Dark Justice (7 page)

“Maybe in the Montana Militia, but not around here.” He forced himself to his feet. “Have you figured out a way to make my bail?”

“I figured out it was impossible, even if we sold both our combined assets for twice their worth. So I tried something else.”

“Which was?”

“Getting the bookstore owner to drop the charges.”

“Fat chance of that. He’s—”

“—already agreed to do it.”

Ben’s eyes widened. “He’s—”

“—already agreed.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “Would I lie?”

“But—”

“The only thing that man ever wanted was to get rid of the cat. Unfortunately, after you made such a
cause célèbre
of it, the vet canceled the appointment, and none of the other vets in the area would euthanize the cat either.”

“Tough luck.”

“So I told him I’d take care of it. If he dropped the charges. Which he did.”

Ben was flabbergasted. “Christina, you’re a miracle worker. I’m eternally in your debt.”

She smiled. “Truth is, he was beginning to feel guilty. He was glad to let someone else execute the cat for him.”

Ben blanched. “Christina, you didn’t!”

“No, of course I didn’t.”

“Then what?”

“I called an old friend of mine from TCC who knew a gal who had a sister whose husband was from Seattle. The husband in Seattle had a friend whose niece lives in a tiny burg not far from Magic Valley. The niece has a girlfriend who knows a girl from college who’s getting married. The girl who’s getting married is the youngest of seven daughters, and once she moves out, her mother’s going to be all alone in her house. The mother lives in Magic Valley. She agreed to take the cat.” She beamed. “Follow that?”

“Not remotely, but please don’t repeat it. My head is already throbbing.” He took a step back. “And you did all that in a day?”

“Well, I would’ve been faster, but the air phones on my flight didn’t work.”

Ben grinned. No wonder he liked Christina so much. In the years they’d been working together, she’d proved invaluable. She was a brilliant legal assistant, and now that she was in law school, she could function equally well as an intern and legal researcher. Most important, he had learned to trust her instincts. She was keenly intuitive and had a better understanding of people than he ever would. And now, for the capstone of her career to date, she’d produced his get-out-of-jail-free card.

“When can I leave?”

Another voice harkened down the corridor. “Whenever you want, Mr. Kincaid.”

Sheriff Allen was moving toward them.

“In that case,” Ben said, “I’ll go now.”

“Thought you might feel that way.” He pulled the jangling cell keys out of his pocket. “This little lady’s got you all fixed up. Never seen anyone come to town and get things done the way she did. She’s got a lot of spunk.” He grinned. “I like that in a woman.”

“Christina’s the best legal assistant I’ve ever had.”

Allen tipped his hat. “That’s high praise, I expect.”

“Not really,” Christina explained. “I’m the only legal assistant he’s ever had.”

Allen began unlocking Ben’s cell.

Ben heard stirrings from the cell to his left. Maureen was awake and on her feet. “Looks like you grabbed the brass ring, Kincaid.”

“No need to display your penal envy,” Allen said as he slid Ben’s cell door open. “You’re getting out, too.”

Rick pressed against the bars on Ben’s right. “We are?”

“Yup. Judge says twenty-four hours is the most we can hold you for disturbing the peace. But let me tell you something. I got no feelings about your cause for or against. But if you and your people go on stirring up trouble around here, I will come down on you—hard.”

Maureen nodded. “Thanks, Sheriff.”

Allen unlocked Maureen’s and Rick’s cells. “ ’Fore you all go, I wonder if I might, um—” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “I wondered if I might have a word with Miss, uh, is it Christina?”

Christina turned, surprised. “That’s my name.”

“You think you’re going to be hanging around town for a spell?”

“Well, I couldn’t get us a flight out of here until tomorrow.”

“I just wondered if, you know, if you and this guy ain’t hitched or anything—”

Christina’s eyes expanded.

Allen cleared his throat. “I wondered if you wouldn’t mind having lunch with me.”

Christina appeared momentarily perplexed. She glanced at Ben. “Is that a problem?”

Ben shrugged. “Not with me.”

“Then it’s a date.”

A
date
! Ben thought. He just invited her to lunch, for Pete’s sake. Was that a date?

“Now,” Christina said, “if it’s all right with the rest of you, I’d like to get the hell out of here. Jails and I are … not bosom buddies.”

