Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1) (11 page)

“And this became your problem . . . how?”

“She’s my neighbor,” I said lamely, as if that explained
anything. “You would have done the same thing,” I accused.

“Did you tell her there was a camera in her office?”

“Not yet.  I thought I’d wait to see what we find.  But I have
a pretty good idea what it’s going to be.  Her supervisor promised she’d
survive a reduction in force if she had sex with him and she did it.  Her
husband had just died in a car wreck and she has two little kids to support. 
She felt like she didn’t have a choice.”  He sat there silent, just looking at
me, and it really irritated me.  “Quit being so damned judgmental!” I told him.

He threw his hands up as if to surrender.  “I didn’t say
anything!  I was just thinking that someone ought to break that fucker’s legs
to teach him a lesson.”

“You think you want to break his legs now, wait ‘til you hear
why she quit.”  I explained the whole story of Oliver getting in Larry’s car
and going out for ice cream and we both agreed that Larry was going to need a
lesson in manners before this whole thing was over.  It was close to 5:00
o’clock when we concluded our business, so we decided to go to Chris Madrid’s
where we could sit outside and drink a beer and eat a burger. I opened the door
to my office and Maddie was nowhere to be seen, but Oliver greeted me enthusiastically.

“Hi, Samuel!  Mommy’s in the bathroom. Here, I drawed this for
you,” he said, handing me a sheet from a legal pad with pencil scribbles all
over it.

“You
drew
it for me.  Hey, thanks.  Let’s tape it to the
fridge.”  I picked him up and carried him over to Niki.  “Oliver, this is my
friend Niki Lautrec.  Niki, this is my friend Oliver Griffin.”

Niki stuck his hand out and shook Oliver’s hand.  “Nice to meet
you, Oliver,” Niki said. 

“You have a lot of hair,” Oliver said.

Niki laughed. “Yeah, I do.”

“Yeah,” Oliver agreed.

“Want some Oreos?” I asked.

The three of us went to the kitchen and Oliver stuck his
artwork to the fridge, then we hung out eating Oreos until Maddie came in with
the baby and reprimanded me for feeding Oliver junk right before dinner.

“Milk’s not junk!” I said, trying to defend myself.  I leaned
down and whispered to Oliver, “You better eat all your dinner tonight or you’re
going to get me in trouble.”  He gave me a conspiratorial smile and nodded his
head.

“Why don’t you come eat with us,” Niki suggested to Maddie.  I
had the distinct impression that he was trying to do some quick maneuvering to
keep me away from Landra.  Maddie looked at me, I guess to see my reaction to
Niki’s invitation.  It wasn’t going to bother me if they came along, so I
shrugged my shoulders.

“Why not?” I said.  “Chris Madrid’s?”  I could see that she
wanted to come but that she didn’t feel right because of the boss/secretary
thing.  “I’m only your boss between 8:00 and 5:00,” I told her.  I looked at my
watch.  “Now I’m just your neighbor.  Or your attorney, whichever way you want
to look at it.”

Chris Madrid’s is a San Antonio tradition in burgerdome.  The
place remains consistently packed with a loyal following, some of whom wouldn’t
consider consuming a burger or nachos anywhere else.

Maddie and her kids joined us for dinner, then afterwards Niki
and I went out for a couple of beers to the 5050.  Named because of its address
on Broadway, I’d been carried out of the place on more than one occasion in my
college days.  We were sitting in a booth and I was watching the cars go by on
Broadway, and I realized that no matter what we were talking about, Niki kept
bringing the conversation back to Maddie.  I finally got fed up.

“Let’s get this straight,” I told him.  “I’m not interested in
pursuing a relationship with Maddie Griffin.”

“Why not?” Niki asked, as if I owed him an explanation.

“For one thing, she’s my neighbor.  How bad would that suck
when we broke up?  Living next to the chick I used to date.  I’d end up having
to sell my house.  No, thank you.  And for another thing, she’s got two kids.”

“What, you don’t like kids?” he asked.

“Yes, I like kids.  But other people’s kids.  I don’t
necessarily want my own, at least not right now.”

“Are you kidding?  Maddie’s kids are great.  I’d adopt them in
a second.”

“Then
you
date her.”

Niki smiled.  “I can’t.  I’m spoken for.”

“Speaking of that,” I said, “where
is
your girlfriend?”

