Lisa See - The Interior

During the trials David had received several death threats. He hadn't taken them seriously, but the FBI had. They put a trace on his phone and arranged for round-the-clock surveillance. The routine was claustrophobic and enervating, but-as the agents had reminded him on their last night of duty after the trial was over-he was still alive. Better to be safe than sorry, they said.

David took a sip of coffee, grabbed a box, then began sifting through the papers on his desk. There was a time when he would have kept the congratulatory letters, but now he tossed them, even the one from his ex-wife, in the trash. His secretary had grouped about a dozen invitations together with a rubber band. Without opening them, David dumped these as well. Why should he look at them? He knew what they were. Ever since the O.J. case, lawyers had become pseudo celebrities. Hostesses and fund-raising groups liked to invite lawyers who'd been on the news every night to give their parties a buzz. Other invitations were issued by private law firms. With his rise in celebrity-and with every Rising Phoenix conviction-several headhunters had phoned to inquire if he wanted to go back into private practice. Old friends, who'd been ensconced in firms for years, had called out of the blue to ask if David would like to have lunch with the senior partners or stop by for drinks. David had said no. He understood that this chapter of his life was over, but not knowing what would happen with Hulan had put his career in limbo.

By eleven, David had gone through the easy piles. Now he moved on to the everyday materials that he'd needed during these last months of back-to-back trials. As he began looking at the folders-knowing that they held so many lives that had been lost or ruined-he couldn't help but be aware of his own dejection.

Like most lawyers, David often experienced melancholy after the completion of a trial. But this time he was also hounded by a sense of futility. Sure, he'd been successful. The Rising Phoenix had been brought down, but as David had predicted, other triads had filled the vacuum. A couple of months ago, the Sun Yee On had become more active in Southern California. At that time David was deep into trial, so the case had been handled to someone else in this office. More recently the Wan Ching group had been caught with a shipment of heroin coming in from the Golden Triangle. That case had gone to the narcotics unit. The media loved a big drug case, and attention had finally shifted from David's work. The baton, so to speak, had been passed.

After the favorable conclusion of a big case, an assistant U.S. attorney was expected to parlay that triumph into a lucrative job in the private sector. The calls from the headhunters only verified for David that it was time to move on and that there were opportunities out there. At the same time, his name was being bandied about for U.S. attorney. If he believed the newspapers, his appointment and confirmation were assured. The current U.S. attorney, Madeleine Prentice, was behind him too. She'd been encouraging him to throw his name into the hat ever since her nomination to the federal bench. Madeleine's was a path that David had once aspired to, but he no longer desired it. True, he no longer trusted his own government, but it was more personal than that: he wanted to be with Hulan, to be with her when she gave birth to their child, to live together as a family.

So he had come back to thoughts of Hulan. Hours had passed since her call, and he was still worried about her. David hadn't been completely forthright with Hulan this morning, and it bothered him now. He knew how he could get information about Knight International, but he hadn't mentioned it. Recent press coverage had focused on speculation that the company was about to be bought by mega-toy company Tartan International. His old law firm, Phillips, MacKenzie amp; Stout, had long done Tartan's legal work. Tartan, a major client, paid millions of dollars in legal fees each year. As name partner and firm rainmaker, it was expected that Miles Stout would keep a close guard on his best client, and he had. He had managed the acquisition of several smaller companies by the conglomerate and had served as Tartan's spokesman for many years. Additionally, he represented Randall Craig, the chairman of Tartan. But when it came to the actual grunt work for the company- licensing deals, handling esoteric copyright-infringement violations, or performing due diligence during contract negotiations-Miles passed most of it on to junior partners and a flock of associates.

When David had been at the firm, he'd been friendly with Keith Baxter, one of the young attorneys who'd been corraled by Miles into the Tartan work. David reached for his Rolodex, found the number for Keith's private line, and put through a call. After a couple of minutes, David and Keith had made arrangements to meet at the Water Grill on Grand Avenue for drinks and dinner. Keith was a good guy, pretty open. The next time Hulan called, David was sure he'd be ready with whatever information she might want on Knight.

At seven, the Water Grill was jammed with the pre-theater dinner crowd, as well as people who'd come down out of their office towers for business dinners or romantic evenings with their spouses. The Water Grill specialized in seafood, and here and there men and women wore big plastic bibs to protect their clothes from the splatter of bouillabaisse or flying pieces of cracked crab. At other tables customers attacked towering fruits de mer platters piled high with shrimp, oysters, mussels, and sea urchins.

David followed the hostess as she wended her way through the main room to one of the banquettes along the far wall. Keith was already seated and nursing a scotch on the rocks. A waitress came up and asked if David wanted a drink. "Shall we get a bottle of wine?" David asked Keith. When Keith nodded, David ordered a bottle of Chateau St. Jean. Moments later, wine had been poured for David, and Keith was working on another tumbler of brown liquor. During this time David sized up his old colleague.

Ten years ago, Keith had come to Phillips, MacKenzie fresh out of law school. He hadn't known much about law except how to take a test and argue with a teacher. And, with the exception of moot court, he'd never tried a case in front of a jury. But at the law firm, as it was in private law firms across the country, he hadn't been expected to try a case for many, many years. He'd been assigned to several of David's matters, had written briefs, done document reviews, and summarized witness testimony. When David left Phillips, MacKenzie, Keith was a senior associate. A couple of years ago he'd made partner and decided to focus more on mergers and acquisitions. But as a junior partner he was nothing more than a glorified associate-working hard but getting little of the credit or the fun.

Sitting across from Keith now, David saw that the past decade had been hard on the younger man. He'd once been a bit of an athlete, but he'd put on weight and begun to lose his hair. And the drinking? That was something David didn't remember.

Over dinner-Hawaiian mahi mahi on nori rice with blackened sesame seeds for David, grouper with an ancho chili sauce for Keith-the conversation concerned mutual friends, legal committees they were involved with, and news from the headlines. They bantered about David's captivity at the hands of the FBI security team-the fast-food meals, the lingo, the sense of importance the men and women agents brought to a job that David thought totally unnecessary. Once the dishes were cleared, Keith ordered brandy while David settled for coffee.

Finally David asked, "They still have you slaving away over there?"

"Yeah, you know how it is," Keith said.

"Have you tried any cases yet?"

"Shit no. I'm corporate all the way now."