Brad Meltzer - Dead Even

Victor opened the door and stepped inside. Sara and Guff simultaneously closed the folders they were holding and fell silent.

“Can I help you?” Sara asked, straightening a pile of files and trying her best to block Victor’s view of her desk.

“Just came to see how things were going,” Victor said. He looked around the office. “What’s with the old cases?”

“Extra research,” Sara stammered. “Trying to be as thorough as possible.”

“Whatever makes you feel secure. Just be sure you don’t lose track of the real problem.”

“Thanks for the advice. Now is there anything else? I’m incredibly swamped.”

“I think that’s it,” Victor said, tapping his knuckle against one of the file boxes. “Be careful, though. I know it’s a hard idea to swallow, but you’re not as smart as you think.” When Victor left the room, Sara waited until the door slammed behind him.

“What was that about?” Guff asked.

“He knows,” Sara said, collapsing in her seat.

“Knows what?”

“That we have his old files. That’s why he came in here – to tell us that he’s watching. He knows about the files, he knows about the case, and even though he’d deny it, he knows what happened to our witnesses.”

“What do you mean they’re not testifying?” Jared asked.

“Just what I said,” Rafferty answered, his voice sounding grainy as it came through the telephone. “They’re not testifying. For some reason, they’ve both had second thoughts.”

Looking up at Kozlow, who was riffling through a magazine in the back of the office, Jared felt suddenly light-headed. “Can you hold on a second?” he asked Rafferty. Before Rafferty could reply, Jared put down the phone and went out to Kathleen’s desk. “What time were you done shopping with Kozlow this morning?”

“About a quarter to twelve, why?”

“And then what’d you do?”

“He said he had some errands to run, so I went to pick out some ties,” Kathleen said hesitantly. “We met up about an hour later. Why? What’s wrong?”

“So he was alone for at least an hour?” Jared asked.

“He came back late, so it was actually almost an hour and fifteen min-”

“Jesus,” Jared said. He rushed back into his office and picked up the phone. “You shouldn’t have threatened them,” he said to Rafferty.

“Threaten them? I did no such thing,” Rafferty said. “That would be against the law.”

“That’s not funny.”

“Just be happy and enjoy the good news. It should make your case that much easier.”

As Rafferty hung up, there was a knock on Jared’s door. “Come in,” Jared said.

Sticking her head into the room, Kathleen said, “I’m really sorry. I didn’t-”

“Don’t worry – you couldn’t have known.” Noticing the pink message sheet in her hand, he added, “Did someone call?”

“Lubetsky wants to know if you’re finished with the AmeriTex motions.”

“Oh, shit,” Jared said, shuffling through the pile of papers that covered his desk. “Tell him he’ll have them first thing in the morning.”

“He said to remind you that it has to be filed by five o’clock this afternoon.”

Startled, Jared looked up at Kathleen. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Not a chance.”

“Okay,” Jared said as he glanced at his watch. “That gives me three and a half hours.” Turning on his computer, he opened the AmeriTex file. “I’m going to need two paralegals to do some research and a third- or fourth-year associate for the procedural issue. Have them meet me in a conference room in a half hour.”

“Any associates in particular?” Kathleen asked.

“Anyone who’s good,” Jared said as Kathleen shut the door.

“I’m impressed,” Kozlow said. “But what makes you so sure everyone else is going to drop what they’re doing?”

“This is a big law firm,” Jared said. “With 168 partners, 346 associates, and a hundred-something paralegals, we can always find someone. That’s what you pay the big money for.”

“Is that why you do it? The big money?”

“That’s part of it.”

“And what’s the other part?”

Surprised by the interest in Kozlow’s voice, Jared took a second to respond. This was his chance to break through, he thought. If anger hadn’t worked this morning, maybe honesty would work now. “You want to know the real reason I keep doing defense work? It’s because I think there’s enough justice to go around,” Jared explained. “All I’m doing is distributing it to the side that sometimes gets shut out.”

“You sound like a Boy Scout.”

“That’s what Sara says,” Jared replied. Hoping to stay on topic, he added, “Speaking of which, why don’t you tell me what happened with Doniger and Harrison?”

Kozlow fell silent and shut his magazine. His eyes narrowed in anger. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“What?” Jared asked, taken aback.

“Don’t play fuckin’ stupid, Jared – I’m not going to be your little friend.”

“I just thought we were-”

“Shut the hell up!” Kozlow shouted, his voice booming through the office. “Shut up and do your job.”

“You must be kidding me,” Conrad said, leaning forward on the front of Sara’s desk.

“Not a bit,” Sara said. “He walked in right as I hung up with Harrison. The files were everywhere.”

“I knew I should’ve stopped you on this. There’s no reason for you to be investigating someone like Victor.”

“I’m not going after Victor – I’m just trying to figure out why he wanted the case.”

“Either way, you better be careful. He’s not someone you mess with. If he finds out what you’re doing-”

“I know. I’ve been thinking about that all afternoon. And even if I can handle Victor, I still don’t know what to do with Doniger and Harrison. Both of them said they won’t testify.”

“They’ll testify,” Conrad insisted, pushing himself away from the desk. “They just don’t know it yet.”

“Uh-oh – here he goes,” Guff said. “Make way for the testosterone parade.”

“I’m serious,” Conrad said. “They can cry and whine all they want, but they’ll be there Monday morning. Guff, have you prepared a travel kit for Sara?”

“Had it ready the day she got here,” Guff said proudly. He left the office, then returned with a brown accordion file that he placed in front of Sara.

“Open it,” Conrad said to Sara.

The file was divided by alphabetical tabs. “It’s under S ,” Guff said.

She reached into the S section of the file and pulled out the small stack of papers.

“Know what those are?” Conrad asked.

“Blank subpoenas,” Sara answered.

“You got it, Clarence. When you completed your paperwork on your first day here, you gained the power of the pen, also known as subpoena power. Sign two of those, serve them on our witnesses, and by the order of the law of the state of New York, they’ll have to have their asses sitting in that grand jury on Monday. Terrified or not.”

“I don’t know,” Sara said. “Doniger was a bit rude, but Harrison really seemed scared. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to-”

“Don’t ever do that again,” Conrad interrupted, raising his voice.

“Do what?” Sara asked.

“Go on the defensive like that. You’re an assistant district attorney – you don’t back down to threats. Bringing them in is part of the job. I’d never want you to put a witness at risk, but giving up isn’t the solution.”

“Then what is?”

“You tell me. Solve the problem.”

“Conrad, enough with the lecturing-lawyer shtick.”

“Then you’d better come up with a real solution. Solve the problem.”