EDDIE
One Month Later
'Don't I know you from someplace?' said the hotdog vendor. 'I'm a lawyer,' I said.
'Yeah, you represent that girl who killed Frankie Avellino.' 'Not anymore.'
'She fire you?'
'No, I fired her.'
'What do you want on your dog?'
'Chili, cheese, jalapenos – the works,' I said.
He handed me a huge hotdog on a plastic tray. I gave him a ten and told him
to keep the change. He wasn't the first person who'd recognized me in the past few weeks. It still burned that I hadn't been able to spot Sofia. That she had managed to con me, Harry and ... Harper. She'd made me feel sorry for her. And I hadn't seen the monster behind that mask. If I had, maybe Harper would still be here.
That night, while the paramedics loaded Soames, Tyler and Sofia into separate ambulances, I called Kate. I told her everything. She had cried on the phone. The relief she felt hit me even harder. Kate had been right about Alexandra all along.
'I should have listened to you. You called it right from the beginning.'
'You were conned, Eddie. Not just you. Sofia convinced everyone. It's not your fault.'
'Don't worry about me. Go get your client out of jail.'
Soames and Tyler survived the attack, and Alexandra Avellino became the first defendant in the state's history to have her conviction overturned before she'd even been sentenced.
Sofia was facing multiple murder charges. She would plead not guilty by reason of insanity. It wouldn't work. Her mental health problems were real, but none of them made her a killer, or explained the evil that came from within her. She'd survived the gunshot to the shoulder, but she'd lost the arm in the process. Maybe that was justice for Frank – because he would never have his killer put on trial – double jeopardy prevented it. Not that it mattered to Sofia – she would
spend the rest of her life in pain, and in a cell. The pain would be made worse by the knowledge that Alexandra would inherit Frank's estate.
I crossed the street and went through the glass doors of the building that was home to Levy, Bernard and Groff, attorneys at law. A receptionist gave me directions to the correct floor and I took the elevator. There were two guys in suits who were there to escort me. I recognized one of them as Scott. Levy's blue-eyed boy. In the elevator, Scott wrinkled his nose and stared at my hotdog in disgust.
'Sorry, you can't have any,' I said.
The doors opened and I was led to a glass-walled conference room. In the center of the room was a long table. The three managing partners of the firm sat at one side. John Bernard was in his seventies, well-groomed and wearing a tailor-made pin-stripe suit. Matthew Groff was a little younger, and paler, if that was possible. Levy was the youngest, and he sat in the center of the group. They were flanked by a group of security guards and associates. I'd heard about Bloch's little incident with Levy. I liked Bloch.
Kate and Bloch sat facing the opposing army. Kate directly opposite Levy. Bloch on her left. I took the empty chair to the right of Kate. A view of the Manhattan skyline opened up behind Levy and his partners.
Kate had a laptop open in front of her. Bloch had a cardboard box at her feet. The associates that sat around the table all had iPads, legal pads or huge stacks of legal papers in front of them. Same with the partners.
I put my chili dog in front of me, and asked Bloch and Kate if they wanted a bite. Kate politely declined. Bloch just shook her head.
'This is a without prejudice negotiation, in relation to the matter of Levy, Bernard and Groff, a firm, versus Kate Brooks. Do we have any questions before we commence?' said Levy.
'Yeah,' I said. 'Could I get a fork? This hotdog is a lot messier than I thought.'
Levy looked at my lunch, then me, and said, 'We've been waiting for you for ten minutes. We couldn't start the negotiation without the defendant's attorney. I'd hoped you'd be bringing more than cheap junk food to the table.'
'Oh, I'm not the attorney for Kate,' I said.
'What?'
'Nah, she's doing just fine on her own. She doesn't need me,' I said and I took
a bite from the hotdog. It was hot, and delicious.
'Then why are you here, Mr. Flynn?' asked Bernard. He had a voice that
sounded like it was coming from the back of a deep, oak wardrobe. 'I'm just here to watch. I wouldn't miss this for the world,' I said.
