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“Okay, good deal.” Abrams sounded cheered. “And payment, how do we work that?”
“I’ll send you a fee agreement for your signature. I work on standard contingency, but a small retainer could get us rolling. Say five thousand dollars?”
“That’s doable. Send me the agreement, I’ll sign it and send it back with a check.”
“Great, Mort. Appreciate it.” Be
“I’ll get you those papers right away.”
“Looking forward to it.” They said corporate good-byes, and Be
David. She had trusted him, but he hadn’t told her everything. Still. He had watched over her. Taken care of her. Seen to it that she had food and rest. And he’d given her good advice last night. He couldn’t have been in cahoots with Alice on anything. Thanks to him, she’d felt great when she’d gotten up today, and great when she’d come in. Her gaze fell on the edge of the article, sticking stubbornly from her mail, and she knew just what to do with it. Tuck it back inside. So she did.
It left her facing a flock of pink message slips, with CoreMed’s on top. She hadn’t focused on it before, at the reception desk. She slid out the message, and there were others stuck to it that she hadn’t seen. Total Lenz of Korea. Reiss, Inc. Tumflex. She didn’t know any of these names, but they sure sounded like lens manufacturers. They had to be potential class members. They didn’t sound like debt consolidators.
Be
“Julien?” she asked when a man’s voice picked up, then the accent registered. “Georges?”
“Yes, this is Be
“Fine, thanks.” A tide of guilt washed over her. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call you last night after I went to the police. I spoke with Detective Needleman and saw the suspect in Robert’s murder.”
“His name is Ronald Johnson, eh? Detective Needleman says he’s a Nazi type, a skinhead. He belongs to a group. So there are these people, after all, in America.”
“Yes, there are,” Be
“So I see I am wrong, and I am glad they have him. I hope today or tomorrow they will charge him.”
“Me, too.” Be
“He isn’t in. He went out with Micheline.”
Be
“They get along very well, yes. It’s good that they spend time together, for Julien lost his mother when he was quite young.”
And Micheline is so motherly. “What, did she take him out to lunch?”
“Perhaps, I don’t know. I got my cast off this morning, and when I came back, they had left a note.” Georges paused. “Be
“With Robert’s death, he would be.”
“No, not sad. Secretive. What was it he talked to you about yesterday? Micheline told me she saw you two talking outside in the square.”
Oh, that. Be
“Really? You sure that was it?” The doubt in his voice suggested he had a good merde detector. “Micheline said it looked as if Julien was upset, and she knows the boy quite well.”
“Yes, that’s all it was. Business. Please tell him I called.” Be
“Gupta here,” said a voice with a thick Indian accent. “Ms. Rosato, thank you for calling back. It is a pleasure indeed to speak with you. I am a lens manufacturer for medical equipment, based in New Delhi, and I was a friend of Robert St. Amien’s.”
“It’s wonderful to speak with you, then.”
“I see on the news they have his murderer. It is a terrible crime. A terrible shame.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, to the point. I had the opportunity to see you in court the other day, I was watching your performance, and I admired very much the way you dealt with the situation, and also your liveliness.”
Be
“I call Julien to send my respects to him and his family, and he is telling me that you will continue as their counsel. Is this true? He is quite happy about this, he tells me on the telephone.”
“Yes, it is true, and I am happy to do so too.”
“Then perhaps I wonder if you would consider serving CoreMed as counsel and representing my company in the class action?”
“Yes, of course,” Be
“Excellent. This makes me very happy. When shall we meet to discuss our claim?”
“Let me check next week.” Be
“Two o’clock on Friday?”
“Done. Why don’t you send me all the documents that are arguably relevant to the case and I’ll read them before we meet.”
“An excellent idea. I value such efficiency. Now, what about the payment terms?” Mr. Gupta asked, and she filled him in. She’d send the fee agreement, he’d send the retainer check. Be
She picked up the next message before the phone rang again and punched in the number for Tumflex, Inc. When the call co
She spoke with Mr. Riagrelli, who wanted to retain her, then Mr. Grsucjki of Reiss, Inc., Ms. Lutenka of SeeMore, and after that Ms. Hurye, Horst Balshamn, Dreyer Ertma
Be