by Cara Putman
“That’ll do.” Either he’d agree or kick her out. Hayden took a deep breath and went in.
Gerard looked up with a grunt.
She refused to look away as he scowled. The good of her client and case demanded she go to Texas. Should be easy since she made her living through communication, yet she couldn’t swallow around the Sahara Desert that claimed her voice.
“Yes?” Gerard placed his hands on top of his desk and leaned into them. “This hasn’t been the best day, and I have a critical meeting in five minutes. If you need something, spit it out.”
She nodded. “The deposition is scheduled for Wednesday in Texas.”
He made a winding motion with his hand as if telling her to get on with it.
“The facility’s attorney said the director could only cooperate with the pre-trial deposition Wednesday. Otherwise we have to wait a month.” She leaned into her side of the desk, meeting him halfway. “We need that deposition and anything else I can learn.”
Gerard sighed as he flopped in his chair. It rocked under his weight. “And what do you hope to learn?”
“Who was working that night? Have there been other acts of violence? I need to know if this is a pattern or a one-time event. What made Miguel the unlucky kid? I have to communicate that to the judge.”
Gerard rubbed his hands over his face, then stared up at her. “I admire your passion, Hayden, but there are forces at work you don’t understand.”
“Then tell me about them.” She felt her blood pressure building. “You’ve been keeping something from me this entire case. I need to know what you know, because it’s beginning to feel dangerous to be kept in the dark.”
“This is for your protection. You do not want to know all the details.”
“Then we shouldn’t have the client.” Saying the words felt like a betrayal of Maricel, but she needed the games to end. “I can’t do my job if I don’t know everything. And it’s already feeling dangerous. I noticed you didn’t report the break-in to security.”
“It wouldn’t do any good. Look, this case is bigger than you and me.”
“Then why assign me?”
“Because you’re the attorney here smart enough to figure out a way to win an unwinnable case.” He held up his hands. “I can’t tell you any more, McCarthy. It’s for your own good.”
“What does that mean?”
His jaw jutted and he stared her down. “You have to trust me, Hayden. Keep your focus on Maricel and getting this case to trial.”
“But . . .” The words died on her lips as color crept up his neck. “Fine. But I have to go to Texas.”
“The retainer is about gone, and the partners won’t authorize more funds.”
Carmen’s voice broke in over the intercom. “Your appointment is in the lobby.”
“Tell him I will be there in a moment.”
“He has another appointment in half an hour.”
“On my way.” Gerard collected a folder and legal pad from the side of his desk. “I’ll talk to the partners, but that’s all I can promise.” He straightened. “We have a problem if we don’t get this case moving and resolved. I want you to get the government to settle, without a trial, but now our client wants you to push.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure.” Gerard shook his head. “He’s got strong ideas.”
“He? I’m working with Maricel. Are you talking about her husband? If he’s here, I need to meet him.”
“Never mind. Just do what you can to get this moving.”
“I have a scheduled deposition, Gerard. I have to leave tomorrow.”
“It might be a bill you pay.” He brushed past her and slipped into the hallway as if a ghost were on his trail. “Win and that will change.”
She followed him, mystified by his abrupt departure. Why hadn’t Carmen brought the client to him? She slid into her office to grab her purse, so it would look like she was heading out on a mission, then went back into the hallway and toward the lobby. If Gerard saw her, she needed him to think she wasn’t following him. She entered the lobby in time to see him striding toward a dark-complexioned man in an Armani suit. The man who had held the door for her was the epitome of relaxed, with his ankle over his other knee. At the same time, Hayden sensed that he didn’t miss a thing.
She straightened her skirt, pushed back her shoulders, and pasted a smile on her face as she waved at the receptionist and breezed out the door.
Just one thing about the man seemed out of place with his expensive suit: the snake tattoo coiling around his neck.
Hayden walked around the block on her “mission,” circling back after calling Leigh to make sure Gerard and the client were gone. She spent the next hour working on another project, then gave Carmen a buzz to see if Gerard had returned. She needed to try one more time to convince him the partners should pay for the trip. It was generous of Emilie to have offered her the voucher, but she couldn’t accept.
“He didn’t come back after his meeting. I’m guessing he went on a run over a late lunch.”
“Thanks, Carmen. Let me know when he returns, okay?”
“Sure thing.”
Hayden opened her browser to a travel webpage. She’d buy the ticket and beg for forgiveness later if they were angry with her.
A knock on her doorframe jolted her up. “Come in.”
Angela’s dark hair was cut in the perfect bob, and her suit didn’t look the least bit rumpled. How did her friend manage to look like that every single day? But the shadows under her eyes couldn’t be hidden even by her expertly applied makeup.
“Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“I’ve been called to a meeting with the partners.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’m going to be fired.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Why else would someone go to the trouble of setting me up? That summary judgment motion was perfect when it left my hands.”
“I know.” Everything Angela did was excellent. She was simply incapable of less. “Close the door.” After Angela did, Hayden leaned forward. “The question is why? Are you working on anything that ticked them off?”
“It’s all I’ve thought about since Seth first came to me.”
Hayden frowned. “He told me you came to him.”
