Hailey smoothed her light green dress and adjusted her tortoise-shell eyeglasses as she stood in my doorway. She liked firearms, which was fascinating. I thought about inviting her to Turner Creek Sporting Clays this Saturday, because I could use a second set of eyes. Hailey was my employee, so I would need to ask her in a way to ensure she would not read anything more into it.
Hailey said, “I got some info regarding the attorney for Benton Dynamics.”
“Did you call his office?”
“Yeah, but he wasn’t available. In trial in D.C. I got his associate, though. She seemed okay.”
“Opposing lawyers always seems reasonable … until you’re standing in front of a jury with a dagger stuck between your shoulders.”
She smiled softly and beautifully. I caught myself and snapped back into professional mode.
Reclining back into my chair, I said, “Okay, tell me what you got.”
“Your opponent is Edmund James Nielsen, but he goes by ‘E.J.’ A graduate of Yale Law School. Undergrad degree from Syracuse. He’s a full partner at the law firm of Whitley Roth. You’ve heard of them?”
“Yeah, of course. It’s a huge law firm. Over five hundred lawyers, with a main office in Washington, D.C.”
“And satellite offices in London, Brussels, Moscow, Abu Dhabi, Beijing …”
“All capital cities, as well as business centers,” I added.
“That firm is political … with an entire division devoted to lobbying. They hire a lot of elected officials after they leave office and recruit high-ranking staff from federal agencies. This Nielsen guy works the courtrooms, though. I’ll email you a link to the firm’s website.”
“Thanks, Hailey. Good to know what I’m up against.”
She leaned against the doorframe and cocked her head. “When I spoke with Nielsen’s associate, she thought you and her boss might want to discuss the case ahead of time. He’ll be at Benton Dynamics tomorrow preparing for the hearing. She suggested a conference call, but I set up a face-to-face.”
“Excellent. What time?” I asked.
“Eleven. It’s on your calendar. They’ll be expecting you at the guardhouse at the front gate. Let the security staff know you’re there to see the legal department.”
“Anything else about this Nielsen guy?”
Hailey replied, “Just that he’s one of the firm’s top trial lawyers. A clientele of Fortune 500 companies and defense contractors, according to his webpage. Doesn’t name any specifically, but that’s what it said.”
“His clients probably don’t want their names posted online any more than necessary. How about his reputation?”
She shrugged and ran her thumb across her lower lip before answering. “From what I could tell, he’s good. Trial work and appeals, with some published opinions. Argued a couple of cases before the Supreme Court.”
“The associate?”
“A young woman named Charlayne O’Malley. That’s who I spoke with. She’ll be at trial assisting Nielsen.”
“Okay,” I said. “So she’ll take notes and draft follow-up questions, as well as keep the evidence organized and marked for admission. Frees up lead counsel to focus on the trial. The Petition for an Injunction listed a local counsel.”
Hailey said, “Donald Haslett. His law office is here in Bridgeford. Benton Dynamics has him on retainer for occasional work here in the county.”
“An old tactic. Have a local attorney sit second chair at the trial table, so the judge recognizes a face. It’s easy for a judge to slap down an outsider, but a local attorney that the judge sees all the time might get more deference.”
Hailey snatched the file off my desk and said, “I’ll have this ready for your meeting with Mr. Nielsen tomorrow.”
“Thanks,” I replied. “So it’s three against one. Seems fair to me.”
Hailey looked concerned as she turned to leave the room. “You’re going to try to settle this case, right?”
“Yeah, if I can. Hey, Hailey, you still haven’t asked me about my meeting with the sheriff.”
She faced me again and said, “I figured you’d fill me in, if you wanted to.”
“I do. Look, it went fine. She had a bunch of questions for me about Richard Kostas and Marisa Dupree, but the death of Kostas seems to have her stumped. I cooperated, as much as I could. Don’t be surprised if she continues to poke around and ask questions, okay?”
“Yeah, no prob,” Hailey said. “I really don’t know anything that I could tell her anyway.”
“You like shooting, don’t you? Shotguns. That kind of thing.”
Her face looked immediately confused. “Shooting? Come again?”
“You know, shooting guns. Maybe it’s nothing, but I learned from the sheriff that the last place Richard Kostas visited before he died was Turner Creek Sporting Clays. I want to check it out Saturday. You’ve been there before. You mentioned it once. I could use your help investigating … to see if you notice anything strange.”
“Well, if it’s for work, I guess I could ask Daniel.”
I said, “Bring that big guy along. The three of us can shoot a round on me.”
“No, he has to take our girls to ballet class on Saturday.”
“Well, I can go on my own then.”
Hailey had a look of intrigue in her green eyes. “Actually, I’m interested in going. I want to know what happened to Mr. Kostas. But I’ll ask Daniel if he can switch up driving and come with us, otherwise it’ll just be me.”
“Okay, either way,” I said. “You could help me figure out the final hours of Kostas’s life. Might be the key to Marisa Dupree’s case.”
She nodded with a soft smile.
“Thanks, Hailey. I bet you’ll score higher than me.”
“You know I will. I’m heading out for the night.”
“Okay, I’ll lock up. See you tomorrow.”
She waved gently as she said goodbye.
I already had my fill of law for the day, so I downloaded some acoustic blues and unwound to the mellow guitar runs. Pale ales, stouts, and dark lagers filled the top shelf of my refrigerator, but I grabbed a light beer. It seemed a healthier choice that made me feel good about myself, almost as if I had gone jogging instead of having a drink.
My credenza held a collection of antique maps in protective plastic covers. Years ago
