She started to cry again. "It's crazy."
"Tell me. You have to tell me, even if it's crazy."
"I can't. I can't. You won't understand. You'll think I'm crazy. You'll hate me."
"I won't hate you. I could never hate you. You could tell me right now that you murdered Maxine Shepard and I still couldn't hate you."
She looked at him then, and it was the look he'd wanted so badly from her when he told her he loved her, but didn't get. A look that acknowledged how desperately she needed to hear what he'd said. And now it was too late, and they both knew it.
She lowered her head again and began to whisper; her voice was barely audible and he had to ask her to speak up. "I was at her house that day."
"Maxine's house?"
She nodded.
"What day? Thursday?"
He wanted her to hurry, just spill everything she had to tell him, but at the same time he wanted to run and pretend he'd never known her, because he feared what she was about to say. He tried to remember exactly what the articles had said. He was certain, yes, absolutely certain they all had said the murder occurred Thursday night or very early Friday morning.
"Before I met you in the garage that night?"
Another nod.
"Why, Jenny? Why were you at her house?"
She began to sob uncontrollably. He leaned closer and smoothed her hair to comfort her. His touch seemed to upset her more, but he couldn't stop. When he'd left on Friday morning, he'd thought he'd never touch her again.
"It's okay," he whispered. "Tell me anything. Whatever you tell me, it will be okay."
"I went because of Mendelsohn."
"Why?"
She shook her head, resisting. He grabbed her shoulders. "Why?" he repeated, more loudly this time.
"To tell Maxine what he'd done."
"What are you talking about?" He wanted to pry it out of her. Her fragmented answers were making him wild. "Did you find out more about Mendelsohn's involvement in the litigation you were handling for her?"
She tried to take a deep breath; her body shuddered when she exhaled. She nodded. "When I went back to my office—"
"When? After going to Maxine's?"
"No, after lunch that day. He was waiting for me. He was in my office." She blew her nose. "He was sitting in my chair, all smug-looking, and he says" —she imitated his voice— "'So, Ms. Dodson, have you heard the good news yet?' He was referring to the partnership decision. Stan had told me that morning that I'd made partner."
"You didn't tell me."
"Yeah, well . . ." She paused, as if reconsidering whether to say what was on her mind. "We were a little occupied with other things, wouldn't you say?"
Jack didn't respond, but he remembered her words: You're very selfish.
"Anyway, Mendelsohn told me I'd been voted in, but reminded me nothing was official until I signed all the papers and paid my equity. And then he says he got a phone call from Maxine that morning that could affect my partnership.
"He said that she had been reviewing many of her invoices from the firm and felt that I had billed way too much time on her cases. She wanted to know how I'd ever been allowed to rack up such exorbitant fees."
"What'd you say?"
"I defended the invoices." She laughed bitterly. "I told him, in so many words, to shove it up his ass. I hadn't done anything wrong and I knew it. And that's when I made my mistake."
"In what way?"
"I suggested that maybe it was him who had done something wrong."
The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place, and what he'd seen so far scared him.
"The reason I'd billed so much to the files was because I was digging. I discovered that there was a reason Mendelsohn didn't try harder to dissuade Maxine from making those bad deals."
Jack waited, silent.
"It seems Maxine was investing in Mendelsohn, only she didn't know it."
"Whoa. You told him you knew?" he asked.
"Not really. I mean, I didn't come right out and tell him. But like I said, I did suggest that maybe he was the one doing something wrong." She started to cry again. "It was so stupid of me. I knew better, but he made me so mad. I let him get to me."
"What'd he say?"
She wiped her eyes with the damp handkerchief, trying to stop her tears. "Oh, you know, just what you'd expect from him. He lashed out at me. Threatened me. I think his exact words were something like 'You'd better be careful before making unfounded allegations against people, Ms. Dodson, or you might find it hard to get work in this city.'"
"Tell me how you ended up at Maxine's house," Jack said gently.
