Attorney at Large (Thaddeus Murfee Legal Thriller Series Book 3)

by John Ellsworth

  So the first order of business was to offer her hope, some kind of possible solution, even short-term.

  Henry Landers down in Navajo-land had taught him about solutions.

  They all agreed they were famished.

  They ducked into the Floating Gardenia Brunch n’ Lunch cafe and ordered salads. Additionally, Kiki ordered coffee—as if she needed the spike, Thaddeus mused—PX ordered Darjeeling tea, and Thaddeus chose Diet Coke.

  Of the seven restaurants in the casino, the Gardenia was probably his least favorite, but it was the fastest, and it was pretty clear that Kiki just wanted to get somewhere and get herself cleaned up and gathered together. She had a bad case of the shakes and just kept repeating, “Oh my God, I can’t believe I actually shot someone!” Clearly there was still some shock terrorizing her.

  PX would pat her arm and encourage her to take deep breaths and slow her pulse.

  Thaddeus decided to make his proposition right up front. He wouldn’t press her for an answer; she’d definitely need time to get things in perspective and time to think it over.

  “So,” he began, “how long have you been counting cards?”

  “A few months. But I guess that’s over, now that I’ve admitted it and now that I’m going to prison.” Her voice was anxious. Her eyes were bloodshot and her lips chapped. Her hair was matted against her head on the side where she had tried to sleep upright against the wall of the cell. When she handled her coffee and creamer her hands shook such that the coffee slopped over.

  He gave her a big smile. “Relax, okay? You’ve got PX in your corner and you’re not going to prison. As far as card counting, it’s casino policy to plaster your picture on everyone’s website so the shift managers and dealers can spot the counters. You’re not being singled out and you haven’t done anything wrong by counting. It’s just that casinos don’t like the odds when they favor the customer. Never have and never will.”

  “I understand.”

  She stirred half-and-half into her coffee. Hands shaking, she struggled to get the cup up to her lips. She managed a sip and her face relaxed.

  “The murder charge is just something you’re going to have to go through.”

  “Which is where I come in,” chimed in PX. “You’ve done the first thing you needed to do, which is hire the best criminal attorney in Vegas. I’m your gal for that.”

  Kiki nodded. Her lips were tight and her face a white mask.

  Thaddeus wanted to reach out and touch her arm, but restrained himself.

  Go slow, he thought, go very slow.

  “Will I go to prison?” she asked after several moments while the two lawyers let her mull things over. “Is that a certainty? Tell me the truth, I can handle it.”

  “It’s not good, Kiki,” said PX. “The video shows the guy starting to retreat from the gun when it went off.”

  Tears came to the young woman’s eyes. “That’s just it! It just went off! I swear, I didn’t mean to shoot anybody.”

  Thaddeus reached over and touched her arm. She didn’t pull away. “We’ll get to how it happened, Kiki. That’s something you and PX will discuss when I’m not around. I’m not your attorney and you don’t want me to be a witness to anything you say at this point.”

  “You mean I can’t talk about it with you?”

  “I mean you should discuss your case with PX and only with PX. Nobody else.”

  “Do I talk to Dad? I know he’ll call.”

  “Here’s what I’d ask you to do,” said PX. “This is my card. Have your dad call me if he wants to discuss the case. Let me manage that conversation for you. But please, don’t you discuss it with him.”

  “Because he could be called as a witness in my trial.”

  PX smiled. “Exactly.”

  “So what do I do, just go back to my condo and do nothing? Just wait to go to prison or whatever?”

  “Maybe I’ve got an idea about that,” said Thaddeus. “I think I just might.”

  “Will I be card counting?” She meant it as a joke, but no one was amused.

  “You seem to be bright and quite good at the whole thing. So maybe I’ve got a proposition for you.”

  “I hate it when men say ‘proposition’ to me. I’ve turned down some very lucrative offers since I’ve been here.”

  Her attempt at humor, thought Thaddeus. At least the kid had guts.

  PX laughed. “That’s Las Vegas. And you haven’t even begun.”

  Thaddeus plodded ahead. “Hey, it’s nothing like that. But I want to offer you a job.”

  Kiki lifted a hand. “I don’t strip and I don’t hook.”

  “C’mon—”

  “And I don’t want to work in an office. I’ll go back to school and get my education hours and teach if I have to. Follow me?”

  “I do follow you. But none of that is what I had in mind. I would like to start you out as a spotter.”

  “What’s that?” she asked, hardly intrigued at the title.

  “It’s kind of a security-management job. Just below shift manager, though.”

  “What would I do?”

  “You would watch players. Nothing else. You would look for card counters.”

  “That I could do. I’ve gotten pretty fairly good at it. For example, I know when anyone else at my table is counting too.”

  “Hey, you told the judge your degree is in math? That sounds like the perfect background to me.”

  She smiled for the first time that day. “Look, big brother, I didn’t get a chance to say thanks for helping me with bail today. And with PX. That was a huge.”

  He shook his head. “PX will be a huge help. She’ll get an investigator on it later today.”

  PX nodded affirmatively. “Already done. I texted the office on the way back here.”

