Perri O'Shaughnessy - Unfit to Practice

“I always thought that was a squirrelly investigation she ran. So tonight we arrange for further information about the clandestine activities of one unscrupulous manipulator,” Paul said, putting the pencil to paper. “Who’s the big, bad wolf? Kevin Cruz, Officer Scholl, or Jeffrey Riesner?”

“Or if it’s not them, we’ll learn that, too. We’ll try to use Kevin to flush out the wolf.”

“Keep thinking about Lisa Cruz, even if she isn’t around at the moment.”

They wrote for a long time, drafting and redrafting.

“I won’t be forced out,” she announced when they were satisfied with their work. She drank an entire glass of water, set it down, and stood up. “I’ll run up to tell Bob we’ll be a few more minutes and pick up some samples we can give Mrs. Gleb. You wait here.”

“Okay, boss.”

They took a cab to the Marriott and located Mrs. Gleb on the fifth floor.

Mrs. Gleb answered in a red silk robe. Pink silk mules with delicate heels flopped on her feet as she moved to invite them inside. They sat down in two chairs next to a table stacked with books. Mrs. Gleb perched on the bed, tucking her legs comfortably beneath her.

“I expected you,” she said after Nina introduced Paul.

“You did?” Nina asked. “Why?”

“‘Truth is on the march and nothing can stop it.’ ”

Nina shook her head. “Sorry. I don’t know that expression.”

“I am reading Zola tonight. You have the same passion for life, struggle, and intensity. You refuse to lose, isn’t that so?”

“In this case, that’s so.”

“And you need me,” she said smugly.

“Mrs. Gleb,” Paul said. “You know all about forgery, right?”

“Correct.”

“Ever tried your hand at it?”

“Darling, I’m very, very good. You saw me on the stand. I tell the truth.”

“It’s not exactly truth we’ve got in mind here,” Paul said. “In fact, the opposite.”

“‘Noble lies to persuade the city,’ ” said Mrs. Gleb.

“Ignoble, noble, whatever,” Nina said. “Let’s get cracking.”

First thing, back at the Galleria Park, after a long good-bye at the door with Paul, Nina hit the bathroom, drank some more water, and gargled. Then she asked Bob how things went with his dad.

“Mystery solved,” he said. “Say, Mom, what do you think about me taking a little trip this summer?”

“To visit Kurt?” To keep her voice calm, she turned away from him. Couldn’t she get through tonight without another challenge? She had organized a last-minute party. She had bought Bob presents he loved that she hated. She rummaged in her suitcase for pajamas and a robe. How she would love a bath. She checked her watch. Not too late yet. Maybe Bob would give this up, give her until morning when she would be fresh-

“He misses me. And I never get to see him.” While Bob pressured her, he also watched the muted television.

“Of course you miss each other,” she said automatically. There were so many times, now, raising his son, when Kurt was recalled by a bend in Bob’s earlobe or a certain quality in his changing voice. He played a peculiar role in their lives, dipping in like a seagull to snatch fish now and then, otherwise flying around far away. She was not ready to deal with Kurt’s sudden interference or yet another need of Bob’s. She needed to sleep and gather up vibes that would give her strength for tomorrow. “I don’t know.”

“Mom, he needs me, too. I told you that.”

She tended to her clothes, folding some dirty ones into a zipper pocket, throwing others on her bed for the next morning. “Let me think about it, okay?”

“I hate when you say that. You might as well just say no.”

“I don’t mean no.”

“You do. Think about it is a euphemism for no way .”

“I am not saying that. I’m saying it’s probably all right, okay?”

“So the answer is going to be yes?”

“Just let me have a day or two to sit on the idea.”

“Don’t bother. I have my answer.” He turned the sound up on the television. “You have to tell Dad, though. I’m not going to break his heart.”

“Bob, I’m saying the answer is probably yes, not no! Nobody’s heart needs to be broken here! I just need time to be sure. I need to check some things.”

He brightened instantly, jumped up, and hugged her. “I’ll call him and tell him tomorrow night, okay? We’ve got a lot of things to talk about. And that’ll give you some time.”

“I haven’t promised you anything. Remember that,” she said, knowing it was useless. There was no going back. He had heard his power word, yes, and now he would never let her forget it. She sighed. “So what was all that stuff about Sweden and the North Sea?”

“He’s teaching at the Stockholm Music Institute this summer. Says there’s a great program up there for me that he’ll pay for. He’ll arrange everything. Mom, I can learn Swedish!”

Well, she thought a few minutes later, drawing a bath so hot it would burn her skin red, why the heck not? Swedish made as much sense as anything.

“D ID YOU SEE THE WAY he looked at me?” Nina said the next morning to Jack as they walked through the metal detector and into the reception area. Jeffrey Riesner sat in one of the small upholstered chairs in front of the circular table, lounging like a man who was relaxed and rich and on top of the world. Nina, on the other hand, had suffered another of the long, dark nights of the soul with Bob sleeping in the next bed over. She wasn’t far from rolling her bloodshot eyes at the judge after all, although eyedrops borrowed from the clerk at the hotel had helped.

“Ignore him,” Jack said.

“I knew this would be a tough day.”

“All days here are tough, Nina,” Jack said, holding open the door to the witness waiting room on the right for her. They walked in and shut the door behind them. “Now forget about him. We’ve got to get to this Cruz guy.”

“Jack, he’s gloating! I can’t help believing he’s behind this, and it’s driving me nuts, not knowing. Him or Scholl or Lisa or Kevin. Scholl or Lisa and Kevin together-”

“Drink your coffee,” Jack ordered. “All of it. And concentrate on what we can do right now. I’m thinking Riesner’s testimony will last until the lunch break. Then I want you to do something, Nina.”

If Riesner had his letter, and Scholl had hers, she would be too busy to do anything for Jack. If all had gone right, the three players had received letters at their hotels late last night that would occupy at least two of them during this upcoming lunchtime. Thank goodness all the witnesses had agreed to stay in town for the duration of the hearing in case they were needed. “What?”

“I want you to talk to Kevin.”

“No, Jack.” That couldn’t help now, and if her and Paul’s plan worked, it would not be necessary anyway. They would know who had set her up, and could proceed accordingly. Jack got his dark look, so she justified her refusal. “I tried to talk with him several times over the past several months, right after I got that letter from him and two other times. He doesn’t want to talk to me. Anyway, now we’re in the middle of this.”

Although she thought of it frequently, she had never confronted Jack with the fact that if he hadn’t insisted on her rushing the insurance check to the Vangs over that fateful weekend, she might have averted that particular catastrophe by waiting until Monday, when Marilyn Rose had called, hoping she hadn’t yet sent the check. She didn’t blame Jack for pushing her to send it before she was ready. That wouldn’t be right. Still, she wished he could acknowledge the error. If he had noticed, he apparently didn’t see it as his mistake at all.