“When this is over, Julia”—he hesitated—“I hope you feel the same.” I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come. I thought, Julia, you idiot, he can read you like a book. Adam smiled slowly and took a step back. “Do you have a long drive?
“No,” I managed to mumble, “just out to the Avenues.” I bundled myself as gracefully as possible into the Geo and turned the key. Adam stood by as I backed out and drove off.
I headed straight home and parked in front of my building, again too tired to put the car away. I took a deep breath. The taste of Adam’s lips still lingered, but when I closed my eyes, I saw the image of Michael’s body lying on the street. I shuddered and did my best to push that thought out of my head. I wanted to remember Michael as he was when he was alive and vital. My ribs were still sore from the attack last night, and tension was making my neck ache. I climbed the front stairs, shed my coat, and threw it over the kitchen chair with my purse. I’d planned to work on the charts a little longer, but knew I wouldn’t be able to focus.
I kicked off my shoes and pulled a wine glass off the rack. I dropped two ice cubes into the glass and filled it with Merlot. I know you’re supposed to drink red wine at room temperature, but wine aficionado that I am, I don’t care. I like it with ice cubes. I fell into the big armchair in my living room, propped my legs on the ottoman, and hit the TV remote. Wizard was curled up in a ball in the other chair and lifted his head to acknowledge my presence. He climbed down and took up a position on my lap. I’d spent two days running around in circles and had accomplished absolutely nothing.
I channel-surfed until I found something that suited my mood. One of my favorites was playing—a grade B sci-fi from the fifties. The hero wore an Army uniform and the heroine’s tight sweater displayed jutting breasts. The film was close to the end because the irradiated octopus had wrapped its tentacles around the Golden Gate Bridge and the Army was making its last stand. I downed my wine, wondering where I’d find the energy to walk the hallway to my bed when the phone rang. I reached over and picked it up.
“Julia, it’s me.” David’s voice came over the telephone.
“David?”
“I’m sorry to call. It’s worse news. I’m at the building with the police. They’ve found Ira. He’s dead.”
twenty-three
David had received the call as soon as he’d arrived home. He said the police wanted to see both me and Adam. I promised I’d drive back downtown. Groaning, I splashed some water on my face at the bathroom sink, slipped on a pair of flats, grabbed my coat and purse, and headed back out. When I arrived at Montgomery Street, I used my key card to drive down to C-level where David had told me they’d be waiting. On the west side of the building, near the empty slot of a tandem parking area, were an unmarked car, a black-and-white police vehicle, and a coroner’s van. Adam and David stood side by side next to two uniformed men, while two other people in coveralls bundled up a man-sized package and loaded it into the van. Adam walked over to open my door.
“I didn’t want them to call you. I don’t think you should be here. This is pretty bad.”
“I’ll be fine.” I wasn’t so sure of that, but it seemed like the thing to say. “How did this happen?”
“They believe he was run over with his own car. It must have happened when he left the office around six o’clock. They’ll tow his car and have Forensics go over it.”
“How could that happen? Did someone overpower him and take his car keys?”
“Probably someone he trusted,” David said. “The police think he might have suffered a blow to the head before being run over, but they’re not sure yet. He must have been unconscious when this happened to him. Poor bastard. At least I hope he was unconscious.”
“Are you telling me he was lying down here on C-level when we came back from the restaurant? One floor beneath us?”
David nodded in response. “Someone working late found him. Sometime soon after we left. His car was reversed into the parking spot. It hid his body, so no one passing by would notice it. The man who found him was opening his trunk and happened to look over. Saw him lying behind the back wheels.”
The blood must have drained from my face. “Are you okay?” Adam looked concerned.
I swallowed hard and nodded. “This is just so horrible and brutal.”
Sergeant Sullivan approached. “I’m sorry we had to ask you to come down tonight, but I think it’s better if we talk now rather than at the office tomorrow.” Sullivan didn’t look any too happy to be hauled out at this hour either. “Ms. Bonatti, is there anything you can tell me about this?”
“Sorry, no. I know Ira was working in the office today. I didn’t see him leave. I was away on an errand for a few hours, then I came back.”
“And you parked on B-level when you returned?”
“Yes. It was later in the day and there were empty spots there. After that, I was in David’s office.”
“What time did you leave the building tonight?”
“Well, we—David and Adam and I—walked up to North Beach for dinner. We got back to the building about …” I looked to Adam for confirmation.
“Sometime around eight, or quarter past,” Adam answered. “We signed in and out and took the elevator down one level to B. We chatted for a bit, said good night, and we all drove off.” I blushed, remembering the kiss that Adam and I had shared.
Each of us answered a few more questions about our movements during the day, and then the sergeant told us we were free to go home.
Adam stepped closer. “Julia, I’m following you home.”
“There’s really no need, Adam. You don’t have to do that.”
“Uh uh, don’t argue. I just want to make sure you get there safely.”
“But where do you live? I never thought to ask you.”
