The Deep Blue Alibi (44 page)

“And how about some shrimp with andouille sauce?” she continued.

“Absolutely.”

“But let’s start with chowder with conch fritters and smoked fish spread.”

“Anything you want. I’m buying.”

“In that case, a couple of rum runners. And key lime pie for dessert.”

More than she usually eats in a week.

He had planned to wait until she was on her second rum runner, but as they reached the end of the line, he just blurted it out: “Should we talk, Vic? About the future.”

“Yes. I’ve wanted to.”

“You really made a name for yourself with this one, so I’ll understand if you still want to fly solo, but I’m thinking we shouldn’t break up the firm.”

“I’m thinking the same thing.”

“Really?”

Could it be this easy?

“Handling Uncle Grif’s trial was good for me,” she said. “Really good. But we’re better together than we are apart.”

“Couldn’t agree more.”

“But you’ve got to give me room to grow.”

“Lots of room. Lots of growing. No problem.”

They inched forward but were still nowhere near the front door. “And we need to make some changes,” Victoria said.

“Change is good.”

“Those ads on the back of the Metro buses. Our faces right above the tailpipes. Let’s get rid of them.”

“They’re good for business,” Steve protested.

“They’re tacky.”

“They’re gone. What else?”

“I want you to stop representing The Beav.”

“Why? You know I don’t mess around with the girls.”

“It’s unseemly.”

“Jeez, Vic. You’re starting to sound like your mother.”

She shot him a look and he surrendered. “Okay, okay. Scratch The Beav.”

That drew a look from the middle-aged woman in front of them, a tourist with eyeglasses on a faux pearl chain. Her husband wore madras Bermuda shorts with a long-sleeve white shirt.

“I wonder if your buddy’s here.” Victoria peeked around the people in front of them. The line wasn’t moving. “He’d give us the VIP treatment for sure.”

“I don’t think Jimmy Buffett waits tables, Vic.” Tangy smells drifted over them. Something was gnawing at Steve, something other than hunger pangs. “All we’ve talked about is Solomon and Lord. What about …?”

“Steve and Victoria?”

“Yeah. Aren’t we better together than apart in that department, too?”

“I guess so.” She leaned over and kissed him. “But I need a little time, okay?”

“I’ve been thinking about everything that’s happened since the day the
Force Majeure
crashed.”

“Me, too. Starting with your wanting to have sex in the ocean.”

The woman in front of them turned and gawked over the top of her eyeglasses.

“I’m going to be a better person,” Steve said. “A better dad to Bobby. A better son. A better partner to you.”

“Don’t get too much better, Steve. I kind of like you the way you are.”

“Really? You don’t want me to change?”

“Just one thing. From now on, total honesty. Complete candor and openness. Not even a white lie.”

“
No problema.
By the way, did you know I was Phi Beta Kappa?”

“I’m serious, Steve. The truth. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth.”

Not exactly the phrase he wanted to hear. “The most beautiful words in the English language,” he said.

There was a commotion in front of them. A buzz in the conversation. Then someone applauded. A balding, suntanned middle-aged man in shorts, sandals, and a flowered shirt came out of the restaurant. People in line stopped him and shook hands. Some whipped out tour maps and pens and seemed to be asking for autographs.

“Steve! Look, it’s Jimmy Buffett.”

Steve craned his sore neck to get a better look. “You sure? Looks like one of those impersonators to me. Maybe he’s got one in every restaurant.”

“No, it’s him. C’mon, Steve, say hello to him.”

“Why so excited? You’re not even a fan.”

“But you’re a major parrothead. And you’re his bud. Maybe you can plan a fishing trip.”

In a moment, Buffett worked his way to their position.

“Jimmy!” She grabbed one of his hands with both of hers. “I’m Victoria Lord, and here’s your buddy Steve.” She looked around. “Steve?”

He had wedged himself between two tourists. Victoria grabbed him by an elbow and dragged him over. “Maybe you two can chase the wily wahoo, or whatever it is you like to do.”

Appearing confused, the man extended a hand to Steve. “Hi, I’m Jimmy Buffett. Welcome to Margaritaville.”

“Steve Solomon.” They shook hands.

“Wait a second,” Victoria said. “Don’t you two drink and fish together with Sheriff Rask?”

“You know Willis?” Jimmy said. “Helluva guy.

Well, nice meeting you, Steve.” He moved down the line and shook some more hands.

Victoria cocked her head and studied Steve, who seemed to be counting the eyelets on his Reeboks.

“You can’t change, can you, Steve?”

“We are who we are.”

“You’re right.” The line moved a few paces, and they stepped with it. The aroma of fresh-baked bread grew stronger. “My mother. Your father. You. Me.”

“What are you saying, Vic?”

“You taught me more than how to cross-examine. Remember what you said about your father?
‘Love means accepting the other person just the way he is. Because he has to do the same.’
”

“Yeah?”

She moved closer and nestled her head on his shoulder. “What’s the ocean temperature today?”

“Warm. Eighty, eighty-one, maybe.”

“Sounds wonderful. I know a secluded beach just off mile marker thirty-two.”

“And …?

“You have swim trunks in the car?”

He shook his head.

“That’s all right, Steve.” She slipped her arms around him and drew close. “You won’t need them.”

