don’t know what kinda stuff you’re going through but—”
“Who says I’m going through anything?” The worried look on her face mirrored the panic in her voice. I smiled inside. It was nice to finally find a pressure point. The woman did not like having her business in the street.
I paused, careful not to disclose anything O’Reilly had shared with me. “You must be going through something because you’re always walking around here like somebody’s got a foot up your ass.”
Her body language told me she was willing to take that shot only because she could see I was too hot to be played with. “Nothing’s going on. I’m fine.”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d include me in anything else dealing with this case from now on.”
“No problem.”
She made a move toward the door, then stopped. “I forgot to mention it,” she said, trying to sound matter-of-fact, “but I hired an investigator the day after we met with Tina to gather some background information on her husband. Can you stop by my place tonight to go over what he’s come up with so far? I really need to get out of the office.”
Forgot to mention it!
My lips were perfectly poised to spew some hateful words that I probably would’ve regretted later when O’Reilly barged through the closed door of my office.
“Didn’t I tell you!” he said, throwing a copy of the
L.A. Times
in the middle of my desk. “You two are about to become household names. When you get the first book deal, just make sure you thank me in the foreword.”
I picked up the newspaper as Neddy walked over to get a closer look. The headline on page one of the California section read UNIQUE DREAM TEAM IN MONTGOMERY MURDER CASE. The article went on to explain that Tina Montgomery had retained two of L.A.’s finest African-American female litigators to represent her, even though she had yet to be charged in her husband’s murder. It tracked our legal careers, including my big win in the Hayes case and a series of victories Neddy had at the P.D.’s office and more recently at O’Reilly & Finney. The article even noted that I attended Compton High School and that Neddy was raised on the south side of Chicago. The picture of Neddy looked pretty decent. The one they had of me made my face look bloated.
The article was even more complimentary of my legal talent than the ones following the Hayes verdict. If this case proceeded to trial, we really could end up being celebrity lawyers.
“How did they get this story?” Neddy asked. She eyed O’Reilly suspiciously, as if she were the boss, not the other way around.
He responded with a broad, telling smile.
“You actually leaked this stuff to the
Times
?” she asked in disbelief.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a leak,” he grinned. “I just happened to mention it to a friend whose wife is on the paper’s editorial staff
.
”
“O’Reilly, c’mon!” Neddy scolded. “We need to be thinking about the best interests of our client. Tina hasn’t even been charged with anything yet.”
“And that’s exactly what the story says,” O’Reilly said defensively.
Neddy looked down at the article again, then back up at O’Reilly. “This story pumps us up like we’re some magical saviors. Everybody’s going to think Tina’s guilty because she hired us. You’re already poisoning our potential jury pool.”
“There’s nothing about this article that causes any harm to Tina Montgomery’s defense. You two should be ecstatic about it.” His face was lit up like a Christmas tree. “Do you know what kind of advance Marcia Clark got for her book deal after the O.J. trial? Millions. I bet she’s still pulling down ten or twenty grand a pop for speaking engagements. And I don’t even have to tell you how that case made Johnnie Cochran a household name.”
“The firm pays us quite well, thank you,” Neddy quipped, but there was nothing but cynicism in her voice.
“Lighten up, Neddy. Your life’s about to
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