- •If the nine of us had a vote, Rafter would be the first sacrificial lamb. Eight to one.
- •I doubted if the Yale money went to feed needy students. "Well, the United Way spreads the money around the city, and I'm sure some of it went to help the poor."
- •Invention failed me. "None," I said softly.
- •I flipped through the papers as Mister walked to the windows and peeked around the
- •Instead of shooting Colburn, he aimed at Nuzzo and repeated the three questions. Nnzzo
- •I could see our friends and a squadron of cops flying across the city, through rash-hour
- •I didn't know. There was blood on my face and shirt, and a sticky liquid that a doctor
- •I met Claire the week after I moved to d.C. I was just out of Yale with a great job in a
- •It's standard procedure in that situation--they notify the hospitals, and everyone is placed
- •It was busy and dusty and I was fascinated with the place.
- •It was a soft jab, and I was not in the mood to spar. "Do you know if he had aids?"
- •I saw a paralegal scanning blueprints at a desk next to a secretarial pool, and I asked him
- •I smiled again and nodded my agreement. An ass and a fool. If Chance had been pleasant
- •I was tiring of the games. I could tell she was pleased that my brush with death had
- •It was over. And I hated to tell my mother.
- •I don't know which of my parents got the worst end of my visit. My mother wanted
- •It was my life, not his.
- •I drove alone on the narrow paved trail while he stalked down the fairway chasing his
- •Vengeance. Two more volunteers manned the stove. Several hauled the food to the
- •I tried to understand this. "Then where do these people live?"
- •Volunteers stepped forward to help. One parked them in a corner near the kitchen and
- •I hadn't planned on sleeping with these people. Nor had I planned on leaving the building
- •I thought about Claire for the first time in several hours. How would she react if she knew
- •I squatted close to him, and held out a cookie. His eyes glowed and he grabbed it. I
- •I didn't smell anything foul, though I was certain I could feel lice jumping from its head
- •I hadn't dreamed of parting with my fabulous car. I was almost offended.
- •It was dim, cold, and empty. He flipped on light switches and began talking. "There are
- •In eighty-six; must've been a hundred years old. He made a ton of money, and late in life
- •In the summer, cuts down on the street traffic. You want coffee?"
- •I listened intently, and he could read my mind. Mordecai began to reel me in.
- •I raced to the sidewalk, sliding in the snow but staying on my feet, then down p Street to
- •I must have made a strange sound, because a jogger gave me an odd look, as if I might be
- •I didn't want to sit in the car by myself, but by then I trusted him with my life anyway.
- •I cursed Mister for derailing my life. I cursed Mordecai for making me feel guilty. And
- •Vintage Warner. I had a problem, he already had the solution. Nice and neat. Twelve
- •It was almost five before I found a few minutes alone. I said good-bye to Polly, and
- •In a tight booth.
- •Invitation. Mordecai had something on his mind. I could tell by the way his eyes followed
- •I called in sick tuesday. "Probably the flu," I told polly, who, as she was trained to do,
- •I was alone, with my choice of seating. I walked quietly to a spot above the rear door,
- •Its leaders who allowed such a thing to happen. She blamed Congress, especially the
- •I closed the door, sat down. "Thought you were sick," he said.
- •It was a very nice apartment; at twenty-four hundred a month it should've been even nicer.
- •I put a log on the fire, fixed another drink, and slept on the sofa.
- •I was impressed and touched by the idea, and I could not simply dismiss it. I promised
- •I cut the editorial from the paper, folded it, and placed it in my wallet.
- •Immediately known that we were up to something.
- •Very somber Rudolph that a bad precedent could be set. With a firm so large, granting a
- •It was getting dark, and Sofia seemed anxious to leave. Abraham retreated to his office.