"I went to tell her what I'd discovered. I was afraid that because I'd hinted to him that I knew he'd done something wrong, he'd try to get to her first, and then she wouldn't believe me."
"Do you think he found out that you went there?"
"I don't know. Why?"
He looked at her. He didn't want to tell her. "Jenny, Mendelsohn's telling the papers that Newman has been investigating you."
"What do you mean? Investigating me for what?"
He hesitated. "For embezzlement. I think he's trying to make it look like you were the one bilking Maxine, not him."
Fear clouded her eyes as she began to understand. If Mendelsohn believed his scheme was crumbling, and if he knew that Jenny had already gotten to Maxine, he might have tried to use Jenny's visit to kill two birds with one stone. He could get rid of Maxine and at the same time make it look like Jenny had done it.
"Oh, God." She began to wail again. "I was so stupid! How was I supposed to know? I would never have dreamed he was capable of something like that."
"Jenny, listen to me," he demanded in an effort to calm her down. "Just because you were there . . . that's not enough. You know that."
She nodded, but she didn't look convinced. He reached up and touched her hair again, this time weaving his fingers through it as he pushed it away from her face. He had the urge to stand up, take her hand and try to walk out of the building with her.
"Tell me something. Why didn't you just go to Stan after this conversation with Mendelsohn?"
"I planned to, eventually. But I wanted to talk to Maxine first. I didn't want to go to Stan until I had all my ducks in a row, you know?"
"You went straight to her house after your meeting with Mendelsohn?"
Jenny nodded.
"Did you call her? Was she expecting you?"
"No. I was afraid that if I called her ahead of time, she wouldn't see me."
"What happened when you saw her?"
"She was very rude to me when I first arrived. She wouldn't even let me in." She smiled sadly. "You would have been very proud of me, Jack. I kept my cool the whole time, and that's why she finally agreed to listen to me. I'd brought my files with me so I could explain to her what I'd discovered, and I asked her if we could go over them together."
Jack tried to process all the information she had given him. "Jenny, how much are we talking about? How much did he take her for?"
"It's easily in the hundreds of thousands."
"Jesus." He shook his head in disbelief. "Why would he do that? Why would he risk everything like that?"
Her head had been hanging low; she'd kept her eyes down through most of her explanation. But then she looked up at him, her sad eyes cutting into him laser sharp. He looked away, and all she said was, "I don't know. That's the part I haven't figured out."
There was a knock at the door and the guard shouted "Two minutes, Mr. Hilliard."
"Jenny, tell me quickly. Did Maxine understand?"
"Yes, yes," she said, nodding vehemently. "She planned to come to the firm the next day, and we were going to meet with Stan to tell him what I'd discovered." She began to cry again, though she tried to contain it. "It's my word against Mendelsohn now."
"No, there are the documents."
"I don't know, Jack. He's not stupid. He's probably already gathered the files and destroyed
them. I locked them in my office when I left on Friday. But if he'd commit murder, I'm sure he'd have no qualms about breaking into my office to find those files. I'm sure they're history now."
"There's gotta be a paper trail, Jen, or something. What about the other attorneys, the ones who were fired? They'll back you up."
"I don't know. We don't know how much they know."
He paused, thinking. "What happened Friday, when Maxine didn't show up for your meeting with Stan?"
"I tried to call her house, but of course she never answered. I left several messages."
"That can only help your defense."
"I didn't even see Mendelsohn. His secretary told me he was out all day speaking at some seminar. So I relaxed a bit. I felt maybe I'd been a bit paranoid and that he had no intentions of going to Maxine. I decided that he must have believed I'd back off after he threatened me. I left work that day around five and spent the weekend in Chicago. I didn't even know she'd been murdered until" —she paused to take a deep breath— "until they picked me up getting off the plane on Sunday."
"Jesus." He could just imagine the scene at the airport. He wondered what had gone through Jenny's head when she learned that Maxine had been murdered the same night she'd been with Jack. "Listen, the guard will be back any second. I'll call Earl as soon as I leave. I'll tell him all this, but you need to tell him, too, okay? Everything. Everything you can think of."
