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"And willingness to bribe officials makes one an excellent lawyer?"
"Yes."
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. How could I answer that?
Cortez continued, "If he does attempt such a maneuver, I will insist that the court supervise the testing." He returned to his papers. "Now, I've prepared a list of steps we should take to--"
Savannah walked into the kitchen and stopped short, assessing Cortez and his accoutrements.
"What's with the salesman?" she asked. Then she looked Cortez in the face. She didn't even blink, only tightened her mouth. "What do you want, sorcerer?"
"I prefer Lucas," he said, extending a hand. "Lucas Cortez. I'm representing Paige."
"Repres--" Savannah looked at me. "Where'd you find him?"
"The yellow pages," I said. "Under 'U.' For unsolicited, uninvited, and unwanted. He's not my lawyer."
Savannah sized Cortez up. "Good, 'cause if you want a sorcerer lawyer, you can do much better than this."
"I'm sure you can," Cortez said. "However, since I am the only one who's here, perhaps I can be of some assistance."
"You can't," I said. "Now, if you've forgotten the way to the door--"
"Hold on," Savannah said. "He's pretty young, so he's probably cheap. Maybe he'll do until we can get someone better."
"My services are extremely reasonable and will be agreed upon in advance," Cortez said. "While it may seem at this point as if Nast doesn't have a case--"
"Who's Nast?" Savannah asked.
"He means Leah," I s
aid, shooting Cortez a "don't argue" glare. "It's O'Donnell, not Nast."
"My mistake," Cortez said without missing a beat. "As I was saying, Leah has not withdrawn her petition for custody and shows no signs of doing so. Therefore we must assume that she plans to pursue that endeavor. Thwarting her efforts must be our primary purpose. To that end, I have drawn up a list of steps."
"The twelve-step program for un-demonizing my life?"
"No, there are only seven steps, but if you see the need for more, we can discuss making the additions."
" Uh-huh."
"Who cares about lists?" Savannah said. "All we have to do is kill Leah."
"I'm glad to see you're taking such a keen interest in this, Savannah," he said. "However, we must proceed in a logical, methodical manner, which, unfortunately, precludes running out and murdering anyone. Perhaps we should begin by going over the list I prepared for you. Step one: Arrange to have your homework brought to the house by a teacher or student known to both you and Paige. Step two--"
"He's kidding, right?" Savannah said.
"It doesn't matter," I said. "I'm not hiring you, Cortez."
"I really do prefer Lucas."
"And I'd prefer you found your way to my front door. Now. I don't know you and I don't trust you. You might very well be what you say you are. But how do I prove that? How do I know Sandford didn't send you here? Hey, Paige's lawyer quit, let's send her one of ours, see if she notices."
"I don't work for Gabriel Sandford or anyone else."
I shook my head. "Sorry, no sale. You're a sorcerer. No matter how hard up you were for a job, I can't believe you'd offer to work for a witch."
"I have no quarrel with witches. The limitations of your powers are hereditary. I'm sure you endeavor to use them to their full potential."
