He beams at the head of the table. “Thank you for coming at this early hour. I know how hard it is for some of you to get here when you’ve been out partying all night.” Forced laughter. “I want to get Bob Holmes down here to report on Vince Russo’s deal. We will start in a few minutes.”
He asks Chuckles to find Bob. Chuckles seems pleased he won’t have a speaking role today, and he darts out. The sound of clinking china resumes. Several partners take calls on their cell phones. I focus on the envelope in the middle of the table with my name.
Ten minutes pass. Chuckles and Joel appear outside the glass door. Chuckles looks more gaunt than usual. Joel looks distraught.
Chuckles opens the door and speaks in a barely audible voice. “Art, can I see you outside for a minute?”
The room goes silent. Patton motions Chuckles in. Chuckles tries to convince him to step outside. After a moment’s hesitation, Chuckles comes in and whispers into Patton’s ear. Patton’s eyes get larger. I hear him mutter, “Geez.”
Patton turns, strokes his jowls, and addresses nobody in particular. “It is my unhappy responsibility to make a sad announcement. Bob Holmes and Diana Kennedy were found dead in Bob’s office a few minutes ago. I have no other information. The police have been called.”
We sit in stunned silence.
“Obviously, we may have a little problem with the closing of the Russo deal. Any discussion of the firm’s results for this year would be premature. I will provide further information later today. Meeting adjourned.”
More silence.
After a moment, I hear Patton whisper to Chuckles, “He couldn’t have killed himself. We’re completely screwed. He had a fiduciary duty to us to close the deal”
Leave it to Art Patton to try to explain a man’s death by citing a legal doctrine.
As always, Chuckles is more practical. He says to Patton, “I suspect Bob wasn’t thinking about his fiduciary duties last night.”
Without another word, we file out, pausing to pick up our envelopes.
* * * * *
End of Chapter 2.
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www.sheldonsiegel.com
ACCLAIM FOR
SHELDON SIEGEL’S NOVELS
Featuring Mike Daley & Rosie Fernandez
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
“An A+ first novel.” Philadelphia Inquirer.
“A poignant, feisty tale. Characters so finely drawn you can almost smell their fear and desperation.” USA Today.
“By the time the whole circus ends up in the courtroom, the hurtling plot threatens to rip paper cuts into the readers’ hands.” San Francisco Chronicle.
INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE
“Charm and strength. Mike Daley is an original and very appealing character in the overcrowded legal arena—a gentle soul who can fight hard when he has to, and a moral man who is repelled by the greed of many of his colleagues.” Publishers Weekly.
“The story culminates with an outstanding courtroom sequence. Daley narrates with a kind of genial irony, the pace never slows, and every description of the city is as brightly burnished as the San Francisco sky when the fog lifts.” Newark Star-Ledger.
“For those who love San Francisco, this is a dream of a novel that capitalizes on the city’s festive and festering neighborhoods of old-line money and struggling immigrants. Siegel is an astute observer of the city and takes wry and witty jabs at lawyers and politicians.” USA Today.
CRIMINAL INTENT
“Ingenious. A surprise ending that will keep readers yearning for more.” Booklist.
“Siegel writes with style and humor. The people who populate his books are interesting. He’s a guy who needs to keep that laptop popping.” Houston Chronicle.
“Siegel does a nice job of blending humor and human interest. Daley and Fernandez are competent lawyers, not superhuman crime fighters featured in more commonplace legal thrillers. With great characters and realistic dialogue, this book provides enough intrigue and courtroom drama to please any fan of the genre.” Library Journal.
FINAL VERDICT
“Daley’s careful deliberations and ethical considerations are a refreshing contrast to the slapdash morality and breakneck speed of most legal thrillers. The detailed courtroom scenes are instructive and authentic, the resolution fair, dramatic and satisfying. Michael, Rosie, Grace and friends are characters worth rooting for. The verdict is clear: another win for Siegel.” Publishers Weekly.
“An outstanding entry in an always reliable series. An ending that’s full of surprises—both professional and personal—provides the perfect finale to a supremely-entertaining legal thriller.” Booklist.
“San Francisco law partners Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez spar like Tracy and Hepburn. Final Verdict maintains a brisk pace, and there’s genuine satisfaction when the bad guy gets his comeuppance.” San Francisco Chronicle.
THE CONFESSION
“As Daley moves from the drug and prostitution-ridden underbelly of San Francisco, where auto parts and offers of legal aid are exchanged for cooperation, to the tension-filled courtroom and the hushed offices of the church, it gradually becomes apparent that Ramon isn’t the only character with a lot at stake in this intelligent, timely thriller.” Publishers Weekly.
“This enthralling novel keeps reader attention with one surprise after another. The relationship between Mike and Rosie adds an exotic dimension to this exciting courtroom drama in which the defense and the prosecutor interrogation of witnesses make for an authentic, terrific tale.” The Best Reviews.
“Sheldon Siegel is to legal thrillers as Robin Cook is to medical thrillers.” Midwest Book Review.
JUDGMENT DAY
“Drug dealers, wily lawyers, crooked businessmen, and conflicted cops populate the pages of this latest in a best-selling series from Siegel. A compelling cast and plenty of suspense put this one right up there with the best of Lescroart and Turow.” Booklist STARRED review.
“An exciting and suspenseful read—a thriller that succeeds both as a provocative courtroom drama and as a personal tale of courage and justice. With spine-chilling thrills and a mind-blowing finish, this novel is a must, must read.” New Mystery Reader.
“It’s a good year when Sheldon Siegel produces a novel. Siegel has written an adrenaline rush of a book. The usual fine mix from a top-notch author.” Shelf Awareness.
