lie to the FBI. Romey had been dead less than a day, and he was lying right and left to everyone who asked. Tomorrow he would certainly lie to the next person. Maybe it was time to come clean for a change. Sometimes it was frightening to tell the truth, but he usually felt better afterward. But the thought of unloading all this baggage on a stranger made his blood run cold.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“No ma’am.”
She crossed her legs. “Mark Sway, right? Please do not call me ma’am, all right? My name is not Ms. Love or any of that, my name is Reggie. I’m old enough to be your grandmother, but you call me Reggie, okay?”
“Okay.”
“How old are you, Mark? Tell me a. little about yourself.”
“I’m eleven. I’m in the fifth grade at Willow Road.”
“Why aren’t you in school this morning?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I see. And you’re here because of this long story?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to tell me this long story?”
“I think so.”
“Glint said you’re supposed to meet with the FBI at noon. Is this true?”
“Yes. They want to ask me some questions at the hospital.”
She picked up a legal pad from the table and wrote something on it. “The hospital?”
“It’s part of the long story. Can I ask you something, Reggie?” It was strange calling this lady by a baseball name. He’d watched a TV movie about the life of Reggie Jackson, and remembered the crowd chanting Reggie! Reggie! in perfect unison. Then there was the Reggie candy bar.
“Sure.” She grinned a lot, and it was obvious she enjoyed this scene with the kid who needed a lawyer. Mark knew the smiles would disappear if he made it through the story. She had pretty eyes, and they sparkled at him.
“If I tell you something, will you ever repeat it?” he asked.
“Of course not. It’s privileged, confidential.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means simply that I can never repeat anything you tell me unless you tell me I can repeat it.”
“Never?”
“Never. It’s like talking to your doctor or minis-
ter. The conversations are secret and held in trust. Do you understand?”
“I think so. Under no circumstances—“
“Never. Under no circumstances can I tell anyone what you tell me.”
“What if I told you something that no one else knows?”
“I can’t repeat it.”
“Something the police really want to know?”
“I can’t repeat it.” She at first was amused by these questions, but his determination made her wonder.
“Something that could get you in*a lot of trouble.”
“I can’t repeat it.”
Mark looked at her without blinking for a long minute, and convinced himself she could be trusted. Her face was warm and her eyes were comforting. She was relaxed and easy to talk to.
“Any more questions?” she asked.
“Yeah. Where’d you get the name Reggie?”
“I changed my name several years ago. It was Re-gina, and I was married to a doctor, and then all sorts of bad things happened so I changed my name to Reg-
gie.”
“You’re divorced?”
“Yes.”
“My parents are divorced.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. My brother and I were really happy when they got a divorce. My father drank a lot and beat us. Beat Mom too. Me and Ricky always hated him.”
“Ricky’s your brother?”
“Yes. He’s the one in the hospital.’.’
“What’s the matter with him?”
“It’s part of the long story.”
“When would you like to tell me this story?”
Mark hesitated a few seconds and thought about a few things. He wasn’t quite ready to tell all. “How much do you charge?”
“I don’t know. What kind of case is it?”
“What kind of cases do you take?”
“Mostly cases involving abused or neglected children. Some abandoned children. Lots of adoptions. A few medical malpractice cases involving infants. But mainly abuse cases. I get some pretty bad cases.”
“Good, because this is a really bad one. One person is dead. One is in the hospital. The police and FBI want to talk to me.”
“Look, Mark, I assume you don’t have a lot of money to hire me, do you?”
“No.”
“Technically, you’re supposed to pay me something as a retainer, and once this is done I’m your lawyer and we’ll go from there. Do you have a dollar?”
“Yes.”
“Then why don’t you give it to me as a retainer.”
Mark pulled a one-dollar bill from his pocket and handed it to her. “This is all I’ve got.”
Reggie didn’t want the kid’s dollar, but she took it because ethics were ethics and because it would probably be his last payment. And he was proud of himself for hiring a lawyer. She would somehow return it to him.
She laid the bill