Read Online Spectrum (The Karen Vail Series) by Alan Jacobson - Free Book Online Page A

later, Livana had just returned from picking up Dmitri and Cassandra at school. Basil had finished folding the last of the weekend ad inserts and stuffing them into his bicycle sack when the doorbell rang. He ran into the house through the backdoor, shouting, “I got it,” as he passed Dmitri, nearly knocking him into the refrigerator.
    Basil had submitted a number of job applications on the outskirts of Astoria, hoping to have better luck farther from home. Last night he told Livana he was certain he would be receiving a call any day.
    Was someone coming to the door offering Basil employment? Possible, but Livana doubted it. In fact, no one had even ventured to their house since the incident, so the hairs on the back of her neck now rose, as if her inner radar were sending off warning signals.
    The man at the door was dressed in a suit and had a respectful demeanor, easing her fears.
    “Good afternoon,” the man said. “Mr. and Mrs.—”
    “Are you here about a job?” Basil asked.
    He smiled wanly. “My name is Emil Tazor. I’m an attorney in town.” He paused, seeming to wait for Basil to make a connection.
    Livana approached the door. This man was not an employer offering her husband a job—or even an interview. Her stomach contracted.
    “I’m a friend of Gregor and Alysia Persephone,” Tazor said, “and I represent them in a civil lawsuit against you and your family.”
    “No,” Basil said. “The judge dismissed the case against me.”
    “That was criminal court. This is a civil action. The Persephones want you to pay their medical expenses.”
    Basil reached back for the wall behind him and steadied himself. “But I lost my job. I—I deliver newspapers now.” He said it with disdain, as if embarrassed.
    “I understand. But you have to take responsibility for your actions. You blinded Mr. Persephone, and he’s got bills for surgery and hospitalization, medical testing and specialists he had to see in the city. If it was up to me, I would be suing you for thirty-five years of lost wages and pain and suffering. But they only want their medical bills covered.”
    Basil swallowed.
    Livana looked at her husband, then at Tazor. “But it wasn’t—Basil didn’t start the fight. Why should we pay anything?”
    Tazor kept his gaze on Basil. “The fact is, you swung a jagged bottle at my client’s eyes with the intent to harm him. And you did. You ruined his eyesight. He’ll never work a decent job the rest of his life, he’ll never see his children grow up.” His eyes flicked over to Dmitri and Cassandra, who were standing off to the side, watching the interplay between their parents and the attorney.
    After a moment’s pause to allow the couple to absorb this, Tazor said, “I’m offering you an opportunity to come out of this relatively unscathed. Mr. Persephone’s medical bills have climbed over five thousand dollars—”
    “Five thousand dollars,” Basil said. “We don’t have that kind of money.”
    Tazor frowned. “If we sue you, it will cost you at least that much to hire a lawyer. You’ll end up losing the case. And your money.”
    Basil stared at him, his eyes glazing slightly. “We don’t have five thousand dollars.”
    Tazor looked him over, seemingly to assess the veracity of Basil’s declaration. “The court will need to verify this, review your bank statements.”
    “I’ll show you whatever you want. We don’t have that much.”
    The lawyer’s jaw muscles twitched. “How much do you have?”
    “A little over four thousand. That’s our life savings. And after losing my job, we need ev—”
    “That will have to suffice. But it’s your decision. Here’s my information,” Tazor said, reaching into his suit coat. He was out the door a second later, leaving Livana standing there looking at the attorney’s gold-embossed business card.
    Basil sank to the floor, his voice barely above a whisper. “But it wasn’t my fault.”
    BASIL STARED AT LIVANA. She shifted her