“In the Marina. I’ve got an apartment there. It’s no trouble, Julia. I’ll cut through the Presidio and I’ll be home in no time.”
True to his word, he followed me out of the garage and all the way back to 30th Avenue. I pulled up to the curb in front of my house and climbed out. Adam found a parking space across the street. He walked me up the stairs to my door and waited while I unlocked it.
In the darkened doorway I couldn’t see the expression in his eyes, but he touched my cheek, then slowly leaned toward me and kissed me again. My knees turned to jelly and heat ran up my spine as I returned the kiss. We said nothing, both of us intensely aware of where this was going. Neither of us sure we wanted to go there just yet.
“Good night, Julia.” Adam smiled, then turned and walked to the bottom of the stairs. “And call me if you’re worried or if you need anything, okay?”
“Adam, wait!”
He turned back. “What is it?”
“What’s your birth date?”
Silence for a moment, and then he laughed. “August 5, 1976.”
“And the city and time?”
“Uh … I think it was around five p.m. In St. Paul.”
I smiled. “Good night.”
“But you have to tell me what you find, okay?” He waved once, slid into the driver’s seat, and started the engine. I stepped through my darkened doorway, still trying to recover from one of the hottest kisses I could ever remember. It really had been too long. I pushed aside my vision of dragging Adam through the doorway and ripping his clothes off before we even got to the top of the stairway. Ice cubes in the bath water. That’s what I needed.
As I started to shut the front door, I shivered and turned quickly. I was certain I caught a glimpse of a shadow by the telephone pole on the other side of the street. I hurried inside, shut the door, and turned the lock. Very carefully, I eased back the side of the curtain on the inside of the door and scanned the street. The shadow was gone. Nerves again, I thought. I double checked that the bolt was on and climbed the stairs, shedding my clothe
s, and crawled under the comforter. Wizard was still the only man in my bed.
twenty-four
David’s face was sickly gray under his tan. “I’m not handling this very well … Someone is trying to ruin this firm.”
Adam and I sat with David in his office. Meyers, Dade & Schulz was now closed for the rest of the week, and perhaps longer. I didn’t want to say anything to David, but his complexion looked ghastly and I was getting worried about his health. I was determined to stick it out and do whatever I could to help him through this disaster.
I had half woken several times during the night and wasn’t feeling exactly tip-top myself. At one point, I’d had another dream about a dragon. This time the giant beast had circled above my building, its wings spread wide, its tail swishing back and forth. I’d stared upward from my window and as the creature passed over me, the sky darkened to black and I woke up. I shook my head to rid myself of the memory. I needed more coffee to face the day. The answering service was taking care of incoming calls and would forward them to the attorneys working at home or to their cellphones. They were able to access the computer network at the firm from other locations, and so the more urgent work could be taken care of. I wasn’t sure how long this would be effective, but it would take care of the immediate situation. Unfortunately, court deadlines couldn’t be postponed, and so Roger, Karen, and Dani were working on the 41st floor protected by two of Adam’s security guards, who were monitoring the hallway and the elevators. David was in a state of shock, as was everyone else, but I thought he seemed to be taking it particularly hard. He had had the gruesome task of identifying Ira the night before.
Adam paced back and forth by the window. “I blame myself. I was more keyed in to possibilities here in the firm, at night or on weekends, but at that hour … and on one of the parking levels. I never anticipated this. I should have, but I didn’t.”
“Nor did I,” David replied.
“Have the police told us anything more?” I asked.
Adam said, “Nothing new. According to our man, everyone was gone from both floors at that time except for you and David. The guard remembers Ira passing by the desk to take the stairs down to C-level … and that’s it. We’re checking with companies in the building to see if anyone saw him or saw anyone else around his car. The police checked the tires on his BMW and fragments on the tires, and they know he was definitely run over by his own car.”
“God, how awful.” I shuddered.
“Somebody must have knocked him out before he got into his car, dragged him behind it, and then drove over him twice. I won’t go into the gory details, but he bled to death from internal injuries. The full autopsy report won’t be in for a while, but they can most likely tell if a skull injury wasn’t related to the internal injuries.”
My stomach churned again with the memory of seeing another body bag. I had to change the subject. “Listen, I spent yesterday afternoon reading through Jack’s old files from the Bank of San Francisco case. I know Adam thinks I’m grasping at straws, but frankly, that case links both Jack and Ira.”
Adam sat down in one of the wing chairs. “I’m sure they worked on other cases together at their old firm.”
“Actually, no. I spoke with Suzanne yesterday before the police took her in for questioning. She told me that they hired her just to work on that trial, and when it was over, she moved with them to this firm.”
“Following your theory, Julia,” Adam said, “Suzanne could have sent a threatening letter to herself to allay suspicion.”
I sighed. “That is a possibility, I guess. But the reality is that two of the three people who’ve received death threats are dead. And the one thing all three have in common is that they came from the same firm and worked on the same case. What do you know about that lawsuit?”
