Tell No Lies Page 13

  "And?"

  "And then we rode back, although it was a bit more slow going. You know, the wine, and all." She giggled, as if she was remembering something funny from their trip.

  He shook his head. "I meant, what did you think of him?"

  "I liked him. Like I said, he was the perfect gentleman."

  He resisted the urge to make a face. "Well, watch him. He's got a habit of getting a girl attached to him, then dumping her. He loses interest once he no longer has to work at it."

  She tilted her head and eyed him suspiciously. "I'm a big girl."

  "I'm just telling you."

  "Okay, Jack." He knew she was patronizing him.

  "Are you going to see him again?"

  "I already did. He came downtown and took me to lunch."

  He wanted to ask more, but she resumed eating, and Jack sensed she wouldn't tolerate more questions about his brother. So he merely nodded and took a bite of a roll.

  When Jenny finished her meal she ordered coffee, and Jack ordered another beer. He liked that about her, how she lingered over coffee after a meal, sipping it slowly and not hesitating to have another cup when she finished the first.

  "We're here to celebrate you running," she began, stirring the coffee slowly as she talked, "but you haven't told me anything about what this summer has in store for you. What's going to happen? What's your next step?"

  "I need a campaign manager, a treasurer, and a PR person. Which would you like to be?"

  Her look of surprise told him she hadn't considered that he might ask her to be involved.

  "Jen, I'm serious."

  "I don't know anything about organizing a campaign. Are you crazy?" She shook her head, but he could see she liked the idea, even as she denied it.

  "Neither do I. They'll tell us what to do. I just need someone to make sure it gets done."

  "I don't know."

  "Actually, I had you in mind for treasurer. You're the bankruptcy lawyer." He winked at her. "If you can't keep me in the black, then who can?"

  She stared into her cup. "I'm not sure you want me. I might tarnish your image."

  "Why?" She wouldn't look up at him. "Jenny," he persisted, "why do you say that?"

  She rubbed the tablecloth with her index finger, back and forth. As if to control her fidgeting, she picked up her cup and took another sip of coffee.

  "Jenny?"

  She waved her hand. "Oh, it's just firm stuff."

  "Firm stuff."

  "You're supposed to be celebrating, not listening to me grouse about my job. I'll tell you about it some other day."

  "I'll only agree to that if you'll agree right now to be my treasurer."

  He waited for her to look at him. When she did, she pursed her lips.

  "Okay. Do you remember that night" —there was that phrase again, that night— "in my office, when I told you I thought Mendelsohn was up to something?"

  "I remember. I'm surprised you do."

  "I remember everything, Jack." They locked eyes in silence, each challenging the other to take the discussion in a different, more dangerous direction. She dodged it by continuing with the topic of Mendelsohn. "Anyway, I think I'm figuring it out. Or at least I'm getting warm." She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "You know that Maxine is Mendelsohn's client, right? He's in charge of all her work, from a litigation standpoint, at least. And he keeps his hand in her other work, too."

  "Yeah. So?"

  "Well, since I've been working on trying to recoup some of her money from the lousy investment deals she gets involved in, I've noticed, from looking at old files, that all the attorneys who worked on her stuff at one time or another have been fired."

  "Why are you looking at old files?" Jack asked.

  "Initially, to defend myself. It seems Maxine doesn't like how I'm handling her cases. Remember that day we met for lunch in the plaza, when you accused me of being hostile to you?"

  Jack felt bad all over again for the way he'd treated her, always assuming her moods had something to do with him. He nodded.

  "Well, I didn't tell you everything that happened that morning." The waiter approached again, and she paused until he'd topped off her coffee and walked away. "When I returned from court that morning, Mendelsohn pulled me into his office and laid into me about how I was handling her work. He told me she was very upset with me because I kept encouraging her to settle for less than one hundred cents on the dollar. According to Mendelsohn, she claimed I wasn't aggressive enough." Jenny rolled her eyes. Her dislike for Maxine hadn't mellowed in the months she'd been working for her. "Can you believe that? Me? Not aggressive enough?"

