A Good Kind of Trouble (A Trouble in Twin Rivers Novel Book 1) (16 page)

"I'm trying to help... a friend," Ben said. What was Lindsey? She wasn't his client. "She's a reporter. She covers City Hall."

"Lindsey Fox?" Jude asked.
 

"You know her?"
 

Jude shook his head. "Just her byline. And I heard you helped her out in court this week. What's going on?"

Ben gave Jude a brief description of the stalker, leaving out any mention of the bonds or Lindsey's story. "So I have this license plate number, and I'd like to figure out who owns the car," he finished.
 

Jude leaned back and gave Ben an assessing look. "It's illegal to run plates."

"Yes, but Dave said you might know someone who could help me with that."
 

He was intensely uncomfortable asking for what was basically an illegal favor. But the image of the hulking SUV stalking Lindsey was at the forefront of his mind. He didn't see another way to find out who was harassing her.
 

Jude raised an eyebrow. "I might be able to refer you to a private investigator. It's no one I would use because, frankly, the guy's a scumbag. But if you're looking for someone willing to break the law, and you're willing to break the law, you could contact him."

Ben had no desire to break the law. Hell, even if he didn't get arrested, getting caught would be enough to get him disbarred. He just wanted to figure out who was stalking Lindsey.
 

"Look, I really don't know if that's what I want to do. Someone is harassing Lindsey and I'm trying to figure out how to help her. The police think she's crazy. Her boss thinks she's a drama queen. She's probably going to lose her job."

Jude nodded, sympathetic. "You went to the police?"
 

He stood, walked to a side table near Ben, opened a shallow drawer and began sorting through the scraps of papers. When he impatiently pulled out a stack, a photograph floated to the ground and Ben picked it up, catching a glimpse of a young blonde woman with bright blue eyes flashing a wide smile at the photographer. Jude snatched it out of Ben’s hand and slapped down a business card on the table, then shoved the stack of papers and the photo back into the drawer and shut it firmly.
 

"Well, we didn’t go to the police after the last incident," Ben said, feeling as if he’d just seen something Jude hadn’t meant to share. "She's reported the past attacks and vandalism. They don't seem to be taking it seriously. If there were any other way to find out who the hell LONCOR3 was, I'd do it."
 

Jude leaned forward, his dark eyes intense and his posture like a predator about to pounce. Ben leaned back a fraction of an inch out of instinct.
 

"What did you say? What's the plate number?"

"LONCOR3." He started to spell it out, but Jude raised a hand.
 

"You don't need a crooked P.I. to help you out," he said with a grin. "You've got a crooked P.I. stalking your girlfriend."

Ben’s eyes narrowed. The guy at the wheel of the black SUV was a private investigator?
 

Jude tapped the business card on the side table. "LONCOR—that's Lonnie Corcoran. He's the sleazy P.I. I was going to refer you to. He's bad news. But he's successful at what he does. Has a fleet of black SUVs, all with LONCOR plates."

Ben picked up the black business card with a gold logo that read “Corcoran Investigations.”

"Who does he work for?"

"Anyone who will pay him," Jude said. "He does a lot of contested divorces, the usually sleazy fare, sets up ex-husbands for dirty DUIs—"

Ben held up a hand to halt Jude's rapid-fire description. "Dirty DUIs?"

Jude leaned forward, a small smile on his face. "You don't do criminal or family law, do you?"
 

Ben shook his head. "Insurance defense mostly. Some transactional and contract work."

Jude wrinkled his nose as though he smelled something foul. "Christ. How boring," he said. "Okay, the rumor on Lonnie is that he sets up spouses in contested divorces or custody fights. Somehow, most of the spouses of his clients get arrested for drunk driving after meeting a pretty young woman at a bar, who then asks the poor sap to drive her home. As they pull out of the parking lot, the guy gets pulled over and popped for a DUI. The wife goes to court the next week, points to this as proof she should get custody of the kids."
 

"That's—" Ben was at a loss for words.

"Slimy. Sleazy. Unethical. Illegal, if the cop's in on the scheme," Jude finished for him. "But it's what Lonnie does."

Ben shook his head. "That doesn't fit with what's going on with Lindsey."