She nodded.
"You haven't told this to Rob or anyone else from Newman, have you?"
"No, no one's been over to see me yet. I keep calling them, and they say they're coming, but no one's showed up yet."
He looked at her in disbelief.
"I was afraid to call you."
"I'm sorry. I was trying to get in. I can't believe I didn't think to call Earl as soon as I'd heard. I was just so . . . after everything . . . I couldn't think straight. He'll get you out today. I promise, okay?"
"Yes," she whispered. "Can I ask a favor of you?"
"Anything."
"Will you feed my cats? They're probably getting a little hungry by now."
He smiled. "Yeah, Jen, I'll feed your cats." He reached to smooth a stray hair, but she leaned away.
"It's going to work out; don't worry. I'm sure of it." She stood. "You should go now."
The door opened without warning and the guard stepped in. "Sorry, Mr. Hilliard, the boss is going to be on my case if I let you stay any longer. I've already stretched it."
Jack nodded and turned back to Jenny. "I'll be at the arraignment," he whispered.
"Jack." She grabbed his arm as he started to leave. "Not even Earl."
He hesitated, unsure of her meaning. And then it dawned upon him. "But—"
"Not even Earl, Jack. Promise."
"Okay." I promise, he mouthed.
When he left the building, he saw a late-model Chrysler parked at the bottom of the steps against the curb in the no parking zone. He recognized the man in the passenger seat—Jim Wolfe, the legal reporter who had questioned him at the lake last summer. He must have staked out the court building and followed him to the jail. Jack turned quickly, hoping that Wolfe hadn't seen him, but when he reached the corner he heard the car door slam.
"Mr. Hilliard," Wolfe called to him.
Jack waved without turning around, to signify, Not now.
"Mr. Hilliard," Wolfe called again, closer this time. "Just a moment of your time, please."
In an instant he was next to Jack, walking with him.
"Mr. Hilliard, did you see Ms. Dodson? Can you tell me what was said?"
Jack stopped abruptly. "Mister, uh, what's your name again?" he said, though he knew.
"Jim Wolfe."
"Mr. Wolfe. You're aware that I'm a lawyer."
"Yes, sir, of course, but you're not Ms. Dodson's lawyer. There's no privilege attached to your communication."
"Thank you for that little legal lesson. I'm well aware there's no privilege in a court of law, but in the court of media, it's the privilege between friends not to have their discussions plastered on the front page of tomorrow's paper." He turned and started walking again.
"Was Ms. Dodson aware that authorities searched her home late last night?"
He kept walking, trying not to let Wolfe see his surprise. The cats. The gun. There's no law against having a gun. He wondered if she had it properly registered. Strike number two. One more, would she be out?
"Has anyone informed her that the authorities think they found the murder weapon?"
The murder weapon? Her gun? He struggled to maintain his composure.
"Sir?" Wolfe persisted.
"Mr. Wolfe, as I'm sure you're aware, my office has disqualified itself from this case. I don't think it would be proper to comment on it." He had to get away from this guy and call Earl.
"Do you know whether they're going to seek the death penalty? After all, it was you who said it would be enforced in appropriate cases."
Jesus, she hadn't even been arraigned, and they were already out for blood. He suppressed the urge to turn and slug the guy. "Yes, but I'm not handling this case, am I? So I'm not making the decision. Now, as I said, I won't be commenting. You'll need to speak to Mr. Sterling."
He climbed the steps of the courthouse, Wolfe still shadowing him. Just inside, he nodded to the guard as he bypassed the metal detector. "I think Mr. Wolfe has something on him that might set it off," he said to the guard. "It's probably the belt."
"Damn it, Hilliard," the reporter muttered as he began to unbuckle.
Glancing back to make sure his ploy worked, Jack ducked into the men's room. He pulled out his phone and called Earl.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
JACK HAD BEEN to Clark & Cavanaugh's offices before, but not since Earl joined the firm. He'd assumed his first visit would be of a more celebratory nature.