PERFECT ALIBI
“Siegel, an attorney-author who deserves to be much more well known than he is, has produced another tightly plotted, fluidly written legal thriller. Daley and Fernandez are as engaging as when we first met them (in Special Circumstances, 2000), and the story is typically intricate and suspenseful. Siegel is a very talented writer, stylistically closer to Turow than Grisham, and this novel should be eagerly snapped up by fans of those giants (and also by readers of the San Francisco-set legal thrillers of John Lescroart).” Booklist.
“Sheldon Siegel is a practicing attorney and the married father of twin sons. He knows the law and he knows the inner workings of a family. This knowledge has given him a great insight in the writing of Perfect Alibi, which for Siegel fans is his almost perfect book.” Huffington Post.
Introducing Detective David Gold in
THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR
“Chicago Detectives David Gold and A.C. Battle are strong entries in the police-thriller sweepstakes, with Sheldon Siegel’s new THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR, a smart, surprising and bloody take on the world of Islamic terror. As a crazed bomber threatens to shut down America’s third-largest city, the Chicago cops, the FBI, Homeland Security and even the military desperately sift through every available clue to the bomber’s identity, reaching for a climax that is both shocking and credible. New York Times bestselling author Siegel tells a story that is fast and furious and authentic.” John Sandford. New York Times Best Selling Author of STOLEN PREY and the Lucas Davenport P
rey series.
“Sheldon Siegel blows the doors off with his excellent new thriller, THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR. Bombs, car chases, the shutdown of Chicago, plus Siegel’s winning touch with character makes this one not to be missed!” John Lescroart. New York Times Best Selling Author of THE HUNTER.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. “IT ISN’T OVER”
2. “PEOPLE WILL DIE”
3. “THAT’S THE WAY THINGS WORK IN SOUTH CHICAGO”
4. THE “FRIENDLY CONFINES”
5. THE SHRINE OF HEAVEN
6. “THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD IS CHANGING”
7. “WHAT’S THE ISLAMIC FREEDOM FEDERATION?”
8. “IT ISN’T ON ANY OF OUR WATCH LISTS”
9. “WE NEED TO TALK TO AL-SHAHID”
10. “THIS IS A DISASTER”
11. “THERE IS NO REASON TO PANIC”
12. “MY BROTHER IS NOT A MURDERER”
13. “WE’LL NEED DENTAL RECORDS”
14. “THE HASSAN I KNOW IS A PEACEFUL MAN”
15. “ONE MAN’S TERRORIST IS ANOTHER MAN’S FREEDOM FIGHTER”
16. “WE CALL THEM ‘LONE WOLVES’”
17. THE “HEART OF SOUTH CHICAGO”
18. “WE WON’T MISS NEXT TIME”
19. “HE’S TAUNTING US”
20. “DOES THAT GO ON EVERY NIGHT?”
21. HARRY
22. “YOU’RE OVERREACTING”
23. “GREAT DAY TO BE A COP”
24. “HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE?”
25. “THREE DEAD, A DOZEN INJURED”
26. “I HAVE NO IDEA WHO SET OFF THOSE BOMBS”
27. “SOMETIMES IT’S BETTER TO GO WITH YOUR INSTINCTS”
28. “I THOUGHT I’D SEEN EVERYTHING”
29. “WE HAD HIM”
30. “DO YOU EXPECT ME TO THANK YOU?”
31. “NOBODY ELSE GOES DOWN ON MY WATCH”
32. “I NEED A TRACE RIGHT NOW”
33. “SURROUND THE BUILDING”
34. “I TOLD YOU WE HAD NOTHING TO HIDE”
35. “IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO SAY TO HIM?”
36. “LAUGH YOUR TROUBLES AWAY”
37. “WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR PHONE?”
38. “HE’S JUST DOING HIS JOB”
39. “I DON’T BELIEVE IN COINCIDENCES”
40. “I’VE HEARD RUMORS”
41. “HE ISN’T HERE”
42. “HE’LL ONLY TALK TO YOU”
43. “YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED”
44. “WE WILL NOT CONTACT YOU AGAIN”
45. “THIS IS A GAME CHANGER”
46. “THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY”
47. CREATING A DIVERSION
48. “IT’S JUST A CAR”
49. “NEVER LET YOUR GUARD DOWN”
50. “I DON’T WANT TO KILL A CHILD”
51. “HE KNOWS WHERE WE’VE BEEN”
52. “OFFICER DOWN!”
53. “I NEED TO TALK TO JENNY”
54. “IT SMELLED BAD”
55. “WE FOUND HER CAR”
56. “I’M THE ISLAMIC FREEDOM FEDERATION”
57. “I ALREADY KNOW WHERE SHE IS”
58. “YOU THINK HE WANTS TO DIE?”
59. “YOU CAN’T GO IN THERE”
60. “I WANT YOU TO TAKE HIM OUT”
61. “WE FOUND A BODY”
62. “WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU”
63. “WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?”
64. “NEXT TIME I’LL BURN THE BUILDING DOWN”
65. “DO YOU WANT TO MAKE A STATEMENT?”
66. “WE NEED TO TALK”
67. “IT’S TIME TO COME HOME”
68. “CHANGE IS PART OF LIFE”
69. “IT’S OVER”
70. “BEING CYNICAL IS THE EASY WAY OUT”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A NOTE TO THE READER
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BOOKS BY SHELDON SIEGEL
Excerpt From SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
Acclaim for SHELDON SIEGEL’S Novels
The Terrorist Next Door Page 28