  Jack laughed. "Well, not really."

  "He tried to intimidate me, you know, telling me the only reason I still had a job was because of Stan, and that he'd be watching every move I made, blah, blah. I was so mad, I was shaking." Jack saw her hand tremble as she retold the story. "I went straight to Stan's office afterward and told him what Mendelsohn said. I found out then that Stan already knew about Maxine's complaints, because Mendelsohn had gone to him trying to have me fired! Stan told him where to stick it, of course, and he thought that was the end of it, until Mendelsohn couldn't help himself and decided to threaten me. I don't think he believed I'd ever go to Stan."

  Jenny's eyes were narrowed in anger, her brows furrowed. Jack admired her for having the strength to stand up to Mendelsohn in her own way, by going to Stan after being attacked by him. It was a strength Jack hadn't possessed years before, when Mendelsohn had played the same type of intimidation game with him and he had let Mendelsohn win.

  "Anyway, Stan's the one who suggested I look at the old files, to see if the other attorneys who'd worked on her cases had handled them differently. You know, to see if they had been settling them, too, and if so, for how much. I did, and that's when I realized that the attorneys who'd handled Maxine's collection cases were no longer with the firm."

  "Did you point this out to Stan?"

  "No, not yet. I'm still investigating, if you know what I mean."

  "You think Mendelsohn pushed them out." It was a conclusion, not a question. "Why?"

  She laughed sarcastically. "That's the ten-thousand-dollar question, isn't it? I intend to find out the answer."

  "What about Maxine?"

  "Well, I'm hoping I can keep her at bay until I figure out what's really going on. It shouldn't be a problem, because getting to the bottom of this will mean not settling any of her cases, which is what she claims to want. It'll give me more time to dig. I just have to convince her that, despite our differences, I'm really working for her when it's all said and done. I need to show her she needs me, at least for now."

  "Why didn't you tell me all of this that day?" Jack asked. "I asked you."

  She shrugged. "I don't know, Jack. You seemed so excited about everything that was happening at the DA's office, with Earl pushing you to run, and your meetings with those politico guys. I didn't want to spoil it for you. I'm only telling you now because I think you should know what you might be getting yourself into if you have me join your team. I suspect that if Mendelsohn thinks I'm onto him, he'll make my life miserable, and possibly yours, too."

  "You've only given me another reason to involve you. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to win the election with your help and shove it down Mendelsohn's throat."

  "I'd hate to see you get dragged down with me."

  "He's not going to drag you down."

  "I'm not so sure."

  "I am. He called me today, to congratulate me."

  "So?"

  "He offered money." When Jenny eyes widened, he added, "He offered to support me in my run, is how he put it. Which I'm sure means money. Which, I'm also sure, after what you've said, means he's getting a little nervous about his past catching up with him." He laughed.

  "What?"

  "I'm just thinking about how we ran into him that night. He probably didn't realize we were still friends. Now he's probably wondering w
hat stories we've shared about him."

  He leaned forward over the table, nodded his head so that she'd come closer.

  "Say you'll do it," he said, his voice low and insistent.

  "I don't know. I just don't know if it's a good idea, for many reasons."

  "Just think, it'll look good on your resume." Her fingers were curled around the handle of her cup. He reached up, briefly touched her hand, and grinned. "Plus, if you're my treasurer, no one can get the wrong idea when we have lunch together, right?"

  She lifted the cup to her lips and smiled over the rim of it. She liked that, Jack realized. They'd progressed from not talking about what had happened that night to talking around it, to finally, in a way, making jokes about it.

  "Right."

  As if it didn't mean a thing. As if it hadn't really happened.

  Their tête-à-tête was interrupted by a familiar voice, and Jack immediately leaned away from Jenny upon hearing it.

