A Case of Redemption (37 page)

She didn't acquiesce, but didn't say no either. That was good enough for me.

As I was pouring, she said, “I'm sorry I didn't go with you. I just couldn't.”

“No, you were right. Brooks gave the eulogy. I wanted to throw up.”

Nina smiled at me, and my mind flashed on the day I met L.D., the first time I took true notice of Nina's smile. It still made me weak.

Love you—N.

“It wasn't a total waste,” I said. “I got us a new client.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I figured we either had to get a new client or go out of business.”

“So you just went out and picked one off the client tree? Who is it?”

“A gentleman you know by the name of Nuts.”

“Whoa. L.D.'s Nuts?”

“How many guys named Nuts do you think there are?”

She rolled her eyes at me. “And what are we doing for this fine citizen?”

I laughed. “Give you one guess as to the identity of L.D.'s mystery lover?”

Her eyes widened. “No.”

“Yes. But wait, there's more. Guess who's really in that old mug shot of L.D.?”

“That's Nuts? You're kidding, right?”

“Far from it. They go back a lot of years. Even before L.D. and Mercedes. Nuts told me that after Mercedes got pregnant, L.D. asked her to marry him, but she already suspected that he was gay, even if he hadn't fully admitted it to himself yet. Apparently, he and Mercedes were together during that period when he thought he could will himself out of it. She told L.D. that the best thing for her, for their baby, and for him was that he be true to himself. And so L.D. went back to Nuts to live happily ever after. Fast-forward a few years, and Matt Brooks tells him that he couldn't be Calvin Merriwether and be a rap star, and so L.D. and Nuts agreed that L.D. would just take his name and backstory.”

“And Nuts just admitted all of this to you?”

“First he thought about beating the hell out of me. And he nearly did, too. But I suggested a way he could avenge L.D.'s death, and then he calmed down.”

“How can he do that?”

“By giving Lisa Kaplan proof about Matt Brooks's affair with Roxanne.”

“What proof?”

“He wouldn't say. But what he did tell me was that he had it and it was ironclad.”

“And L.D. didn't know about it?”

“Nuts said that he did.” I chuckled. “When all is said and done, L.D. turned out to be quite chivalrous. He wanted to keep Nuts out of it, even if that made it more likely he'd be convicted.”

“So why'd Nuts tell you?”

I smiled at her. “Because I threatened him.”

“With what?”

“I think the technical term is bluffing,” I said with a sly grin. “I told him that I knew he had proof of Brooks's affair with Roxanne because L.D. had told us that he did. His reaction told me that it was actually true. So then I told him that he had one of two choices: tell the DA everything he knew and live out a happy life in the witness protection program, or I'd make sure word got out to Brooks about what he knew, and then he was a dead man.”

“And Nuts didn't tell you what he had?”

“Nope. I told him that I didn't want to know until we were with the ADA. I didn't want anyone claiming that he'd been coached. But whatever it is, he said that only he knows about it, and apparently he's got some corroborating proof too.”

“Even if Nuts can prove Brooks was sleeping with Roxanne, what does it matter now?”

“Our favorite assistant district attorney thinks it matters a lot. While I was sitting with Nuts, I called Kaplan and told her what Nuts had told me. She was
very
interested to hear all about it. So much so that if Nuts's information stands up, she'll empanel a grand jury and get Brooks's pubic hair. And once that happens, a lot of pieces are going to fall into place.”

“So what are we doing in all of this?”

“We're escorting Nuts down to Lisa Kaplan first thing tomorrow morning. Eight thirty.”

•   •   •

Dinner tasted as good as it smelled. I took seconds on the lasagna, and before I had swallowed the last bite, the bottle of wine was empty.

After dinner, before we cleaned up, Nina led me by the hand to the bedroom. We stood at the foot of the bed, when Nina took a step back and pulled the T-shirt over her head. In a fluid motion, she kicked off the sweatpants.

“Isn't it my job to undress you?” I said.

“Are you complaining?” she said back.

“A little. It's couples in a rut that don't undress each other.”