  “Will anyone sue me for shooting the guy? Assuming I don’t go to prison.”

  “If there’s a widow, she might make noises. But you’re probably judgment-proof.”

  Tears came to her eyes. “I wet my pants, but nobody knew.”

  “So you probably want to just get home and get cleaned up. Get some sleep. So how about this? How about you think about my offer for a day or two and then we’ll talk. Here’s my card.”

  She looked at his card. “You really do own this place.”

  “I really do. That’s another story for another day.”

  “How much would I be earning?”

  “I hadn’t got that far,” he smiled. “What do you think would be fair?”

  “I don’t know. Forty thousand? Isn’t that about what new grads are getting?”

  “How about sixty grand with two weeks paid vacation after twelve months? Plus a matching 401(k) up to eight percent. Plus there’s our casino employees credit union, life and health coverage.”

  “Wow. That’s more than fair. I think I want to say yes but I should really talk to Dad. He’ll be relieved if I tell him I’ve got an actual, real job.”

  “Dad is definitely like that.”

  She looked at his ring-less hands. “Are you a dad?”

  He paled. “Two kids. Sarai and Andromeda. Andromeda is two months older. I’ll show you pictures when you come to where I live.”

  “So you’re married?”

  “No.”

  PX smiled. “That’s private, right, boss?”

  He grimaced. “As private as living in a fish bowl can be around here.”

  15

  The Desert Riviera jet delivered Katy Landers to McCarran International Airport at 7:30 that night.

  It was a Friday and she was tired from a long week of med school classes at Stanford. She was wearing jeans, leather sandals, a Hensley shirt, sunglasses perched on her head, and a modern squash blossom necklace. Her black hair was braided and reached below her shoulders. She was 5-7/120 and very fine-boned. It was common for her to look at her hands and remark, “Those look like surgeon’s hands. Maybe pediatric surgeon’s hands.”

  Attached to her hip—as she and Thaddeu
s joked—was the two-year-old Sarai. The little girl was happy and clapped her hands, thought beds were trampolines, and was, according to her parents, brilliant. Her eyes were blue, her fat arms and fat legs were beginning to lengthen—she would be tall, like her parents—and she loved Sesame Street.

  In addition to a twenty-five-pound baby bag, Katy brought along her book bag, which she usually did when she came down for weekends—which was almost every weekend.

  Thaddeus was there to meet her when she plodded down the air-stairs. With her hands full, baby arching her back to be put down, Katy was looking Friday-night-exhausted.

  They hugged, kissed, and said their hellos even as Thaddeus was taking his daughter and holding her over his head and making faces, much to the baby’s great delight. She liked it so much, in fact, she drooled on her father’s face.

  Thaddeus turned to Katy and his heart jumped in his chest like it always did when did when he first saw her after one of these necessary separations. She was a first-year med student. He was a first-year casino owner. The baby was a two year. As they joked, you can’t hang with us if you’re not in your first couple years of something.

  They loaded into the back seat of the black Mercedes. The car seat was already in place; Thaddeus proudly kept it in the car all week even when his daughter was back in Palo Alto with her mother. It represented something incredibly neat to him and he was proud to show it off. There was also a wallet-full of photos always at the ready for anyone who would stand still. One set was of Sarai, the other set was of Andromeda.

  Tony Blake was driving. Tony had been with Thaddeus about six months. He was a BAG agent—Beta Armed Guards—and carried a concealed firearm, as he was also Thaddeus’ personal bodyguard. If Thaddeus was close by, Tony Blake was close by as well. Thaddeus still didn’t trust the mob remnants in Chicago, and Tony had been trained not to trust anyone anyway.

  Tony raised the blackout panel between front and back seats, giving the young father a wink in the mirror. They set off along Wayne Newton Boulevard, headed back into town.

  “Your stomach is looking very flat, like you’ve lost all the baby fat,” Thaddeus said, which he immediately regretted saying. He always felt shy with her at first, and usually found himself saying dumb things when they were first back together. He was anything but smooth.

  “I still hit the gym for at least two hours before classes,” she sighed.

  She took his hand in hers.

  “I don’t know if I’m going to make it through the school year or not, not with her. She takes up every minute when I’m home. Actually I shouldn’t say it that way. I give her every minute of my time when I’m home. I wouldn’t have it any other way. When I study is usually when she’s sleeping.”

  “Does Esme help?” he asked.

  “I couldn’t do med school without her. She gets up and gets Sarai dressed at six o’clock when my alarm goes off. We all have breakfast together then I spend an hour playing with Sarai. About eight I head off to school. Back home by four—you know my schedule. Thank God it’s Friday. I need you to be the chief caregiver with Sarai this weekend. I’m beat.”

  “I’ve got it,” Thaddeus said, and finger-brushed his daughter’s blond hair. “It’s coming in.”

  “It is. Where’s she getting blond? I’m brunette, you’re brown. She’s blond?”

  “I was too when I was a baby. I showed you the pictures, didn’t I?”

  “Yes. I know you were.”

  “So you were kidding me.”

  She smiled and laughed. “Had you thinking it was the milkman, didn’t I?”

  “Hardly. You were a virgin when I met you.”

