Hot Lawyers: The Lee Christine Collection

by Lee Christine

  Her thoughts returned to the present as she heard Nate introducing Luke to Dickson.

  Then suddenly, there was no more to be said.

  It was time.

  Luke passed Nate an A4 white envelope. ‘The details are there, but to give you an overall picture of the Grace and Poole side of things, Henry Grace is siphoning huge amounts of cash into the firm’s lending company, writing bogus receipts using made up names. The money is deposited into the account, then loaned to various clients. Nothing unusual about that. Law firms do it all the time. It’s just another type of lending. The difference here, is that the sheer volume of cash has enabled them to become a substantial lender of vast funds. The money is paid back monthly with interest, so there’s cash constantly being withdrawn and deposited. It’s effective. Grace can clean the money pretty quickly through that account.’

  Nate’s brows drew together in a frown. ‘What about Simon Poole?’

  Luke shook his head. ‘There’s nothing to indicate he’s involved with the day to day administration of the lending company. That’s primarily due to the areas of law the partners practise in. Grace is corporate and investment, Poole litigation. It’s always operated along those lines by the looks of it.’

  The room turned silent as each person digested the information.

  Then Dickson shook his head, looked up from where he’d been staring at the carpet. ‘Why on earth would a man in Henry Grace’s position risk his career like that?’

  ‘I looked into Henry Grace’s family this afternoon,’ Nate said. ‘There’s a son prone to multiple dependency problems. Drugs, alcohol and gambling. Goes back ten years or more. He’s been cautioned a number of times, and at some point received a good behaviour bond. It’s a miracle he’s stayed out of prison.’

  ‘Daddy’s paying someone off?’ offered Dickson.

  Josie stood with the men, worry eating at the lining of her stomach. It was bad enough these things were taking place in the firm where she and Allegra worked, but it was nothing compared to the immobilising fear threatening to overwhelm her as she waited for them to get onto the subject of “providence”.

  But Nate hadn’t finished.

  ‘I also discovered Ong Chung’s an illegal immigrant. I suspected as much. He’s laundering money to keep someone quiet.’

  There was a poignant silence, as if they all knew what was coming next, and no-one was willing to broach the subject.

  Panic welled up inside Josie, her gaze meshing with Nate’s for a nanosecond before they all looked at Luke.

  ‘Is it okay to reveal this with everyone present?’ Luke asked.

  There was no doubt Allegra’s husband was a class act, and for the first time Josie realised how similar the two men were. Both tall and handsome, Nate a half dozen years younger, as dark as Luke was fair. But what was obvious, was the mutual respect with which they treated each other.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Nate replied, his eyes resting on her face, ‘provided the information stays privy to the people in this room, until I say otherwise.’

  A muscle tensed in his cheek as he looked from Luke to Dickson and back again. Both men nodded, and then Luke began to speak.

  ‘Tom managed to access the records of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the Australian Taxation Office, various banking institutions in Australia and off-shore, and one of the major accounting firms here in Sydney. The money trail was so well disguised, only someone of Tom’s capability would be able to navigate through the triple encryption and so on. He spoofed emails to gather information. The replies he received are printed off and in that envelope.’

  Dickson looked at Nate. ‘Can we use those as admissible evidence if he obtained the information illegally?’

  ‘I don’t see why not,’ Nate replied. ‘It’s sub-contracted work while undercover. Neilson’s is a registered security firm, and he has a good relationship with the police.’

  Josie was beginning to sweat, the sickness in her stomach growing worse by the second so she wanted to run from the room. Then, just when she thought she couldn’t stand it any longer, Luke turned towards her.

  ‘I hate to break this distressing news to you, Josie, but it appears your father is involved in the same criminal operations as Henry Grace.’

  Josie’s mind screamed, a flash of heat engulfing her body.

  She stared at Luke, could see his lips moving, but the aboriginal artwork hanging behind him disappeared in a wall of spots. She stepped towards the bed, room tilting at a one-eighty degree angle.

