Mistress of Justice

When the man returned he said, "Agreed." Reece nodded and said, "We'll execute the stipulation now."

"We don't want to take the court's time I suggest -"

"I think his honor would prefer to spend a few extra minutes now rather than risk being back here in a few weeks for a full-fledged trial. Am I right about that, your honor?"

"You are, Mr. Reece. Write out the stipulation by hand and we'll get it signed up."

The defense lawyer sighed and scurned back to give the bad news to the client.

After the paperwork was completed hands were shaken among comrades, glares delivered between opponents and the courtroom emptied.

In the courthouse rotunda, the New Amsterdam vice presidents and executives clustered together, enjoying their relief. Taylor followed Reece to a small vestibule that contained public phones, which unlike most in the city were in old-fashioned booths with closing doors. He pulled her inside one and kissed her hard. After a moment he released her and leaned back. "What on earth happened? Where were you?"

"I was almost through searching Clayton's office but he came in early to take care of some last-minute things for the merger. I hid in the bathroom."

"Jesus. What happened then?"

"About nine or so he had to use the john. But I unscrewed the lightbulbs before he got there. So he went up the hall. When he did, I grabbed the last stack of paper and ran down to my cubicle with them. I found all of this in the envelope the note was in."

Reece took the sheets of paper that Taylor offered. Shaking his head, he looked at them closely. A copy of a letter to the National Law Journal. "Re Careless Security Costs Firm Client." The letter blamed Burdick and the executive committee. There was also a typewritten list with the names of several other clients and cases that Clayton was going to sabotage while, presumably, shifting the blame to Burdick.

From her purse Taylor then took a small tape recorder and held up a tiny microcasette. "This was in the envelope too." She inserted the cassette into the player and hit a button. They heard Reece's voice, thick with static, talking to her about the promissory note. She shut it off.

"Son of a bitch," Reece said. "He bugged my office. That's how he knew we were after him. He's known all along. He… "Then Reece paused and looked at his watch. "Oh, no."

"What?"

"The firm's voting on the merger any minute now. We've got to tell Donald about this. It'll change everything."

He grabbed the phone and dug in his pocket for some change.

Perpetual motion does exist.

In business, in fact, where the mere laws of science mean zip compared with the power of greed and ambition, it's one of the essential principles.

Donald Burdick sensed the undercurrent of this energy surrounding each partner as he or she entered the big conference room. Mostly they were uneasy. They lingered at the door, pretending to leave messages with the conference room secretary, pretending to wait for comrades so they might enter with human shields, or at least with allies to deflect the glare of the partners representing the other side of the merger issue from theirs.

As always, few of the younger partners would make eye contact with Burdick but this morning he felt this evasion was due not to distance in social station but to hostility on the part of his opponents and shame in the hearts of those who had betrayed him.

The Danish pastries on the Limoges china, the coffee in the sterling urn were practically untouched. Burdick, looking down, reviewed a loan document that did not need reviewing. He heard conversations about the Jets and Giants, about concerts, about vacations, about closings, about the faux pas of opposing counsel, about the Supreme Court's latest excursions to Olympus, about rumors of other law firms breaking up.

Finally, at eleven o'clock, Burdick started to call the meeting to order. He was about to ask for a quorum vote when.

"Excuse me," said Randy Simms, whom Donald Burdick couldn't help but picture as a handsome leech.

"Yes?" Burdick drew the word out threateningly.

Simms said, "We're not all present."

Eyes coursing leisurely around the table, Burdick said, "But we have a quorum."

"Well, Mr. Clayton isn't here."

"Either we have a quorum, in which case the meeting proceeds, or we do not, in which case it doesn't. Whom that quorum is made up of is not, to my memory, an issue of any concern in Robert's Rules of Order."

"I'm just thinking that it might be appropriate -" But the slick young sycophant's words were interrupted by a bold knock. The door opened and Burdick's secretary walked inside with a sealed envelope. Ignoring everyone in the room, the older partner took it, slit the seal open with his gold pen and read the note. He handed it to Bill Stanley, who blinked in surprise.

Burdick said, "If you'll excuse us for a moment please. There's something that needs attending to. We'll adjourn for fifteen minutes. Bill, you come too."

Donald Burdick was as angry as Taylor had ever seen him. He glanced at her and she looked away from his towering fury.

They sat in Burdick's office. Bill Stanley was on the couch, a fat ankle resting on a fat knee, and read over the papers Taylor had found in Clayton's office.

Stanley muttered, "What a stupid, stupid thing to do."

But Burdick was venting at Reece. "Why the hell didn't you tell me about the note?"

Reece said, "It was a judgment call. I didn't want word to get out. I had my own way of handling it."

"You almost lost the case," Burdick spat out. "You almost got yourselves killed."

Reece withstood the anger easily. "Clayton wasn't going to hurt us. I'm sure the car incident was just to scare us. As far as losing goes, well, yes, I took that chance."

"You risked our client because you were afraid you'd lose your job."

The associate fired back, "Of course that was one reason. But it was also because if word got out it would be bad for the firm. In my assessment we had to act covertly."

"'Covertly' You sound like a damn spy." Burdick took the papers and the tape recorder from Stanley. "He wanted the merger so badly, he'd do this?" Burdick's anger was giving way to astonishment.

Stanley considered something. "You introduced the note into evidence, right?"

Reece nodded. "Hanover's agreed to settle. We're going to close in Boston next week."

"Well, then Clayton will've heard you found it. He'll know he's in trouble."

Burdick nodded. "That's why he's not at the meeting." The old partner rubbed his eyes. "What a mess."

"Fucking scandal," Stanley growled. "Last thing we need."

"Give me some thoughts on the damage assessment," Burdick said to the rotund partner.

"Probably not terrible." He nodded at Reece and Taylor. "They didn't tell anyone." A piercing glance at Taylor. "Right? You didn't mention it to anybody?"

"No, of course not. When I found those things in Claytons office. I took them right to Mitchell at the courthouse. I didn't even call – because I thought the phones might be bugged. Nobody else knows what I was doing."

Stanley nodded and continued, "The problem's going to be talking him into leaving. He knows we're afraid of publicity so we're not going to go to the police or going to sue him. Fucking clever when you think about it. He arranges to misplace a note, nearly loses our client and when we catch him red-handed he's practically got immunity from the liability."

Burdick was shaking his head. "We'll find a way to oust him. That man has to." His voice faded as there was an urgent knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened fast and one of Burdick's secretaries stood there. Her face was white and her eyes were red from crying.

"What is it, Carol?"