Ben knew what she was talking about. Christina had spent a horrible period locked up in a tiny, dirty jail cell several years ago when she was falsely accused of murder. The incident had left emotional scars. She had nightmares about finding herself shut up behind bars again. Just the thought of it was enough to make her break down like a baby.

Allen led the four of them down the corridor. Ben thought he detected a certain bounce in the man’s boots that hadn’t been there before. And they hadn’t even started the lunch date.

“Welcome back to the free world,” he said, opening the outside door. “Now stay out of trouble, you hear?”

Ben heard, all right. Loud and clear.

Maureen started at Ben again the instant they stepped out of the jailhouse. “Seriously, Ben, think about my invitation. This could be a unique opportunity for you to be a potent force for good.”

Ben waved his hands in the air. “I’m sorry, no. I’m not going to become known as the mouthpiece for terrorists.”

“Then forget about the book idea. Just take Zak’s case. He needs a lawyer who knows the ropes. Who has experience with capital murder cases.”

Christina’s ears pricked up. “A case? They’re offering us a case?” She grabbed Ben’s arm and lowered her voice. “Ben, this could be just what we need.”

“Believe me, it isn’t.”

“Ben, we haven’t had a paying case for months. We haven’t had a case that paid well since Wallace Barrett, and that money ran out a long time ago.”

“Trust me, Christina. This isn’t the answer.”

“Look, maybe you don’t need the cash, but I’m paying tuition at TU, and that bill is larger than the GNP of some industrialized nations.”

“Christina, this wouldn’t be a moneymaker. More like a pro bono case. With some serious negative ramifications.” He turned back toward Maureen. “I’m sorry. I’d like to help. But it’s out of the question.” He extended his hand. “I just can’t do it.”

Maureen took his hand and clasped it. Her eyes seemed much softer than they had before. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “I’m disappointed and—well, just very … sorry.” She turned quickly and headed down the sidewalk. Rick followed a beat behind her.

Ben and Christina watched as the pair passed out of sight. “Are you sure about this?” Christina asked.

“Absolutely,” Ben replied. “It’s for the best. Really.” He started walking in the opposite direction.

Ben hadn’t moved ten feet when he heard a piercing shout from down the street. “
Maureen
!”

“What’s that?” Christina asked.

Ben whirled around. “Stay here.” He raced down the street and rounded the same corner he had seen Rick and Maureen take a few moments before. Following the sounds of struggle, he ducked into a side alley behind a closed dry cleaning store.

There were three of them—big burly thugs, the kind you knew immediately couldn’t possibly be good for anything in the world except inflicting pain. One of them had a chain wrapped around his fist and was using it to pummel Rick. Another one had Maureen pinned against the wall, her face stricken with terror. The third seemed content to fold his arms, supervise, and sneer.

“Well, now,” the third man said. “Let’s show these two tree huggers what rage really is, whaddaya say, boys?”

B
EFORE BEN HAD A CHANCE
to think, much less act, the metal chain whipped around in a deadly spiral. Rick turned away, but had no room to maneuver. The chain crashed down on his back. He cried out as he fell to his knees. His assailant grinned and brought the chain around again.

Maureen was struggling for all she was worth, but her attacker had her pinned against a brick wall, his arms on either side and beneath hers, leaving her nowhere to go. The man outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds and was much stronger. He snapped his hand back for a sudden slap across the side of her face. Maureen’s head banged against the brick wall, then went limp.

“
Stop
!” Ben shouted. He knew that probably sounded incredibly unthreatening to these toughs, but he hoped it might slow them down a few beats. He had to think of something. But what could he do?

“Lookee here,” said the man with the folded arms. “Another tree hugger. Looks like I’m gonna get to do some poundin’ myself.” He started toward Ben, not in a hurry, making it all the more frightening. There was something about the man, something in his calm, powerful manner, that made him absolutely terrifying.

“I’ve called the sheriff’s office,” Ben said, trying to suppress the stutter in his voice. “They’re on their way.”

The man shook his head, still moving toward Ben. “There’s no pay phone on this block. You haven’t had time.”