“No, I had no idea there was an issue until he appeared in my office Friday.”
Add that to the list of odd things happening in the firm. “He talked to me on Thursday,” Hayden said. “Why on earth would he even be involved?” Her phone rang and she answered it. “Hayden McCarthy.”
“Hayden, I’ll be back in the office in fifteen minutes.” Gerard sounded breathless. “We need to meet as soon as I get back to discuss a development in the Rodriguez matter. If you see Angela, tell her we need to talk as well.”
“She’s here in my office.”
“Good. I’ll see you both there as soon as I return. It’s time to bring you two into the loop. There’s a lot going on at the firm and you need to know about it.”
Hayden replaced the phone on the cradle. “Gerard is on his way back and wants to meet with both of us.”
“Any idea why?”
“Something about the Rodriguez case with me. You? I have no idea.”
“All right. Tell him I’ll wait in my office. I might as well use the time to brush up my résumé.”
“He wants you to wait here. No need to rush into a job hunt.”
Angela looked like she wanted to disagree, but settled back in the chair instead. “Then give me something to work on.”
“How someone breaking into Gerard’s and my offices over the weekend is tied to your troubles.”
“I don’t see how they could be.”
“Tell me more about your case.”
Angela moved her hands in a helpless gesture. “It’s one of a hundred summary judgment motions I’ve defended for a client. This one involved a man who was allegedly injured by our client’s empl
oyee. Yet there was nothing I could find anywhere that indicated our client was at all involved. The alleged employee was no longer an employee. Had been fired the week before. The issue seemed simple: I had the paperwork to prove it, and the affidavit simply reiterated what the paperwork showed.”
“Then why is the affidavit critical? Even if it was forged somehow, the paperwork still covers the defense.”
“Exactly. That doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t fake it, but no one is listening to me.”
“Who was the client?”
“A corporation buried under three or four shell corporations from Mexico. I never felt I got a good answer on who was calling the shots, but ultimately, a partner called mine.” She sighed. “I wish he’d called someone else’s.”
“Mexico?”
“Yes.”
Could it somehow be tied to Rodriguez? Mexico was a big place, but still . . . “Could you forward what you have on the company?”
“Why?”
“Call it a hunch. What if your case somehow tied back to Rodriguez?”
“That’s a leap, but it’s worth checking.” Angela pulled out her phone and clicked some buttons. “It’s on its way. What were you working on when I arrived?”
“Buying the plane ticket to Texas and wondering if I’ll have a job when I get back.” Hayden turned to her computer and the open screen. The dollar sign taunted her. “Here goes.” She closed her eyes and pressed the purchase button. “Guess I’m going to Waco Wednesday.”
The women discussed Hayden’s plan for the deposition and then Hayden reviewed the company information Angela had forwarded to her. There was no clear connection to the Rodriguez case, but then, she wasn’t fluent in Spanish. When Hayden glanced at the clock on her computer, more than forty-five minutes had passed. “Gerard must have gotten detained.”
The hallway outside her office began to buzz with commotion, and Hayden looked at Angela. Angela shrugged, but stood and opened the door. “Leigh, do you know what’s happening?”
Hayden’s paralegal came in, a stunned expression on her face. “The partners just sent an e-mail,” she said. “Gerard was shot. He’s dead.”
Hayden sank back onto her chair. “I talked to him less than an hour ago.”
Leigh nodded and stepped forward, reaching out to take Hayden’s hand. “I’m so sorry.”
Hayden looked at Angela, but her friend’s face was as blank as she felt. “He was so alive . . . and frustrating. There must be a mistake.”
Angela pulled out her phone to read the e-mail. “Police contacted the firm at 2:45 p.m. to confirm that Gerard Campbell was a partner in our firm and inform us that he intervened in a purse snatching and was shot. He died at the scene. Police have asked for our full cooperation in the investigation, and we expect each of you to do so.”
“He was being a hero.” Leigh grabbed a tissue from the box on Hayden’s desk and wiped her eyes.
Hayden opened the e-mail on her computer and stared at the words. Seeing them didn’t help the message feel less daunting and heartbreaking. “Has his family been told?”
“The firm was his family after the divorce.” Leigh sniffed, then drew in a breath and squared her shoulders. “What a senseless tragedy. I’m leaving after I check on Carmen.”
Hayden nodded, but part of her still refused to believe he had died. “When will the police be here?”
“The e-mail doesn’t say.” Angela put her phone down on the edge of the desk. “This doesn’t make sense. Gerard didn’t strike me as the kind of man who walks into trouble.”
Hayden nodded as Leigh slipped from her office. “He might have been an attorney, but he was content to let us handle the courtroom conflicts.”
“That was strange too. You know the war stories. He used to be a beast in the courtroom, then he moved up and away from cases.” Angela propped her chin on her fist. “Hayden, I didn’t fabricate that affidavit.”
“I know.”
“Gerard was helping me prove I didn’t.” Angela’s face took on the fierce expression that always sort of scared Hayden. “What I don’t understand is why the witness says I did. I watched him sign the affidavit. But I can’t win a he said/she said argument.”
