she asked who was calling. I was tempted to tell her she was right to
be suspicious, but I gave her the boring answer instead.
'It's for you,' she hollered. 'Someone named Samantha Kincaid.'
I wasn't sure which was worse, to be known as the evil ex-wife or not
to be known at all.
'Hello?'
'Is that company, Roger, or a roommate?'
'Something in between, actually, but I assume the point of the question
was more in the asking than the answering. If you're calling about
Townsend, yes, we plan on being there tomorrow.'
'Nice to know, but that's not why I called. I want to talk to Larry
Gunderson.'
It always feels good to show another attorney you know more than he
thought you did. But this time it was especially rewarding.
'Why would you be calling me about that?'
There were lots of bad things to be said about Roger, but lawyering
skills were not among them. His question was perfect in its ambiguity,
neither denying nor confirming knowledge of Gunderson.
'Because you said Dunn Simon represented him. Remember? That's how
you got Melvin Jackson's name? If you're saying you're not Gunderson's
lawyer, that's fine. I'll contact him directly.' I read Gunderson's
street address from my PPDS printout.
'I'm not actually Gunderson's lawyer. One of my partners is, Jim
Thorpe.'
I remembered seeing his name on Gunderson's appeal. 'Fine. I'll call
him. What's his home number?'
'Jesus, Samantha. What's your problem? Can't this wait until
tomorrow?'
'XT
Nope.
Roger might have come into the firm as a partner, but he was still
junior to a corner office guy like Thorpe. Junior partners who hand
out home phone numbers to government lawyers stay in the middle of the
hallway.
'Fine. Tell me what you want to know, and I'll talk to Jim and get
back to you.'
I could hear his house guest slash live-in beginning to whine in the
background. Apparently Roger had found what he never had in me someone
who needed his undivided attention to be happy.
I didn't show him all my cards, just enough to ensure I'd get
Gunderson's attention. 'It turns out that in addition to being Melvin
Jackson's employer and the owner of the property where Clarissa's body
was found, Gunderson also had a case in front of Clarissa a few months
ago. In light of that, I think we should at least talk to him about
how Jackson happened to find himself on Gunderson's radar.'
'I'll get back to you, but don't hold your breath. Given the
insinuation, he's more likely to be insulted.'
It had to have been one of the fastest decisions ever made by a lawyer
who gets paid by the hour. Eleven minutes later, my phone rang.
'It's Jim's call, and he advised Gunderson to enjoy the rest of his
weekend. If you want to work something out for this week, get in touch
with Jim at the office tomorrow.'
'Unbelievable, Roger. I've got the rest of the preliminary hearing
tomorrow, and you guys think it's a good idea to tell your client to be
uncooperative. Does Thorpe know enough about criminal practice to
understand how suspicious it makes Gunderson look?'
'To you, maybe. Quite frankly, I don't see the problem.'
'Well, since I'm handling the case, I guess my opinion has to matter to
you on this one.'
'Sam, if you're doing this because you're pissed off at me, I'm sorry I
said some harsh things about your office at the meeting, but they
weren't directed at you personally. I was only trying to get Duncan's
attention. Hell, you're the one who told me at one time all he cared
about was politics.' He laughed, but I didn't see what was funny.
'Can't you just be happy that you finally got the promotion you wanted
and that your first big case came together? I realize I'm not the best
messenger for this, but you're not acting like yourself on this one.'
'You're a piss-poor messenger, Roger. You don't even know me
anymore.'
'Well, you're not acting like the person I used to know. Look at the
evidence: You've got a fingerprint, the weapon, motive, something
