Page 36 of One of Us Is Guilty

‘Mr. Flynn, you’re to come with us right now,’ said the blond one.

‘I’m a little busy right now. You’ll need to make an appointment with my office,’ I said, and widened my own stance. Took my hands out of my pockets, but it had been a while since I’d buried a glove in a heavy bag.

They looked like they were trained fighters. They were about fifteen years younger, forty pounds heavier than me, with tons of gas in their tanks and lots of hours on the mat.

But what I lacked in youthful vigor I could make up for with experience, pure cunning and fighting dirty.

‘This can’t wait. We gotta take you now,’ said the blond guy.

‘I think the two of you together could get me into that car, but you’ll both be sore for weeks after. Think carefully.’

The rear door of the SUV opened and a small woman in a gray suit dropped her heels to the curb. The car wasn’t that tall, but it was too big for this lady. She was in her early thirties, red hair and a patch of freckles over her pale skin. A leather shoulder bag and sunglasses. She walked right up to the two men, who turned and acknowledged her presence, then swung their attention back to me. Even though she was small, there was a quiet authority in her manner.

‘I was hoping we could do this in the back seat, instead of on a street corner,’ she said.

‘I bet you say that to all the guys.’

She stared at me. I’m not normally rude to strangers. But two guys who looked like they were about to throw me into a car and take me God knows where didn’t exactly make me feel polite. Nor did the woman who appeared to be their superior.

‘Sorry, just a joke,’ I said. ‘My mother told me never to get into a car with strangers.’

‘My name is Samantha Voss. I’m a consultant attorney instructed by Buchanan and Duff. I’m your liaison in the Vanessa Vanderpool case.’

I remembered Buchanan offering me a whole team of lawyers to work on Vanessa’s case. I had objected and agreed to only one. I figured that whoever he sent me would relay every detail back to Buchanan, and I guessed it was easier to keep an eye on one person instead of a team. All the same, I had no idea what a consultant attorney might be. Perhaps some formal legal separation from the firm, to ensure there were no technical conflicts of interest.

‘Pleased to meet you, but there’s no need for you to be here. I’ve got it covered.’

‘The reverse is true, Mr. Flynn. You have a meeting that you must attend. I will ensure Mrs. Vanderpool is bailed within the hour.’

‘Very kind of you, but I don’t have a meeting in my schedule and I’m not letting you anywhere near my client.’

‘Ourclient, if you care to check the terms of your retainer. I have a copy here if you’d like to see it. In addition, Mrs. Vanderpool will struggle to use joint marital assets as capital for a bail bond and joint cash reserves cannot be utilized either. The man you’re about to meet will pay Mrs. Vanderpool’s bail bond, in full, as long as you meet him. So get in the goddamn car, or I’ll go explain toourclient why she has to spend a night in a jail cell because her other attorney fucked up her bail.’

The blond guy smiled. I got the impression that this wasn’t the first time he’d seen Voss get the better of somebody.

‘I don’t play well with others. Why don’t you go representMrs. Vanderpool, and I’ll go home. I’ve had about enough of this situation.’

‘The man who is waiting to meet you won’t tolerate that, I’m afraid,’ she said.

The blond guy stepped closer.

I got the message.

There were two of them, and they were both bigger and stronger than me. I could probably take one of them, maybe, but not two. This was only going to go one way. Either we all got into the car, bloodied and bruised, or we got into the car without the theatrics, and I bided my time.

‘Who is this asshole who wants to meet me?’

‘You’ll see,’ said the blond guy.

14

Eddie

Not many people own houses in Manhattan.

Fewer own two.

Fewer still own a whole block.