“Fiancée,” he corrected.

“Whatever.”

“I don’t know.  Let’s call her.”  He pulled out his phone and
speed-dialed her number and I watched his eyes light up when she answered.  I’d
never seen Niki with a girlfriend so I thought it would be funny to see them
together.  As it turned out, I’d get that chance sooner than anticipated
because when he got off the phone he announced that she was on her way down to
meet us.  It was another 20 minutes before she walked through the door and I
picked her out immediately from Niki’s description: 
The hottest redhead
you’ve ever seen
.  And damn, was she ever.  She had long, straight red hair
and big green eyes, and she was wearing this short skirt that showed off her
tanned legs.  Every guy in the place checked her out as she walked through the
bar towards our booth.  Niki had his back to the door, so I said, “Your
girlfriend’s here.”

“Fiancée,” he repeated.   He got up and walked over to meet her
and came back to the table with his arm around her.  “Stacy, this is an old
friend of mine, Sam Collins.  Sammy, this is my fiancée, Stacy Trent.”

I stood up and she offered her hand and gave me a firm
handshake with a genuine smile to match.

“Hi, Sam.  It’s nice to meet you,” she said.

“Likewise.  Why do you look so familiar?” I asked.

She must have been asked that question a thousand times because
she answered with one word – “Colombia” – and I remembered instantly where I’d
seen her.  She’d been all over the news the year before after being abducted
during a bank robbery and escaping from a week in captivity in Bogotá.  She
certainly didn’t look like she suffered any long-term effects from the ordeal.

“That’s it.  I saw you on TV after your escape.”

She sat down in the booth and slid over next to the wall, and
Niki scooted over beside her and held her hand.  They looked like Barbie and
Ken.  And then it struck me that their eyes were the exact same color, which
was bizarre, because Niki’s eye color was unique.  They looked like a pair of
exotic aliens, or maybe a couple of hybrid humans.  It was downright creepy
being on the opposite end of their gaze.

“You’re eyes are the same color,” I said, looking from one pair
to the other.

“You think so?” Niki said laughing, and he looked over at Stacy
like there was an inside joke.

“What have you guys been up to?” Stacy asked.

“I’m trying to keep Sammy here out of trouble,” Niki said, and
I knew he was only half joking.

Stacy looked at me.  “He looks like he can take care of
himself,” she said.  “You’re a lawyer right?”

It wasn’t exactly an accusation, but it was damn close, and
right then, I decided that I liked Stacy Trent.  “Is it that obvious?” I asked.

She smiled and elbowed Niki.  “He warned me.”

I looked at Niki and he shrugged his shoulders, then he and
Stacy went into a lawyer repartee that was so good it sounded rehearsed.

“Lawyers should be required to tattoo an “L” on their forehead
so people can see them coming,” Niki asserted.

“That’s a good idea,” Stacy said. “Except an “L” could be
mistaken as standing for
loser
.”

“Same difference,” Niki countered and Stacy nodded.

“Okay, they could tattoo an “A” for attorney,” she proposed.

“That’s a good idea,” Niki said.  “Except an “A”
could
be mistaken as standing for
asshole
.”

They looked at each other and nodded. “Same difference,” they
said in unison, and they laughed and high fived.

They were good together and it made me miss Landra.  I’d been
trying not to think about her, and when I did, I tried to think of her as a bad
guy, but it was pretty hard.  I’d flash back to the mailbox kiss, or to lying
in bed with her naked, or to her painting the stones in my fortress, and I couldn’t
deny my feelings for her.  I hadn’t seen her for two days and I missed her. 
And the truth was that I’d started missing her as soon as we had parted company
after the zoo.

It was 10:00 o’clock by the time I left the bar and I had a
pretty good buzz going.  Enough to make me a sentimental drunk.  A stupid
sentimental drunk.  Anyway, somehow I found myself at her door at 10:30 at
night.  One minute I was heading towards my house and the next, there I was in
her driveway.  I didn’t want to scare here, so rather than knock on the door, I
decided to call her first.  Landra answered on the second ring and I could tell
by the tone of her voice that she was glad to hear from me.

“Hi.  I tried to call you earlier,” she said.

“You miss me, don’t you?”  I must have slurred because she
laughed at me.

“Only a teensy bit, so don’t let it go to your head.  Where
have you been?”

