Brad Meltzer - Dead Even

“All right!” Conrad said. He jumped up to give Sara a big hug, then quickly pulled away. She smiled weakly.

“You should’ve seen her,” Guff said, crouching into a fighting stance. “There she was, defenseless, with nothing but her wits and three bad witnesses to protect her. She eyed the jury and shot them a sneer – they knew she meant business. Then, just when they thought she was going to zig, she zagged. And when they expected a zag, she zigged. Zig! Zag! Zig! Zag! It was like my parents at an all-you-can-eat buffet – food was flying faster than the human eye could follow.”

“What’re you talking about?” Conrad asked.

“I’m using food as a metaphor for intense legal issues,” Guff said.

“So the intense legal issues were flying faster than the human eye could follow?”

“Exactly. And then, when she was on the ropes, her spirit almost gone, she rose, like a gleaming, legal-studying, precedent-setting phoenix, from the ashes of the grand jury room.”

“And you saw all this even though you weren’t in the room?” Conrad asked.

“Believe me, I had my ear to the door,” Guff said. “And if I were going to brag about any of my physical qualities, I would have to go with the excellence of my auditory abilities.”

“So if we take out the useless exaggerations, the true story is what?” Conrad asked.

“The true story is Patty Harrison saved the day,” Sara said, finally, putting her briefcase on the floor.

“The scared woman came through, huh?”

“She certainly did,” Sara said. “When she took the stand, I asked her one question: ‘Who was the person you saw coming out of Ms. Doniger’s house that night?’ There was this long pause. It felt like an eternity. Conrad, it was so quiet, I swear I could hear the earth rotating. And finally, she raised her hand, pointed right at Kozlow, and said, ‘It was him.’”

“Jared must’ve died.”

“He wasn’t happy. And Kozlow didn’t look too pleased either.”

“Did you see Doniger’s reaction?”

“I meant to look, but I forgot,” Sara said, her tone growing serious. “I was too busy staring at Jared.”

Conrad gave her a long look that was difficult to read. “He really got to you, didn’t he?”

“You can’t imagine what it’s like. He knows exactly where to hit.”

“Then you better prepare yourself. From this point on, it’s only getting worse,” Conrad said. “Now tell me more about Doniger. Any idea what her story is?”

“To be honest, at first I thought she was just pissed because I ruined her schedule – one less day that she’d be able to shop for the perfect hand towels. But she was purposely terrible up there. For whatever reason, she was taking a high-platform dive.”

“Well, now that you have the indictment, you can figure the rest of it out. That’s what your trial preparation should be about – filling in all the missing pieces. If I were you, I’d take the rest of the day to catch my breath and then get started on the case.”

“What about Victor?” Sara asked.

“What about him?”

“Why were you talking to him when we walked in?”

“He just called to see if you got the indictment.”

“Did he ask anything else?” Sara asked. “Did he ask about his files?”

Conrad pointed a warning finger at Sara. “I still don’t think you have any business accusing-”

“I’m not saying a word,” Sara interrupted. “At least not until we finish going through the files.”

“Then get on it,” Conrad said. “Your only goal now is to prepare for trial, dig for those answers…”

“And kick what’s left of your hubby’s scrawny behind,” Guff added.

“Speaking of which,” Conrad said, “did he say anything to you after the grand jury?”

“He didn’t say a word. He picked up his briefcase, walked to the door, and left. Trust me, though, I’ll hear all about it tonight. The Tate-Lynch match-up just hit round two.”

When Jared got back to the office, he threw his briefcase on his desk and loosened his tie. Instinctively, he looked up at the poster board map of the crime scene. Nothing new popped out. All he saw was how close Kozlow was to Doniger’s house when the officer found him. So close, he thought. So close, he was nearly there. “Damn!” he shouted, ripping the poster from the wall.

The instant he collapsed in his chair, Kathleen’s voice came through the intercom.

“I have Oscar Rafferty on the line,” she said.

“Don’t-”

Jared’s phone rang. Then it rang again. And again.

Sticking her head in the doorway, Kathleen said, “Did you hear me? That’s Mr. Rafferty calling for you.”

The phone continued to ring, but Jared still didn’t pick it up.

“Jared…”

“I can’t talk to him now,” Jared said, slumped in his seat.

Kathleen left the room and the phone stopped ringing. From his desk, Jared could hear Kathleen’s voice. “I’m sorry, but he must’ve stepped out. I’ll have him call you as soon as he gets back.” Returning to Jared’s office, Kathleen said, “What happened?”

“You know what happened – I lost. Sara got the indictment, and now we have to go to trial.”

“So why can’t you tell Rafferty that?”

“Because I can’t,” Jared snapped. “How many times do you need to hear that? I can’t do it right now.”

Surprised by the outburst, Kathleen moved toward Jared’s desk and took a seat. “Now do you want to tell me what’s really going on?”

Jared’s gaze dropped to the floor.

“C’mon, Jared, you can tell me. What’s happening with Rafferty?”

“It’s nothing,” Jared said, refusing to look up at his assistant.

“Don’t give me that.” She knew she was overstepping her bounds, but this was important. “What’d he do? Did he say something to Lubetsky? Did he say something about Sara?”

“Please drop it!” Jared insisted.

“What’d he say to Sara? Was it to her face or to you?”

“That’s enough, Kathleen.”

“Is he bothering her? Is he harassing her? Is he threatening her?” Jared was silent. “That’s it, isn’t it? That’s why he hired you: He wants you to beat Sara. And if you don’t, he’s going to-”

“Don’t let your imagination get the best of you,” Jared said dismissively. “You couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Kathleen crossed her arms and stared at her boss. “Do I look that dumb to you? I mean, do I look so stupid that I would actually believe that?” When Jared didn’t respond, Kathleen said, “Just tell me I’m right, so we can move on to the next step. There’s no reason that you have to keep this all to yourself. We can go to the authorities, or to Barrow, or to-”

“Kathleen, please – don’t do this.”

“Okay, that’s it. That’s all I need to hear.” She stood up and headed for the door. “I’m sorry, but it’s time to get some help. I’m going to call Lubetsky and explain-”

“Wait!” Jared said. She turned. He realized he had no choice. “If I tell anyone, they’ll kill her.”

Kathleen froze. “Pardon me?”

“You heard me. If I tell anyone, they’ll kill Sara.”

“Is that what he said?”

Again, Jared didn’t respond. He had promised himself that he’d keep the secret, but he had to admit it felt good to open up. Rafferty’s threat was starting to take its toll and, as long as Jared could keep things quiet, he could use another brain working on a solution. He took a long look at Kathleen. After all his years at the firm, there was no one else he trusted more. Finally, he said, “Here’s what happened.” After explaining the entire story, from the meeting at the club to the break-in at their apartment to the constant threats, Jared turned away from his assistant.