Baby Vs. The Bar. M.J. Rodgers
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Название: Baby Vs. The Bar
Автор: M.J. Rodgers
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Зарубежные детективы
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“When do you think you’ll be able to wrap it up?”
“Judge has some other court business this morning. When we reconvene this afternoon, we go directly to closing arguments. Depending on how long the jury takes to deliberate, it’s possible we’ll have the verdict in today. At the latest, tomorrow.”
“And that’s when you take off for a two-week vacation, right?” Kay asked.
Marc smiled at her. “Gavin and I are going waterskiing before the October rains hit.”
“Any ideas on how we can counteract the impression left by this picture?” Adam asked as he pointed his pen at the newspaper’s front page.
Adam’s tone had not changed, but Marc felt the depth of his concern, nonetheless.
Marc leaned back in his chair. “Every time a reporter called for a statement about it, I told them that it was a reporter who pushed me into Dr. Westbrook, probably just to get a picture like that. I also warned them that if I ever found out which reporter it was, I was going to sue his tail off. They don’t seem too eager to print those comments.”
Adam shook his head. “No, naturally they wouldn’t. But I don’t like to leave it like this. Doesn’t look good for the firm. Clients don’t come to lawyers tainted by impropriety.”
Octavia laughed, the only one who never let Adam’s somber admonishments restrict her flamboyant spirit. She leaned across the table toward him, a twinkle of fresh spirit in her eyes.
“Thanks to Kay’s impropriety hitting the newspapers a couple of months ago,” she said, “we have a dozen new clients. You worry too much, Adam.”
“As senior partner, it’s my job to worry. Give it some thought, Marc. We need a positive follow-up story.”
“Winning the suit should help,” Marc said.
“See you do. We can’t afford to give the impression of laxity in our ethics. We must uphold stringent standards here at Justice Inc. Morality cannot be compromised.”
Marc knew his senior partner was right, of course. Even the impression of a laxity in ethics was a serious matter.
Which meant it was a good thing Adam Justice didn’t know what Marc was going to do right after this meeting was over. A damn good thing.
Chapter Three
Remy snatched up the morning newspaper and ground her teeth as she read the extra-large headline. But the steam really began to curl out of her ears when she read the caption below the three-column picture of Truesdale straddling her with her skirt over her head.
She slammed the paper down on the lab table in her office and snatched at the coffeepot.
“Good morning, Remy,” her sister said as she rolled her wheelchair over. “Sorry I’m late, but I’ve been fiddling with... Hey, what’s wrong?”
Remy shoved the nozzle of the coffeepot into her mug and poured. “That’s what’s wrong, Phil. Did you see it?” she asked as she nodded at the newspaper.
Dr. Phillida Moore shifted her wheelchair and glanced over one of her well-muscled shoulders at the headline. “Oh, yeah, that.” She tsk-tsked. “Really, Remy. And you assured me yesterday morning you were only going to the courthouse to give testimony.”
Remy squinted her eyes. “Oh, very funny. I swear that’s the last time I ever put on a dress and heels again.”
Phil’s mouth twisted into a crooked grin. “Look on the bright side. You were wearing sexy underwear, at least. Why, right this minute there are probably dozens of love-starved men out there who are cutting this picture out of their morning paper so they can make you their latest pinup.”
Remy shook her head. “How marvelously comforting that image is. Thank you so much.”
Phil chuckled. “What shall your big sister do? Track down this attorney and run over his feet with my wheelchair? Or should I go after the photographer? The newspaper editor? The caption writer?”
Remy grinned as the anger drained from her thoughts. Phil was great for getting Remy’s thoughts away from those things she couldn’t do anything about. Which was precisely what Phil had intended to do, of course.
“I already took care of the attorney.”
“Now that’s my little sister talking,” Phil said proudly, the expression on her strong angular face matching the humor in her tone.
“You can don your avenger cape and start with the photographer, though,” Remy added. “Want some coffee?”
“I would sell my right wheel for a cup,” Phil said, grabbing a mug off the table.
Remy smiled as she dumped a couple of sugar cubes and then some coffee into her sister’s mug. “You were starting to tell me why you were late?”
“Oh, the wheelchair ramp on my van got stuck again. The guy from the auto club finally came by and fixed it.”
But not until Phil had sworn and fussed, trying to fix it herself for a couple of hours, Remy was certain. Phil hated not being able to do everything for herself, because she could so clearly do most everything for herself. She simply refused to let the wheelchair stop her. Phil was the strongest and most determined person Remy had ever known.
“You could have left the wheelchair, put on those new steel-strong plastic legs the doctor fitted you with and hailed a taxi. I thought you walked really well in them last time.”
“Yeah, sure. I saw the video of how well I walked. Kind of reminded me of Frankenstein’s monster.” Phil laughed. “Too bad the faculty’s Halloween party next month isn’t a costume ball. Talk about typecasting!”
Remy’s brow furrowed. “That’s nonsense and you know it. Just let your hair grow a bit, put on some makeup and walk in wearing a long black dress. You’d be smashing.”
Phil chuckled with very little mirth. “Oh, I’d be smashing, all right. Into everything.”
“Phil, if you don’t try—”
“Hey, I don’t need phony legs, Remy. Or any phony compliments about how gorgeous I could be all dolled up. I like this old mug of mine. I like my wheelchair just fine, too. I can move faster with these wheels than most people can walk, present company excepted, of course. I know what’s best, kiddo. Always have.”
Yes, Phil always seemed to. For as long as Remy could remember, she’d been following her older sister’s advice. And benefiting from it. Phil was strong where it counted. She had taught Remy to be strong, too.
The telephone rang. Remy answered it with her name as she always did when she was at work.
“Dr. Westbrook, this is Kate Saunders from Channel Five. I’d like to interview you sometime this morning about—”
“No,” Remy СКАЧАТЬ