“Yes, deepest sympathies.” Sanjay nodded.
“Thank you.” Bennie straightened at the head of the conference table. “However, we know that the show must go on. As I emailed you, we briefly considered postponing Steve’s deposition a day or two, but the defendants refused, and we chose not to go to the judge. Mary and Judy have stepped in to take John’s place, so we have a full-court press on this litigation. Anne has briefed them both, and Mary’s fully prepared to defend Steve’s deposition today. We have a discovery schedule to follow and we intend to keep the defendant’s feet to the fire.”
Suddenly Mary’s cell phone started ringing, and she hurried to silence it, slipping it from her purse. She glanced at the screen and recognized the number of the caller with a nervous jolt. It was the Homicide Division and it had to be Detective Krakoff.
“We agree.” Jim frowned, his hand playing with the label around his water bottle. “And please don’t think we’re jerks. We know it had to be challenging to work this weekend, especially for you, Anne. You and John worked together really well on this case.”
“Thank you,” Anne said quietly, though Mary’s thoughts strayed far from the conference room. She was thinking about Detective Krakoff and she guessed that he wanted Judy to come in to give blood, DNA, and hair samples. Mary knew that the samples would ultimately support Judy’s story, but it was never good when detectives wanted more evidence, suggesting that Judy was morphing into a person of interest, if not a suspect.
“But here’s the problem.” Jim broke eye-contact, still playing with the label. “We saw on the news that you three were under suspicion of John’s murder—”
“No, that’s not true at all,” Bennie interrupted, firmly. “We are not suspected of John’s murder. We are not even persons of interest.”
Mary kept her mouth shut, though she felt like a total fraud, listening to Bennie state that they were not persons of interest, given that she had just gotten a phone call from Detective Krakoff. But she kept her mouth shut, since she couldn’t be exactly sure that’s what the detective wanted. Even so, it felt like a material omission at best, and at worst, a venial sin.
Jim continued, “Bennie, that’s not what it said on the news. I was home when that lawyer was interviewed yesterday. My wife saw it, and then we went online and saw the video of John at the press conference. There’s a lot we didn’t know, a lot that has been going on behind the scenes at the firm.”
Mary knew Jim was talking about Machiavelli, which made her furious. Machiavelli was the one who had set these awful events in motion, by filing a revenge lawsuit, and it had dovetailed with the circumstances of John’s murder to point an accusatory finger at Judy. Meanwhile, Anne went white behind her perfect makeup, and Judy stared at her hands.
Jim continued, “Bennie, I’m not gonna lie, I got calls last night from our employees and friends, and so did Sanjay.” Jim glanced at Sanjay, who nodded in unhappy agreement. “We came today to meet with you face-to-face. We are very concerned and we never thought we would be in this position. What’s going on here? And what effect will it have on this litigation?” Jim gestured to his phone, lying faceup on the table. “People are already tweeting about it. The story is all over the tech sector in Philly, maybe nationally. It puts us in an impossible position. We’re going to be real with you—we’re considering ending the representation.”
Bennie raised a calming hand. “Gentlemen, we hope you won’t do that, and there is no reason to. There is nothing to worry about and it won’t have any effect on this litigation. You’re tech entrepreneurs, and nobody knows better than you that social media and the Internet are rife with inaccuracies. Your colleagues in the tech sector know that, too. Nobody will believe the ranting of a random lawyer who gave that interview. His name is Nick Machiavelli and he lost to us in past cases, so he’s seizing upon this tragedy to smear us. As I say, we are absolutely not suspects.”
Mary kept a poker face, though she had never felt so uncomfortable. Her thoughts started to churn, figuring out her next move. She hadn’t heard back from Lou about the background check on Mike Shanahan because it was too early. But she still had a move or two if she had to take Judy down to the Roundhouse to give samples.
Jim pursed his lips, still frowning. “But we saw you, you’ve been to the Roundhouse. All three of you. We saw Mary and Judy on TV.”
“Yes, of course we’ve been there. We care very much about John. We met with the police several times to press them to find his killer and help their investigation in any way that we can.” Bennie spoke urgently, leaning forward. “They have no suspects at the present time, they don’t even have a person of interest. Confidentially, we believe the murderer was a burglar, who came in through the fire escape at John’s apartment.”
Mary breathed easier, knowing that Bennie was on solid ground about the burglar, and she hadn’t had a chance to tell Bennie her theory about Mike Shanahan.
Jim frowned. “But we read the press release that you put out, online. It doesn’t even deny that you did it.”
“No it doesn’t, because we chose not to dignify these comments with a response.”
Jim glanced at Sanjay. “That seems ineffective, don’t you think? Sanjay and I would’ve put out a strong denial if somebody had said that about us. I mean, you’re being accused of murder and you’re lawyers? What are we supposed to think when you don’t even deny it? We thought you were suspects.”
Mary felt the visceral force of the argument. Every instinct in her told her that they should’ve responded, and she felt angry at herself that she had let herself get talked out of it by the Zen Master. It might have backed the detectives down preemptively and now Mary wouldn’t feel comfortable stating it in a press release, especially if Detective Krakoff was going to ask Judy for samples.
“It’s just a style difference,” Bennie answered lightly. “You have read that President Richard Nixon stated, ‘I am not a crook.’ It went down in history as a statement that everybody remembered, because to deny something so absurd gives it credibility that it would otherwise not have.” Bennie allowed herself a tight smile. “So we’re glad you came in and we appreciate your honesty. We understand that you feel that you may be in a difficult position, but you are not.” Bennie’s tone strengthened, with a new firmness. “The best course is to ignore mindless chatter, as we will. If you need a denial from us, then here—‘We did not kill John Foxman.’ But you will not hear me say so in public, and frankly, I will never say that again. I find it personally offensive and I know my partners feel the same way.”
Jim blinked. “We didn’t mean to offend you.”
“Understood.” Bennie eased back into her chair. “Now, gentlemen. We are more than prepared to go forward and prosecute this litigation. We are prepared to go forward and win. If you would like us to remain your counsel, we will happily do so. If you would like to retain other counsel, we will send them your file. It’s your choice.”
Mary swallowed hard, realizing once again that Bennie was a fearless leader. Maybe Mary would feel the same way someday, but until then, she’d have to settle for being a fearful leader.
Jim exchanged glances with Sanjay, who nodded. “Bennie, we think the firm has done an excellent job so far. We’re going to stick with you.”
“Thank you so much.” Bennie smiled, still tightly. “An excellent decision with which to start the day.”
Anne grinned, her relief obvious. “I’m so glad, guys. I promise we will get through this together. We are in the right in this lawsuit, and I know that we can prove it. We’re stronger than ever before. All of us are completely on board and ready to fight for you.”