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I left the letters on my desk and took a walk around the room. Then I sat down in my swivel chair, opened my pencil drawer, and pulled out a pack of index cards. It took me fifteen minutes to jot down the facts as I remembered them, one piece of information per card until I'd exhausted my store. I laid them out on my desk, rearranging the order, shuffling them into columns, looking for co
I took the letters down the hall, the one still encased in its plastic sleeve. At the Xerox machine, I made a copy of each so that I now had two sets. The copies I placed in my briefcase, along with the notes I'd made on my index cards. The originals I locked away carefully in my bottom drawer. When the phone rang, I let the answering machine pick up. "Kinsey, this is Christie Malek. Listen, the police were just here with a warrant for Jack's arrest-"
I snatched up the receiver. "Christie? It's me. What's going on?"
"Oh, Kinsey. Thank God. I'm sorry to bother you, but I didn't know what else to do. I put a call through to Donovan, but he's out in the field. I don't know where Be
"Are you sure he's in custody? They didn't just take him to the station for another interview?"
"Kinsey, they put him in handcuffs. They read him his rights and took him off in the back of an unmarked car. We were both in shock. I don't have any money-less than a hundred bucks in cash-but if I knew who to call…"
"Forget about the bondsman. If Jack's being charged with murder, it's a no-bail warrant. What he needs is a good criminal attorney and the sooner the better."
"I don't know any attorneys, except Tasha!" she shrieked. "What am I supposed to do, pick a name out of a hat?"
"Wait a minute, Christie. Just calm down."
"I don't want to calm down. I'm scared. I want help."
"I know that. I know. Just wait a minute," I said. "I have a suggestion. Lo
She was silent for an instant. "All right, yes. I've heard of him. That sounds good."
"Give me a few minutes and we'll see what we can do.
SIXTEEN
I caught Lo
"He's eating breakfast. Help yourself."
I tapped on the door and then opened it, peering in. Lo
Lo
His usually shaggy hair had. been trimmed and subdued. His dress shirt was pulled tightly across his shoulders and biceps. I don't know his neck size, but he claims a tie makes him feel he's on the brink of being hanged. The one he was wearing was pulled askew, his collar unbuttoned, and his suit jacket off. He'd hung it neatly from a hanger hooked through the handle of a file drawer. His shirt was spanking white, but badly wrinkled, and he had rolled up the sleeves. Sometimes he wears a vest to conceal his rumpled state, but not today. He swallowed the last of a palmful of pills, holding up a hand to indicate that he was aware of me. He chugged off the balance of his protein drink and shook his head with satisfaction. "Whew, that's good."
"Are you tied up at the moment?"
"Not at all. Come on in."
I entered the office and closed the door behind me. "I just got a call from Christie Malek. Have you been following that, story?"
"The murder? Who hasn't? Sit, sit, sit. I'm not due in court until two P.M. What's up?"
"Jack Malek's been arrested and needs to talk to an attorney. I told Christie I'd see if you were interested." I took a seat in one of two black leather client chairs.
"When was he picked up?"
"Fifteen or twenty minutes ago, I'd guess."
Lo
I brought him up to speed on the case as succinctly as possible. This was our first conversation about the murder and I wanted him to have as thorough an understanding as I could muster on short notice. As I spoke, I could see Lo
"I wonder how the cops are go
He pushed away from his desk and took his suit jacket from the hanger. He shrugged himself into it, secured his collar button, and slid his tie into place. Now he looked more like a lawyer, albeit a short, beefy one. "By the way, where does Jack fit? He the oldest or the youngest?"
"The youngest. Donovan's the oldest. He runs the company. Be
"Tell Christie I'll be in touch as soon as I've talked to him. In the meantime, go on over to the house. Let's put together a list of witnesses who can confirm Tuesday night. The cops find the murder weapon?"