'Ow,' he said. 'It's, like, burning.'
'Ambulance is coming,' I said.
'I wasn't ... going to ... shoot you,' Garner said. 'I just wanted to talk.'
'Which is why you brought a gun and pointed it at me and said. . .' I dropped my voice, imitating him: 'I'm going to kill you.'
'I wasn't going ... to.'
'Sure you were,' I said. 'I'm the only one that knew about the pictures and all. With me dead, you'd have everything back under control. You would be president of a nice junior college. The kid would be away for life. Beth Ann would be hauling your ashes again, and you'd have a nice alternative to the alcoholic oinker you married.'
'No,' Garner said. 'No, I was just going to talk. I can give you some money, maybe. I'm an educator. We don't have a lot.'
I shook my head.
'Pal, you don't have anything at all,' I said.
I could hear the siren sound in the distance. Pearl crept out from behind the desk and went to Garner and sniffed at him. She was interested in the blood.
'Don't let her hurt me,' he said.
I said, 'Pearl.'
And she came.
I said, 'Sit.'
And she sat.
I knew it wouldn't last, but it was pretty impressive.
Two uniforms came into my office first, then two EMTs, then Belson. When Pearl saw Belson, she stood and wagged her tail and walked over to him. The EMTs got busy with Garner.
'I saw the call and recognized the address,' Belson said. 'I didn't want to miss out on anything.'
'Too bad it's not a happier occasion,' I said.
I went to my desk and got Garner's gun and handed it in its bag to Belson. He took it and handed it on to one of the uniforms.
'This might be evidence,' Belson said. 'Try not to lose it.'
'He tried to kill me, officer,' Garner said as importantly as he could.
The EMTs had pulled his pants down to put a pressure bandage on the wound, so that sounding important wasn't easy. Belson looked down at him for a moment or two, scratching Pearl's ear absently.
'Goddamn,' he said to me. 'You got another one.'
Chapter 64
THE MEETING was in the big, flossy conference room next to Rita's office on the thirty-ninth floor at Cone, Oakes, which was much too big for our small group. Finger sandwiches were served, and fresh fruit, and coffee, and bottled water. The coffee and the water were about the same temperature. Cleary was there; and Richard Leeland, theoretically representing Jared Clark; and Alex Taglio, Grant's lawyer; and me. The Clarks had declined Rita's invitation, as had Wendell Grant's mother. Probably heard about the coffee.
'I've taken the liberty of providing each of you with an outline of the situation in which we find ourselves,' Rita said, 'which could be described as a mess.'
'Can't tell the players without a scorecard,' Alex Taglio said.
'Correct,' Rita said, and went through the case, point by point, to where we were now. She was in full-power costume today. Black suit, white shirt, expensive pearls. She looked beautiful and flashy and formidable.
Which she was.
'We have some administrative matters to get out of the way,' she said when she had finished her summary.
She turned to Leeland and gave him a promising smile. Rita was never unaware of the amount of heat she generated.
'Mr. Cleary and I have talked,' she said. 'And we both feel it best if you resign the case and I take over as Jared Clark's attorney.'
'Excuse me?' Leeland said.
'I'm a far better lawyer than you are, Mr. Leeland,' Rita said. 'And your client will be much better off.'
Rita deferred to Cleary.
'Mr. Cleary?' she said.
'Richard,' Cleary said. 'I don't know why you'd want to stay with this thing, but if you do, and you insist, I've already talked with judge Costello about having you replaced.'
Leeland stared at him.
'By her?' he said.