David sat nervously twirling a pencil between his fingers. “Well, I know that every law firm in the city followed it. It was a big one. Jack and Ira represented Rockwood, the main insurer of the building, and the fire itself was eventually blamed on negligent work done by the electrical contractor. I don’t know the details, but I think because of all the publicity, the State Contractors Board pulled the man’s license to operate. As I recall, the word was he had a drinking problem, and so everyone assumed he’d made some sloppy mistakes.”
“Was that true?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’m sure he claimed the fire wasn’t due to his negligence.”
“What happened after that?” I was hoping David might recall something that wasn’t in the official record.
“I don’t really know. Rockwood paid on most of the claims and I guess that was the end of it, at least for the Browning firm.”
Adam was silent during this exchange, but I could tell the wheels were turning. I studiously avoided looking at him, afraid I would give away what had passed between us the night before. “By the way, is Suzanne here today?” I asked.
“I haven’t checked yet, but the police released her late yesterday. She might be,” Adam replied.
“Maybe I’ll have a chance to talk to her some more.”
David flipped open a binder on his desk. “Well, if you two will excuse me … as hopeless as everything seems right now, I’m going to attempt to get some work done.”
Our conversation was over. Adam and I stood to leave. I opened the door and spotted Dani, sitting on the floor in David’s outer office surrounded by the files from Jack’s apartment.
“Dani! What are you doing?” I glanced at Adam. He raised his eyebrows but remained silent.
“Hi, Julia.” She looked up brightly. “Karen told me these were shipped over from Jack’s apartment. I’m waiting for some revisions right now, so I thought I’d organize them and then if they’re old, I’ll send them off to storage.”
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stay cool. “Dani, look, I appreciate the offer, but David said he wanted to go through them first.”
“Oh.” Her face fell. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“That’s all right. Really. I appreciate the offer, but maybe it’s better to leave it all until David’s done with it.”
“Okay. I’m just at a loss as to what to do with myself. I’m waiting for Roger to finish so I can get his filing done. Then I plan to get the hell out of here.” She stood and stacked up the loose files on the floor, replacing them in one of the boxes. “See you later.” She left the reception area to return to her desk.
I took a deep breath, relieved to see her go. I could understand her looking for something to do, but it seemed odd to me that she’d come in and take it upon herself to go through these boxes. David had unlocked his outer door when he arrived in the morning, and I hadn’t seen the need to keep it locked while we were inside his office. I checked that the files had been replaced in the same order, and then Adam and I pushed the boxes against the wall and stacked them out of the way.
Adam turned to me. “I have to get back to the office. I’m meeting a client there in a little while, and I’ve got to finish work on some post-trial jury interviews. That’s a project that’s taking a lot of time to coordinate. One of our men will make sure everyone gets to their cars safely or gets a taxi home today. I just don’t know what more I can do for the time being.” He opened the door and walked down the hall. His jaw was set. He was undoubtedly angry he hadn’t been able to foresee the attack on Ira.
I was feeling like a fifth wheel. There wasn’t much else I could do at this point either. I headed down the hallway to see if I could help Karen or Dani with anything. Roger was reading over his brief and Karen, her eyes rimmed with red, was playing a card game on the computer. She looked up as I entered.
“Hi Julia, what’s up? I have absolutely nothing to do. Can you believe it?” She appeared to have forgotten her anger at my questions the day before.
“Me neither,” I said. “I came down to see if you needed any
thing.”
“Nothing’s happening right now. We’re just taking care of this immediate filing and then we’ll head home.”
Dani piped up. “Whoever thought there’d be a dearth of attorneys? What’s that quote from? Shakespeare? Let’s kill all the lawyers or something?”
“Henry the Fifth, isn’t it?” I answered.
Karen glared at us. “I don’t find that the least bit funny.” She bit her lower lip and burst into tears.
Dani swiveled in her chair to face Karen. “You know, I feel pretty bad about this too. I couldn’t stand Ira but I wouldn’t have wished that on him. Don’t think for a second you’re the only one with any feelings.” She turned back to me. “I might just as well practice. Our gig is tonight and I have to rehearse.” She rummaged under her desk and opened her case. She pulled out her electric guitar and worked out an almost silent rhythm with her fingers.
I walked past Karen’s desk and peeked into Suzanne’s office. It was dark. “Have either of you seen Suzanne today?” Karen ignored me.
“She’s not here,” Dani volunteered, “but she called. She might stop in later to pick up some things.” Dani’s head was nodding along with her music.
At that moment, Roger stepped out of his office and gave me a dark look. “Could I have a word with you?”
“Sure,” I answered hesitantly. I felt a little like a kid who’d been called into the principal’s office. Roger stepped back to allow me access to his office and shut the door behind me. The room was every bit as neat as it had been the night I searched it. I was unsure whether to sit or not.
“Who are you?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. You no sooner come here than all hell breaks loose. You’ve been all over this place sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong, asking questions you have no business asking.”
Tail of the Dragon Page 15