“Look, Ms. Roth, a federal prosecutor is missing and my instincts tell me that this Flux person knows something about it. Your client may not be Public Enemy #1 but he still broke the law. I’m doing him a favor so that he’ll do me one. That’s all.” We had another one of those silent staring moments. I was starting to appreciate idle chatter.
“Fine, where do we start?” I asked finally. If he was going to use my client to further his investigation, then I was going to be a part of it too. And it had nothing to do with wanting to work closely with him. Okay, it had something to do with that, but it was mostly about Trog’s rights.
“We?” he asked, not sounding like he was completely onboard with that plan.
“Yes, we. You want Trog’s help, my help is part of the package.”
“I can’t have you getting hurt.” He was shaking his head dismissively and was undoubtedly about to change the subject but I stopped him cold.
“You wanted Lily to testify in a mafia trial. She could have gotten
killed
. ”
The words were out of mouth before I could stop them. Well, it
had
been weighing on my mind a bit. He looked distinctly unhappy about that observation incidentally. In fact, “cold” was a very appropriate term at that moment because the look he was giving me would have made the KL conference room seem like the Tropics.
“And I offered to put her witness protection,” he replied icily. “She didn’t want to leave your brother. I take it that no one ever mentioned that part to you.”
“Actually, they don’t really discuss it much to be honest ... ” I back-pedaled. I didn’t like the cold Boy Wonder. I wanted to go back to flirty Boy Wonder.
“You think that I didn’t
care
if the mob bumped off my ex-girlfriend, or
any
witness for that matter?”
“Okay, you look really offended. What do I know? I’m just some defense lawyer who represents old people who bare their asses and dress like dog droppings.”
Hey, why was I putting myself down? WTF?
“And who obviously cares about her clients. But you think I’m a person who only cares about my career. Don’t you? People’s lives mean nothing me. Right?”
“Well, not that you didn’t care
at all
, I just thought that maybe you cared about the conviction
more
. And why do you care so much
what I think
anyway?”
“
If we have to work to together, we should treat each other with respect. How are you going to do that when that’s what you think of me?”
“I don’t even know you! I’m sure you’re a very nice guy.” I was nodding like a crazed bobble head doll. How had he managed to get me this disconcerted?
“I don’t want to have to deal with the same crap I got from your brother. He had no respect for me whatsoever.”
“Adam has no respect for anyone. He probably mocked the other babies in the nursery the day he was born.”
And now I was throwing my brother under the bus. What was wrong with me?
“But from what I understand, though, you’re no fan of his either.”
“Because he doesn’t respect me! And he didn’t respect how important the Moretti trial was. It wasn’t about my career. It was about justice.”
“Well, I get it. Mobsters are really bad guys.”
Profound, Abby
. “I can understand why you would want to put him away.”
“I didn’t want to see Lily get hurt anymore than he did. I cared. I would have protected her.” Oh Great! I associated him with orgasm and
he
would now associate
me
with feeling emasculated. This was going well. And why did the way he said, “I cared” bother me a little?
Wasn’t that your freaking concern, Abby?
“While my brother and I may be a lot alike, I am not Adam.”
For one thing, Adam doesn’t want to see you naked. “
Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed anything,” I said consolingly.
“I wouldn’t have asked her testify without offering her protection,” he said sounding calmer but still looking like his feathers were ruffled. “I happen to value people’s safety, which is why I don’t think you should get involved in this.”
“Thank you for thinking of my safety, but I’m just going to be a helping you to handle Trog and making sure that someone is there as his advocate. I promise not to do anything potentially dangerous on your watch.” I gave him my best “trust me” smile and we sat there for
yet another
full moment of silence.
“I suppose that I can’t deny your client his right to counsel,” he said and then added, “but if we’re going to work together, there must be mutual respect.”
“Of course,” I said quickly.
“And there also must be no question that I am in charge.”
Ah HUH. Alrighty then.
“Fine, you’re in charge,” I agreed, fixing a smile on my lips, and silently vowing to myself that I would at least
try
to follow that dictum. “I’ll let Trog know that if he helps you to find Deon Flux, you will not file federal criminal charges against him for the DocuKeep thing. That is the deal, right?”
“Right,” he agreed, still sounding a little reluctant. I wondered vaguely if his reluctance was more about not wanting to deal with a potential pain in the ass than about said pita’s health and safety. But I told myself that I was not going to judge or be a cynic or assume anything. Anymore.
“Looks like we’re on the same side this time then. Looking forward to working with you,” I said, hoping that my smile looked calm and professional even though underneath it I was turning cartwheels in my head like a cheerleader on crack. As I got up to leave, a thought crossed my mind. I just wanted to ask ...
“What?” he asked, reading my expression.
“I was just wondering why you didn’t just work with Dana. She’s the computer expert. Or even Lena, she has more criminal defense experience than I do.”
“Please confer with your client, Ms. Roth,” he replied, not answering my question. “My secretary will set up a meeting.” He paused a beat and then added, “At a time that’s convenient for you.”
That was obviously a dismissal, as he immediately picked up his phone again and spun around in his chair. Something that I had seen flash for just a second in those beautiful eyes made me suspect that, whatever his reason was, it hadn’t been because he had considered me the weakest link.
I smiled and felt that familiar flutter in my tummy as I turned to leave. What I was feeling still wasn’t
that
mind you, but
this
was, admittedly, going to be a hell of a lot more fun than circling numbers and fighting off frostbite at KL.
M
y meeting with Sachs had taken place on a Friday afternoon and Trog and I would not be seeing him together until Monday. That left the weekend for me to get myself organized.
I spent Saturday in the office with Dana and Lena, who had graciously agreed to take over several of my cases while I became Trog’s consigliore. We also reviewed everything we could find out online about both DocuKeep and Randall Greene, which wasn’t very much unfortunately. I got the distinct impression that neither one was all that fascinating a subject or the source of any titillating tidbits.