“If you leave, they’ll believe you fabricated it.”
“But I can’t prove a negative, so they’ll fire me.”
“The firm software keeps multiple backups. There must be something that supports you.”
Angela laughed a bitter sound. “All of it’s gone. For whatever reason, I’m a good target.” She shook her head and then stood. “Let me know if you need anything while you’re in Texas. I’ll try to stay that long.”
“Thanks.” After Angela closed Hayden’s office door, Hayden swiveled her chair and tried to absorb the reality that Gerard was gone. The police would want to know if any of his clients had a reason to kill him. Carmen would know all his cases and clients. All Hayden could say was he had acted erratically on the Rodriguez case. Pressure was coming from somewhere related to the case, and he had applied it to her. That didn’t mean anyone would kill him. The law was filled with high pressure cases because each client’s matter was the most important thing in their lives at that moment.
Unhappy clients abounded.
Most didn’t take the final step of killing an attorney.
CHAPTER 27
Hayden couldn’t let go of the idea that Gerard’s death wasn’t a simple tragic accident. All the odd ways he’d acted, the out-of-character things he’d said, coupled with the call he’d made in the hour before his death, created the impression it wasn’t. But if his death was murder, did it mean she also was in danger?
She needed to see if there was anything in Gerard’s office that would indicate what had happened. She’d start with finding the Rodriguez file he’d alluded to.
Carmen wasn’t at her desk when Hayden walked by, so Hayden let herself in. Gerard’s area was thoroughly cleaned, almost as if he’d never arrived that morning. Hayden frowned and glanced back at Carmen’s desk. Had the paralegal come in and organized after getting the call? Hayden sank onto his chair and looked around his desk and credenza. Gerard should come bursting through his doorway any moment. Instead, he would never return.
She didn’t want to disturb anything, but if there was any indication of who had Gerard on edge, she needed to know. She also needed that Rodriguez file. She slowly thumbed through the files set in an organizer on the credenza. Nothing there. Then she opened the file drawers and noted the alphabetical arrangement. As she moved past R to S, she didn’t see Rodriguez. She closed the drawer. Where else would he put it?
Digging through his desk drawers felt invasive, but she took a breath and forced herself to open the first. It was a pile of folders and legal pads. No organization at all. It looked like a catchall for random paper. She pulled out the stack and flipped through it, pausing to slowly fan each legal pad. In the middle of the stack was a plain file labeled Daniel Rodriguez. Hayden frowned. Shouldn’t it be Maricel or Miguel?
Then she recalled that Gerard had said Miguel’s father was paying for the lawsuit. Maybe this file focused on that elusive man.
As she scanned the information, the blood drained from her face. Gerard had collected proof that Daniel Rodriguez was the leader of a powerful cartel in Mexico. What had made him uncomfortable enough to investigate his own client? The last three pages were handwritten notes . . . notes that contained a column of dates and then scrawled notes she could barely decipher. It looked like he’d intentionally altered his handwriting. One scrawl was her name. It was underlined three times and next to it was a word that started with D but made no sense after that.
Voices echoed down the hallway, so Hayden scooped the papers into the file. She’d photocopy them and bring the file back. Then she could decipher the contents of the file at her house.
She walked to the door and glanced out into the hallway. Randolph and another man were headed toward her. Randolph’s voice neared. “His o
ffice is right here.”
Hayden closed her eyes and took a quick breath.
Randolph’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing in here?”
Hayden lifted her chin and met his gaze. “I left a file in here this morning.” She swallowed as tears clogged her throat. “I need it to prepare for a deposition. If you’ll excuse me.”
The man beside Randolph wore a basic suit, but he took in everything. She prayed he wouldn’t challenge her. “You are?”
“This is Hayden McCarthy, an associate who worked closely with Campbell.” Randolph’s beady eyes locked on the file as if trying to discern what was in it.
She clutched it to her chest. “We discussed an important case this morning. I left this by mistake.”
The man nodded. “Are you taking anything else?”
“No.”
“We’ll make her one of the first we interview.”
“Certainly.” Randolph turned to her. “Don’t leave until Detective Grearson talks to you.”
“Yes sir.” Hayden slipped around them and hurried down the hall, heart pounding. She didn’t stop until she entered her office and closed the door. Where could she stash the file so it wouldn’t disappear? She couldn’t stay locked in her office, and she couldn’t take the file home.
Leigh knocked on her door, eyes red-rimmed and shoulders slumped. “Do you need anything before I leave?”
“Could you copy this file for me? But don’t let anyone see what’s in it.” Should she risk Leigh getting pulled into some danger Hayden didn’t understand? She rubbed her temples, ready to pull back the request, when Leigh nodded.
“It would be nice to do something normal. I’ll have it back to you in a minute.”
Maybe she didn’t want it on one of the firm’s copiers’ hard drives. Until she better understood what the file contained, she couldn’t know. “Would you mind doing it at Kinkos? I’ll reimburse you.”
“Okay . . .” Leigh looked skeptical, but took the file. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”
“Better yet, drop the copy in my mail slot at home.”
Leigh looked at her with knitted brows. “Are you okay?”
