Page 86 of Two Kinds of Stranger

All the desk lamps were lit. Denise was brewing coffee. Harry was leaning on a desk, talking with Kate. Bloch was at her computer and Lake must’ve been out somewhere, probably still trying to chase down Joe Novak.

Amy dumped her backpack on the ground, ran over to Harry and threw her arms round him, burying her head in his chest.

‘It’s going to be okay, sweetheart,’ he said, and his gaze fixed on me. Harry’s misty brown eyes were filled with sadness and dread.

As Amy relaxed her arms, and then stared up at him, he softened his look and tried to smile.

‘Your old man is about the best lawyer I ever saw. Apart from me, of course. And Kate here, she’s the next great one. Your mom and Kevin are in safe hands. We’re going to make sure this mess is all cleared up.’

Turning, Amy looked down to find Clarence, panting and nudging at her leg. She bent down and petted and stroked the dog. He licked her face, and she giggled. It was the first time I’d seen her smile in a long time. That little laugh was a strange sound, coming from my daughter. She’d been crying all day, and her throat was raw. It sounded like the laughter hurt.

‘Want some pizza?’ asked Bloch.

She hesitated, then nodded, and Bloch led her into the kitchen. Amy got another hug from Denise and then Denise fixed her a paper plate with a large slice and a soda, and took her to the conference room. Amy sat at our conference table, eating her pizza, sipping on a Diet Pepsi and flicking through social media on her phone.

Bloch came back to the reception area and sat on a desk.

‘How is she doing?’ asked Kate.

‘Not good. What about Elly?’ I said.

‘She’s back at the hotel. Bernice got the bail pushed through in night court. How’s Christine and Kevin?’ asked Harry.

‘They’re just about hanging together. They’ll have tonight in booking and then they should get bail in the morning. No record, major assets to put up for collateral and they’re both lawyers. Even the craziest judge won’t deny bail. Cross was found shot through the head at his front door. Cops recovered the murder weapon hidden in the long grass outside his house. The serial number on the barrel was registered to Kevin. They’d both been arrested and questioned for the attack on Cross, and he had obtained a restraining order. It’s not looking good. I haven’t told Amy half of this yet. She’ll find out soon enough.’

Folding her arms, her head bent low, Kate approached me. She looked like she had something to say that I didn’t want to hear. She stopped inches from me, looked up and I saw her lips move and heard her voice falter.

‘Harry. . .Harry and I have been talking. I–we–think you should step back from this one and let us handle it. You’re too close on this case. Your emotions. . .’

‘I have an emotional involvement with the clients. I get it.’

Representing someone you love is a bad idea. It can cloud your judgement. It’s like running a trial wearing a pair ofblinkers–you won’t see the roundhouse punch coming from the prosecution.

Harry said, ‘I need your word on this, Eddie. Promise me now – you’re agreeing to step back and let Kate and I handle the case. You’ve never gone back on your word to me. Not once in all our long friendship. Promise me.’

I held up my hands, said, ‘I give you my word. I think it’s for the. . .’

I was exhausted and my daughter had been crying for hours. My ex-wife, who I still loved, was in a prison cell and accused of a crime that could see her put behind bars for the rest of her life. My brain and my heart were fried, but I could still read people.

‘Wait, what are you not telling me?’ I asked.

‘You’ve promised,’ he said.

‘What are you not telling me?’

‘Here, drink this,’ said Denise, as she sidled up to me with a cup of hot coffee.

I took the mug, and brought it to my lips.

‘We got an email from the court office. The DA is fast-tracking this case. Grand jury in two days. We think he has a plan,’ said Harry.

‘Wait. . .you’re kidding me?’

Harry shook his head, said, ‘I think Castro is going to take this one on himself. He still has beef with you. We don’t know for sure, but there’s only one reason I can think of to fast-track this trial. On the same day Bernice is making her opening statement to the jury in Elly’s case, we think Castro wants to open the prosecution case against Christine and Kevin.’

‘He wants to set those trials for the same date to fuck with us?’ I asked.

‘He hates you and he wants us under pressure, hoping we’ll mess up. I don’t know for sure that’s what he’s up to, but it’s my best guess,’ said Harry.