- •I stuffed the pills in my pockets. Leon was napping in the car. As we sped away, I called
- •I explained why I was there. He found a clipboard and studied papers stuck to it. In the
- •It would be our last meal together as husband and wife, ending the same way we'd begun,
- •I walked to m Street, in a light rain that was turning to sleet, and in significant pain.
- •It was an assault, a burst of personality that put me on my heels. I shook hands, reeling,
- •I caught a very faint smile, a relaxing around the eyes, nothing a surveillance camera
- •Impression he would have rather stayed in bed.
- •Into a pile on the bed--socks, underwear, tee shirts, miletries, shoes, but only the ones I
- •I believed him. He'd been a friend for seven years, close at times. More often than not,
- •If Braden Chance had made the connection between the eviction and Lontae Burton, he
- •I go play tennis for two weeks on Maui, then when we return you go back to your plush
- •In the past fifteen years, two and a half million low-cost housing units have been
- •Violate their leases, which can lead to eviction. They move around, sometimes they leave
- •I wrote down these instructions as if they were complicated. Waylene was owed two
- •Verified it. Mordecai said, "va is a good agency. We'll get the checks sent here."
- •Vision of Claire sitting in her lawyer's fine office, at that very moment, finalizing plans to
- •I was in no hurry to leave the clinic at the end of my first day. Home was an empty attic,
- •Very thin. I ignored him. "Your names please," I said to the two uniformed cops. They
- •Indicating how much he paid for it."
- •I almost asked why the city didn't intervene and enforce its laws, but fortunately I caught
- •Intake room, and disappeared. We set up our clinic, and were ready to dispense advice.
- •I was spellbound by his story. With every client I had met so far during my brief career as
- •I walked several blocks and stopped at a busy corner. Leaning on a building, I dialed
- •I grunted and gave him my best smart-ass laugh. "The arrest warrant usually follows the
- •Into the parking lots were of the midsized commuter variety, mostly clean and with all
- •In cars, begging for coins, counting the hours until she could see him, then being ignored
- •I removed each file from my cabinets, waved them under Gasko's nose, and returned
- •I noticed something I should have seen before. There were different levels of
- •Interest in leaving me alone; the two searches were clear proof that Arthur on the top
- •Initially. In the event we recovered damages, the family would be a nightmare. It was safe
- •It was already a habit.
- •I wasn't about to scold her. I had done nothing since the day before to help her find
- •It was a small step, but not an insignificant one.
- •It was Friday afternoon. I might not survive a weekend in the city jail.
- •I closed my eyes and tried to get comfortable, which I found impossible to do while
- •If searching for a dime. Finding none, he pointed and grunted at a metal detector, which I
- •Voice was calling for a guard. The punk with my jacket did not put it on. The cell
- •I wasn't hungry, but I thought about food. I had no toothbrush. I didn't need the toilet, but
- •Incarceration was over. Sofia waited outside with her car, and they whisked me away.
- •I left my apartment just before sunrise, Saturday, in a rush to find the nearest newspaper.
- •It sounded like a silly little spat--a bunch of lawyers quibbling over nothing but
- •I was not going to be sucked into an argument I couldn't win. "Are you going to Naomi's
- •I almost ran a red light. She was sleeping on the office doorstep at sunrise; she was barely
- •I drank tea with a Catholic priest at the Redeemer Mission off Rhode Island. He studied
- •I thanked her for calling, and we promised to keep in touch. When I laid the cell phone
- •I left as soon as I could. She invited me to return for lunch. We could eat in her office,
- •I once rode.
- •I arrived at the Associated Life Building shortly after seven Monday morning. The day
- •It was so familiar!
- •Important people, Hector had been found by the only person he was running from.
- •Indexed into the file. You did this because you knew Braden Chance would remove it at
- •In d.C. And we've talked to the guard who was with you on January twenty-seventh."