  "I was told I could probably find you here," Earl said as he approached their table. He smiled at Jenny, but from the look he shot Jack, Jack was fairly certain he'd witnessed the last few minutes of his and Jenny's huddled conversation. Jack started to get up, but Jenny stopped him.

  "No, sit down, Jack. Earl can sit here." She scooted out and greeted Earl with a handshake. "I see a guy at the bar I need to say hello to. He works for one of my bank clients. You guys have a beer together and I'll be back later."

  They watched her leave, but before Earl had a chance to chastise Jack, the waiter arrived to take Earl's order and other attorneys joined them. After hearing Jack's news, one round turned into two and then three. When it got close to seven and the last of them had said goodbye, Jack decided it was a good time for him to slip out, also.

  "I'm gonna tell Jenny I'm leaving," he said to Earl. "You coming?"

  "I gotta hit the head. I'll meet you over there in a minute."

  Jack approached Jenny, and she dutifully made introductions. She grabbed Jack's arm and pulled him close. "Are you okay to drive?" she asked in a low voice. "Can't have you arrested for drunk driving before you've even kicked off your campaign."

  He glanced at the guy and wondered what she'd told him. Had he recognized Jack's name when she introduced them? "I'm fine, Jen. You're the lightweight. I thought you had mail to open."

  She released him and shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, well, I've been detained," she said, smiling at the banker.

  Earl appeared, and as they started to leave, Jenny surprised Jack by reaching out to stop him. "Jack." Her hand was suddenly on the back of his head, pulling him nearer again. "Congratulations," she whispered, her breath tickling his ear. "Don't forget me these next few months." And then she kissed him, her lips just brushing his cheek.

  It was still light out when Jack and Earl stepped out of the restaurant's relative darkness and onto the sidewalk. They walked in silence to the courthouse. The streets seemed unusually quiet, as if everyone had left town a few days early for the long weekend. Jack knew Earl had something to say. He could tell it from his gait, from the absence of any expression on his face.

  "Jack."

  "Earl, you don't have to—"

  "Stop. Don't get defensive on me. I'm not going to attack you." Jack motioned with his hands, as if to say Okay, okay, go ahead. "It's more important now than ever that you watch yourself."

  "She was just a little buzzed. That's all."

  "Maybe. But she's smitten with you. It's written all over her face."

  Jack grinned slightly; only someone of Earl's generation would say smitten.

  "She's just a flirt. She's always been like that."

  "Look, I'm not questioning your intentions. I'm saying only that you need to think about every move you make. What might be innocent to you can come across differently to outsiders."

  "Like you?"

  "No. You told me nothing's going on, and I trust you." He paused. "But think about it. You met her alone in a bar, and when I come across the two of you, you've got your heads together like you're planning some secret conspiracy. A reporter sees you sitting together like that and it's on the front page of tomorrow's paper. You're fair game now."

  "I'm not allowed to have a drink with a friend?"

  "Not if the friend's female, no."

  They reached the courthouse steps. Jack knew Earl was right. It seemed like Earl was always right. He thought maybe Jenny knew this, too, and that's why she'd said what she had.

  When Jack arrived home, he found Michael and a friend playing basketball on the driveway. Instead of going inside, Jack joined them for a few shots and then leaned against the trunk of his car to watch. The door from the garage to the house opened and Jack turned to see Claire in the doorway. He could tell she was tired by the way she slumped one shoulder against the wall.

  "Kevin, it's time for you to go home," she called before noticing Jack. "Oh. Hi." He gave her a little wave. "When did you get home?"

  "A few minutes ago."

  Michael and Kevin started down the street. "Don't be long, Michael," Claire called to him. "You've still got some homework."

  "Come over here with me." Jack motioned to her. He knew from her tentative step that she didn't want to fight but she still wanted him to work for her forgiveness.

  "Where have you been?" she asked. She stood against the trunk next to him, a few inches away, facing the driveway in his same crossed-arm stance.

