Show of Evil

'It's the senior high.'

'Okay, okay… yeah, I'm just saying - '

'You're just feeding me the same old line, Roy. Con Firestone into thinking I like him. Get along with Eckling. It's an open sore, the thing with Eckling. It's not gonna go away. Tell Firestone to butt out. It's none of his damn business. I don't work for the city, I represent the whole county.'

'Christ,' Shaughnessey said, shaking his head. 'You still hustling around trying to put all the town's big shots in jail?'

'Where'd you hear that?'

'Come ooon,' Shaughnessey answered, peeling the wrapper off a cigar the size of the Goodyear blimp.

'Maybe one of these days you'll be one of them. I warned you about that when you conned me into this job ten years ago.'

'Not a chance,' Shaughnessey said, and laughed. 'I'm out of your league now. It would take the attorney general' - he leaned forward and said softly - 'and I put him in office, too. And he's a helluva lot more grateful than you are.'

Venable was standing with her back to the anteroom door when Vail and Shaugnessey reappeared. She watched them shake hands, then Vail started back through the crowd, heading for the side entrance. She fell in behind him. When he stopped suddenly and turned to shake hands with someone, he saw her. Their eyes locked, green on grey, and this time neither of them broke the stare. Finally she thought, What the hell, and raised her champagne glass in a toast to him. He smiled and threaded his way through the crowd to her.

'How are you doing, Janie?' he asked.

'I think we're both doing just great,' she said, and offered him a sip of her champagne. He took it, signalled to one of the floating waiters, and got them two fresh glasses. They headed for a corner of the room, away from the crowd and the band.

'I just read about your international coup.' Vail said. 'Congratulations.'

'Thank you, Mr District Attorney.'

'Don't jump the gun,' Vail said.

'Oh, you've got the power now, Martin. Can't you tell?' She swept her arm around the crowd.

'Tomorrow'll be just another day.'

'No, it'll never be the same. You're the man they have to deal with now. And everybody knows you don't give two hoots in hell about playing politics.'

'You're a very smart lady, Janie.' He took a step backward and stared at her for several moments. 'And more handsome now than you were ten years ago, if that's possible.'

She caught her breath for just an instant but covered herself well.

'Why, Martin,' she said, 'I didn't think you noticed.'

'I'm not dead. I just overlooked it in the courtroom.'

'You certainly did.'

'Does this mean we're declaring a truce? Putting all that business behind us? Are we going to be civil to each other again?'

'We were never civil to each other.' She laughed.

 'Well' - he shrugged - 'we could try.'

 Her green eyes narrowed slightly. Is he up to something? she wondered, not yet willing to trust this apparent truce.

She's wondering what the hell I'm up to, he thought. And quickly moved to put her mind at ease. 'We'll probably never face each other in the courtroom again,' he said.

'What a shame.'

He knew exactly what she meant. Going at it before a jury one more time would be exciting. They played the staring game for a few moments longer, then she abruptly changed the subject.

'What's the real prognosis?'

Vail shrugged. 'You know doctors. He's got half a dozen specialists hovering over him and none of them'll give us a straight answer. One thing's for sure, he's got a tough road ahead of him.'

'I always liked Jack,' she said, thinking back over a decade to the obsequious, smooth-talking grifter with wavy white hair and a perpetual smile. What wasn't there to like. Yancey was not a litigator and never had been. He was a talker not a fighter, the ultimate bureaucrat who surrounded himself with smart young lawyers to do the dirty work.

'Yancey's the ultimate ass-kisser, but he's never made any bones about it,' said Vail.

'Yes,' she agreed. 'He'd kiss anything to stay in grace.' Venable took a long sip of champagne. 'I only let him down twice, you know. You were the reason both times.'

'Hell, that was a long time ago. Water under the dam as a friend of