  She staggered, darkness encroaching, vision retreating.

  Nate lunged at her, said her name, voice drowned out by the growing pressure in her skull.

  Then suddenly she was standing in the ocean, wet sand sliding between her toes, hands trailing in the water as the sea raced around her. The sand fell away, and she lost her footing, dragged under by a vortex of water. She struggled, gasped, kicked her legs and tried to break the surface, reached for the pinprick of light way above her.

  And then a giant wave swelled beneath her body, a moving mountain of water lifting her up into the sunlight and propelling her forward. She looked at the shoreline, teetered on the very crest of the wave for what seemed an eternity.

  Finally, the wave unleashed its force, breaking with a powerful energy, gathering her up and tumbling her body over and over in the white wash.

  The wave raced towards the shoreline, where it dumped her onto the hard, wet sand.

  Hurtling her into oblivion.

  ‘Josie. Come on, princess, wake up.’

  Nate’s voice. Kind, gentle, regretful.

  That couldn’t be right. He’d been angry and accusing.

  Why?

  She couldn’t remember. She’d been tempted to tell him to leave her the fuck alone, but he didn’t like her swearing, and she was ashamed, so ashamed.

  Behind closed lids, Josie continued to spin in the darkness, nauseous, like the time she’d gone on that roller coaster in the dark, like the time she’d drank…

  That’s it!

  She remembered now.

  Nate was furious because she’d drunk too many Bacardi Breezers. He’d gone on and on, lecturing her on the dangers of binge drinking.

  ‘Princess — please?’

  So why was he speaking to her now like he loved her?

  She moved her head in the direction of his voice, felt the brush of a soft pillow on her cheek, a firm mattress supporting her body. But something evil prowled on the edge of her consciousness, patient, like a stalking animal.

  Something she didn’t want to face.

  Then all at once, everything came rushing back — the revelation and the hurt. The pain and the shame.

  Josie forced her eyes open, groaning as three sets of male eyes turned to study her face. Nate was sitting on the side of the bed, Dickson standing at the foot. And over by the door, Luke was ringing for a doctor and saying something about getting Allegra.

  She grasped whatever the wet thing was on her forehead and flung it away, ignoring the worry etched on Nate’s face.

  ‘Let me up.’ She struggled up on her elbows, but the room lurched sickeningly, and Nate’s big body wasn’t going anywhere. In the end, she had to lie back against the pillows.

  He reached for her, but she slapped at him, furious at the way he’d treated her like a criminal. ‘Don’t touch me.’

  He nodded, withdrew his hands, shock darkening his whiskey coloured eyes. Behind him, Dickson and Luke moved out into the corridor, closing the door quietly behind them.

  ‘You fainted,’ he said quietly.

  ‘No kidding.’ She averted her face, refusing to look at him.

  ‘There’s something you need to understand. I…’

  ‘Jesus! My life is falling apart and you want to talk.’ Furious at the way he’d treated her, furious at her father, for whatever the fuck he’d done, Josie couldn’t take any more.

  ‘Go away, Nate. Go away and leave me alone.’
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br />   ‘I think you’d better leave, sir. You’re upsetting the lady.’

  They turned at the sound of a strange voice. Luke was holding the door open and a Doctor was standing in the room, medical bag in hand.

  Nate got slowly to his feet, adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he raised a hand at the doctor. ‘Just give me a minute.’

  He rested his hands lightly on his hips and stood looking down at her for a full ten seconds. ‘I’m moving you into a bigger suite upstairs. Allegra’s on her way over. She and Luke will stay with you until this is over.’

  Josie’s hands bunched around the sheet. Even now, after what he’d done, she wanted to tell him to be careful, because she loved him, and she couldn’t bear to see him hurt.

  How’s that for screwed up?

  One week in Nate Hunter’s company, and his betrayal had devastated her more than her fathers. Why? Because he was a better man, and she’d expected more of him than she had of her own parents.