She favored me with a seductive smile. “I didn't know that. Then permit me to undress you.”

•   •   •

I was awakened by Nina's rustling. When I opened an eye, she was pulling on her shirt.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I need to run to my apartment to get clothes for tomorrow. I'll be back in a flash.”

“Don't go,” I whined. “Get them in the morning.”

“You said we're meeting at eight thirty. You want to wake up at six?”

“We're just going to the DA's office. Wear what you have here.”

“Your stained undershirt and sweatpants? Go back to sleep. You won't miss me at all, and when I come back, I'll make it worth your while.” Then she flashed that smile.

It took her less than forty-five minutes to make the round-trip. I was at the computer when she returned. She entered the bedroom wearing the suit I suspected she'd put on again in the morning, and wasn't carrying anything else.

“You travel light,” I said.

“As you know, I don't do pajamas. What are you looking at?”

“Travel sites. I was thinking that maybe we should go away. I'd originally thought we'd take a trip after the trial was over . . . and now maybe we just push it back a little bit and go as soon as the Nuts situation is finished.”

“I'd like that,” she said.

She looked like a woman with something on her mind. Her brow was furrowed, her lips pursed.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, I was just debating whether to raise something with you.”

“Now I think you have to.”

She didn't, however. At least not right away. Instead it looked like she was running through what she wanted to say, a dry run, just to see if she should say it out loud.

“Okay, just remember, you asked. I know we haven't been seeing each other for that long, but when I was making my mad dash across town, I was thinking that maybe we should figure out a way to stop all this back-and-forth. Over the last few weeks I've been here twenty-four/seven anyway, and today when I said that I'm going home for an hour, you got all ‘No, stay here and go to the DA's office naked' on me, so I was thinking maybe I could bring some of my stuff here. I'm not saying we should get married, or even that I'm moving in. I'll keep my place, so there'll be no pressure, but—”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” I said with an ear-to-ear smile.

T
he alarm went off the next morning at six forty-five. As was our usual routine, Nina took the first shower, opting for the additional time to get ready over sleep. By the time I got out of the shower, Nina was already dressed.

“I'm not going to dry my hair,” she said with a laugh, “not for Lisa Kaplan.”

I reached into my closet and hesitated before pulling out the same charcoal-gray Brioni suit that I wore to visit L.D. that first time. The suit I wore to bury my wife and daughter, and to do my opening in the Macy trial, as well as L.D.'s.

It fit looser than it had back when I visited L.D. Even with the daily grind of trial, I was taking better care of myself. Not consuming at least three scotches a day probably had something to do with it.

I spied Nina watching me from the reflection in the mirror as I smoothed the hair out of my face. Her smile was broad, and her eyes shimmered. It's a silly word to use, but I thought she seemed proud of me.

And that's when I decided that I wasn't proud of myself.

I undid my tie and unbuttoned the top of my collar.

“What's wrong?” Nina asked.

I took a deep breath. “We're not going down there.”

“What do you mean?”

I had thought about teasing it out, just to see whether Nina would lie to me. But I needed to get this over with.

“If we go to the DA's office today,” I said, looking her square in
the eyes, “you're going to be arrested, Nina. The Nuts thing, it was a setup. Not of you so much as Matt Brooks, but I couldn't set him up without also setting you up.”

“I don't understand, Dan. What are you saying?”

She didn't sound confused. Cold comfort, but at least it was something. She understood and just wanted me to explain the steps more clearly.

“You told Brooks that L.D. was going to testify,” I said, “and that's why L.D. was killed. And then, last night, you told Brooks that Nuts had evidence against him, full knowing that he was going to end up just like L.D.”

She didn't betray any emotion. No head-shake denial, but no slumped shoulders of admission either.

“Is he dead?”

“If you mean Nuts, no. He's fine. He was nowhere near his home last night. He's been under heavy police protection since I called Kaplan yesterday. Kaplan texted me this morning that Brooks hired some guy to do it, and they arrested him at Nuts's apartment last night. Kaplan didn't say whether the gunman had already given up Brooks, but I don't think he's going to hold out too long when they start mentioning the death penalty. Murder for hire and all that.”