- •Interest in talking. Hector asked how much rent was being charged for the apartments,
- •I watched ten minutes of the second half, then left with spasms in my back, aftereffects of
- •I thanked them and left. The motel was at least ten miles from our office. I called Megan
- •If I couldn't keep her locked away in suburban motels for three nights, then how was I
- •I stared at the phone long after our conversation was over. I did not want to see Warner,
- •Ignored.
- •I told him the story, stretching it out with every detail because I was in control of the
- •I took a deep breath and enjoyed the humor of his question. He relaxed too. We were too
- •I waved him off and walked away.
- •Vehicles behind it. A large, toothy dog with a chain around its neck guarded the front. I
- •I left Megan at Naomi's, and promised to call later in the afternoon. Ruby had become a
- •Valuable. There appeared to be no motive. He encountered a street person in some
- •It had been many years since a member of Congress had been shot in Washington.
- •I vowed to get a bed. I was losing too much sleep floundering on the floor, trying to
- •In a lengthy article, he examined each of the three defendants, beginning with RiverOaks.
- •It was twenty minutes past nine when I arrived with my lawyer at the Carl Moultrie
- •It was only a first appearance! I would stand before the Judge while he read the charges. I
- •I nodded in agreement. It certainly felt unusual to me.
- •In the midst of this sad obituary, a glimmer of hope sprang forth. After Temeko arrived,
- •In his finest moment, he dwelt on street crime, and the deterioration of our cities. (His
- •Implied that he thought so, but bring in Justice!
- •I followed her into the front room, where in the center Mr. Deese sat next to her desk. He
- •I almost hoped the police would sweep the streets again.
- •In a hallowed corner of the building I'd never been near. Mordecai was treated like a visiting dignitary by the receptionist and staff--his coat was quickly taken, his coffee
- •Interest in judicial proceedings in Omaha. He knew what he could do with a jury in the
- •Individual wrongs; they are sometimes used as pulpits.
- •I drove to the Georgetown Law School near Capitol Hill. The library was open until
- •I wanted to take my seat in the jury box, listen to it all, and not be bothered by anyone.
- •If at trial we proved the defendants liable, the jury would then consider the issue of
- •It was a spellbinding performance, given off the cuff with the skill of a gifted storyteller.
- •It was the perfect case for the levying of punitive damages, and there was little doubt in
- •I caught a few stares from Rafter, but who cared. He and the rest were anxious to get their
- •I was unlocking the car when the cell phone rattled in my pocket. It was Judge DeOrio.
- •I avoided the jury box and sat next to Mordecai. Wilma Phelan had left.
- •Involved in this mess, and we'll have us an old-fashioned spitting contest." He pointed at
- •Voices would be heard through ours.
- •I was too surprised to say much, so I just listened. I wished Mordecai could hear him.
- •I didn't dare think of the future; the past was still happening.
Implied that he thought so, but bring in Justice!
Since the lawsuit had taken center stage, a fresh new group of culprits was being blamed
for the tragedy. Fingerpointing at City Hall had slowed considerably. Insults to and from
Congress had stopped. Those who'd felt the heat of the first accusations were vigorously
and happily shifting blame to the big law firm and its rich client.
Ruby was fascinated with the Burton story. I gave her a quick summary of the lawsuit
and the fallout since it had been filed.
Drake & Sweeney was battered again by the paper. Its lawyers had to be asking
themselves, "When will it end?"
Not for a while.
On the bottom corner of the front page was a brief story about the Postal Service's
decision to halt the bulk-mail project in Northeast Washington. The controversy
surrounding the purchase of the land, the warehouse, the litigation involving RiverOaks
and Gantry--all were factors in the decision.
RiverOaks lost its twenty-million-dollar project. RiverOaks would react like any other
aggressive real estate developer who'd spent almost a million dollars in cash purchasing
useless inner-city property. RiverOaks would go after its lawyers.
The pressure swelled some more.