  Then suddenly he reached out and trailed a finger along her jaw, and her heart contracted as she remembered his rage when Simpson had struck her.

  ‘You and I are going to have a conversation when this is over, do you hear me?’

  Too choked up to answer, she kept her face averted. If she looked at Nate now she’d fall apart in front of everyone.

  ‘Josie?’

  She could have sworn there was a catch in his voice.

  ‘Sir…’

  He swung away then, pausing to speak to the doctor in a low voice. She couldn’t hear everything he said, but she picked up the words “shock” and “look after her”.

  And then Nate was gone, closing the door behind him with a final click that made her throat ache.

  And she was alone with the doctor, while Luke stood guard at the door.

  Chapter 28

  3:00 p.m. Monday — Three day later

  Josie ran down the sweeping staircase, crossed the foyer where Luke’s two security guards were stationed, and went into the family room.

  Allegra was sitting on the modular lounge, files and papers spread out everywhere, her west highland white terrier, Astro, at her feet. She looked up as Josie came in. ‘Is she sleeping?’

  Josie nodded and flopped down beside her, lifting Astro into her lap when he tried to jump up on the lounge. Somehow, the little dog seemed to understand she needed comforting.

  ‘The half sleeping tablet the doctor gave her worked. She needed it, she’s exhausted.’

  Josie was exhausted too, but unlike her mother, disinclined to go to bed. Bed made her long for Nate, so the last two nights she’d wrapped herself in a blanket and slept on the lounge. It didn’t help. Every time she closed her eyes she relived being held in his strong arms, relived cuddling into the hard heat of his body, relived the feel of his lips moving over hers.

  Then she got angry, telling herself to be strong and accept that life had changed irrevocably, that she’d changed irrevocably. Her head understood what her heart couldn’t, that today was the first day of the rest of her life and that Nate belonged in her past — inextricably woven into the first twenty years.

  And it had to be that way.

  Nate was like Allegra, tireless in his dedication to put criminals behind bars, while she was the offspring of the biggest organised crime boss in New South Wales.

  Sydney’s “overseer”.

  The “Mr Big”.

  The “lynchpin”, or whatever the hell you wanted to call him — and the media were calling him everything.

  Dragging her thoughts back to the present, she watched as Allegra got up and went into the kitchen to boil the kettle.

  ‘I have to say, I’m surprised Mum’s cougar friends have been so supportive. I thought most people we know would be sending us death threats.’

  Allegra leaned against the island bench, effortlessly elegant in a black stretchy top and skinny jeans. ‘These kinds of situations bring out the best and worst in people. At least you get to find out who your friends are.’

  Josie nodded, thinking her pragmatic boss was definitely her best friend. ‘I’d like to think, after all these years, there’s hope for me and mum.’

  Allegra nodded. ‘I’m sure there is.’

  They were silent for a bit, the only sound the whir of the water heating.

  ‘What is that by the way?’ Allegra asked, pointing to the pyramid of crystal glasses still gracing the centre of the bench.

  ‘A martini fountain. It was supposed to be for my birthday party.’

  Where once Josie had been embarrassed by the elaborate display, now it only made her feel sad for her mother.

  Allegra tilted her head to one side and studied the intricate arrangement. ‘It’s very cool. I like it.’

  Josie stroked Astro’s warm body and watched her friend set out two mugs. Allegra always insisted on making the coffee, her argument being she couldn’t cook anything, so she may as well make the coffee.

  ‘Shouldn’t you be in the office, Ally? We’re fine here, really. Luke has the place surrounded.’

  Allegra smiled and poured boiling water into two mugs. ‘Simon’s back from the U.S. The firm’s in damage control. There’s enough going on in there as it is.’

  Josie sighed, recalling the TV images of the police going into Grace and Poole.

  On Saturday, Nate had spearheaded a number of tactical operations teams in a co-ordinated series of raids across Sydney and some country areas. After two years undercover, he’d finally succeeded in smashing one of the biggest drug rings in Australia, making multiple arrests, her father among them.