“50-50. I’m sitting in your driveway.”

“You are not!” she exclaimed.

“Am too.  Can I come in?”

I saw the blinds separate and heard her laugh.  “What are you
doing sitting in my driveway?”

“I didn’t know if you were still awake,” I told her.

The front door opened and she was standing in the doorway in
her pink robe.  “That’s not why,” she said, and I could see the smile on her
face.

“Yeah it is,” I said, getting out of my car and heading up the
path to her house.

“Nuh uh.  You were sitting in my driveway because you missed
me,” she taunted.

“I didn’t.  I was just bored.”

We were standing within four feet of each other. “I have to go
now,” I said.  “I have a really hot chick waiting for me.”

Landra laughed out loud and came over and wrapped her arms
around my neck and hugged me.

“Hi, Sam.”

“Hi, Landra.”

And just like that, once again my resolve disappeared in an
instant, and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t get the smile off my face.

“Come in,” she said, taking my hand and leading me into her
house.  She closed the door and locked it behind us.  She led me over to the
couch and sat down right next to me and we visited for a while, but I was
having a hard time concentrating.  She was telling me about something that had
happened at the shelter and I was only half listening and she busted me when
she asked me a question and I gave her a vague, “Uh huh.”

“You’re not even listening to me, are you?”

“Did you push Drake Reeds out the window?”  I blurted it out
before I even realized it.  She went dead silent, I guess while it sunk in.  I
think she was trying to decide if I was serious.

“What do you mean, did I
push
him?” she asked.  “You
mean
on purpose
?”

“Yes.  Did you shove him out that window on purpose?”

She sat straight up and looked me in the eye.  “You’re serious,
aren’t you?”

I couldn’t read her at all because she went silent again, so I
had no idea if she was offended or pissed off, or something else.

“Did you know that you’re the beneficiary of his life insurance
policy?” I asked.

“You’re so full of shit!” she said.  She took a pillow from the
couch and hit me in the chest with it.

“I’m dead serious, Landra.  Are you saying you didn’t know?”

“I’m the beneficiary of Drake Reeds’ life insurance policy?”
she repeated in disbelief.

“Yes.”

She looked at me for a second, then the look of shock on her
face turned to one of panic, and she burst into tears.  “No way!” she said,
getting up from the couch.  She started pacing the room frantically, pulling at
her hair and rubbing her temples, and I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or
to herself.

“They’re going to think I killed him for the money,” she said. 
“It’s happening all over again.”  She paced back and forth a couple of times,
then turned to me finally and dropped to her knees at my feet and clutched my
hands in hers.  “They’re going to aren’t they?  They’re going to say I did it
on purpose.”  She was looking at me, pleading with her eyes for me to tell her
differently, but I couldn’t do it.  I just looked down at her and didn’t say
anything.  The silence hung in the air and then her expression changed again to
a look of total defeat.

“You think I did it, don’t you?”

She looked me in the eye, waiting for my response.  I sat there
looking at her, tears streaming down that beautiful face, and I had to be
honest with myself.

“No,” I told her.  “I don’t think you did it.”

She laid her head in my lap and cried.  I ran my fingers
through her hair, brushing it back from her face.

“What am I going to do, Sam?” she said pitifully.

“We’ll take it one step at a time.”

I ended up spending the night, basically for moral support, but
it was nice just to be close to her.  She never asked me how I learned that she
was the beneficiary of  Drake’s insurance policy and I never volunteered the
information, but I laid there wide awake in spite of all the beer I’d consumed,
thinking about my predicament.  It was the same old thing.  Every time I was
with Landra, I knew without a doubt that I could trust her.  Hell, when I was
with her, I would trust her with my life.  Regardless of how convinced Niki was
that Landra was bad news, I’d just have to convince him that it wasn’t so. 
Maybe I’d invite him and Stacy over for dinner and he could see for himself
that Landra wasn’t capable of plotting and executing a cold blooded murder,
much less two.

I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and got dressed while Landra was still
asleep and I considered slipping out without waking her, but I’d done that
before and learned the hard way that girls hate that shit.  I sat down on the
side of the bed and ran the back of my fingers over her cheek.  She had such a
nice complexion, like a child’s; it was so completely pure.  She opened her
eyes and smiled and I thought that it would be a nice thing to wake up to every
morning.