I rose from the couch, kissing the top of his head.
'You're heading out?' he asked, surprised. 'I thought you'd stay for
dinner.'
'Not tonight. But don't worry. I'm good.'
Before I could even take out my cell phone to call the impatient pager,
the device hummed again, this time to the number we used to dial into
the office voice mail system, followed by my extension. Apparently
someone wanted me to check my messages.
It was Russ Frist. 'Don't ignore your pager again, Kincaid. Next time
it might be a murder call-out. I know you're officially off the case,
but I wanted to let you know that Duncan called me. He met with the
bigwigs all afternoon and laid out where we stand. The agreement is to
ask the defense to stipulate to a continuance while the Attorney
General's corporate affairs department investigates Gunderson. I'll
let you know if I hear anything else.'
He left his home number in case I needed anything. 'Oh .. . and I'm
assuming you're coming back to work tomorrow. I noticed you took the
pictures from your cork board, but maybe you're out buying new frames
for them with your time off.'
I would indeed be in tomorrow, but I wasn't going to wait for the AG's
office to do something. I may have gotten kicked off of the Jackson
case, but I wasn't going to stand by while Duncan and the bureau found
a way to ignore whatever Gunderson and Clarissa had been up to. I hit
the 9 button on my keypad to save Russ's message, just in case I needed
him later.
Fifteen.
If I was going to get any answers, I needed more information so I could
ask the right questions. I drove straight to City Hall.
I had just missed closing time, and security wouldn't let me in. But I
got lucky. Clarence Loutrell actually answered when I called his
office.
'Judge Loutrell, it's Samantha Kincaid from the District Attorney's
Office.'
'Oh, sure, from the other day. Yes, well, would you mind calling
tomorrow morning? My secretary left for the day. I picked up because
I was expecting my wife.'
'I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid it can't wait.'
'Unless it's a real emergency, I'm afraid it's going to have to. I was
just about to head home for the evening. Promised to help at the house
with some things. You know.'
Actually, I didn't, since I did just about everything myself. But
Loutrell didn't need to hear about my domestic issues.
'That's fine. I'll call tomorrow,' I said. Too bad for him, he didn't
know I'd already checked with security. After five, all employees had
to exit through the Fourth Avenue doors. I planted myself on a bench
across the street in the park, hoping he meant it when he said he was
leaving soon.
As it turned out, he must have walked out right after we hung up. I
jaywalked across traffic to catch up with him at the corner, pulling
out a copy of Clarissa's memo from my briefcase while I walked. He
didn't hide his dismay when he saw me.
'I'm sorry, but I really do need to speak to you. I'll talk as you
walk to the car if I have to.' I handed him the copy of the memo.
'Apparently Clarissa had a discussion with Dennis Coakley about an
appeal filed by Gunderson Development. She cared about it enough to
lock a copy of the file and this memo in a safe deposit box. I need to
know why she took such a special interest in the case, and I thought,
as chief administrative judge, you might have some idea.'
I left out the fact that Nelly overheard him with Coakley arguing over
whether to tell me about it. Nelly said that Loutrell sounded like he
wanted to talk to me, so I hoped I could get what I needed without
diming Nelly up.
'I'm sorry, but if Clarissa had such a discussion with Dennis and I'm
neither confirming nor denying that she did the conversation would
clearly be privileged.' He was walking so quickly I had to alter my
stride to a slow jog.
'And, I'm sorry, Judge Loutrell, but now Clarissa's dead.'
'Attorney/client privilege survives the client's death.' I got the
impression he was parroting back the words he'd heard from Coakley.
'It does, but unlike the City Attorney, you never represented Clarissa
Easterbrook. You're just her coworker. Even if her conversations with
Coakley were privileged, what you know is fair game if she came to you
about her concerns first.'
He knew I was right about the law. On the other hand, he was still
thinking through what Coakley might say in response. One more push