Earl's office was on the twenty-eighth floor of a twenty-eight-story building. As Jack rode the elevator, he considered whether to tell him the whole truth, despite his promise to Jenny. But he recognized that part of his desire to confess had more to do with unburdening himself than with advancing Jenny's defense.
His old boss greeted him when he stepped off the elevator. "Do you feel like the top banana yet?" Earl asked as they shook hands. They hadn't seen each other since just after the election.
"Not since this case broke." He followed Earl past the receptionist's desk and down a long hall of partitioned secretarial cubicles. He lowered his voice to avoid being heard. "They picked her up on Sunday night, and I just got in to see her today."
"What was the problem?" Earl stopped at the end of the hall and waved Jack on into the corner office without waiting for an answer to the question. Jack heard him request coffee as he wandered into the large room. His eyes were immediately drawn to the walls of glass and the pink reflection of the late afternoon sun on the towering legs of the Arch. He edged closer to the windows and looked down at the river.
"They even gave you a corner office, huh?" he commented when Earl joined him.
"I don't have many clients yet, but I've got a name. That's worth just as much if not more."
Jack felt himself blush, but if Earl noticed, he ignored it. "So why'd you have trouble getting in to see her?" he asked. He sat on a leather couch in front of the south-facing window and motioned for Jack to take a seat.
"I'm not sure, exactly. That asshole from Franklin County kept jerking me around. Claimed he wasn't sure if I could see her, even though the whole office has disqualified itself."
"That's bullshit."
"Tell me about it."
Earl loosened his tie and undid his top button. "Can I give you some advice?"
"Don't you always? Why should it be any different now that you're here?"
"I'm serious, Jack."
"So am I."
"If you don't act like the boss, they're not going to treat you like the boss. I don't care if you're new to the job. No more Mr. Nice Guy. You need to assert yours
elf. Raise your voice if you have to. It's a different game now."
Indignation crept through Jack's body. It was as if Earl was accusing him of acting. "I am who I am, Earl."
"That's true. And I respect that, obviously. Just don't worry too much about making friends."
Jack nodded.
"So what's going on?"
"I don't know. I just know she didn't do it."
Earl cleared his throat. He leaned back into the couch with his hands behind his head and frowned. "Well, despite your friendship with her, I beg to differ about what you 'know.' As a prosecutor, you're well aware that stranger things have happened."
Jack tensed. "I said, I know she didn't do it. I don't want you representing her unless you believe that."
Silence filled the room. Jack's insistence that Earl accept Jenny's innocence without question was unwarranted, and they both knew it. It wasn't what he was paid to do. The challenge remained unanswered when a knock at the door announced the arrival of their coffee.
"Okay," Earl said when the secretary had left. "We'll just skip the topic of guilt or innocence for now. You're too close. Why don't you tell me about your visit to the jail?"
Jack considered repeating his demand but thought better of it. He was too close, but not in the way Earl thought. He feared that if he pushed the issue, he'd be tempted to reveal his involvement just to convince him.
"She told me some stuff that leads me to believe she's been set up."
"Go on. I can tell you already have a suspect."
"You'll think this sounds crazy, but I've got a feeling that Newman's involved."
"Well, there's obviously some connection. They claim they've been investigating her."
Earl's lack of shock at Jack's suggestion reassured him. "Right, right. Mendelsohn claims so. I'll get to that in a sec." Jack was eager to tell Earl everything at once; he tried to slow down.
"Listen, she was brought in Sunday night, right? She told me she called Rob Kollman, but no one's been over to talk to her yet. And get this: she told me she thought her arraignment was scheduled for sometime next week."
"What's that prove, except they're inept." He waved away Jack's concern. "I'll have her out by tomorrow."
Jack knew Earl never really respected the big firms that practiced only civil law. To Earl, if it wasn't criminal law, it wasn't real law. Everything else represented nothing more than a means of transferring wealth.
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