“Deo!” Mary’s mother said, frightened.
The reporter frowned, though he held the microphone under Machiavelli’s face. “But to be fair, Mr. Machiavelli, the authorities reported today that they have no suspects, so what are the facts on which you are basing your opinion?”
Machiavelli lifted an eyebrow. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? They took Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Bennie Rosato into the Roundhouse for questioning this weekend. Those are the three partners that I am trying to bring to justice because they discriminated against my clients. And John Foxman’s statements that those three women discriminated against him formed an important part of my proof against them. He was going to be my best witness—and now he’s dead.”
Mary gasped. “I can’t believe he’s doing this. This must be what he meant on the phone, before. But this is defamation. This is slander.”
“No, it’s not.” Judy shook her head, looking grave. “It not defamation if it’s a statement of opinion, and he’s couching it in those terms. Defamation arises when it’s a misstatement of fact that damages somebody’s reputation. For example, it’s defamation to say ‘he was drunk in the operating room,’ but it’s not defamation to say, ‘I believe he’s a drunk.’ And, truth is an absolute defense. The statements of fact, like the fact that we were called in to the police station, or that John said he believed he was discriminated against, are true. It’s not defamation, but he’s killing us and the firm.”
“MARE, HE’S NOT GONNA GET AWAY WITH THIS! I’M TELLIN’ THE BOYS! HE CAN’T TALK ABOUT YOU THAT WAY! I ALWAYS HATED HIM AND HIS SPACONE FAMILY!”
“Va, fanculo!” Mary’s mother shook her fist at the television, and Mary didn’t translate the Italian, which was self-explanatory.
Machiavelli continued, “So ask yourself? Who stands to gain the most if John Foxman, the key witness against them, ends up dead? Murdered?”
The reporter shook her head. “But these are only allegations, isn’t that correct?”
“That’s up to your viewers.” Machiavelli turned to the camera and looked into it directly. “Everybody out there can make up their own minds. The main witness against Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Bennie Rosato was found murdered. He was the only male lawyer who worked at this all-female law firm, and he had already come forward to say that he was leaving them because he felt that he would not make partner there, as a man. How far will these lawyers go to protect themselves and their corrupt law firm? Do we have to spell it out?”
Suddenly Machiavelli held up a video on his phone, showing uniformed police officers leaving the building that held Rosato & DiNunzio, carrying several cardboard boxes and a large desktop computer. “If the partners weren’t suspects, why would police be raiding their office today, taking John Foxman’s office computer and files? I have the footage right here, you can see for yourself!”
“When did that happen?” Mary asked, horrified.
Judy recoiled. “When we were with William. Oh no, I hope they didn’t search my office too. And what about my apartment? Do you think they searched my apartment? My laptop?”
“God, I hope not.” Mary’s mind raced. Things were happening so fast, she could barely keep up. “I don’t think they have enough for a search warrant against you yet, or Bennie or me. They can seize John’s property as part of the investigation, but not yours.”
On the TV, the reporter turned, shaken, to the camera. “This is a live interview, and certainly, these views do not necessarily represent the views of our station, management, or anyone in its—”
Mary pressed Off on the TV remote, plunging them into stunned silence. Until her and Judy’s cell phones started ringing like crazy.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Mary hurried off the elevator with Judy, waddling as fast as she could with a bellyful of baby and ravioli. The lights were on in the reception area, and they hurried past the reception desk and down the hall, but their steps slowed as they passed John’s office, where Judy’s face fell into crestfallen lines. John’s large desktop computer was gone, his typically neat bookshelves had been searched, and his desk drawers hung open, with some of the files missing. Black smudges of fingerprint dust marred the tan file cabinets, the surface of his cherrywood desk, and even the doorknob.
Judy stopped, stunned. “I can’t believe that they took his stuff, just like that.”
Mary put an arm around her. “Don’t let it get to you, honey. It’s standard operating procedure. But they don’t have enough to search you yet. And we’ll do our damnedest to make sure they never do.”
“Thanks.” Judy let Mary guide her toward the conference room, where Bennie, Anne, Roger, and Isaac were sitting around a table covered with London Technologies documents, empty pizza boxes, and styrofoam coffee cups. The combined odors of caffeine and anchovies hung in the air, making Mary feel almost sick to her stomach. Or it could’ve been the circumstances.
“So they showed up with a search warrant?” Mary gestured at John’s office.
Bennie nodded. “I would’ve called you but didn’t since you were with John’s brother.”
“There was no mention about searching Judy’s office or ours, was there?”
“No, they don’t have enough, and they knew they’d have to have their ducks in a row before they come at us.”
“Do you believe Machiavelli is going after us this way?” Mary eased into a chair. “I tell you, this is what he does. He even called me and Judy this morning, pressuring us to settle. He said he was going to use John’s murder against us.”
Judy sat down, next to Mary. “I have to admit, that TV interview scared the crap out of me. He spoke directly to the camera, pressuring the police to arrest me. To investigate all of us. He’s peddling that conspiracy theory like it’s real. We could all end up in jail.”
Mary shuddered. “I thought my parents were going to have a heart attack. They never heard my name on TV that way. He accused me of being a murderer. He accused all of us of being murderers.”
Anne looked grave, turning to Mary and Judy. “He’s ruining our reputation. Jim and Sanjay called and they’re nervous.”
Bennie’s eyes flashed with cold anger. “We’re going to fight back, that’s what were going to do. I will not lose Jim and Sanjay. I will not lose any other business.”
“What’s going on? Have you lost other clients already? I think mine are running scared, too.” Mary’s clients had been calling on her cell nonstop, so she’d put her phone on silent.
“Yes, we didn’t get Nutrex. You know, that independent stock brokerage that we put on the dog-and-pony show for?”
“What happened?” Mary asked, aghast. Nutrex wanted to bring a massive securities fraud action against the big-time stock brokerages and they had interviewed the top firms in Philly, including Rosato & DiNunzio, two weeks ago.
“They passed on us. No explanation. I got an email from the general counsel. Not even a call.”
“But he told you that we were a shoo-in, didn’t he?”
“Yes, but now that were being accused of murdering one of our own, they’re not hiring us.” Bennie’s eyes glittered with resentment. “Do you know how much business that would’ve been?”
“So what do we do? How can we fight this? He’s ruining our reputation and he’s putting Judy in jeopardy. He’s putting all of us in jeopardy.” Mary noticed suddenly that Roger had remained silent and still while they were yapping away, like the calm eye of a lawyer hurricane. “Roger, what do you think?”
“I think we have a worthy adversary.” Roger smiled calmly, linking his fingers on the table behind a half-finished garden salad.
“So what do you think? What do we do? Hold a press conference? Counter what he said? We have to react.”
“No.” Roger shook his head. “We don’t have to react.”