Black Iris: Chapter Nineteen
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CHAPTER NINETEEN
Monday morning, I show up to McCarthystein’s office at 8:00 a.m., crouch behind a mailbox across the street, and wait. At 9:53 a.m., he appears on the corner, walking quickly, carrying a briefcase and a grease-soaked bag of donuts. I sneak in before the door closes behind him.
“Hi, Steve.”
He jumps. “Shit, you scared me.”
“We have to talk.”
“Definitely. Definitely. Just make an appointment with Sheila here.”
Sheila scowls at the prospect of having to do her job.
“No, I mean now.”
He sighs. “Ok. Just give me a second to settle in.” He hurries back towards his office. “I’ll come get you in a minute. I just have to…”
I lean against the reception desk with my arms folded.
“If you could, please have a seat in the waiting area.” Sheila gestures towards the vinyl chairs.
“No thanks, I’m good here.”
She rolls her eyes. “Whatever.”
Over her demonstratively loud typing, I hear a window opening in McCarthystein’s office.
“Oh no, you don’t, asshole!”
I dash out the front door in time to catch McCarthystein as he emerges from the side of the building.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“I, uh… forgot my wallet at home.”
“Then how did you pay for those donuts?”
A cop car drives by as I’m saying the word “donuts.” Once it passes, I drag McCarthystein by the lapel into an alley and slam him against the brick wall.
“Now that I have your attention, let’s talk about my lawsuit.”
His forehead is dripping with sweat. “I’m sorry, I did everything I could.”
“Did you, though? ’Cause it kind of seemed like you phoned it in.”
“No, no, I swear,” he pants. “Like I told you before, we just didn’t have — ”
“You told me the tenant was in South Africa, but there was no tenant. The place was empty. Either you’re in on the lie or you didn’t do any investigating. Either way, you were a shitty lawyer.”
A flash of defiance comes over him. “You were trying to get $33 million for a personal injury case where you had no medical costs or tangible damages. No lawyer in the world could have gotten you that.”
“It wasn’t a personal injury case! I fucking died!”
“At least you didn’t have to pay my fee.”
“Good point. I didn’t pay you, but someone did, didn’t they?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“A slick lawyer like you wouldn’t take a case he didn’t think he could win. Alsephina must have paid you to take a dive. The question is when? Were you already working for them when you came to my office?”
He sniffles but doesn’t answer.
I toss him like a ragdoll into a cluster of metal trash cans. Rats scatter as the cans clink to the ground.
“I’ll ask you again. Were you already working for them when you first came to my office?”
Snot mixed with blood runs out of his nose. “Please! They’ll kill me if I talk.”
I grab his throat and pop my claws. “What makes you think that I won’t kill you right now? This is the last time I’m going to ask. Were you already working for them when you came to my office?”
He nods.
“When did they hire you?”
“That morning. Davin Sharkey and some goons were waiting for me in my office when I got in.”
“Maybe you should think about firing Sheila. So, what did they say?”
“They said someone was going to sue them, and they wanted me to be the guy’s lawyer. They were going to make a settlement offer first, but if you didn’t take it, they wanted me to go in and make sure there wasn’t really a lawsuit.”
“Why did they go through all this trouble?”
With a shaky hand, he pulls a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabs his nose. “The best way to keep someone from finding out the truth is to give them a reason not to look for it. These guys knew that once you hired a lawyer, you’d stay out of the way and let the legal team do the investigating.”
So, the Phantom was right. I’m glad he’s not around to gloat about it.
“And how much did you know?” I say, baring my teeth.
“They told me the same story they told you. I never knew what really happened.”
“So, you didn’t know that unit was empty? That Ed Smith didn’t exist?”
He shakes his head.
“Did they at least tell you who it was you were going to be fake defending?”
“Not until after I agreed to do it.”
“They dropped that air conditioner on me, you know. They murdered me. Maybe they didn’t tell you, but I’ll bet you figured it out.”
He looks down at the ground. “I had a feeling. But you gotta believe me, I had nothing to do with it.”
I release him from my grip. “So, you signed on the dotted line to work for the devil. Was it worth it?”
“You don’t get it. Saying ‘no’ wasn’t an option. They made that crystal clear from the beginning.”
“Who exactly are these people? Obviously, Alsephina isn’t just a real estate company.”
He shakes his head. “I’ve already said too much. If you’re going to kill me, then do it. Otherwise, I should go back inside and get my will in order.” He brushes a candy wrapper and Oreo crumbs from his pants. “You should think about doing the same.”
“I’ve got nothing to leave anyone.”
“That makes it easy, then.”