'Alright, for the record we can ignore Mr. Flynn. Miss Brooks, I've spoken to my partners, and we have arrived at the figure of two-point-three million dollars. That's our bottom line. You stole our client. That means you stole our fees. We want that money, and your law license. Final offer.'
Kate produced the black plastic card I'd taken out of Levy's wallet, and placed it on the table.
'I have a counter offer,' she said.
Levy's face took on a strange look. It was like he'd seen a ghost pull down its pants and shit on his lawn.
Kate picked up the card and pressed one side of it. A small, metallic connection point flipped out of the side. It looked like a micro-USB.
'This card belongs to Mr. Levy,' she said as she slotted it into her laptop. 'No,' said Levy. It didn't sound like a denial. It was a plea. A cry for mercy. 'The card acts as a kind of digital portal to a site on the dark web,' she said. As she turned the laptop screen around, I caught a glimpse of the site. I didn't
read the name, but I saw the bank of pictures. One of them looked a little like Kate. And she was bending over. The photo was taken from behind, probably on a camera phone. There were other pictures, even worse. Some were photographs taken under tables, with the camera angled up a woman's skirt. There were more graphic photographs of Kate changing, or on the john. Levy must've had cameras hidden all over the office, beneath desks, in the female bathroom, and God knows where else. Suddenly I'd lost my appetite.
'These are photographs of me, which Mr. Levy took, surreptitiously, and uploaded onto this site – Co-workers I'd Like To Rape.'
'Jesus, Theo!' said Bernard.
Theo Levy put his head down as it started to turn bright red.
'For what I'm sure is a substantial annual fee, Mr. Levy can look at other
pictures taken by powerful men of their female employees, some are even naked, and engaged in what looks like non-consensual sex. The users can even rate the women, and the pictures. I see that my home address was also put on the site. I will withdraw my counter-suit for sexual harassment, you will withdraw your suit for breach of contract and—'
'Kate,' said Bernard, interrupting her. 'You don't need to say any more. We'll withdraw our lawsuit. You do likewise and sign a non-disclosure agreement. We'll pay one million dollars in compensation and that will be an end to it. Okay? Can you turn that computer off now?'
'I'm sorry, Mr. Bernard, I hadn't finished. There will be no non-disclosure agreements. This is a one-time offer. We withdraw our respective lawsuits, Mr. Levy resigns from the firm and you put out a press statement to say that sexual
harassment has been a problem at Levy, Bernard and Groff, but that you're calling in expert human resources teams to address the issue. That's it.'
'Look, Miss Brooks, you're clearly a talented lawyer, but you'd be a fool to turn down a million dollars—'
'No non-disclosure agreements. I think I said that already. This shit has gone on too long behind closed doors. It will continue to go on unless you deal with the problem,' said Kate.
'Two million,' said Groff.
Kate shook her head.
'One time offer,' said Kate again. 'If you don't take it, the offer is walking out
of this room with me. And I'm going straight to the New Yorker with this card.' 'Goddamn it,' said Bernard. 'Just do it. Just give her whatever she wants.' 'You can't—' said Levy, but Bernard cut him off.
'You don't get a vote in this, Theo. I have a feeling your ass is going to be
thrown out the door before the end of the day.'
'You have a deal. The case is settled,' said Groff.
'Wait,' said Levy, but they ignored him.
'Thank you,' said Kate.
Bernard and Groff both turned on Levy and began to berate him. Not for
being a creepy pervert, but for getting caught. He was trying to speak but they weren't listening.
'Oh, one more thing,' said Kate.
Reaching down, Bloch grabbed the cardboard box at her feet, and put it on the table.
'What's this?' said Bernard.
