Dead Ringer

Be

“Well, Linette comes in here, trying to buy us. By the way, we’re saying no, right?” She glanced at Be

“Table that for now. Go ahead with the theory.”

“Like we always do, think of who benefits from Robert’s death. If Robert is dead, then the only viable competition for lead plaintiff is gone. Linette wins the jackpot, lead plaintiff and lead counsel fees. And he gets to represent the entire class, and get their fees, too. Just what he wanted.”

“Linette.” Be

“If it’s worth twenty to thirty million dollars in fees?” Carrier answered. “Sure. Remember, you thought Mayer would kill to be lead plaintiff, and you were right to suspect that. Money is a powerful motive, I don’t have to remind everybody of that, and look at the other facts that point to Linette.” She held up her index finger, with its chewed fingernail. “First off, the timing is too coincidental. Right after you kick Linette’s ass in court, he finds another way to eliminate the competition. I mean, Be

Be

“And everybody in town was talking about that Belgian guy’s murder, and Linette knows all about that. Let’s say he figures Robert’s murder would fit right in the pattern. And it does, which is why the police think it’s the tourist killer. How easy is that to fake?”

Be

“Point two.” Carrier held up a second finger. “There’s the humiliation factor, with Linette. Be

“Possible.”

“Worse, Linette may have spent the afternoon on the phone, taking calls from the other members of the plaintiff class, trying to plug leaks in the dam. He could see that his plaintiffs would defect to you, and so he needed you out of the action. So he kills Robert. It’s the same rationale that you’re using now, to think about his offer to buy us.”

“If I find the successor, we can still stay on the case.”

“That’s a big if, and time matters. Maybe Linette will go to the successor too. Who knows who that is?” Carrier’s voice got higher, in her enthusiasm. “See? It’s the perfect plan, if Linette is the killer. Take St. Amien out, cut you out, then buy you out.”

Murphy raised a sharp pencil, like a schoolgirl. “But why doesn’t Linette just offer to buy her, and not kill Robert? Why murder someone and take the risk of getting caught?”

Carrier thought a second, but only a second. A Boalt grad, she had the credentials of a legal scholar. “Because if he doesn’t, then Be

Be

“We can’t reject the theory until we know more about Linette. First, where was Linette last night, boss? You didn’t ask him his whereabouts, did you?”

Damn. “No. I wasn’t even thinking of him as a suspect. I was too bollixed up with Alice, whom I’m still not letting off the hook.” Be

Murphy’s green eyes narrowed. “But how would she know how important St. Amien was to the business?”

“She’s not stupid or unsophisticated. She’s a Rutgers grad, on scholarship, and she can tell that a class action that hits the newspapers is worth more than Brandolini, for example.”

DiNunzio didn’t look up, and Be

“And I was thinking, we know she’s been following me. What if she followed me yesterday, and was in that courtroom? Watching me and Robert? Seeing me fight for him and hearing my argument?” Be

The associates listened in silence for a change.

“And we have to look beyond the motive, to the character of the person. What kind of human being are they? I’d sooner believe that Alice is capable of killing someone than Bull Linette or Herman Mayer. They may be jerks, but she’s a psycho.”

Murphy seemed to mull it over. “I hear you, but I stay undecided. I’m not giving up on the tourist angle, either. The pattern is sort of compelling.” She tucked her long red hair behind her ear with a polished fingernail. “Now, for a moment, tell me about the future, Be

“Why?” Be

“He’s a jerk and a lech.”

“It’s a hundred grand a year to you, Murph,” Be

“Still don’t want it. I’m with you until they throw us out, then we’re out together.”

Next to her, Carrier was nodding enthusiastically, a fuchsia blur. “It goes without saying. I would never work for Ego Boy, and I hate that kind of work. I’m with DiNunzio, Murphy, and you.” Carrier gri

Mary nodded. “Of course. We stick together.” She looked up at Be

Be

“We won’t change our minds,” Murphy said.

“And we hate being reasonable,” Carrier added.

Be

DiNunzio shuddered at her inadvertent choice of words, and Be

“You didn’t go to D.C. this morning. Why not?”

“With what happened to Robert, I thought I’d stay around and see if you needed me. Those records aren’t going anywhere.”

“Thanks, but your client needs you too. You were going on your first business trip. You should still go.”

“But there will be services for Robert. I should go.”

“We’ll go for you.”

Mary looked uncertain, and Be