"As I said, Lonnie will work for anyone who pays him. He's also rumored to do a little illegal wiretapping, if that's what his clients need. He's worked for corporations, doing background checks on potential executive hires, and probably doing a little corporate espionage work, as well. He's not above threatening a whistleblower, I hear."

That caught Ben's attention. From what Lindsey told him—and she definitely wasn't telling him everything—he figured that her source was a city employee who was trying to blow the whistle on the bad bond contract before it was approved by the city council.
 

"Does he work for banks?" Ben asked.
 

Jude tilted his head and met Ben's eyes, a curious expression on his face. "Probably. He keeps his client list private. But I wouldn't be surprised. His dirty fingers are in a lot of pies."

The sound of a door slamming echoed from the lobby and was followed by a baby's wail and a dog's bark. A smallish dog with white curly fur ran into the office and leapt up onto Jude's lap, trailing a pink leash.
 

"Fiona's here," Tasha said from the lobby.
 

"Yes, I gathered that," Jude said, patting the dog's head and then picking it up and walking to the door.
 
"Hey, Fi. Got a minute to join us?"

He smiled at Ben. "Sorry for the chaos. It follows Fiona."

He set the dog on the ground and it ran to Ben, jumping up and resting its front feet on Ben's leg. Ben grinned and scratched behind the dog's soft ears.
 

"Tuesday! Down!"
 

Ben looked up to see a young woman in jeans and a blue button-down oxford shirt. Her dark hair framed a pretty face. The baby on her hip reached for Jude and howled in protest at being kept from him.

"Ben, this is my partner, Fiona Larkin," Jude said, taking the baby that Fiona thrust into his arms so she could wrangle the dog.
 

"I'm sorry. I didn't think we had any appointments today or I wouldn't have brought Tuesday. She's incorrigible, I apologize," Fiona said.
 

"She's fine," Ben said, standing and brushing the small dusty paw prints from his pants. "Is she a labradoodle?"

"Maybe. She's from the shelter. I think she's just an acci-doodle," she said. She hauled the dog into the lobby and closed the door, leaving Tasha to deal with the curly bundle of energy. Then she held her hand out to Ben. "Fiona Larkin. It's nice to meet you."

Ben shook hands with the petite woman. So this was Jude Field's partner in the law firm. He'd heard the name and realized that he'd seen her before. He searched his memory for why he knew her but came up empty.
 

"I'm Ben Gillespie."
 

"I know. We went to law school together."
 

"We did? That explains why you look familiar."
 

"I was 3L when you were a first year," she said.
 

The memory clicked in Ben's mind. Her hair had been longer then and he remembered her as a pretty but serious classmate. Law review. Honor roll. Her name had been different then. Whitaker, he recalled. She’d been Fiona Whitaker the last time he'd seen her.
 

"Of course," he said. "I remember you. You were the research assistant for, uh—"

He broke off his sentence, recalling the professor she had worked for. She smiled and nodded with an understanding expression.
 

"Yes, Professor Grant Larkin," she said. "Who I later married."
 

"Uh, yeah, now I remember," Ben said, shifting uncomfortably.
 

Grant Larkin was one of the younger professors, good looking and approachable, and he was one of the most popular faculty members, especially among the female students. Gossip about Professor Larkin had run wild, but Ben figured the rumor mill had been fueled by a lot of jealousy. Around the time Ben graduated, the professor married a former student and the rumor mill went into overdrive. Though it had been a couple years since she was a student, people still wondered how long the two had been an item. Then just over a year ago, the professor's name surfaced again for the worst reason. Grant Larkin been killed in a hit-and-run accident, leaving behind his wife who was pregnant with their first child.
 

Ben glanced at the baby tugging on Jude's ear with one hand, her wispy blond curls framing adorable round blue eyes and chubby cheeks.
 

"I was very sorry to hear of your husband's passing," Ben said, remembering his manners. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Fiona gave him a warmer smile. "Thank you," she said. "You're working at Stanton & Lowe, right? What brings you here?"
 

"Ben's got a problem involving Lonnie Corcoran," Jude said.
 

Fiona rolled her eyes. "That ass. What's the problem?"