Kate opened the box, and started bringing out bundles of legal documents. 'These are lawsuits on behalf of fourteen Levy, Bernard and Groff associates
and secretaries. They're all female. They've all had their picture taken by Mr. Levy, and we have screenshots of them. When you calculate the salaries owed to these women, because they weren't getting paid anywhere near their male counterparts, and you figure in damages for sexual harassment, I'll recommend two million dollars to settle.'
'Two million? We can do that,' said Groff.
'Two million each,' said Kate.
Through gritted teeth, Bernard said, 'How many of them did you say?' 'Fourteen.'
'We need to check the paperwork and interrogate these claims. We'll get back
to you before the end of the week on those,' said Bernard.
'No problem. If I don't hear from you by Friday, the price goes up.'
'Wait a second,' said Levy, no longer willing to be shouted down. His career was over, and he was desperate to try and save himself. 'I'm not going anywhere. We can win these suits. She stole that card from me. She can't use it in court!'
'Actually, I stole it, Theo,' I said. 'Do you want to report the theft of your pervert passport to the police?'
Levy's mouth opened and shut like a fish. 'I didn't think so.'
Within an hour the paperwork was done on Kate's case, and she was pretty sure she could collect at least twenty percent on each of the new claims from the associates. This was a nice payday for her.
Outside the building, Harry waited with Clarence on a leash. It was a gorgeous day. Bright, sunny and cold.
'Why do I have a feeling that once those cases are settled and the damages are paid that the card will somehow find its way to the NYPD?' I said.
'I have no idea,' said Kate. 'These things happen all the time. Bloch definitely wouldn't put it in an unmarked envelope and send it to the sex crimes unit.'
I bent low and patted Clarence on the head. I was beginning to like Clarence a lot more.
'You know there's a vacancy on the tenth floor of that building,' said Harry.
I turned and gazed up at the glass tower.
'Nah,' said Kate. 'Too many bad memories in that place. Does this mean
you've considered my offer?'
'I have,' I said. 'People around me get hurt, Kate. Harper was killed. It's my
fault. She was working my case and I didn't see Sofia Avellino coming. I believed her, and it cost Harper her life. I can't let you—'
'She knew the risks, Eddie. It's not your fault,' said Kate.
'Harper loved you,' said Harry.
'I should've known. I got conned by Sofia,' I said.
'You couldn't have known,' said Kate. 'Sofia manipulated everyone. The
problem was we were on opposite sides. If we had been working together from the start this wouldn't have happened.'
'Kate's right. You've been on your own too long, Eddie. Time for a new start. A new firm,' said Harry.
'Come on, I have to go see Dreyer and convince him to drop the charges against Alexandra for paying Hal Cohen to be her witness. I want to tell him I've got a new job. That we're a team now.'
'You think he'll drop the charges?' I asked.
'I'm pretty sure. Soames and Tyler will be there, with their war wounds. They said they would do their best to persuade him. I think it'll work. Come on – are we partners? You've got the reputation and the clients, so a seventy-thirty split in your favor sound about right?'
'No,' I said. 'If we're going to be partners then it's got to be fifty-fifty.'
We shook hands. Right then, a new firm was born. Flynn and Brooks, attorneys at law. We had a consultant, an investigator, and even an office dog. Now we only needed an actual office, and a phone.
And some luck.
I left Harry, Kate and Bloch in a bar at around three o'clock in the afternoon. Alexandra would have one year of probation for attempting to pervert the course of justice, we were celebrating Kate's latest victory, and the new firm. Harry already liked Kate, and he was warming to Bloch. Both women loved Clarence. The sound of their laughter followed me into the street. I'd only drunk Pepsi and water. At the moment I had no stomach for booze. I thought I might finally kick it for good this time.
I got into my car and drove. There was no conscious plotting of direction. The wheels just kind of took me there. By the time I arrived at the cemetery the sun was setting. With my head down, my feet found my way to Harper's grave. I sat down on the wet grass beside it, leaned my head on the cold stone, and within seconds I felt myself drifting off to sleep.