  "We had a beer before I left downtown."

  "Who's 'we'?"

  It didn't seem worth it to mention Jenny and risk killing any chances of reconciliation.

  "Earl and I."

  She nodded. The neighborhood was quiet; everywhere seemed quiet tonight.

  "Listen, Claire—"

  "You know, you used to call and tell me when you were going to be late."

  "I figured you weren't in any hurry to see me."

  She pursed her lips and raised one eyebrow, as if to tell him he'd figured right.

  He faced her, moved in close, and stood between her legs so they both leaned as one against the car. She wore sweats and he could feel the shape of her body through the loose fabric. With their bodies touching and their hips resting against each other's, he started to feel a little horny.

  He reached down and took one of her arms by the wrist, placed it around his waist, and then did the same with the other arm. She left them there, limply, but he detected the start of a smile, if only in her eyes. "Come on, I know you want to hug me."

  She pushed at him, trying to maintain a serious face. "Sometimes you make me so mad."

  "That's good, don't you think?" She still stared at something behind him. "It'd be really boring, otherwise, huh?" He moved his head to block her view, to make her look at him.

  She shook her head. She wasn't ready to forgive him so easily.

  "Hey, look at me." She did. He was close enough to see the blue speck in the green of her right eye. "I'm sorry, okay? I am. I didn't mean for it to happen like it did. I just wasn't thinking."

  "No, you sure weren't," she agreed and looked away again.

  "Claire, come on, look at me." He leaned his head in closer, stopped briefly to see if she was going to let him do it, and then he kissed her.

  "You guys are gross." They both looked up to see Michael coming back up the driveway.

  "Go finish your homework like your mom asked," Jack said.

  "And do it quietly," Claire added. "Don't wake Jamie."

  They watched him as he took his time going into the house. Jack turned back to Claire and tried to remember where they'd left off. She smiled a bit, but it was a smile about Michael. He touched her lips. "You know I wouldn't purposely do anything to hurt you."

  "I know."

  "How can I make it up to you?"

  "Change your mind."

  God, she didn't even hesitate. "I don't get it. I thought you supported me. I thought you were the one who told me to give it my best shot, if I really wanted it."

  "Yeah,
I did. But not the way you're planning to do it. What are you going to say when they start asking you the inevitable questions?"

  "I'll worry about it when the time comes. I'll roll with the flow."

  She sighed and stood up straight, pushing him away in the process. "Are you hungry? I didn't think you'd be this late, so I put the food in the oven to keep it warm. It's probably all dried out now." She walked away from him toward the house.

  "I won't do it if you really don't want me to."

  She stopped abruptly and turned. "Oh no, I'm not going to let you lay that on me. I don't want you to make a decision based on what I want. You're the one who has to look in the mirror every morning. You're the one who will take the questions and come up with the answers. If you have no problem with it, then I have no problem with it. Pretend I never asked."

  She left him standing there, gazing at the empty space between his body and the car and wishing he could explain that Harry Truman stuff to her as well as Earl had explained it to him.

  Later that night in bed, after they'd turned out the lights, she asked him to rub her back. He gathered her hair in his hand—she hadn't braided it—and tossed it to the side so he could rub her neck, too. She'd never told him so, but he always took her failure to braid her hair as a sign to him that she wasn't ready to go to sleep just yet. He now questioned his previous assumptions about the lack of a braid. But when he drew a big, invisible heart on her back, she laughed softly. He then pretended to play dot to dot with her freckles and moles, and she laughed at that, too, because she knew he claimed that when he connected the dots it formed a gigantic J and therefore she was marked for him. Maybe everything between them was okay.

  He finally decided he'd rubbed her back long enough and had made his way over the curves of her behind, to the back of her thighs, to the back of her knees, to the inside of her thighs, and was on his way back up again, when she spoke.

  "So what was the impetus?"