William Bernhardt - Blind Justice

“Sure.” With his free arm, Wolf opened the cage and gently drew Polly out. Polly cooed quietly, then nestled against his shoulder. “Ma says I have to spend less time in the forest and more time in school.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay. She says I can still search for traps, and I can start keeping my birds at home. I’m building a shed in the backyard. The landlord doesn’t like it, but he hasn’t said anything. Everyone seems to be bending over backward to be nice to me. Since I got shot and all.”

“Milk it for all it’s worth,” Ben advised. “It won’t last forever.”

“Yeah, I ’spect you’re right.”

“And pay attention in school. You need to make good grades so you can grow up to be the world’s greatest veterinarian.”

“Aw, I hate school. The other kids never like me.”

“Nonsense. You should be very popular. How many kids can brag about being shot by the FBI?”

“Hmmm.” This was apparently a prospect Wolf hadn’t contemplated. “Well, I’d better go.”

“Okay. See you around.”

Wolf started out of the alley.

“Oh-Wolf.”

Wolf turned. “Yeah?”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you. Do you know anything about chickens?”

45

THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG with Ben’s office, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what. For starters, Jones’s card table had been replaced by a desk, a real desk , with drawers and everything. What’s more, there were two other real desks, one on either side of Jones’s.

That was different, sure, but Ben sensed there was more. He stood in the middle of the lobby trying to figure out what had changed.

And then he realized.

“What’s wrong, Boss?” Jones asked.

Ben frowned. “I hate to admit it,” he said, “but I miss the chickens.”

Jones sighed. “Yeah. Me, too. Especially Barbara.”

“Well, I’m sure Wolf will provide them with a loving home.”

“Yeah, I guess. Hey, what’s in the sack?”

“Sack?” Ben held his groceries away from Jones’s eyesight. “Oh, nothing in particular.”

“Uh-huh.” Jones pulled down the side of the sack. It contained a large quantity of Feline’s Fancy. “Giving in, are we?”

Ben yanked the sack away and put it in a closet. “I just thought I should have a little on hand. For special occasions.”

“Right. That’s why you bought the king-size twelve-pack. Don’t feel bad, Boss. Cats have broken better men than you. Oh, that reminds me. Clayton Langdell called. He wants to set up a meeting.”

“He still wants me to represent him?”

“Apparently so.”

The light dawned: Langdell wasn’t a suspect trying to buy him off. He really did want to hire Ben because he thought he was a decent lawyer. “Did he mention anything in particular?”

“He said he checked you out during the trial and was very impressed. Oh, he also said he liked the way you handled that reporter on television. He wants to consult you regarding their new public relations campaign.”

“Oh, swell. A new career teaching lobbyists how to bully reporters.”

“At least it’s work, Boss. Things could be—”

“Don’t say it!” Ben said, cutting him off. He glanced at the pleading Jones was typing. He had the carbon in backward; the second copy was a blue smear. Oh, well. If this Langdell business paid off, maybe he could spring for a photocopier. “By the way, Jones, I’ve been meaning to thank you for all the work you put in on the Lombardi financial records.”

“Oh, yeah. And that was so helpful, too.”

“No, really. It was. I also want to thank you for your first-rate fieldwork. You got a lot more out of Spud than I ever did. I won’t forget it.”

Jones leaned forward eagerly. “Does that mean you’ll let me do more investigating in the future?”

Ben cleared his throat. “Well…we’ll see.” He turned and almost smacked into Loving, who was carrying a tall stack of file folders. Loving veered away at the last moment before impact, plopping the folders down on one of the new desks.

“Loving!” Ben said. “What are you doing here?”

Loving looked back at him, puzzled, “Didn’t she tell you? Christina hired me.”

“ Christina hired you? To do what?”

“To be your investigator, of course. Nuttin’ personal, Skipper, but you’ve really been lettin’ the work pile up around here.”

“I’ve been kind of busy.…”

“Anyway, I went through all your active files, and figured out where I could lend a hand. I’ve already started working on several of these cases.”

“You have?”

“Yeah. It’s going pretty well. I may have to rough some people up, but I’ll get the dope you need.

Rough some people up? “Wait a minute—”

“Hi, everyone.”

Ben whirled around and saw Christina come through the front door. “Just who I’ve been wanting to see,” he muttered.

“It’s Ben Kincaid!” she cried out. “My hero!” She batted her eyelashes.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, Christina—”

“Do you like my new desk?” she asked.

“Yeah. That’s what I wanted to discuss with you.”

“Guess what! I figured it out.”

Ben knitted his eyebrows. He had the distinct impression this conversation was getting away from him. “Figured out what?”

“My dream, silly. Frosty the Snowman and the tremendous explosions.”

“It was just a dream, Christina. It doesn’t have to mean anything—”

“But it wasn’t just a dream. I was fighting the drug, trying to shrug off its influence and see what was going on in Tony’s apartment. I saw a blurred image of Margot with coal black eyes, wearing a big white overcoat and a black scarf. She fired a gun three times. Hence, in my drugged-up state, Frosty the Snowman and the tremendous explosions.”

“Pity you didn’t think of this sooner.”

“True. Comme çi, comme ça. ”

“I guess so,” Ben concurred. “Anyway, what’s with the new desks?”

“That’s my handiwork. Consider it a down payment on legal fees owed.”

“That’s not necess—”

“My thinking is, if you’re going to be a big-time lawyer, you’re going to have to start upgrading your appearance.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. And your staff. So I hired Loving to handle your investigations. And,” she said, pulling some files out of her briefcase, “I’m going to be your new full-time legal assistant.”

“Christina, I can’t afford to pay him. Or you.”

“Oh, Ben, don’t be such a spoilsport. Look how happy he is over there, playing with his little files, threatening to punch people’s lights out. He really wants to be part of our little family.”

“Family?”

“Besides, he’s already gotten more work done in a day than you’ve done in two weeks. He’ll generate his own salary.”

“Let’s hope so.”

“And don’t worry about me. I realize this will mean a serious cut in my usual paycheck, but I’ll live. I think it’s clear you need me here. Where I can keep an eye on you.”

Ben felt a familiar burning sensation creeping up his neck. “There’s not going to be much money here for anyone,” he said. “At least not at first.”

“Don’t worry about it. After all you’ve done for me, I owe you.”

“That’s nonsense. You don’t owe me anything. I was just lucky, that’s all. I made a thousand mistakes.”

Christina swiveled around in her chair and grabbed Ben by his shoulders. “I can’t believe you would say that. After all you’ve accomplished. Listen to me, Ben. You are a miracle worker. You’re like the White Queen. You’ve accomplished at least six impossible things.”