Page 73 of The Devil's Advocate

Bloch walked out of the store, the bell tinkling above her, and Jane following behind with her mouth open.

‘Oh my God,’ said Jane.

Jane seemed to say that a lot. Bloch took her phone out of her jacket and stopped the audio recording. Saved it as a file and emailed it to Kate.

‘No one picked up on this before. Like, how did youdothat?’ asked Jane.

‘I told you. It’s what I do,’ said Bloch.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

KATE

Bloch had taken the SUV, Eddie had the Prius, which left Kate and Harry with the non-VW deathtrap. Harry drove it to the truck stop and parked behind the bar. It was noon. Opening time. Kate was on the phone to Bloch.

‘I listened to the recording from the candy store lady. Great work, but it doesn’t get us Korn,’ said Kate.

‘We can use it to get to him. Dorothy Majors implicates Lomax in perjury and perverting the course of justice. We can use it to flip him.’

‘So we make Lomax cut a deal with Berlin in exchange for his testimony against Korn.’

‘Exactly.’

‘Okay, I’ll talk to Eddie,’ said Kate, and hung up.

‘You think Lomax will flip on the district attorney?’ asked Harry.

‘He has no choice. I doubt he’d go to jail for him. I heard Lomax has a sick wife. He won’t want to be parted from her. This is how we get Korn, I can feel it.’

Harry nodded, glanced through the windshield at Hogg’s Bar.

They got out of the car, into the hot sun, and quickly made their way to the front entrance. Inside, the bar was dark. The contrast to the blazing sun was too much for Kate. She had to stop, blink a few times, before she could adjust to the low light. The windows were covered up with thick plastic sheeting, and the light from the neon signs behind the long bar that faced the door, the videogames and digital jukebox, were all that she had to navigate.

There half a dozen small round tables and stools scattered between the door and the bar, and a set of booths on the left. Maybe six of them, with a light over each table, but the lights weren’t on yet. Two beams rose from the corners of the bar, to the ceiling. Each beam was studded with horseshoes.

A man stood behind the bar, wiping a beer glass with a white dish cloth. There was no one else in the place, but from the smell out of the kitchen they were getting ready for a busy lunch service. The man put the glass down, wiped the back of his neck with the cloth then tossed it into a sink. He wore a red and black checkered shirt, blue jeans and black tee. Either he hadn’t shaved for a week or he was supposed to look that way. Kate couldn’t decide.

‘Can I get you folks something?’ he said.

‘Sure,’ said Harry, pulling up a stool at the bar. ‘The coffee smells good. I’ll have two bourbons on the rocks, a water and a cup of coffee.’

The bar man nodded. He poured two glasses of iced water, put one in front of Harry and one facing the stool next to him. In places like this it paid to keep the customers hydrated. Less chance of them dying from heatstroke before they paid the check.

‘Kate, do you want anything?’ asked Harry.

Kate took a seat next to him, took a sip of the water. ‘This is fine, thank you.’

The barman came back with Harry’s drinks and a cup of joe.

‘Two bourbonsandcoffee?’ she asked.

‘Oh, don’t worry, the coffee isn’t for me,’ said Harry. He took out his cell phone snapped a picture of the coffee. ‘Eddie hasn’t had a decent cup of coffee since we left New York. This picture will drive him nuts.’

‘Why didn’t you just get a double bourbon on the rocks?’

‘Because bartenders will always give a more generous pour to a single. Am I right?’

The barman nodded at Harry. ‘You’ve been around,’ said the barman.