the second day, Linda could barely whisper, and the judge gave her permission to use a lapel mike to question her witnesses. The cough that was plaguing Linda when we met had grown noticeably worse. To my ears, it sounded like bronchitis.
The ladies with the seasonal sweaters watched Linda with anxious eyes. From the outset, they had been sympathetic to her; now they looked as if they’d like to take her home and get her under a croup tent. The beefy guy was clearly pissed off that he was in the room with a walking petri dish of viral stew, and he and the Modigliani woman ostentatiously flattened themselves against the back of their chairs whenever Linda approached the jury box. The three-piece-suiters contented themselves with raising a handkerchief to cover their nose and mouth as if they were walking through the city of the plague. The
Zack was uneasy too, but his concern wasn’t hygiene. He was genuinely fond of Linda and he respected her as an adversary. When she failed to pick up on inconsistencies or points that she normally would have hammered home, he was at first baffled then concerned. She seemed to be having trouble hearing, and on the morning of the fourth day, she didn’t even bother trying to put on her game face. She soldiered on until the luncheon recess, but when court reconvened, she was not in her place and when the clerk announced that the Crown had asked for a continuance, and that court was adjourned until Monday morning, the relief in the courtroom was palpable.
I did my standup for NationTV and headed home to a long nap and some prophylactic echinacea and vitamin C. Zack was giving a speech at a dinner in Saskatoon on Monday night. We were planning to stay over and savour the pleasures of a first-class hotel, and I didn’t want to miss the pampering.
Saturday morning Zack came over for pancakes before he went back to the office. He had news of Linda Fritz, and it wasn’t promising. The virus that had begun as laryngitis moved to bronchitis and then an ear infection had turned her right ear deaf. Her eardrum was bulging due to the pressure of fluid behind it. She was on massive doses of antibiotics, but it would take up to three weeks for the fluid behind her eardrum to be absorbed. She was off the case.
“She must be disappointed,” I said.
“She’s furious,” Zack said. “I went over to her apartment this morning. She still feels like shit, but not being able to prosecute this case is making it a hundred times worse. She put in a lot of hours on this one, and she thought she could win.” He picked up the maple syrup and flooded his plate. “Can you think of anything we can send to cheer her up?”
“What does she like?”
Zack furrowed his brow in concentration. “Practising law. Beating me.”
“How about a dartboard and a picture of you.”
“Perfect,” he said. “So what are you up to this morning?”
“It’s moving day. Pete’s moving in with Charlie.”
“Big job?”
“No. Pete’s got his truck and he travels light. Charlie’s coming over to help. If you stick around, you can see him.”
Zack checked his watch. “I have a few minutes. Hey, I got our reservations for the Bessborough – the lieutenant-governor’s suite.”
“I’m impressed.”
“I was hoping you would be.”
“It’ll be fun to get away to Saskatoon for a night.”
“Even if it means spending the evening with a bunch of lawyers.”
“As long as I end up with the lawyer of my choice.” I kissed him on the head. “Now, I’d better find Taylor and get her to her art lesson. If you’re not here when I get back, give me a call.”
Zack
I joined them at the kitchen table. “So what were you guys talking about?”
Charlie’s eyes met mine. “My father.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“I don’t remember,” Charlie said tightly. “And, Jo, I don’t want to talk about him with you.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “So how’s the big move progressing?”
“Haven’t done a thing, but I figure it should take us twenty minutes to load the truck. You know Pete – fourteen boxes of books, some sports equipment, and two garbage bags of clothes.”
“Don’t forget his collection of baseball cards. I’ve been trying to get them out of here since he went to vet school.”
Zack leaned forward in his chair. “I’ve got a foul ball from the sixth game of the Toronto/Atlanta World Series in 1993. I caught it myself.”
Pete came in. “The game where Joe Carter hit the series-winning home run. I watched that on TV – it was great.”
“It was a lot of fun. Anyway, if you want the ball, say the word.”
“I want the ball.”
“My pleasure,” Zack said.
Charlie stood up. “Now that everybody’s happy, let’s get this move underway. The faster we get this over, the faster I can get back to bed.” He walked over to Zack. “I’ll be in touch.”
