time away from the office at the Law-dromat, and since we have no clients, that spare time is in no short supply.
It is quite unusual for Kevin to be in on Saturdays; in recent months it’s been unusual for him to come in Monday through Friday. The odds against our both being here today are off the charts.
“Andy, what are you doing here?” he asks.
“I came in to research something on the computer.”
He is instantly alert. “We’ve got a case?”
I shake my head. “No, nothing as drastic as that.”
His reaction is one of relief. “That’s good.”
“Why is that good?” I ask. “And what are you doing here on Saturday?”
He can’t conceal a small grin. “Carol and I are getting married.”
“Today?” Kevin and Carol met on one of those computer-matching services about three months ago. She’s a personal trainer at a fitness center in Glen Rock; every time I see her I’m afraid she’s going to demand I do twenty push-ups. I know that things are going well between her and Kevin, but I didn’t know they were going well enough that marriage was under consideration.
He laughs. “No… but I hope soon. I haven’t actually asked her yet; I’m just getting things in order before I do.”
“What kind of things?”
“Like the honeymoon, for one.”
“Where are you going?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out now; I came in to do some research on the computer as well.”
Kevin proceeds to tell me the places that he’s thought about but has been forced to reject, due mainly to the fact that he is the absolute biggest hypochondriac on the planet. Tropical resorts are no good because of his sun allergy… big cities have too much smog and aggravate his asthma… places with spicy cuisine are likely to inflame his heartburn… and on and on.
“Maybe you can get a time-share on a plastic bubble,” I offer, but it doesn’t so much as raise a chuckle. Apparently, Carol isn’t totally enamored of Kevin’s hypochondria; my guess is that Kevin neglected to mention it on the computer-matching questionnaire.
In fact, Kevin might be annoyed at my joke, because he quickly turns the conversation in an unwelcome direction. “Did you see Laurie on television yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“That’s quite an arrest for her to make. I mean, to get national attention like that…”
“That guy you just saw walking out of here is the father of the accused.”
Kevin is shocked to hear this, and I recount to him my conversation with Laurie, as well as Davidson’s attempt to hire me to represent his son.
“Are you going to do it?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Because of Laurie?”
The question is jolting to me, mainly because I should have asked it of myself. “No,” I say too quickly. “I do not want to spend the winter in Wisconsin. My life is here.”
“Which life would that be?” he asks. Kevin is one of the long list of people who have been counseling me to start dating.
I ignore the dig, and he lets the subject drop. I head home, leaving him alone to do his honeymoon planning on WebMD. When I get there, I place a couple of calls to lawyers I know and trust in Chicago, asking for recommendations in the Findlay area, though it’s a good distance away. I get a couple of names, and I will give them to Davidson when I call him tomorrow.
I take Tara to the park and pick up a pizza on the way home. My normal style is to open the pizza in the kitchen and eat the whole thing while standing against the counter. Since I’ve resolved to start my post-Laurie life fresh, this time I sit at the table, using a paper towel for a napkin and eating the pizza off a plate. I know it’s more civilized, but pizza just doesn’t taste as good off a plate.
I get into bed and turn on a
When the show ends, my thoughts go back to Wisconsin, much as I might resist. I try to analyze major decisions logically, absent emotion. One of my techniques is to break a situation down to its various key aspects and then remove those aspects one at a time, seeing how that impacts on the decision I am making.
This time I try to imagine what I would have done if the murders had taken place in some state besides Wisconsin, with Laurie not involved. In this new scenario another person whose opinion I respect calls and tells me about the murder and their view that the accused is innocent. The father then comes to me with an impassioned plea to represent his son, or at least to look into his case.
There is no escaping the obvious truth that in such a situation I would at least look into the particulars of the case. At first glance a young man who might be innocent yet faces a potentially life-destroying murder trial makes my legal adrenaline start to flow. Yet this time I rejected the offer out of hand.
The reason is Laurie, which really pisses me off. There is no longer anything I should do, or not do, because of Laurie.
She is yesterday’s news.
• • • • •
I’VE DECIDED TO come to Wisconsin.”
“That’s wonderful,” Richard Davidson says when he hears this. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“You need to understand that I’m not agreeing to take the case. I’m going to come up there, look into things, talk to your son, and then make up my mind.”
“I understand completely, and I respect whatever decision you make,” he lies. “When are you coming?”
“I should be there in a few days,” I say.
“Just let me know when your flight is. I’ll pick you up at the airport.”
“I’ll be driving. I’m bringing my dog, and I won’t put her in a crate under the plane.”
“Okay. Can I get you a hotel room? Or you’re certainly welcome to stay with us.”
I let him reserve me a hotel room in town, and then I ask him if his son has current representation. “Yes,” he says. “A local lawyer. Calvin Marshall.”
“Please tell Mr. Marshall about our conversations,” I say.
He promises to do so, and I end the call.
I spend the next twenty-four hours getting ready for the trip. This consists of packing and filling the car up with gas, and I put a similar amount of care into both. I pump as much gas in as the tank will hold, and I throw in as many clothes as my two suitcases will hold.
I call Edna and Kevin and tell them about my decision. Kevin mercifully agrees to handle Edna’s estate requirements, should further changes be necessary on the will. Edna seems fine with the fact that my not being around means there is absolutely no possibility she will have any work to do.
I meet Pete and Vince at Charlie’s and shock them with the news of my departure tomorrow morning.
“Wisconsin?” Pete asks. “You got any idea how cold that is? You ever see a Packers game?”
They both assume I’m chasing after Laurie, and even though I deny it, it may be the truth. This causes them to spend most of the night sneaking looks at each other, saddened at how pathetic it is that I can’t let her go. It’s not until the sixth or seventh beer that they can put it behind them and get back to watching sports and leering at female customers.
Tara and I are out of the house and in the car by nine o’clock, for what is supposed to be a sixteen-hour trip. I’ve decided to go at a leisurely pace and make it in two days, stopping at a Holiday Inn in Indiana that allows pets. I plan to spend the time in the car thinking about the Davidson case, and not thinking about how I will deal with being in the same town as Laurie.
Tara sits up in the front seat the entire time, head out the window, soaking up the wind and the local culture. One of the many great things about her is that she doesn’t seem to mind that I dominate the radio.
