subjects than there ever were about lawyers. The number of vultures trying to get a piece of the action will increase geometrically. Yeah, we're going to need outside help.“
“Let me know when you want help tackling Rob,“ I said. “So that's what's been keeping you so busy in the library?“
“What else?“ she said.
“I don't know,“ I said, smiling. “I figured maybe you just liked sitting up there where you could keep your eye on everyone, make sure no one got up to anything.“
“Yeah, right,“ she said with a chuckle. “And some job I did yesterday. I wonder how many times Ted's body chugged around the office right under my nose, and I didn't even realize he was dead.“
“Not just
“Some watchdogs we are. Speaking of that, though – remember the guy I told you to watch for?“
“Eugene something-or-other, the disgruntled ex-employee?“
“Eugene Mason, yes.“
“I haven't seen him,“ I said. “Not that things have been quiet enough to spend much time looking for him.“
“Keep your eyes open, then. I can't imagine that he has anything to do with Ted's death, or that he'd do anything rash at all, but you never know.“
“Especially if he had some kind of a thing about guns,“ I said. “Wasn't that what you were telling the chief?“
“I told the chief that I thought concern over his interest in guns was exaggerated,“ she said. “Which I still think is true.“
“But it's bound to interest the chief, knowing someone with a grudge has access to weapons.“
“For heaven's sake, there's nothing wrong with knowing how to fire a gun and even owning one,“ she said. “I learned to fire a gun myself when I was at Stanford Law and the only place I could afford to live was a pretty bad part of East Palo Alto. Self-defense.“
I nodded.
“I didn't want the police to overreact,“ she went on. “Of course, I didn't want them to ignore him, either, which is what they seem to be doing. Perhaps it would have been wiser to exaggerate our anxiety, not downplay it.“
“You did what you thought was best at the time,“ I said. “Don't beat yourself up. I'll nudge the police about the disgruntled Mr. Mason.“
“Thanks,“ she said. “By the way – this detecting you're doing – are you sure that's wise? You don't want to risk a charge of interfering with an investigation, do you?“
I sighed. “Dad likes to think of me as a real-life Nancy Drew,“
I said. “I admit, I've been trying to find something I can give Chief Burke to convince him that Rob shouldn't be his prime suspect. But beyond that… I'll let the police do their job.“
Maybe I was downplaying the amount of snooping I had been doing – or might end up doing. But it wasn't really that misleading. I had every intention of staying out of Chief Burke's way and letting the police do their job. As soon as they started doing it properly. Leaving Rob alone would be a good start.
“Keep me posted on what you discover,“ she said. “Since anything you find out is bound to affect the firm, one way or another.“
“Of course,“ I said.
She nodded and headed for the nearest of the two doors to the library. A minute later, I saw her head pop up over the top of the shelves. She looked around, scanning the office, and then focused down, presumably on yet another law book.
Although I wasn't sure I shared Liz's suspicion of the disgruntled Mr. Mason, since I couldn't see any indication that he'd been hanging around the office on the day of the murder, I decided to drop by Personnel and see if I could talk my way into getting a look at his file. As it happened, I didn't even need to talk. Darlene, our one-person Personnel department, was out, and the file she'd hunted down for the chief yesterday was still in her in-basket. Later, I'd complain about her carelessness. For now, I snagged the file, grabbed a couple of health insurance forms to put on top so no one would see what I was carrying, and made my escape with it. I'd leave it in Rob's out-basket later. Darlene wouldn't find that suspicious, and Rob would never notice.
Walking back up the hall, I glanced up and waved at Liz, and then I ran into Jack again.
“Saw you talking to Liz,“ he said. “She celebrating Ted's demise yet?“
“Of course not,“ I snapped.
“Wouldn't blame her if she did,“ he said, falling into step beside me. “The guy made her life miserable, every way he could.“
“Such as?“
“Looking for alternate suspects to get Rob off the hook?“ he asked.
I shrugged.
“Well, we're all suspects, if you like, Liz as much as anyone,“ he said. “There's this guy who's filed suit against Mutant Wizards, claiming we stole his game idea.“
“She mentioned him,“ I said. “You think he has any kind of a case?“
“You mean you don't believe Rob really invented it?“
“Of course I know Rob invented it,“ I said. “I had to play it often enough while he was doing it. But it's not such an outlandish idea that someone else couldn't have come up with a similar one – and that could be trouble.“
“Yeah,“ Jack said. “Well I don't know how similar the ideas are – not very, if you ask me. But it's been keeping Liz pretty busy.“
“How does Ted come into this?“
“You know how Ted was,“ Jack said. “Liked to yank everyone's chain.“
“And just how did he yank Liz's chain?“
“He went out and bought a copy of the other guy's software and started playing this whole mind game on her,“ Jack said. “For weeks, every time you went in his office, he was playing it; every time they were both in a meeting, he'd drag the conversation around to the other game. What a great game it was, how worried he was that maybe Rob had been subconsciously influenced by it.“
“Not likely,“ I said. “Would you be surprised if I said that Rob's not exactly a rabid computer game player?“
“Actually, I'd be surprised to hear he'd ever played a computer game before he started inventing Lawyers from Hell,“ Jack said with a grin.
“And that doesn't bother you?“ I asked. “Knowing that he's not exactly the expert all the computer magazines make him out to be?“
“I'll never be a convert to the cult of Rob, like most of the young kids who come to work here,“ Jack said. “But no, it doesn't bother me. In some ways, it's an advantage, knowing more than the boss does. And to tell you the truth, he does come up with some brilliant ideas, occasionally.“
“Probably by accident,“ I said.
“Usually by accident, yes,“ Jack agreed.
“Everyone always talks about how great Rob is at thinking outside the box,“ I said, shaking my head. “I don't suppose they realize that he hasn't the foggiest idea where the box is.“
“And I hope he never learns,“ Jack said.
“So anyway, what does this have to do with how Ted was getting on Liz's nerves?“ I asked.
“He started pretending that he agreed with the guy who was threatening to sue us,“ Jack said. “Walked around shaking his head, saying that he was afraid he'd have to testify for the other side. Stuff like that. Drove her
“Crazy enough that she'd want to kill him?“
“Liz?“ He glanced up at where Liz was sitting in her crow's nest. “Not really. No more than any of the rest of us. I mean, who around here didn't say, 'I could loll him!' sometime or other, but I can't imagine anyone ever really would. Then again, what do I know? Ask some of the shrinks. They're supposed to know that kind of stuff.“
“Maybe I will,“ I said.
