“Ha! Some would say I’m in my prime.”
“You’re not.” In other words, back off.
George laughed, and Cate joined him so she could pretend she was kidding.
“George, I need a lawyer. A very good lawyer. You did a great job before me at trial, and after Beecker, this is the second-best law firm in the city.”
“But still the most expensive.”
Cate laughed, and George joined her, so they could pretend he was kidding. Lawyers were easy to get along with, once you knew how.
Cate said, “You’ve been following my troubles in the news, I’m sure.”
“Yes, and after last night, I’m surprised to see you looking so well.” George let his gaze run over her silk blouse. “What happened? Detective Russo tried to run you over? Is he a lunatic or what?”
“In short, he doesn’t think that Richard Marz killed your client, Art Simone. He thinks I did.”
George’s new eyes widened. “That’s absurd.”
“Of course I didn’t kill anybody. But what if he’s half right, and Richard Marz didn’t kill your client?”
“Impossible.” George reared back, and his neck wattle chafed his white collar, with its edge stiff enough to cut hard cheese. “The police said they had videotape of Marz shooting him.”
“It’s not clear that it’s Marz on the tape.” Cate sipped her coffee and set it back down. “Take a second to tell me what happened that day, at dinner with Simone. You were with Simone at that dinner that night, right?”
“Yes. I told the police, in detail.”
“So now tell me, your new favorite client.”
George smiled, relaxing. “Well, after you ruled from the bench, we went to an early dinner at Le Jardin, on the riverfront. I knew that Art liked French restaurants and it was the only one we hadn’t been to. I told him we were saving it for our victory dinner.”
“Sure of yourself, huh?”
“I was right on the law. I know you weren’t happy with the equities, but the legal principle was sound. I represented the principle.”
“Let’s not go there. Who was at the dinner?”
“Art, the jury consultant, and me.”
“The jury consultant was the pretty redhead, with my taste in clothes?”
George chuckled. “Courtney Flavert.”
“What about your associate, from the trial? She wasn’t at dinner?”
“No. Let’s put it this way, she has a brilliant legal mind.” George laughed.
Nice. “What time did you get there?”
“Around four, as I recall. Early. We went straight from court.”
“You took a cab or had a driver?”
“Cab. We couldn’t all fit in one, so Courtney and I took one, and Micah and Art took the other.”
A double date. “But Micah didn’t go to the dinner.”
“No, I think Art dropped her off, and took the cab on to the restaurant.”
Cate made a mental note. “Do Courtney and Art know each other?”
“Yes, from working together. Art was very interested in the jury-selection process.” George pursed his lips but still managed a smile. “Nothing untoward took place, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”
“Of course not. I wonder why Micah didn’t go to the dinner celebration. She was in court every day. Why wasn’t she included?”
“Art didn’t think of her that way. She was a glorified secretary.”
Ouch. Cate let it go, but it still didn’t square. “By the way, did you know that Simone was going to do a TV series based on me?”
“I had no idea, and I’m sorry about that.” George frowned suddenly. “Hold on, Judge. It’s not Art’s estate or his production company that you want to sue, is it? Because of course, I’d be conflicted out of that. Though one of my partners might not be, if-”
“No, that’s not who I want to sue. But back to the dinner, for a minute. Why did Art leave alone?”
“He had to catch an early plane back to the Coast.”
“He flew commercial?”
“No, but he wanted to get back early, so he didn’t stick around. He said he needed to be out by six, to catch his plane from the airport at seven-fifteen.” George thought a minute. “We were having dessert, but he passed. He was on low-carb.”
“Did you walk him out?”
“No. He went out alone.”
Cate tried to picture the night of the murder. “Why didn’t you walk him out, after dinner? He’s a client.”
“No reason to.”
“He was a client. You met me at the door.”
“You’re a woman.” George shrugged. “There was no reason to. He didn’t invite that sort of friendship, nor did I. I didn’t waste his time, and he didn’t waste mine. We shook, we congratulated each other, he said ‘Send me a bill,’ and I said I would.”
Boy intimacy. “You let him get a cab?”
“No, he said he had a car coming. He just excused himself and went out at six, as he’d said he would.” George’s light eyes clouded, a flicker of regret. “I wish I’d gone with him now, of course. I don’t know if he would have been killed if a witness had been there.”
“Or you could have been killed with him. After all, if the killer was Marz, presumably he’d have the same grievance against both of you.”
“Evidently he didn’t, and even the most aggrieved plaintiff distinguishes between lawyer and client.”
“Not really.” Cate considered it. “In fact, it makes me wonder why, if it were Marz, he didn’t go into the restaurant to shoot you, too. He had to know you were there. Either he’d guess it or he followed you.”
“I have no idea.”
“It couldn’t be because it would increase the risk of getting caught. Why worry about getting caught, if you’re going to commit suicide, anyway?”
“I’m sure the police asked these questions.”
Cate made a mental note. “Did Simone have any enemies besides Marz, that you know of?”
“Art Simone was an enormously successful Hollywood television producer. What do you think?” George smiled, but Cate didn’t.
“Did he mention anyone specifically?”
“No.”
“Ever hear him in an argument with anyone?”
“No.”
“Do you know anything about his marriage?”
“Now wait a minute-”
“This is important. People are trying to run me over. I’m entitled to ask a few questions of my own.”
“The police asked me all this.”
“It’s the police who tried to run me over,” Cate shot back, and George paused.
“I think his marriage was fine. We never discussed it.”
“Kids?”
“One, in France, studying art.”
“Okay, back to that night. Please, finish the story.”
“Then almost as soon as Art went outside, we heard a loud shot. The sound was unmistakable, a gunshot.” George shuddered visibly. “We got up from the table, and the staff at the restaurant went running for the door, and there he was lying on the pavement.” George wrinkled his nose. “It was really quite awful.”
“Did somebody call 911?”
“Courtney did. I bent down to do CPR.” George couldn’t clear the disgust from his expression. “It was obvious he was dead. The bullet was point-blank in the forehead. Even in the dark, I could see that.”
“Did you go to the funeral?”
“Yes, I flew in and out. It was very sad. His wife, bereft.”
“Who invited you?”
“Erika called me personally. Lovely woman.”
“Yes, I saw her on TV. Was Micah invited?”
“I have no idea. I didn’t see her there.”
“Was your associate invited?”
“Yes, but she had to work. We have another case going to trial next week and she had to draft some pretrial motions.”
Cate thought back to her confrontation with Micah. It seemed like so long ago, in the Attorneys@ Law office. “Erika wants to keep it small, so it’s only immediate family.”