Unfit to Practice

“I don’t think so,” Nina said. “The purpose of the continuance would only be to allow us to prepare for her testimony, you see?”

“She’d definitely testify?”

“Yes.”

“We wait God knows how long and then she takes the stand anyway? Why are you suggesting this to me? Object today. Stop it.”

“I can try. But if we don’t ask for a continuance-”

“My kids are growing up! A continuance is only going to drive me crazy, you understand, Nina? Nine months I’ve waited, while Lisa jacked me around on the visits. Ali or no Ali.”

“It’s time. We should go. Can you stay calm, Kevin?” Nina didn’t feel very calm herself. Riesner’s missile had launched and now zoomed through the air toward their flimsy bunker.

5

N INA AND HER CLIENT entered the familiar doors of the courthouse, passed through security, and turned right, taking the stairs up, Kevin moving fast. With her heavy bag in tow, Nina had to struggle to keep up with him. Setting it down for a moment to rest her arm at the top of the stairs, she looked around, seeing no sign of a girl in the hall. She allowed herself a happy thought: Maybe we’ll luck out and Ali’ll evade process or fight it. Sometimes the lawyers kept the cases right on track, and sometimes the cases oozed in unexpected directions, along with the witnesses.

Inside the courtroom, Kevin took his place at the table beside Nina, his face set and his eyes averted from her. She smiled first at her good friend Deputy Kimura, the bailiff today, who was on the phone as usual, then nodded at Judge Milne’s clerk. Praying for the glint of a car key, she sneaked a quick look under the table. Nothing there.

Just to their right, Jeffrey Riesner took his place alongside Kevin’s wife and whispered into her ear. Lisa Cruz inclined her head toward her lawyer, listening. When he finished, she turned toward Nina and stared, holding still, all frantic activity ceased for the moment, almost frightening in her cold disgust. Eventually, she turned back to the table. She had a stiffer look today-her long hair sprayed into a twist, tiny pearl earrings, smooth white skin.

Lisa’s long-fingered hands eventually settled down on the photo of her children on the table in front of her that had kept her company throughout. Riesner finished his intermittent whispering, then got up and approached Nina. She stood to meet him, tensing her muscles to prevent herself from flinching.

Of course he noticed. Stretching to emphasize the whopping height difference between them, he plastered on a fake smile for the onlookers. “We should chat.”

Kevin excused himself to go back into the hallway momentarily for some water, leaving the two lawyers alone at Nina’s table.

“Why?” she asked.

Riesner nodded. “Outside.” Seeing her expression, he chuckled a nasty chuckle. “In full view of the glass front door of the police department. That way there’s no chance you’ll lose control. Get violent. Or something.” Although he overtly referred to an actual physical altercation they had gotten into during another case a few months earlier, the subtext was, as always, sexual.

“No,” Nina said. “I don’t think so.”

They both kept their voices low so the conversation, already bursting with tension, held an intimacy that made Nina recoil.

“Am I supposed to coax you? Don’t worry, I only eat what tastes good. You’re too sour to bite.”

“You already bite,” Nina said. She gave herself an immediate, silent tongue-lashing about not giving him the satisfaction. A cringe, a flinch, a flash of anger-he lapped up her emotional reactions like Dracula lapped blood.

The slightly upturned corner of his mouth twitched with pleasure. He had shaken her already. Success. “My client has a settlement proposal.”

“You better be serious.” Nina looked at her watch. Court convened in seven minutes. She indicated the back of the courtroom with her head. She wasn’t going to get out of Deputy Kimura’s sight this time.

Riesner followed her to the back wall and leaned against it, arms crossed. His eyes were green, the same color as fungus on the rotting stump in her backyard. “Well?” she asked.

“Mom gets sole physical custody. She’ll agree to joint legal custody. Under the circumstances, she’s being generous. Supervised visitation. He can have Christmas. She doesn’t celebrate it, so she doesn’t give a shit. And the kids go to her church.”

Sole physical custody meant the kids would live with Lisa. Kevin would have visitation rights. Joint legal custody meant Kevin would have to be consulted regarding important issues such as the kids’ educations and health.

The offer wasn’t much. Lisa couldn’t get a better deal even if she won in court. Plus Kevin had already rejected the whole idea of Lisa taking physical custody of the kids.

But Ali altered the topography of the case. Could Kevin lose even joint legal custody? Nina thought about it briefly, then decided. When in doubt, give nothing. “Too bad,” she said.

“What do you mean, too bad?”

“You weren’t serious.” She began to walk away.

“Last chance,” Riesner said. His celebratory tone stopped her. “Personally, I’d just as soon drag this thing out, rack up fees, and end by humiliating you. That would be a pleasure.”

“Why should my client consider this offer?” Nina said. “Give me one good reason.”

“Don’t you remember sweet Ali?”

“Go on.”

“I faxed the notice in advance, as you well know.”

“Too late under the rules.”

“Just learned about her myself. Ask for a continuance if you want. Heck, let’s both make more money on this thing.”

“How did you learn about Ali Peck?”

Riesner blinked. “Such an attractive young lady. Such a young, young lady.”

“If you don’t answer my question right now, this discussion is over.”

An i

Nina steeled herself and asked, “Who called you?”

“Ali Peck, stricken by a guilty conscience?”

“I don’t believe you,” Nina said. “I’m going to object.”

“Of course you will. I told my client you would.”

Nina didn’t know if Riesner already knew her files had been stolen and she recognized her need to tread extremely carefully. Just keeping her face straight stressed her out at the moment. “Where is she?”

“Oh, she’s here somewhere, trailing her subpoena, rarin’ to go.”

“If she came forward, why is she under subpoena?”

“I don’t have time right now to get into all that. Suffice it to say that Lisa now knows all about her husband’s adultery. Suffice it to say that she’s not taking it well.”

Adultery. The word recalled red letters, pulpit-thumping, and that old-time religion. Nina tried for a noncommittal expression.

“Cruz folds. He pays my fees,” Riesner said, moving away from the wall and putting an open hand out as if making a generous gesture. “He can even have a payment plan.”

Nina said through gritted teeth, “I’ll speak with him.”

“Do that.” He smiled at her, one hand in his pocket, projecting suave. “Save the little girl from the witness stand and all those sordid details about that big bad cradle-robbing client of yours.”

“Is that it?” Nina said. She looked at the clock on the wall.

“He looks chipper today,” Riesner said. Again he laughed. “He puts on a good front. Maybe that’ll make it easy for him to do the smart thing.”

“Don’t concern yourself with my client.”

“Now, there’s some damn good advice.”

Back at the table, in a hurry now, she leaned down to give Kevin a brief rundown of the conversation. He fixated on one thing. “Where’s Ali?” He looked around the court.

“Probably waiting outside by now. Riesner’s keeping her out of sight until the last second so we can’t talk to her.”