Robert Whitlow: Deeper Water

Julie stopped and laughed. "That sounds strange, doesn't it?"

"Yes."

The library phone buzzed, and I picked it up. It was the front desk receptionist.

"This is Tami."

"You have a call from Ms. Smith at the district attorney's office. She asked for Zach, but he's not here."

"I'll take it," I said after a moment's hesitation.

Maggie Smith wasted no time on pleasantries once I took the call. "I spoke with Zach yesterday, and I was able to reassign the Jones case to Judge Howell's docket. I ran the plea bargain past the judge, and she's fine with it-release Jones for time served and a year on probation with no monetary fine. It's specially set on her calendar this afternoon at two o'clock. I sent Zach an e-mail confirmation."

"I'm not sure my client-" I began, and then stopped.

Moses had not withdrawn his agreement to the plea, and I couldn't tell her otherwise.

"What about your client?" Smith asked.

"I need to let him know about the hearing."

"Fine, but the prisoner request list went over to the jail first thing this morning. He'll be there and released in time for a cornbread supper. See you this afternoon."

I hung up the phone.

"Good or bad news?" Julie asked.

"It depends. We're going in front of another judge with the plea bargain in the Jones case. The assistant DA thinks it will go through."

There was no avoiding Zach now. No matter how cooperative Judge Howell might be, she wouldn't allow me to appear in court without a supervising attorney. I buzzed back to the receptionist.

"Please let me know when Zach Mays arrives."

"He walked in the door right after I transferred the phone call."

There was no use putting off the inevitable. I slowly set the phone receiver back in the cradle.

"Does Joel have any photos of the river marshes?" I asked Julie.

"Yeah, at all times of the day. They're gorgeous."

"If you want to buy me a going-away present, that would be a good choice."

I left Julie with a puzzled expression on her face and went upstairs to Zachs office. He turned around when I entered.

"Maggie Smith called," I said. "The case-"

"Is on for two o'clock this afternoon. I read her e-mail."

I turned to leave.

"One other thing," Zach said. "Mr. Carpenter is going to be there."

I spun around. "Who invited him?"

"Nobody. He's been keeping up with the case independently of your information."

"What does that tell you?"

"That he's more interested than I knew. But you're not sharing information with anyone, and I don't want to speculate about his motives.

"Motive is a good word." I stopped and took a deep breath. "And I know I'm doing the right thing keeping you and Vince out of this."

SOMEHOW, I NEEDED TO CONVINCE MOSES TO REJECT THE plea bargain and remain in the relative safety of the jail. All paths might be rocky, but not all held the danger of a fatal rock slide. I needed time to figure out the best way to safety.

I checked on the availability of the law firm car. It was checked out for the entire day. I wouldn't suffer the indignity of riding in the motorcycle sidecar or in the same vehicle with Mr. Carpenter and didn't want to ask Vince to let me borrow his car. That left Julie. I returned to the library.

And came face-to-face with Bob Kettleson.

"Let's go," he said. "We have a meeting with the developer on the eminent domain issue you researched."

"Why do you need me? Everything I know is in the memo, and there is a hearing on my appointed criminal case this afternoon. I have to get ready."

"It's a plea bargain," Julie said. "And you told me the assistant DA is recommending it to the judge."

"What time is the hearing?" Kettleson asked.

"Two o'clock."

"We'll be back in plenty of time. The main reason for the invitation is that I've been pleased with your work and wanted to get to know you better. It's a forty-five-minute drive to the client's business, and I hate wasting the time."

I'd long since abandoned Zach Mays' rules for summer associates. I silently appealed to Julie. All she gave me was a smirk.

I picked up the folder that contained my memo and followed Kettleson out of the office. Because the client developed real estate up and down the coast, its main office was located between Savannah and Brunswick. We left the city and drove south. Kettleson spent the first thirty minutes of the trip talking about himself and didn't direct a single question toward me. Finally, he asked me to list every course I'd taken during my second year of law school, the professor who taught the class, and the grade received.

"Your municipal corporations background shows in your analysis. I wish you could have had Professor Sentell. He was the best."

"He gave a few guest lectures."

I spent the rest of the trip listening to Kettleson tell me about his experiences in law school where he'd been selected for the law review. I was tempted to ask him to list all his second-year classes and the grades he'd received, but I kept my mouth shut and tried to organize my thoughts about the Jones case. Kettleson's nasally voice didn't help me concentrate.

The meeting with the client included an architectural presentation of the plans for the disputed property and legal analysis by Kettleson in which he read my memo without giving me credit for the research.

"Joe Carpenter, our top litigator, will be the lead lawyer if a lawsuit has to be filed," Kettleson said in conclusion. "But I hope litigation won't be necessary after our senior partner, Mr. Braddock, makes his calls to the politicians. No one is better connected in Chatham County, and he has well-placed friends in Atlanta and Washington."

The client catered lunch. I anxiously looked at my watch.

"Mr. Kettleson, don't forget I have to be back for my hearing," I said.

"Don't worry. We won't stay long."

He was wrong. We stayed until the company's managers began to drift back to work. On the ride back to Savannah, I kept looking at my watch and taking a peek at the speedometer. Kettleson stayed quiet, and I didn't try to interrupt his thoughts. We pulled into the law firm parking lot at 1:50 p.m. If I'd brought the Jones file with me, Kettleson could have dropped me off at the courthouse.

"It's only a couple of minutes to the courthouse," the senior associate said as he turned off the car.

"Except I don't know how I'm going to get there." I rushed into the building. Vince was sitting in the reception area.

"Here's your file," he said. "I'll drive you to the courthouse."

We passed Kettleson on the way out of the building.

"That worked out great," the senior associate said. "Look for another project from me when you get back."

We reached Vince's car.

"How did you know about the hearing?" I asked.

"Julie told me."

"For once, I'm glad she has a big mouth."

It was only a few blocks to the courthouse.

"Did you see Zach or Mr. Carpenter leave?" I asked.

"No. Why is Mr. Carpenter going to be there?"

"You know he's probably been shadowing everything I've done. I wouldn't be surprised if he knows I've been snooping around the microfilm records."

"Are you going to tell me more?"

"No."

We stopped and waited for a light to turn green.

"I want to help," Vince said, moving forward.

"You're helping right now. Trust me, this is for the best."

"I'll let you out and find a place to park."

Opening the car door, I climbed the steps two at a time. Fortunately, there wasn't a line at the security check, and an elevator was waiting with the door open. It was 1:58 p.m. when I opened the back door to the courtroom. It was much smaller than the one used by judge Cannon. Zach and Mr. Carpenter were sitting in the area reserved for the lawyers. Moses and a single deputy were in the prisoner dock. There was no sign of Maggie Smith or the judge. I walked breathlessly down the aisle. The two lawyers turned toward me as I approached.