"He seems to be stalking Ben's girlfriend," Jude said. "Have you heard anything lately about Corcoran? Who he's working for? Anything?"

She shook her head. "No, not really. Just the usual gossip about how he's a complete slimeball. All of which is true."
 

Fiona took the baby back from Jude. The baby screeched her displeasure at being removed from Jude and then rubbed her eyes.
 

"I'm going to go upstairs and put Emmy down for a nap," Fiona said. "Good luck with your Lonnie problem."
 

"Thanks. It was nice seeing you again," Ben said as she carried the baby out of the office.
 

Jude picked up the small dog and returned to his desk. "Sorry for the interruption. Does that help you, knowing who is following your girl?"

Ben shook his head. "Not completely. I mean, who would want to pay a private investigator to harass a reporter?"

Jude raised an eyebrow. "Someone not happy with what she's writing about? Someone who wanted to send a message to back off? I can think of a lot of motives. You know the players. Do any of them have a beef with her?"

The list of people who Lindsey had pissed off was probably as long as his arm. Ben nodded and stood up. "I should let you get back to work. I appreciate your time."
 

Jude rose, too, and shook Ben's hand. "If you get tired of shoveling shit for the insurance companies, give me a call. We're adding another trial lawyer to the team. Dave says you're very good in court and you can think on your feet. If you’re interested, we should talk.”
 

Work for Jude Field? He had a fierce reputation, but that would be a huge move.
 

"Your team? How many lawyers do you have here?"

"Three, including myself. Lawrence Daly and I handle most of the criminal work. Fiona focuses mostly on the civil side. We need someone proficient in both. You have a lot of civil experience, right?"
 

Three lawyers. There were ninety-one attorneys at Stanton & Lowe and Ben had no idea how many paralegals, law clerks, and secretaries. Ben had a secretary and half a paralegal assigned to support him, a dry-cleaning service that picked up and delivered his suits to the office, and the firm paid the parking garage staff to wash and detail the employees' cars. He had an expense account at the restaurant downstairs for nights when he was working late and had dinner delivered.
 

"Uh, yeah. All civil experience, actually. I spent six years in transactional and transferred to litigation a year ago. I don't have any experience in criminal defense, though."
 

"You'd pick it up,” Jude said. “I’m serious. Think it over."

Ben glanced around the room, his eyes taking in the threadbare rugs covering the wood floor, the mismatched filing cabinets lining the wall, the scuffed furniture. Tasha seemed to be the only support staff for the three lawyers.
 

"I'll think about it, thanks," he said. Unfortunately, there was no way he could afford to work here, even if he wanted to. He knew how criminal defense worked. Clients couldn't always pay their lawyers, especially if they were convicted. A lot of unpaid time helping people with sob stories and chasing down clients to pay the balance of their retainers.
 

He was so close to making partner at Stanton & Lowe, if he could just hang in there for a little while longer. Ben had already earmarked his expected end-of-the-year bonus to pay off his student loan with the highest interest rate. Then, instead of owing the equivalent of a residential mortgage, he'd only owe the equivalent of a low-end luxury automobile. After he paid that off, he could think about working at a place like this. A place where people seemed to like each other and enjoyed their work.

Chapter Fourteen

The soft chimes on the boutique's door sounded and Lindsey glanced up from the table upon which she had arranged a rainbow of folded cashmere scarves. Kath was holding the door open for a departing customer whose hands were filled with bags bearing the high-end shop's distinctive logo.

"Thank you, Camilla," Kath said. "See you soon."
 

The door closed and Kath walked toward the rear of the store, where Lindsey was tidying the scarf display. Even navigating the cozy boutique, Kath glided as gracefully as a runway model. She wore a colorful tunic over a pair of slim capri pants and had topped the simple outfit with a chunky beaded necklace. Her short, chic red hair showed off the dangling matching earrings. The woman who had just left the store had laid down a large sum of cash for essentially the same outfit, but wouldn't wear it nearly as well. It took confidence to pull off a look like Kath's, which is why Lindsey didn't try to imitate her stylish friend. She glanced down at her simple summer dress—comfortable and classic, but definitely not a fashion statement. It was just dressy enough for the rare occasion when Kath was short-staffed and needed her help at the store.