School Days - By Robert B. Parker Page 0,8

much of which was legs and feet. I had to sort of jimmy her through the door opening.

Batson and Doyle had offices on Washington Street, near Court Street. On the walk up, Pearl often stopped and sat and looked at me with disbelief. Sometimes she jumped up instead and tried to get under my raincoat. She was greatly relieved when we got to the building and into the elevator and up to the law offices of Batson and Doyle.

"Alex Taglio," I said. "He's expecting us."

"You are?"

"Spenser," I said.

The receptionist looked at Pearl. "Poor thing," she said. "She's all wet."

"She doesn't mind it at all," I said. "She's a hunting dog."

The receptionist led us to a conference room and ushered us in.

"Mr. Taglio will be right with you," she said.

Pearl was ill at ease in strange places. She stayed close beside me while I took off my raincoat and hung it on a hat rack. She was sitting beside me with her ears a little flat when Taglio came in. She growled at him.

"Christ," he said. "How's she know I'm a lawyer?"

"Hunting dog," I said. "Keen nose."

Taglio nodded and went around and sat across the conference table from me and Pearl.

"She a pointer?"

"Yeah. German shorthair."

`Aren't they usually more white than she is?"

"Yep."

"What's she hunt?" Taglio said.

"Couches mostly," I said. "Sometimes a gum wrapper."

"You want to talk about Wendell Grant," he said.

"Yes."

"You're working for the Clark kid."

"Actually, I'm working for his grandmother," I said.

"She thinks he's innocent?"

"I don't know," I said. "She might not care. She wants to beat the charge."

"Good for her," Taglio said.

He was a little guy with a large nose and a lot of dark hair. His eyes were dark and close to each other and very shrewdlooking. He was clean-shaven, and if he was going out for an evening, he would probably have to shave twice. Pearl had relaxed a little and was looking around the room. She spotted a couch against the wall behind us and left me and got on it. She turned around eight times and lay down with her chin on her paws.

"They going to be tried together?" I said.

"Unless I can get it severed, which I doubt. Judge thinks why waste time with two trials when you can slam-dunk them both with one."

"Why would you want to sever?" I said.

"We off the record here?"

"Sure."

"Clark's lawyer is a moron," Taglio said. "He can't do criminal defense."

"Anything else?" I said.

Taglio studied me for a moment. Behind him, the rain fell pleasant and straight past the tenth-floor window.

"Like what?" he said.

"Like he doesn't want to get the kid off?"

"Every lawyer owes the client the best defense he can have."

"And Leeland?" I said.

"His best won't be much," Taglio said.

"You have an opinion on how much he wants to get the kid off?"

"Nope."

"What do you think of irresistible impulse?"

"He going to plead that?"

"He says not. Says the shrink won't support it."

"So why you asking?"

"Might find another shrink," I said.

"Case doesn't look good to you, either," Taglio said.

"Not too," I said. "What about irresistible impulse?"

"Won't fly," Taglio said.

"It sometimes does," I said.

"Yeah, and he had an irresistible impulse to run and hide after he did it," Taglio said.

"Knew it was wrong, couldn't help doing it," I said.

Taglio grinned.

"I know who the trial judge will be," Taglio said. "The Honorable C. A. Murphy thinks Freud is a fraud misspelled."

"You're not going for insanity?" I said.

"No."

"What's your defense?" I said.

"I'm trying to get him a deal," Taglio said.

I nodded.

"How about Clark's expert witness."

"Beth Ann?"

"Uh-huh." Taglio smiled. "I'm gonna let you talk to her," he said.

"Any chance they didn't do it?" I said.

"They caught my guy red-handed," Taglio said.

"And mine?" I said.

"He confessed, for crissake," Taglio said. "And my guy says he's the accomplice."

"You're trying to make a deal," I said.

"Sure, and that was part of it. But that's all he'll say. Cleary wants where they got the guns? Anyone else involved? Why, for crissake, they did it."

"Cleary's the ADA on the case?"

"Yeah. "

"And he wants why?"

"This happened out there in horse country," Taglio said.

"Or at least the back half," I said.

"You got that right. But these people think they live in fucking Eden out there. Things like this can't happen in Eden."

"Except for the damn snake," I said.

"Whatever," Taglio said. "They hate these kids for reminding them that it ain't quite Eden, you know? They want to lynch them."

"They segregated in jail?" I said.

"Of course," Taglio said. "They wouldn't last ten minutes in the yard. Hell, they wouldn't last a full