by Parnell Hall
“He was still alive when you got there?”
“Yes.”
“Did he say anything?”
Steve sighed and looked her in the eye. “Just that he was glad that Teddy was dead. He couldn’t forgive him for what he did to you and your mother.”
Sheila looked away. Tears came to her eyes again. “Poor Uncle Max. I guess in his own way he really loved me.”
“Yeah. I guess he did.”
She lowered her head and looked at the table. She was trying hard not to cry.
Dutton took the opportunity to change the subject. “What’s going to happen to me now?”
“What do you mean?”
“About refusing to answer questions.”
“You have your own lawyer.”
“Yeah,” Dutton said dryly. “We discussed him earlier.”
Steve sighed. “You were within your legal rights not to answer questions. Now that there’s no trial, they can’t ask you any more questions. They could still charge you with something if they could figure out which law you broke. But who’s gonna tell ’em?”
Sheila had recovered during this. She looked up at Steve. “So what will you do now?” she asked. “Go back to a normal law practice?”
Steve chuckled mirthlessly. “I have no law practice. And after this case, who would hire me? I do have two nice pieces of work ahead of me, however. Winding up your trust and probating Uncle Max’s will.” He smiled then, and tried bantering with her a little. “Unless you’d prefer to hire some other lawyer in whom you’d have more confidence.”
He’d judged right. She smiled back. “The job is yours.”
They held each other’s eyes for a few moments.
John Dutton saw this and didn’t like it. He was supposed to be the one who had that special understanding, who shared those special knowing looks.
To break the mood, he played his trump card. He reached in his pocket and took out a small plastic packet and a straw.
Steve saw this and sighed.
Sheila turned and realized what Johnny was doing. To her surprise, she was embarrassed. In front of Steve Winslow, for Christ’s sake. She felt angry and defensive. “Put that away,” she snapped. Then, “I’m sorry, Johnny, but, Jesus, now of all times.” She shook her head. “I can’t handle that now. I’ve got to get off that shit, you know?”
Dutton knew. He looked as if he’d been slapped. As if all his powers had suddenly been stripped away.
Steve watched with satisfaction. “Well,” he said. “I’m sure you kids have a lot to talk over, so I’ll be pushing off.”
He got up and walked to the door. He turned back in the doorway. Sheila was looking after him and their eyes met. Just for a moment he thought he caught a wistful look. He smiled and nodded, and she smiled back.
Steve went out the front door of Sheila Benton’s building and headed for Broadway, to catch the subway home. He felt surprisingly good. All right, so he didn’t have a law practice. But he’d had a case. A real case. And he’d gotten his client off. So what if nobody knew it? He knew it. And it felt damn good.
He walked by a newsstand. The New York Post had gotten out an extra. “BAXTER SHOT DEAD!—BENTON FREED!” ran the headline. A smaller-print headline underneath ran: “D.A. CRACKS GREELY CASE!” Underneath were a glamour shot of Sheila Benton, and a stock head-shot of Maxwell Baxter. An inset photo showed a grinning Harry Dirkson and Lieutenant Farron issuing a joint statement to the press.
Steve didn’t buy the paper. He just smiled and walked off down the street toward the subway.
Books by Parnell Hall
Stanley Hastings private eye mysteries
Detective
Murder
Favor
Strangler
Client
Juror
Shot
Actor
Blackmail
Movie
Trial
Scam
Suspense
Cozy
Manslaughter
Hitman
Caper
Stakeout (2012)
Puzzle Lady crossword puzzle mysteries
A Clue For The Puzzle Lady
Last Puzzle & Testament
Puzzled To Death
A Puzzle In A Pear Tree
With This Puzzle I Thee Kill
And A Puzzle To Die On
Stalking The Puzzle Lady
You Have The Right To Remain Puzzled
The Sudoku Puzzle Murders
Dead Man’s Puzzle
The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady
The KenKen Killings
10,000 In Small Unmarked Puzzles (2012)
Steve Winslow courtroom dramas
The Baxter Trust
Then Anonymous Client
The Underground Man
The Naked Typist
The Wrong Gun
The Innocent Woman (2011)