The Rule of Law
Page 33
Over in the corner, his investigator Wyatt Hunt sat with his wife, Tamara, and the rest of a group they called the “irregulars”: steady contract workers, though not technically employees of the firm. Good people, hardworking, and well trusted.
And there was Phyllis, over at Norma’s table with the other admin staff. Much to Hardy’s surprise and delight, she had a male guest with her—whose name was another victim of Hardy’s apparently failing memory—and almost every time he caught a glimpse of her, she was smiling.
A slight lull descended, and Frannie reached out and put a hand gently on his arm. “It’s probably getting to be time that you said a little something,” she said.
Hardy gave his wife’s hand a reassuring pat and nodded. Picking up the snifter that was down to its last quarter inch of VSOP, he clinked his spoon against it, then clinked it again until the room had gone completely quiet.
He got to his feet. “I want to thank you all for coming here tonight to help us ring in the newly reconstituted edition of Freeman, Farrell, Hardy & Roake. As all of you know, it’s been a challenging launch, to say the least. But I’m happy to say that we’ve weathered the opening storms and now are looking at smooth sailing well into the future.”
He paused to cast a glance over his own table and then, after a bit of hesitancy, the other tables. The silence gathered in the crowded room.
“You know,” he said, his voice sounding thicker.
He stopped.
After a small eternity of ten or twelve seconds, a woman’s voice finally called out from the side of the room: Phyllis, suddenly on her feet, raising her own glass. “I’d like to propose a toast to Mr. Hardy,” she said, “the sine qua non, which he’d like us all to know means ‘without whom, not.’ Which is exactly what he is, the man without whom there is no firm, there are not so many friendships, there is not so strong a team. So let’s raise a glass to Mr. Hardy.”
The rest of the room came to its feet, applauding.
Hardy stood in a kind of shock, nodding at his place in mute acknowledgment.
Unbelievable, he thought, trying to take it all in, also trying not to let his emotions get the better of him.
After all he’d been through from his early cop days, patrolling with Abe; losing his first son, his first marriage ending in divorce; then his new life with Frannie and their children; connecting with David Freeman; becoming a full-time lawyer; surviving Pier 70; and finally all the cases . . .
All the clients and all the cases. Even up to the war he’d waged with Ron Jameson.
And now here he was, a success in every way that mattered, clearly revered if not loved by his applauding firm, by all of his people.
Unbelievable, he thought again.
Absolutely unbelievable.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For various reasons, this book was a bit more of a solitary creative effort than many others. I knew that I wanted to tie up several hanging elements from disparate past Dismas Hardy books, and so I wasn’t in as much need of background material and/or knowledge of the technicalities of the law as I usually find myself when the idea of the novel began to percolate.
That said, these things are never produced in a vacuum, and as always I turned at the outset to the triumvirate named in this book’s dedication—my consigliere, legal consultant, and great pal Al Giannini; my fantastic agent, Barney Karpfinger; and my still-darling bride of thirty-five years, Lisa Sawyer.
I’d also like to acknowledge the team of folks who work with me on a regular basis and help these books make it to publication. Anita Boone, my assistant for over twenty years, is simply the best at what she does, which is keeping organized the sometimes bewildering and chaotic life of the working writer, making certain that deadlines are met, promotional material is up-to-date, emails and other correspondence get dealt with, and so much more. Handling all of my social media, a large part of today’s publishing industry, is the talented and tireless Dr. Andy Jones. Also, on the hard-print side, my two personal editors, Peggy Nauts and Doug Kelly, have given the final polish to many of my books, including this one, and I’m very grateful to them for finding those last little glitches and dispatching them so completely.
The next generation—my daughter, Justine; her husband, Josh; and my son, Jack—continues to inform and hopefully enrich these novels, whose relevance would be suspect indeed without that input, sensibility, and insight.
I’d also like to give a nod to three of my writer colleagues—Max Byrd, Rob Leininger, and C. J. Box—who in different ways and all unwittingly have helped to keep the inspirational well for this book filled to the brim. Thanks, guys, just for being who you are.
Generous contributors to various organizations have purchased the right to name characters in this book. These people and their respective organizations are: Katy Peek, El Dorado Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA); Andrea O’Riordan, Serra High School Fund A Dream; Kathleen Wheeler, the Sacramento Point West Rotary Club; and Paul Simmons, the Yolo Land Trust.
I’m very grateful for the enthusiasm and support of Simon & Schuster/Atria Books and particularly Peter Borland, Daniella Wexler, and publicist David Brown. Working behind the scenes for the success of these books is the top-flight sales group of Janice Fryer, Wendy Sheanin, and Colin Shields. It is a pleasure and privilege to work with all of you. Thank you so much.
Finally, I love hearing from my readers. Please feel free to stop by my website and say hello—I really do answer my email.
Thanks for buying my books!
More from this Series
The Ophelia Cut
Book 14
The Keeper
Book 15
The Fall
Book 16
Poison
Book 17
More from the Author
Fatal
Silent Hunt
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JOHN LESCROART is the author of twenty-eight previous novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Ophelia Cut, The Keeper, The Fall, and Fatal. His books have sold more than ten million copies and have been translated into twenty-two languages. He lives in Northern California.
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
SimonandSchuster.com
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/John-Lescroart
Facebook.com/AtriaBooks @AtriaBooks @AtriaBooks
Also by John Lescroart
Poison
Fatal
The Fall
The Keeper
The Ophelia Cut
The Hunter
Damage
Treasure Hunt
A Plague of Secrets
Betrayal
The Suspect
The Hunt Club
The Motive
The Second Chair
The First Law
The Oath
The Hearing
Nothing But the Truth
The Mercy Rule
Guilt
A Certain Justice
The 13th Juror
Hard Evidence
The Vig
Dead Irish
Rasputin’s Revenge
Son of Holmes
Sunburn
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lescroart, John T., author.
Title: The rule of law : a novel / John Lescroart.
Description: First Atria Books hardcover edition. | New York : Atria Books, 2019. | Identifiers: LCCN 2018029488 (print) | LCCN 2018032713 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781501115752 (E-Book) | ISBN 9781501115738 (hardback)
Subjects: | BISAC: FICTION / Suspense. | FICTION / Legal. | GSAFD: Legal stories.
| Suspense fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3562. E78 (ebook) | LCC PS3562.E78 R85 2019 (print) |
DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018029488
ISBN 978-1-5011-1573-8
ISBN 978-1-5011-1575-2 (ebook)