  She scowled. “Dream on, buster.”

  “Hey! Didn’t you tell me that?”

  She raised her hand. “I’m taking the Fifth. No confessions today. Call my lawyer. His name’s Thad.”

  They laughed and settled back for the ride into town.

  After a comfortable silence, Thaddeus asked, “What would you like to do this weekend? I mean besides dump Sarai on her doting father.”

  “Study. And eat some decent food.”

  “You’re kidding. You’re not eating good food at home?”

  “Not like I should.”

  “Do we need to get a dietitian?”

  “My doctor has given me an eating guide.”

  “And you’re taking iron? Are you still anemic?”

  She punched his arm. “Of course, Thad. What do you take me for?”

  He looked out the window. He wanted to say, “I take you for a very stubborn but brilliant woman,” which he didn’t say. Instead he said, “I’m just double-checking. This is my first time being a dad and—”

  “And what?”

  “I almost said ‘and a husband.’”

  She frowned. “There’s a topic for you. How is Ilene coming along with Andromeda?”

  It was turning into a sore subject, but he couldn’t blame Katy. Somehow—as if he didn’t know—he had had born to him two children within the span of two months. Ilene Crayton in Illinois was the mother of his son, Andromeda. She was determined to help Thaddeus see his son as much as possible, and Thaddeus was grateful. He was extremely grateful he could provide for both babies—and their mothers—and they both had told him he was an excellent father. He was determined to be the best he could be.

  “Ilene is coming along fine. Andromeda talks to me every night on Skype.”

  “Talks? Serious?”

  He shrugged. “You know what I mean. I read him a story every night on Skype.”

  “Is he talking?”

  “He knows my name. ‘Da.’”

  “So does Sarai.”

  “Hey, it’s not a contest.”

  “How often do you talk to Ilene?”

  “Every night, just like you. She updates me on Drommie’s day. And I call her to see that she has everything she needs.”

  “Does she have anything you need? That’s the question of the day.”

  Her voice had an edge to it that told him she had been thinking about their situation.

  Of course.

  More and more his marital status was creeping into their conversations. Bottom line, she wanted to get married and he had something blocking him from proposing, though he couldn’t say what it was. It just wasn’t time yet.

  “Will you stop it? Can’t you see I’ve made my choice? You’re here with me. She’s not. It’s that simple.”

  She sniffed and looked out the window, lost in her own thoughts.

  This was an issue that was not improving with time, though he had naively hoped it would. Something more was going to have to be done to cement with his relationship with Katy. Something besides words.

  He had a slight shudder and decided to put that on the back burner. For now, they were going to have a fun weekend together.

  “So, besides study, what else would you like to do this weekend?”

  She shook her head. “Definitely not hang around the casino gambling. That’s a total turn-off to me, that whole scene.”

  “I know that. It’s getting that way to me too, truth be told. Anyway, we can swim, we can go hiking, we can take the helicopter over and see Henry, go water-skiing, catch a Broadway show—your call. I just want you to have a great time.”

  She smiled. “I would love to spend an afternoon with Henry. I miss that old guy.”

  “That would be perfect. Tomorrow? We could leave around noon and be there by one thirty or so. Do you know if he’s up in the cabin or will we catch him at the hogan?”

  “We talked last night. He’s up at the cabin with his sheep. He’s somewhat croupy, with a chest cold. I’d really like to check him out because of that, too.”

  “You’re the doctor.”

  “Say that in four years. I’m still first year, remember?” She laughed. “But it does sound good. ‘Doctor.’”

  “So tell me about your project in HumBio.”

  “For my HumBio internship, I’m working on cardio
vascular stem cells, trying to coax them into becoming capillaries that could resuscitate a dying heart. That’s it in layman’s terms.”

  “Is it going to work?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Will they become capillaries?”

  “I’ll let you know when the internship ends. But it looks hopeful.”

  “I’m impressed.”

  “I know, me too. I hate to leave my stemmies, even for just a weekend.”

  “You hate to leave your stem cells.”

  “Yes, wouldn’t you?” She was almost defensive.

  For a moment he worried that it was too much for her, traveling back and forth on weekends, and he made a mental note to look into changing the routine so he went there. The casino wouldn’t dissolve without him. More than anything, he wanted life with Katy and Sarai to work and he wanted her to be happy with their arrangement. But she was an honest lady and she would help him get to wherever it was they were going—he was certain of that. She didn’t play games, and that was a must. They would work it out, and they were both comfortably certain about that.

  They pulled into the casino’s underground parking and headed for the reserved spot, directly in front of the elevator.

  Tony helped with her two suitcases, Katy grabbed the book bag and the diaper bag, Thaddeus hefted Sarai onto a hip and up they all went.

  16

  They made it out to Henry’s meadow just before two o’clock Saturday afternoon. A crew Thaddeus hired out of Window Rock had cleared a small landing zone and fenced it off from the sheep, so the helicopter had the perfect place to put down.

  The sheep were grazing in the meadow, a curl of wood smoke hung in the air over the chimney, and Henry appeared on the front steps to wave enthusiastically at them. Katy had called him on the satellite phone and given him a heads-up, so he was expecting them.