  The same day, Luke had checked her out of the hotel and brought her home so she could be with her mother. For the past two days, six of his security guards had patrolled the property, keeping the media and interested onlookers at bay.

  He and Allegra had virtually moved in.

  ‘I always wondered how I scored that job interview at Grace and Poole,’ Josie mused. ‘Now I know.’

  Allegra gave her a stern look as she carried over their mugs. ‘Whether or not your father pulled strings with Henry Grace is irrelevant now. You’re a very capable P.A., and being without you last week reinforced that to me.’

  ‘Thanks, Ally.’

  Josie reached up and took the mug from Allegra. In the days since her father’s arrest, she’d spent almost every minute rehashing and re-evaluating her life. Looking back, knowing what she did now, many things were put in perspective. The strange thing was, while she’d never been satisfied with her family life on any level, she found herself grieving for it now. Better the devil you know as the saying went. Only when she was talking to her mother, did the reflection stop for a short while.

  ‘He never wanted me to do the music thing, you know. He pressed me to accept the job at Grace and Poole, said he’d feel better knowing I was safe.’

  To her horror, her voice broke again. Not that she needed to be embarrassed by crying in front of Allegra. She’d been doing it off and on for the past three days.

  ‘You can’t think everything he told you was a lie, Josie. For all you know, that could have been true.’

  ‘It’s disgusting isn’t it; the parent I thought I was closest to financed our lifestyle feeding drugs to kids. And the one I thought distant, deliberately kept me at arm’s length, even put me in boarding school, to protect me — from this.’

  Allegra took a sip of her coffee. ‘You can live with people for a lifetime and never know them, just look at some of the cases we’ve had at the office. We’ve had women living with murderers, serial killers even, and what about that bigamist who was supporting an entire second family? His wife had no idea. Makes me thankful every day I have Luke.’

  Josie smiled over the rim of her mug. ‘Luke is the furthest thing from a bigamist I can imagine.’

  They laughed at that, and it felt good, the camaraderie cheering her after the shock and tension of the past three days. It gave Josie the courage to voice her most worrying thought.
‘Will Mum be charged do you think?’

  Allegra shook her head. ‘They would have to prove she committed a crime for her to be charged.’

  ‘But suppose she was.’ Josie knew she was being negative, but she couldn’t help it. The last few days had been such a shock, she kept bracing herself for the next big hit. ‘Would they take her good character into consideration?’

  ‘Absolutely, that’s why I don’t think you have much to worry about. In the unlikely event she is charged, her charity work, the money she’s raised in the community, would all be taken into account.’

  Josie nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. This hideous thing had finally brought her closer to her mother. She wasn’t ready to lose her again.

  ‘Here’s the news.’ Allegra moved suddenly, pointing the remote at the flat screen and turning up the volume.

  And then Josie’s heart began to pound as Nate came on the screen. Dressed in a suit and tie, he was fronting some kind of press conference with the New South Wales Commissioner of Police.

  Josie leaned forward, eyes drinking him in. It was the first time she’d seen him since he’d left her with the doctor, and he looked tired and drawn. Still, if anyone could make tired and drawn look sexy, Nate Hunter could. Clean shaven, dark hair trimmed and combed, his white shirt contrasted sharply with his tanned face. Whiskey coloured eyes looked unflinchingly into the camera as flashbulbs exploded around him and the Commissioner began answering questions from the assembled media.

  Was it only a week since Lizard Mulvaney’s call? A week since she’d locked up this house in a panic and he’d run her off the road in the National Park? A week since she’d cut his hair in the bathroom, and he’d made her a microwave meal.

  Tears slipped down her cheeks, the pounding in her chest turning to a sore ache. She was vaguely aware of Astro stirring in her lap, of Allegra taking the mug from her hands.

  And then a young man addressed his next question to Nate.

  ‘Detective Hunter. With the Altar Boys aware they had an undercover officer in their midst for two years, do you fear retaliation? Are you scared for your life?’