Without thinking, Ben whipped his checkbook out of his back pocket. He just hoped it was dark enough back here to get away with this. “I used my cell phone. They’re on their way. Won’t take them a minute to get here.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“It’s true,” Maureen said, bringing as much strength to her voice as she could muster. “It’s standard Green Rage operating procedure. First sign of trouble, call the cops.”

“Listen!” Ben said. “I hear them coming.”

Somewhere in the distance, they heard the sound of a door slamming, followed by the sound of feet moving quickly on the pavement.

“Damn it all to hell,” the man swore, throwing down his big muscled arms. “Let’s get out of here, boys.”

The man with the chain stopped in mid-swing. The brute hovering over Maureen stepped away, but not before cracking her one more time across the jaw.

“We’ll be back,” the leader said. “This is just a reprieve.” He started to go, then whipped around suddenly, lurched forward, and drove his fist deep into the soft part of Ben’s stomach. Ben doubled over and fell to the pavement.

“That’s to remember me by,” the man growled. He and his two accomplices disappeared in the darkness of the alleyway.

“Are you all right?” Maureen said, rushing toward Ben. Her eyes were full of concern.

Ben wasn’t entirely sure. His gut felt like it was on fire; he couldn’t seem to stand up straight. “Am
I
all right? What about you? And Rick?”

“Rick!” She ran back the other way, then knelt by her friend. Ben could see that he was conscious, although he seemed to be having a hard time moving.

He was suddenly aware that Christina was standing behind him. “Didn’t I tell you to stay put?” he asked.

“What of it?”

Ben smirked. “I assume you provided the sound effects—the slamming door, the rushing feet.”

“Seemed like the least I could do. Nice bluff about the cell phone. Who knows? If you’d take more cases maybe you could afford a real one.”

Ben tried to push himself to his feet, but every time he moved, his stomach felt as if stitches were being ripped out.

“I think Rick’s okay,” Maureen said. She sat on the ground beside Ben. “At least in the sense that he’s not going to die. But I want him to go to the hospital.”

“No hospitals,” Rick said emphatically. “Doc can take a look at me when we get back to camp.”

“Doc’s our medic,” Maureen explained. “A member of our group. We’ve been trying to make ourselves self-sufficient by recruiting people with professional training. You know, so they can help out when the need arises, without our having to bankrupt ourselves hiring outside assistance. We’ve covered most of the major fields, except of course …”

“Law,” Ben said, finishing her sentence.

“Yeah. Most of the lawyers we’ve talked to seem more interested in summer cottages on Puget Sound than helping a group of …”

“Eco-terrorists,” Ben said, filling in the blanks.

“Environmental warriors,” she replied, then all at once broke out in a grin. “Anyway, we’ve got to run before more of these hoods appear. You can see what we’re up against. Like I told you, they’re everywhere. It’s not even safe for us to walk the streets.” She turned suddenly; Ben realized she was fighting back tears. “Thanks for the help. You’re pretty quick on your feet, and if you don’t mind me saying so, and I—well, never mind. I hope we see you again sometime.”

“I’m in,” Ben said.

Maureen stopped short. “You’re—I’m sorry?”

“I’m in. I’ll help.”

“Do you mean—”

“I mean, you need a lawyer. Well, here I am.”

Maureen grasped both his arms. “That’s wonderful. That’s—”

Ben cut in. “But I won’t do anything illegal. So don’t ask.”

“No, of course not. Are—are you sure about this?”

“I’m sure.”

Overcome with enthusiasm, Maureen threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. Ben felt a sudden rush that he knew had nothing to do with the acquisition of a new client. “That’s so wonderful! This is the biggest break we’ve had in months!” She hugged him again, overcome with enthusiasm. “Mr. Kincaid, I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.”

T
ESS PARKED HER JEEP CHEROKEE
in the only opening in the gravel-covered parking area. The place was packed—by Magic Valley standards, anyway.

She wasn’t surprised. There were only two bars in Magic Valley, and this one—Bunyan’s—was the only one that stayed open after midnight. For the crowd that wanted to drink into the wee hours of the morning, this was the place to be.

She crossed the parking lot, passing between two rows of pickups, mostly red, a few blue or green. A bumper sticker caught her eye:
KILL AN OWL, SAVE A LOGGER
.