“And you're supposed to bring me to Kaplan?”

“I made it part of the deal. I told Kaplan that I didn't want cops coming to my house and I'd surrender you this morning. For your sake, I hope you didn't call Brooks from your home or cell.”

She didn't respond, but instead stared at the floor. It was as if her head had become instantly heavy, unable to look anywhere but down.

“So long as you didn't,” I said, “you should be fine. Without me, there's no link between you and him.”

“Thank you,” she said, and stepped toward me.

She would have kissed me if I'd let her. Probably would have done more than that.

“Don't,” I said in a stern enough voice that she must have feared there was a possibility I'd change my mind. “I don't have it all figured out yet,” I continued, “but I got far enough along to realize that Matt Brooks is the married guy you were seeing.”

She still showed me nothing. It was like looking at a corpse.

“How'd you meet?” I asked.

She continued to stare at me. Through me, almost.

“Nina, come on. I need to know. You saw me get dressed. I'm not wearing a wire. It's just you and me.”

Her face screwed more tightly. I could almost hear her teeth grinding.

“I'm about to give you a very significant gift here, Nina. It's called freedom. The least you can do to repay me is fill in the blanks.”

“If I'm paying something, then it's not a gift,” Nina said with a sad smile.

I knew she was trying to lighten the moment, but she was right. This wasn't a gift. We were negotiating.

“Okay, then consider it a bargain,” I said, “but I need to know everything.”

In my mind, she was now someone else entirely. Not my lover or even my law partner.

Someone already much more my past than my future.

“We met at Martin Quinn,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “About a year ago. There was some fund-raiser I went to, and he was there. It's not what you think, though.”

I smiled, meaning it sarcastically, as if to say,
Oh, of course not
. There was no doubt in my mind that it was
exactl
y like I thought.

“Tell me why it isn't what I think,” I said.

She wasn't going to say anything, that much I knew. Not until I had told her what I knew.

“Let me make it easy for you. I'll tell
you
what I think, and then you can just say yes or no. The way I figure it, you fell hard with Brooks and, like you told me, you just had no willpower when it
came to what he asked you to do. When L.D. cut Marcus Jackson loose, you came in to pick up the slack. You told Brooks that you knew me, and you could get me to take the case. I bet you worked L.D., too, telling him about Darrius Macy so he'd want to hire me. And then you fed Brooks information about our defense. That's how he was always one step ahead of us with the witnesses. And I guess that sleeping with me, that was . . . well, whatever it was, it worked. You got me to lose my judgment when it came to you.”

Midway through what amounted to my closing argument, she had begun to cry. Not sobs, but enough tears to have an effect on me.

For a moment I felt sorry for her, but then my resolve stiffened. Murderers shouldn't cry, I told myself. Even if you were just aiding and abetting, crying should still be a right that you lose, like voting privileges for felons.

“Were you really so far gone, Nina? So much in love with the man that you were willing to help him commit
three
murders? And even when you knew he was also screwing around with Roxanne? Is that how lost you became?”

“Like I said, it wasn't like that,” she said, choking through tears. “Things ended between Matt and me before Roxanne was killed, and I didn't know that there was anything between them until much later. I wanted to marry him, and he said he wanted that too, but we had to wait until after the IPO. He was worried that if he asked Chiara for a divorce, she would scuttle the deal, but apparently there was something in their pre-nup that gave him more control over a public company than a private one. He promised me that right after the IPO, we'd be together for real. I told him that I was tired of being strung along, and he should just call me when he was ready, and we'd see if that's what I wanted then too. Then a month or so later, Roxanne was murdered, and a few weeks after that, Matt called. I swear, I had no idea that he'd killed Roxanne. I still don't know if he did. He told me that he thought L.D. killed her. He said that after we broke up he was devastated, and he started seeing Roxanne on the
rebound. He said it was only a few times, and he'd ended it before she died. But he was afraid L.D. knew about his affair with Roxanne and would use it to pin the murder on him. He said that all he wanted me to do was to stay close to L.D., so I could keep an eye out for him.”