Out front of the prison a black Mercedes was waiting, its diesel engine chugging in the cold.
The new guard climbed in and dropped the razor inside the console.
"Drive," he told the man behind the wheel. "American Embassy."
"Yes, Mr. Lemoneux."
60
"Thaddeus," said Katy the following Saturday. "Come in here, please."
He rolled over in bed. Propping himself on one arm, he squinted in the bright morning light.
"What is it?"
"Come here, I said, please."
He rolled upright and swung his legs over the side. A pair of black briefs lay on the floor and he stood and stepped into them. He walked to the bathroom door.
"What's up?"
She held up the rectangular piece of plastic. An inch long opening along its spine was blue.
"Boy or girl?" he said.
"Boy."
"I can see it now, Murfee, Hightower, and Murfee."
"No, no law, no medicine, not for this one."
"What then?"
"I haven't decided. School teacher, maybe."
"Why not lawyer?"
"If I'm reading my newspapers correctly, Thaddeus Murfee is way more than just a lawyer. There's an article in today's paper."
"You've been downstairs and got the paper already?"
"Made pancakes for Turquoise. She's off to play tennis."
"And you read the paper?"
"Go read the article. You'll see."
He took her in his arms and kissed her firmly on the mouth.
"Congratulations, wife."
"Thank you. Now. Go. Newspaper."
61
What Makes a Bestseller Sell?
by Angelina Sosa
He was a man who would abide no lowering of his principles.
He had traded vows with her. He loved her and would love, honor, and obey her all of his life. Until death parted them.
The first night in Moscow was spent in the presence of two beautiful women. (Forgive us if we call ourselves beautiful. Just know that others have.)
The younger one smiled and brushed up against him in the room. She fixed him a cup of coffee and set it before him on the desk where he was working with his laptop. He refused to look into her eyes though she invited him to look there.
The next day his friend was arrested and taken away. Which left the younger woman with the man. Alone in the hotel suite that they occupied for the next fourteen days. Sometimes there would be robes and showers, sometimes there would be sleeping clothes and partial nudity, sometimes there would be moments together, at dinner, where their eyes met.
At those times, his eyes didn't look away from her.
But neither did his eyes look inside of her, as she would have preferred.
They only looked at.
Always at, never in.
At last she became frustrated and came to his office. There was a meeting there, including the older woman who had been arrested by the Russian authorities. She was now back in the States and becoming active in her own defense. The meeting finally ended and a plan was made.
The older woman left first. The younger woman dawdled.
Alone for the moment, the younger woman turned to him and came right out with it.
"Why wouldn't you take me? You could have, you know?"
He smiled broadly. His entire face beamed.
"It's not that you're not beautiful and attractive, believe me, you most certainly are."
"We knew each other once in law school, you know?"
"Yes, I have known that."
"And you wanted me then, I could tell."
"Yes, I did."
"So am I less attractive to you now?"
His grin faded away. "Not at all. You're even more attractive to me now."
"Then why did you avoid me? Why didn't you take me?"
He had sat down at his desk and clasped his hands behind his head. He looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. Then he said, "It's the book you're writing, you know."
"What difference would a dumb book make?"
"Dumb? A New York Times best seller dumb? I don't think so."
"You know what? I'm going to tell the story of you. The story of the man whose head couldn't be turned. Not even by his own Bathsheba."
"People won't give a damn about a book like that."
"My readers will. They'll give a damn about the man who won't cheat."
"You write that book, Angelina. We'll just have to see."
And with that, he shrugged into his shoulder holster and gun and put on his coat.
"Now you go catch up with Christine. We've got a little task ahead of us."
"Us?"
"You're going to her condo. I'll see you over there."
Thirty minutes later, two Russian agents lay dead in a lobby, killed by this same man. The police came, but no charges were ever filed; defense of others was accepted as a reasonable basis for the shooting.
That's the last your intrepid reporter ever saw this man.
Is there enough story here to make this a best seller? A story about a man so devoted to his wife and family that he wouldn't cheat, even when he was ten thousand miles away and nobody would ever have known?
Only time will tell.
THE END
Copyright © 2015 by John Ellsworth
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Acknowledgments
The Author gratefully acknowledges the teachers, educators, novelists and poets who have given this work thought and voice. Any success is theirs, any mistakes are my own. Special thanks to all the lawyers writing fiction for showing me how it’s done.
About the Author
John Ellsworth was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and lived in Illinois for several years. He defended criminal clients across the United States throughout his legal career. He has defended cases ranging from shoplifting to first-degree murder to RICO to tax evasion, and has gone to jury trial on hundreds of cases. All eight books in this series were published in 2014-2015 by Subjudica House Press.
John Ellsworth lives in Arizona. He rescues guinea pigs, flails away at watercolors, and plays classical guitar. His favorite musician is Naudo Rodrigues and his favorite book has yet to be written.
John loves to hear from his readers and will respond to all emails.
Also by John Ellsworth
The Defendants Thaddeus Murfee Vol. 1
Beyond a Reasonable Death Thaddeus Murfee Vol. 2
Attorney at Large Thaddeus Murfee Vol. 3
Chase, the Bad Baby Thaddeus Murfee Vol. 4
Defending Turquoise Thaddeus Murfee Vol. 5
The Mental Case Thaddeus Murfee Vol. 6
Unspeakable Prayers (February 2015)
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Reviews
Today I make my living writing my books and I am very happy about that. The practice of law can wear you down in a hurry. It is very stressful and the importance of what lawyers do for their clients cannot be overstated.
Writers like me thrive on the reviews their readers leave for them on Amazon and other sites where books are purchased and discussed. If you would take a few moments and write out your thoughts about this book and leave them on Amazon I would be sincerely grateful. That will enable me to keep on writing and trying to please you.
—John Ellsworth 2015
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The Girl Who Wrote The New York Times Bestseller: A Novel (Thaddeus Murfee Legal Thrillers Book 8) Page 25