We scanned world events. All earthquake in Peru caught Ruby's attention, and we read
about it. On to Metro, where the first words I saw made my heart stop. Under the same
photo of Kito Spires, the same except twice as large and even more menacing, was the
headline: KITO SPIRES FOUND SHOT TO DEATH. The story recounted Friday's
introduction of Mr. Spires as a player in the Burton drama, then gave the scant details of
his death. No witnesses, no clues, nothing. Just another street punk shot in the District.
"You okay?" Ruby asked, waking me from my trance.
"Uh, sure," I said, trying to breathe again.
"Why ain't you reading?"
Because I was too stunned to read aloud. I had to quickly scan every word to see if the
name of Tillman Gantry was mentioned. It was not.
And why not? It was obvious to me what had happened. The kid had enjoyed his moment
in the spotlight, said too much, made trimself too valuable to the plaintiffs case, and was
too easy a target.
I read the story to her, slowly, listening to every sound around us, watching the front door,
hoping Mordecai would arrive shortly.
Gantry had spoken. Other witnesses from the streets would either remain quiet or
disappear after we found them. Killing witnesses was bad enough. What would I do if
Gantry came after the lawyers?
In the midst of my terror, I suddenly realized the story was beneficial to our side of the
case. We had lost a potentially crucial witness, but Kito's credibility would have caused
problems. Drake & Sweeney was mentioned again, in the third story of the morning, in
connection with the killing of a nineteen-year-old criminal. The firm had been toppled
from its loftiness and was now in the gutter, its proud name mentioned in the same
paragraphs as murdered street thugs.
I took myself back a month, before Mister and everything that followed, and I pictured
myself reading the same paper at my desk before sunrise. And I imagined that I had read
the other stories and had learned that the most serious allegations in the lawsuit were
indeed true. What would I do?
There was no doubt. I would be raising hell with Rudolph Mayes, my supervising partner,
who likewise would be raising hell with the executive committee, and I would be meeting
with my peers, the other senior associates in the firm. We would demand that the matter
be settled and laid to rest before more damage was inflicted. We would insist that a trial
be avoided at all costs.
We would make all sorts of demands.
And I suspected most of the senior associates and all the partners were doing exactly
what I would be doing. With that much racket in the hallways, very little work was being
done. Very few hours were being billed. The firm was in chaos.
"Keep going," Ruby said, again waking me.
We raced through Metro, in part because I wanted to see if perhaps there was a fourth
story. No such luck. There was, however, a story about the street sweeps being conducted
by the police in response to the Burkholder shooting. An advocate for the homeless was
bitterly criticizing the operation, and threatening litigation. Ruby loved the story. She
thought it wonderful that so much was being written about the homeless.
I drove her to Naomi's, where she was greeted like an old friend. The women hugged her
and passed her around the room, squeezing and even crying. I spent a few minutes flirting
with Megan in the kitchen, but my mind was not on romance.
* * *
Sofia had a full house when I returned to the office. The foot traffic was heavy; five
clients were sitting against the wall by nine o'clock. She was on the phone, terrorizing
someone in Spanish. I stepped into Mordecai's office to make sure he had seen the paper.
He was reading it with a smile. We agreed to meet in an hour to discuss the lawsuit.
I quietly closed my office door and began pulling files. In two weeks, I had opened
ninety-one of them, and closed thirty-eight. I was falling behind, and I needed a hard
morning fighting the phone to catch up. It would not happen.
Sofia knocked, and since the door would not latch, she pushed it open while still tapping
it. No Hello. No Excuse me.
"Where is that list of people evicted from the warehouse?" she asked. She had a pencil
stuck behind each ear, and reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. The woman
had things to do.
The list was always nearby. I handed it to her, and she took a quick look. "Bingo," she
said. "What?" I asked, rising to my feet.
"Number eight, Marquis Deese," she said. "I thought that name was familiar."
"Familiar?"
"Yes, he's sitting at my desk. Picked up last night in Lafayette Park, across from the white
House, and dumped at Logan Circle. Got caught in a sweep. It's your lucky day."