The Deception (27 page)

"This is fun. It's sort of like putting a puzzle together, and when I'm done I'll have the pleasure of torturing you, Carrie."

Satisfied with her message, she took the envelope back into the den and placed it into the printer. Her printer was a popular brand. No doubt thousands of other households had one just like it. She grabbed the phonebook and looked up Carrie Daniels Photography. As soon as she found it she removed her gloves, typed in the address and hit the print button. She closed the file without saving it, put the gloves back on, and took the envelope back to the kitchen. By then the glue on the message had set. She carefully folded the paper, stuffed it into the envelope, and pulled off the backing to seal it. She stepped back into the den, grabbed her roll of stamps from her desk drawer, and pulled one off the backing.

"Well now, I guess it's a good thing I got a job with a temp agency," she said as she stuck the stamp on the envelope. "They're sending me on an assignment in Phoenix the day after tomorrow, and I'll have to mail it while I'm there. Hope you enjoy your little surprise, Carrie. I made it special just for you."

S
teve looked up when he heard the sound of someone tapping at his door.

"Hey, Alex. What's up?"

"I need to talk to you about something."

"Of course. Come on in."

Alex stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and pulled up a chair. He let out a sigh as he sat down.

"Are you all right, Alex? You look pretty serious."

"I'm afraid your boy wonder has turned himself into boy blunder."

Steve looked closer at Alex's face. "You've slept with her, haven't you?"

"Yeah."

"Well now, that explains the happy glow."

"Oh very funny." There was a hint of sarcasm in Alex's voice.

"Well, buddy, I can't say I'm surprised. I saw this coming the day we all drove up to Flagstaff for her mother's funeral. So, you know what happens next, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. I'll have to recuse myself from her case."

"It's for the best for everyone involved, Alex. Even if you hadn't taken it to that level, I've been concerned about your objectivity ever since the day you flipped out after speaking to Scott Andrews on the phone. That's not like you. You never lose your cool. If something like that had happened in a courtroom--"

"It'll never see the inside of a courtroom, Steve. Louise doesn't have a case. She never did."

"I know she doesn't. Hopefully you're right and it'll never make it to court. However, our immediate concern is the here and now, which means we need to talk to Reggie."

Before Alex could respond, Steve picked up his phone and dialed Reggie's extension. As soon as she answered Steve asked her to come to his office. A minute later they heard a knock at the door. Steve opened it and she stepped inside, bringing a folder with her.

"So how's it going, guys?" She looked closely at Alex, while Steve motioned for her to take a seat. "Uh-oh, you've slept with her, haven't you?"

"Jeez! It is that obvious?"

"Yes," replied both at the same time.

"Your face is turning red too," added Reggie, "that's another giveaway."

"Great."

"Anyway, we need to sit down and have a little discussion about this. I take it that it was mutually consensual."

"Yes, it was."

"Good. The next question I have to ask is did you have a prior relationship with her?"

"I've known her since the fourth grade," said Alex. "And we stayed friends all the way through high school."

"So, did you ever date her?"

"We went out, as friends, when we were in high school. I even took her to the prom."

Reggie looked at Steve. "I think we can establish that a prior sexual relationship existed between them."

"Hey, I said I took her to the prom. I didn't say I nailed her."

"I understand," said Reggie. "However the point is a prior relationship existed between the two of you before she become your client, which means you're off the hook as far any possible ethics violation goes, but it's still problematic. At the moment, my concern is what's in Ms. Daniel's best interest. We still have a fiduciary responsibility to her, and as a senior partner of this firm, I have to be sure that everything is above board. That said, I'm now going to have to ask you to step aside and let another attorney take her case."

"I understand, Reggie. I've already told her I'd have to turn her case over to someone else and she's okay with it. In fact, she was more concerned about the possibility of some sort of disciplinary action being taken against me."

"That sounds like our Carrie, all right," commented Steve.

"You've kept track of all your billable hours, haven't you?" asked Reggie.

"Yes, I have. As you know, I took her case pro bono. My plan was to ask the court to order Louise Dickenson to cover the cost of her legal expenses."

"That's all well and good, but since that time an anonymous donor has come forward to pick up her tab."

"What? I hadn't heard about that," said Alex. "When did this happen?"

"A couple weeks ago," explained Reggie. "And no, I don't know who it is either, being as they've asked to remain anonymous. My guess is it's probably one, or both, of the Mercer brothers. She helped make their family rich, back in the day, so now they're returning the favor."

"Of course, that would make sense. Anyway, I have the invoices for George and Betty McCormick's services, and Jonathan Fields will sending me a bill."

"Good, then you'll need to talk to Joan as soon as we're done. In the meantime, Alex, I'll be the one who'll be handling her case from here on out, so you know she'll be in good hands. Steve's already given me some information, but I need to be brought up to speed, so let's head over to your office."

They told Steve goodbye as they left. Once they arrived at Alex's office he brought out the file and proceeded to over Carrie's case, step by step, explaining every detail.

"I've proven that she couldn't have been there when the release form was signed," he explained, "and I've forwarded the information on to Jack Collins. Carrie will be meeting with Jonathan Fields later on this week so he can run some tests on her laptop and her office computer, but it's just a formality. It's not if, but when, Louise drops her claim. I do have one other thing that I need to do for her, but it's a separate issue."

"What's that?"

"I need to change her business name and break her office lease. Our official excuse will be that she needs more space. However, we all know Maggie Andrews is the one who really did this, and now that she's starting to stalk Carrie, I'm very concerned about her safety. I've also arranged for her to have a security guard present whenever she's in her studio."