Trog stopped by for a while and we carefully briefed him. When he found out that Deon had betrayed him, he got a look on his face like a lost puppy. Rather than being angry, he wanted to get her side of the story. Apparently, she still had not responded to his messages. How shocking. He was continuing to try to reach her through various channels and he did recall that she had once mentioned Temple University. So it looked like that would probably be our starting point on Monday.
Lena had plans that evening with her family, but Dana and I went out to dinner and a movie later. Dana didn’t discuss her love life, and I didn’t want to pry, but I must admit that I was a bit curious. She was almost always available to hang out on a Saturday night, but I still had a feeling there might be something going on that she kept to herself. There were occasionally afternoons when she disappeared for a couple of hours and reappeared looking mysteriously happy, and dare I say, glowing? I had also seen her texting with someone who made her smile in a rather telling way. Maybe that was another mystery for me to solve eventually,
The Riddle of the Raunchy Rendezvous
.
Sunday rolled around and I found myself at the Metro Grill in Center City nibbling on a French fry and watching my brother, Adam, annihilate a club sandwich. My siblings and I had always tried to get together for Sunday brunch when possible, but my eldest sister, Hannah had a new baby to take care of, and my middle sister, Sarah, had accepted a teaching position at a university in New York City.
That left Adam and me, which was fine. He and I were only 18 months apart in age, and of all of the Roths, we were the most alike. We had always been very close, and he would forever be my adored little brother, even though the two of us teased each other mercilessly at times and fought like, well, brothers and sisters.
I still felt a twinge of guilt for not defending him more to Sachs. His opinion of Boy Wonder seemed to be a bit harsh too, though. I had a feeling that they were just two smart, handsome guys from similar backgrounds, in a similar profession and they wanted to outdo each other. There was likely nothing more to it than that. I thought that I should try to find out more though, since Sachs and I would be working together, I mean.
“So, Jacob Sachs,” I began.
“Vodemort!” he interrupted, spitting crumbs at me.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Like in Harry Potter. Don’t say his name.”
“I was unaware that he wanted to destroy humanity as we know it.”
“Not destroy it. Just rule it.”
“Well if I cant same his name, what should I call him?”
“Dickhead works,” he said with a smile.
“I know too many people by that name. I might get confused.”
“Okay, then ‘He Who Shall Not Be Named’ will have to do.”
“What is
exactly
that you dislike about him so much?”
“Hey, don’t make me out to be the bad guy. For your information, he doesn’t like me very much either. He thinks I’m cocky.”
“You
are
cocky.”
“Okay, that’s true, but he thinks that’s bad. Cocky isn’t bad. Cocky is just confidence with a little swagger tossed in. I’ll tell you something,” he said, gesturing with French fry of his own, “I would rather be cocky than arrogant.”
“So you think he’s arrogant.”
“Yes, I do. And I think that he takes himself too seriously. He seems to think that sarcasm is juvenile and obnoxious, which is something that
you
should keep in mind considering that sarcasm is in the Roth DNA.”
“Maybe he just doesn’t like sarcasm in court,” I answered.
“Where
else
would you see him?” Adam asked suspiciously.
“And this animosity on your part isn’t just about the fact that he dated Lily?” I asked, deflecting my brother’s curiosity by using Sachs’ own technique of just ignoring any question one doesn’t like. Luckily, it worked.
“He and I didn’t like each other long before I ever even knew that he
briefly
dated Lily. We just push each other’s buttons, you know? But it didn’t
help
that he dated her either, especially since I got the feeling that he would have been up for an encore.”
“You mean you think he’s still attracted to her?” I asked, suddenly feeling a lump develop in my throat. Why did that bother me so much?
“I could
tell
that was still wanted her when he saw her again last year. It didn’t matter though, because
she
wanted
me
.” I must have had a funny look on my face because then he added, “Don’t feel too sorry for him; he consoled himself by banging a different chick every weekend there for a while.”
“What, he doesn’t do that anymore?” I asked trying to sound like I didn’t care. I pushed my fries aside. I seemed to have lost my appetite.
“I don’t know. I don’t keep up with his social life, but I’ve heard that he’s all about his job now and he doesn’t care about anything else. I can believe that.”
“Yeah, actually I think that I’ve heard that too.”
“Lily said that he always had this dream of being on the Supreme Court someday. I guess he figured that he should probably focus on that and reconsider his lifestyle if he didn’t want to screw up his chances.”
“He might actually have a shot, the way his career seems to be going.”
“If he makes it he’ll be in his glory. He’s the kind of guy who thinks that when a judge ascends the bench, he’s three steps closer to God.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be so terrible to have someone who has a great deal of respect for the legal system sitting on the High Court.” Apparently, I had no problem at all defending
him
.
“Why do you care about Sachs anyway? You have a case against him?” I noticed that Adam was now watching me carefully. He knew me too well.
“Not against him. We’re working together on something.”
“Working
together
? He’s a prosecutor and you’re a defense lawyer. How exactly does
that
work?”
“A client of mine is helping out the prosecution, and I’m helping out my client.”
“I see. Does he know you’re my sister?”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t seem to hold it against me.” I smiled. “So far we seem to be getting along okay,” I added casually.
“
How
okay? He’s not hitting on you is he?” Adam asked, narrowing his gaze.
“No.”
Unfortunately
. “But if he were, what business would that be of yours?”
“It’s my responsibility to protect the women of our family.”
“Protect the women?” I laughed. “From who, Vikings?”
“Assholes. It’s my job as the only man in the family.”
“The only man in the family? What about
Dad
?”
“Once you join AARP, you pass on the torch to the younger generation.”