “Okay.”

I took his arm and led him toward the storage room. It was like leading a two-hundred-pound three-year-old to the potty.

We found the toilet paper and I handed him three rolls. He grunted thanks and hurried toward the washroom, his butt cheeks clenched.

I waited until I heard the washroom door close, then went to plant the bugs in Patsy’s office and the conference room. I’d plant one in the breakroom later while The Three Stooges were at lunch.

* * *

It was nearly two o’clock by the time Sean and Patsy returned. Too late for lunch, too early for dinner.

I tried to smile and flirt and act as if all was well, even though my stomach was churning like a cement mixer.

By the time Sean and Patsy returned, Robbie was well into their network and had activated all the bugs I’d planted.

Ed and the team were listening now.

I’d plant the bugs in Sean’s penthouse the first chance I got.

It should only be a matter of time before all our hard work paid off.

The O’Connor clan would soon be brought to justice after fifty years of breaking the law.

Sean O’Connor would never speak to me again.

I’m sure Ed was ecstatic, but I was feeling like a real piece of shit.