"I understand," said Reggie. "I'll let you handle name change, but I'll take care of the lease, if you don't mind, since there's always the remote possibility it could end up in litigation. Meantime, I'll contact her later on today to schedule a meeting. So, would you like to hear you some good news?"

"Of course."

"I've been talking to a prospective client, and I've scheduled a meeting for you later this week. You really are the best attorney for them, Alex, and they're looking forward to meeting with you. Think of it as a swap for the Daniels case."

Reggie handed Alex her folder, explaining that it was a family business partnership gone sour, and now one partner was suing his brother-in-law for breach of contract. It was a complex case involving a company with a net worth of several million dollars. Alex's face lit up as she went over the details.

"It's right up my alley, Reggie, and it'll go on for years. There's nothing quite like the feeling of having a little job security, especially on a day when I feel like I've been taken out behind the woodshed."

"Oh come on, Montoya," she said with a smile. "Trust me, you'd know it if I ever took you out behind the woodshed. You're human, Alex, and we've all noticed the change in you since she came on the scene. You're much happier now. Your life seems to have more of a purpose, and in the bigger scheme of things, a happy attorney is more productive and a bigger asset to this firm. Now you can move forward without the complication of representing her. In the meantime, I hear she's a really good lady and I look forward to working with her."

Reggie was about to take her leave when Alex's phone rang. Louise's attorney was calling.

"Hang on, Reggie. With any luck, we'll be able to put this one to bed right now."

Alex greeted Collins, asking him to please wait while he put his phone on speaker. He then introduced Reggie.

"Mr. Montoya has had an unusually heavy caseload lately," she explained, "so he's delegating some of his work to other attorneys and he's asked me to take over the Daniels case. I've read the report he just sent you. The time has come for your client to drop her claim against Ms. Daniels. Her signature was most definitely forged and we can also prove that it would have been impossible for her to have been in the Andrews home at the time the files were uploaded."

"I've read the report too," replied Collins, "and I've also sent a copy on to my client. To be honest Ms. Peters, I agree. It's time to focus our attention solely on Mr. Andrews, especially considering that he was just arrested for identity theft and forgery. I've advised my client accordingly. Unfortunately, Louise just doesn't see it that way."

Alex started to speak up, but Reggie quickly cut him off.

"So what's her reasoning?"

They could hear Collins letting out a sigh. "Louise is convinced that there was some sort of prior agreement made between your client and Scott Andrews to enter the photo contest. She keeps bringing up the fact that she observed them having a very long conversation in front of the photos that night at Hanson Sisters."

"That's her proof?" asked Alex as Reggie shot him a strong look. "That's the same night Allison Santiago first introduced Scott to Carrie. So why would she plan such a scheme with someone she'd just met?"

"Off the record, your guess is as good as mine. But Louise keeps bringing up the fact that the prize check was made out to Carrie, and that she needed the money to help pay her mother's medical expenses, so there you have it. In the meantime, we're getting ready to start taking depositions."

"Just let me say something," whispered Alex. Reggie nodded.

"Look, Jack, before I go, I just want to make one final comment. Louise Dickenson and Carrie Daniels have a long history together. Louise owes much of her success to the work Carrie did for her as a child model, and Carrie owes much of her success as a commercial photographer to Louise for having mentored her. These two ladies were friends for many, many years. Unfortunately, their friendship is now irretrievably broken. That said, I think it would be best for all concerned if they could both walk away from this thing without hating one another. I think the best way to make sure that happens would be for your client to drop her vendetta against Ms. Daniels, the sooner the better."

"I understand what you're saying, Alex, and I've had the same concern. I'll keep talking to Louise, but I'm not making any promises. She's a stubborn woman and she's not the kind of person who likes to admit when she's wrong."

Collins ended the call.

"Damn it." Alex switched off the speaker. "What do I have to do to convince the bitch? Hit her over the head with a shovel?"

"No. You take Carrie to dinner and keep her mind off things, while I hit Louise over the head with a shovel. You're officially done here, Alex. It's my baby now, but I'll keep you in the loop, okay? You go worry about the Gillespie case, the one I just handed you. I need George McCormick's contact information, and then I'm going to subpoena all of Carrie's phone records so I can prove, once and for all, that there was no contact whatsoever between her and Scott Andrews in the weeks prior to the photos being uploaded. So for now, my friend, you need to be patient.
If all else fails, I'll file a motion for summary j
udgment. By then it will be so airtight that the judge will have no other option but to rule in our favor."

"T
hat's perfect, you two. Hold it right there."

Carrie clicked away on her camera. She was doing a shoot for a motorcycle ad with two models posed in front of the bike.

"Okay, Carlos, I need you to stand over there, right next to Tina, and put your arm around her shoulder and yes, that's it. Perfect."

She was about to take her next shot when the security guard knocked at the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Daniels, but someone named Jonathan Fields is here. He says he has an appointment with you."

"Thanks. Have him take a seat in the reception area. Tell him I'm finishing up a shoot and I'll be there in a few minutes."

The guard stepped away and Carrie took her shots.

"Okay guys, that's a wrap, for now. I have to take back the leather jackets and there's a shower in the restroom if either of you want to use it."

"We're good." Tina sat down in a nearby chair to remove her boots and change into a pair of sandals. Once they'd gathered up their gear they followed Carrie to her office to sign their paperwork before she escorted them to the front door. Jonathan was patiently waiting in the reception area.