reading their thoughts. In malpractice circles, according to what she had been told by Glenn Paris, Mallon was something of a legend.
'Mr. Daniels, do you know who Jeremy Mallon is?' asked Arnold Hayden.
Uh-oh, Sarah thought. Here we go.
'Well, actually sir, I don't.'
'Well, Mr. Daniels,' the attorney went on, clearing his throat, 'I-um-I think before we begin, it might help us some if we knew a little of your background in the area of medical malpractice. The hospital hasn't been sued yet, but there's every reason to believe we will be if it looks like Sarah's going to lose-and not just by the Graysons, but by the families of those other women as well. Even worse, we stand to take a pounding in the press. So I hope you won't think it presumptuous of me to ask.'
'Not at all, Mr. Hayden,' Daniels said evenly. 'Why, you hardly seem like the presumptuous type. Let's see, the answer to your question is: I've only defended one doctor for malpractice. He was a dentist, actually. A woman claimed her headaches were caused by his pulling out an extra molar and messing up her bite. For what it's worth, we did go to trial, and I did win the case.'
'That's very reassuring,' Hayden said not kindly. 'Do you have any idea how the MMPO came to choose you for this case?'
'To tell you the truth, I've kind of wondered some about that myself, although I'm very pleased they did. I've been on their roll of available attorneys for a couple of years now, and this is the first time they've sent me a case.'
'Well, that's great, just great!' Paris erupted. 'Mr. Daniels, I don't mean to sound rude, but you must understand that there is a great deal at stake here. Your adversary, as you call Jeremy Mallon, is totally dedicated to bringing this hospital to its knees. And he is damn good at what he does, which in the main is to sue doctors. Don't you think we ought to call the MMPO and have them assign some other firm to the case?'
Sarah studied Daniels as he thought over the question. If he was disturbed by the two-pronged attack from Hayden and now Paris, it did not show in his face, which at that moment reminded her of Fess Parker as Davy Crockett, debating whether or not to stay on and defend the Alamo. His expression was severe enough, but there was a spark in his azure eyes-a defiance-that Sarah felt certain only she was appreciating.
'Well,' he said finally, 'for any number of reasons, I'd sure hate to see that happen. But since you've brought it up, I guess we ought to consider it.'
'Good,' Paris said.
'However,' Matt went on, 'there are a couple of points I'd like to make. For one, Dr. Baldwin here is my client. Whether I stay or go is really up to her. For another, since speaking with her the other day, I've done some reading and some talking to people. Mallon or no Mallon, I think I can do a good job representing her.'
'How can you say that, with almost no experience in this area?' Hayden demanded.
'Because the law's the law, Mr. Hayden. And I'm still just naive enough to equate the legal process with getting at the truth. And getting at the truth is something I always liked doing.'
Glenn Paris turned to Sarah. 'Sarah, it is our opinion that you can get better counsel and a better defense from someone more, how should I say, experienced than Mr. Daniels here. But he is right. You are his client. And it is for you to decide.'
Sarah looked over at Daniels, who held her gaze coolly. Bring on Santa Ana, Mr. Travis. I ain't plannin' on goin' nowhere.
'Well, Mr. Paris,' she said, 'provided my job isn't on the line over this, I guess I feel that if Mr. Daniels handles himself in court the way he has here, I'm in pretty good hands. Mr. Daniels-Matt-I'm sure that if you needed to involve Mr. Hayden or any of the other MCB lawyers, you'd do it, wouldn't you?'
'Anytime.'
'In that case, Mr. Paris,' Sarah said, 'I'm comfortable being represented by this man.'
'Good Lord,' Eli Blankenship suddenly exclaimed, 'I think I just figured out who our Mr. Daniels is. Let's see if I get this right, Matt. Bottom of the ninth, no outs, bases loaded, three and nothing on the Toronto batter-'
'Yes, yes,' Matt said, a bit impatiently, 'that was me. Thank you for remembering. But that's ancient history now.'
'Remembering what?' Sarah asked.
'Nine pitches, nine strikes, three outs, ball game over,' Blankenship went on. 'One of the greatest short relief performances ever. I thought the name sounded familiar when I first heard it.'
'I'm sure the 'Matt' part threw you off,' Daniels said more kindly. 'Not many remember that I actually had a real first name.'
'Hey, do I get clued in here? I am the defendant.'
'I'm afraid I'm in the dark, too,' Paris chimed in.
'Black Cat Daniels,' Blankenship explained. 'Ten years as a relief pitcher for the Red Sox.'
'Actually twelve,' Daniels said. 'Now, if you all wouldn't mind getting back to the business at-'
'Why Black Cat?' Paris asked.
Daniels sighed.
'Dr. Baldwin-Sarah-I'm really sorry about this,' he said. 'I would imagine that what you're going through is not pleasant, and is probably more than a little scary for you. Having to sit there while my qualifications get called into question, and now all this baseball talk, certainly can't be helping.'
'I'm fine, actually,' Sarah said. 'Besides, I want to know, too.'
'Okay. Mr. Paris, my nickname came from my having a fair number of superstitions back when I played the game.'
'Always stepped on first base coming into a game,' Blankenship said. 'Never sat down in the bullpen. Never pitched without a piece of red ribbon tied around his belt.'
'Blue,' Matt corrected. 'You know your baseball.'
'Yes, of course, it was blue. Are you still like that? Superstitious, I mean.'
'I-um-still have an interest in ritual and luck if that's what you're asking. But trust me, Dr. Blankenship, it doesn't get in the way. When I'm in the courtroom, I keep that ribbon tied on my belt in the back where my suit coat hides it. Now, I think maybe we ought to get down to business. As Mr. Paris so eloquently put it, we have a lot at stake here. And unfortunately, it seems that our esteemed adversary has gotten a bit of a jump on us.'
'What do you mean?' Paris asked.
Daniels took some notes from his briefcase. 'Sarah, the man who provides you with your herbs and roots, his name is Mr. Kwong?'
'That's right. Kwong Tian-Wen.'
'Well, this afternoon Mr. Mallon obtained an ex parte discovery order to seal off Mr. Kwong's shop. At eight tomorrow morning he'll be there with a chemist, someone from the sheriff's office, and God only knows who else. He plans to get samples from the place and follow chain-of-evidence procedures to have those samples analyzed.'
'Can't you do something about that?' Paris asked.
'I'll defer to Mr. Hayden to answer that question, sir.'
'Not at this point, Glenn,' Hayden said. 'It's just a case of being outmaneuvered. Dr. Baldwin, do you have any idea how Mallon could have gotten the name of this man so quickly?'
'A couple of possibilities come to mind,' she said.
'And?' Paris asked.
'I think I ought to do some checking before throwing out any names. Besides, I have implicit faith in Mr. Kwong. He is one of the very best at what he does. The sooner Mallon gets this thing done, the sooner he'll learn that he doesn't have a case.'
'I think someone from the hospital should be there,' Daniels said. 'We'll be meeting tomorrow morning at this address.' He slid the court order over to Hayden.
'Can't do it,' the lawyer said. 'I'll be in court.'
'Eli, how about you?' Paris asked. 'You'd be a perfect representative.'
'I think I can be there,' Blankenship said.
'Perfect. Extra dessert for you, Eli. We must hope Sarah is right about all this, Daniels. But do you see what we mean about Mallon? He has handled dozens-probably hundreds-of malpractice cases. He's got a huge staff, and
