be better if you moved out of town.”
“What?”
“Make some excuse. Go get a job in Texas. Write to your mother on a regular basis. But I want you out of here.”
Eric shook his head. “You should go now. Thanks for the help. I really mean it.”
I stepped up to his face. “I’m serious.”
“Back off,” he said. “Or I’ll make sure you don’t try any more cases—know what I mean?”
“Oh, and as your lawyer I should warn you to be careful about what you say, because conspiracy is a crime. Did you know that, Eric?”
He blinked a couple of times.
“You and Turk Bacon and the lovely Mrs. Richess. You’ve said some incriminating things here.”
“And you can’t say a word.”
“Not as it relates to Carl’s murder, maybe. But you should know there’s a clause in the canons of ethics, that a lawyer may disclose client information if he believes it’s necessary to prevent death or serious bodily harm. And pal, I believe you just threatened me with serious bodily harm.”
“Yeah, I did,” he said. “But it’s your word against mine, brother.”
“Not exactly,” I said. “Look over at the park.”
He frowned, then took a step to the open door. I turned with him. Zebker was on the sidewalk across the street, and next to him was Fayette, cuffed and being held by a uniformed officer.
I said, “What if I told you that cop down there has heard every word we’ve said here?”
Eric’s eyes filled with flame. He grabbed my throat with his left hand. It was huge. His fingers were like sections of steel pipe. I couldn’t breathe.
With his right hand he ripped my shirt. Looking for a wire. Which I didn’t have.
I shot the base of my right hand up under his chin.
His head snapped back, good and hard. His grip loosened and I knocked his arms away.
Now fire was in me and the room seemed to go dark. All I saw was this filth in front of me, a ton of it. I wanted it destroyed.
Eric threw a left. It caught the right side of my head and felt like a looter’s brick.
I gave him a foot to the knee. Heard something crack. He cried out and bent forward. He charged and hit me like a tackling dummy.
We both went down.
Eric wrapped his arms around me and gave me the old-fashioned bear hug. I got my right forearm against his chin and pressed.
That’s how we stayed for about ten seconds. Then his grip started to weaken.
I wanted to go all the way. I wanted to take his head off. Do a Butkus on him.
So when his hands finally let go I slammed my fist into his right ear. He howled. I grabbed the hair on the back of his head and gave his face a quick slam to the floor.
I was going to play New York jackhammer with his nose when I heard the door crash open, and felt somebody pulling me off Eric Richess.
170
AN LAPD BLUE took Eric into custody.
I sat in the Richess living room, catching my breath, with Zebker standing in front of me. My body felt like a card table, folded.
“Just take your time,” Zebker said.
“Did you get it?” I said.
Zebker held up B-2’s iHear, the earbuds dangling. “Didn’t work,” he said.
“What?”
“All I got was somebody watching Entertainment Tonight. Did you know George Clooney likes women?”
I sat up. “That’s just great, Detective.”
“But I got something better. I told his wife I could hear him confessing, and implicating her. She started screaming that he was the one, and she’d spill if we’d make her a deal.”
“Find out if he threatened her,” I said. “It’s pretty sure he did. But you’ll need that to get around the spousal privilege. Then she can talk.”
He nodded.
“You can use me, too,” I said. “I will testify against this dirt bag on the assault.”
“It’s fun being on our side for a change, isn’t it?”
“A barrel of laughs,” I said.
“You need to be looked at,” Zebker said. “Let me take you—”
“No,” I said. “I have something I have to do.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
171
KATE KNEW THERE was something wrong the moment she opened the door. For one thing it was late. For another I looked like a half-deflated basketball.
She took me in and sat me down. “What on earth happened?”
How could I even begin to tell her? How could I hope to spare her any more grief? I couldn’t. It was not a matter of being the wire that held her up. I’d have to be