4

SOLOMON’S LAWS

1. If the facts don’t fit the law …bend the facts.

2. Always assume your client is guilty. It saves time.

3. Beware of a sheriff who forgets to load his gun but remembers the words to “Margaritaville.”

4. You can sell one improbable event to a jury. A second “improb” is strictly no sale, and a third sends your client straight to prison.

5. “Love” means taking a bullet for your beloved. Anything short of that is just “like.”

6. The client who lies to his lawyer is like a husband who cheats on his wife. It seldom happens just once.

7. When meeting an ex-girlfriend you dumped, always assume she’s armed.

8. If a guy who’s smart, handsome, and rich invites you and your girlfriend to a nudist club … chances are he’s got a giant
shmeckel.

9. The people we’ve known the longest are often the people we know the least.

10. Choose a juror the way you choose a lover. Someone who doesn’t expect perfection and forgives your bullshit.

11. If you’re afraid of taking a big lead, you’ll never get picked off … but you’ll never steal a base, either.

12. When a man and woman are in total sync— thinking each other’s thoughts, making each other laugh, bringing each other joy—they’ve hit the sweet spot, and just being together is
better than
… almost as good as sex.

ALSO AVAILABLE

JAKE LASSITER SERIES

“Mystery writing at its very, very best.” – Larry King, USA TODAY

TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD
: Linebacker-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter begins to believe that his surgeon client is innocent of malpractice…but guilty of murder.

NIGHT VISION
: After several women are killed by an Internet stalker, Jake is appointed a special prosecutor, and follows a trail of evidence from Miami to London and the very streets where Jack the Ripper once roamed.

FALSE DAWN
: After his client confesses to a murder he didn’t commit, Jake follows a bloody trail from Miami to Havana to discover the truth.

MORTAL SIN
: Talk about conflicts of interest. Jake is sleeping with Gina Florio and defending her mob-connected husband in court.

RIPTIDE
: Jake Lassiter chases a beautiful woman and stolen bonds from Miami to Maui.

FOOL ME TWICE
: To clear his name in a murder investigation, Jake follows a trail of evidence that leads from Miami to buried treasure in the abandoned silver mines of Aspen, Colorado. (Also available in a new paperback edition).

FLESH & BONES
: Jake falls for his beautiful client even though he doubts her story. She claims to have recovered “repressed memories” of abuse…just before gunning down her father

LASSITER
: Jake retraces the steps of a model who went missing 18 years earlier…after his one-night stand with her. (Also available in a new paperback edition).

SOLOMON vs. LORD SERIES

(Nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, International Thriller, and James Thurber awards).

“A cross between ‘Moonlighting’ and ‘Night Court.’ Courtroom drama has never been this much fun.” –
FreshFiction.com

SOLOMON vs. LORD
: Trial lawyer Victoria Lord, who follows every rule, and Steve Solomon, who makes up his own, bicker and banter as they defend a beautiful young woman, accused of killing her wealthy, older husband.

THE DEEP BLUE ALIBI
: Solomon and Lord come together – and fly apart – defending Victoria’s “Uncle Grif” on charges he killed a man with a speargun. It’s a case set in the Florida Keys with side trips to coral reefs and a nudist colony where all is more –and less – than it seems.

KILL ALL THE LAWYERS
: Just what did Steve Solomon do to infuriate ex-client and ex-con “Dr. Bill?” Did Solomon try to lose the case in which the TV shrink was charged in the death of a woman patient?

HABEAS PORPOISE
: It starts with the kidnapping of a pair of trained dolphins and turns into a murder trial with Solomon and Lord on
opposite
sides after Victoria is appointed a special prosecutor, and fireworks follow!

STAND-ALONE THRILLERS

IMPACT
: A Jetliner crashes in the Everglades. Is it negligence or terrorism? When the legal case gets to the Supreme Court, the defense has a unique strategy. Kill anyone, even a Supreme Court Justice, to win the case.

BALLISTIC
: A nuclear missile, a band of terrorists, and only two people who can prevent Armageddon. A “loose nukes” thriller for the 21st Century. (Also available in a new paperback edition).

ILLEGAL
: Down-and-out lawyer Jimmy (Royal) Payne tries to re-unite a Mexican boy with his missing mother and becomes enmeshed in the world of human trafficking and sex slavery.

PAYDIRT
: Bobby Gallagher had it all and lost it. Now, assisted by his 12-year-old brainiac son, he tries to rig the Super Bowl, win a huge bet…and avoid getting killed. (Also available in a new paperback edition).

Visit the author’s website at
http://www.paul-levine.com
for more information. While there, sign up for Paul Levine’s newsletter and the chance to win free books, DVD’s and other prizes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The author of 15 novels, Paul Levine won the John D. MacDonald fiction award and was nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, International Thriller, and James Thurber prizes. A former trial lawyer, he also wrote more than 20 episodes of the CBS military drama “JAG” and co-created the Supreme Court drama “First Monday” starring James Garner and Joe Mantegna. The critically acclaimed international bestseller “To Speak for the Dead” was his first novel. He is also the author of the “Solomon vs. Lord” series and the thrillers “Illegal,” “Ballistic,” and “Paydirt.” His most recent novel is “Lassiter.” You can sign up for the author’s free newsletter and be eligible for signed books and more at
http://www.paul-levine.com.

Copyright © 2005 by Nittany Valley Productions, Inc.

Cover design by Jeroen Ten Berge

Interior Design by Steven W. Booth,
www.GeniusBookServices.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Nittany Valley Productions, Inc.