have to break a sweat.'
Chapter Seventeen.
Oscar Baron's office was on the eighteenth floor of a modern glass-and-steel office tower. The waiting area was tastefully furnished and gave the impression that Baron was doing well, but Amanda knew that he was renting space from a firm and had nothing to do with selecting, or paying for, the reception-area furnishings.
The receptionist buzzed Baron and told him that Amanda was waiting for him. After five minutes, she started thumbing through a copy of TIME . Fifteen minutes later, Baron hurried into the waiting room.
'Sorry,' he said as he extended a hand. 'I was talking with a lawyer in New York about a case we're cocounseling.'
Amanda pretended to be impressed that Baron was working with a New York lawyer as he led her down a long hall and into a moderate-sized office with a view of the river.
'So, Robard stuck you with Dupre,' Baron said when they were seated.
'I took the case as a favor because no one else would touch it. I'm surprised you aren't representing Dupre. You'd have gotten a lot of media exposure.'
'Yeah. I can see it now.' Baron held up his hands as if he was a director framing a shot. 'oscar baron's client gets the chair.' He laughed. 'Or maybe, mad pimp claims second lawyer victim. Just the kind of publicity I need. Besides, he couldn't afford my fee.' Baron leaned forward and dropped his voice a notch. 'And between us, I'm glad. Poor Wendell.' He looked at Amanda wide-eyed. 'There but for the grace of God, huh? I'm telling you, I've had nightmares about that little bastard. It could have been me in that room at the jail.'
'You think Dupre might have tried to kill you?'
'Who knows what that lunatic is capable of.'
'Did he threaten you while you were representing him?'
'Well, no, not directly. But the guy is scary. I always felt he was ready to explode. I guess I just got lucky. So, how are you two getting along?'
'We're at the feeling-out stage. You know how that is.'
'Oh, sure. That's when they don't trust you and lie to you. Then you pass that stage and they trust you and lie to you.'
Baron barked out a laugh and Amanda forced a smile.
'How long have you been representing Jon?' she asked.
'It was just this one case, but I represented a few of his girls when they got in trouble.'
'The women who worked in his escort service?'
Baron nodded.
'Tell me about the escort-service case.'
'I can't reveal any confidences without Jon's okay.'
'Of course, but I'm interested in public knowledge. Information that's in the police reports. I'll need copies from you, anyway. I thought you could give me an abridged version now.'
'Why do you need the police reports from the escort case?'
'The penalty phase. I understand that Dupre was rough with some of the women. The DA will try to introduce those incidents as evidence of his propensity to be dangerous in the future.'
'Right, of course.' Baron paused. 'You know, that's a big file. It's going to cost a lot to make the copies.'
'We'll pay for the costs, Oscar.'
Baron looked relieved.
'Now about the escort service, how does that work?'
'Exotic Escorts is a pretty simple operation. Jon recruits the girls . . . .'
'How does he do that?'
'You've met him. He's a stud, and he's smooth. He'll go to the clubs where young girls hang out. He likes college girls. He'll pick up a freshman who's away from home for the first time. He'll fuck her silly, give her a little coke, and let her hang out in his hot tub. She falls hard for him. That's when he tells her about his business problem. How he runs this escort service and has this very good client who's in town for the evening, but the girl who was supposed to go out with this guy is sick. He tells her it's just like going out on a blind date, then he'll show his pigeon the jewelry and designer clothes she'll wear--all knockoffs, of course.'
'Do they realize that they'll have to have sex with the customer?'
'Jon will be all embarrassed when he tells them about that part. He'll admit that the guy will probably ask for sex, but he says that it's up to her. That's when he mentions how much extra money she can make by doing this little extra favor for him.'
'And this always works?'
'Of course not. But it worked often enough for Jon to build quite a stable. He hooks the girls on the easy money or the coke. He's clever about not using a girl too often, unless they're really into it.'
'Don't the women catch on? Don't they see he's using them?'
